Being a Vancouver event photographer certainly has its perks, if that’s the direction you choose to drive your photography business towards.
For us, we have never waved the flag that says ‘We’re Event Photographers‘, rather we wave the ‘We’re Wedding Photographers‘ flag.
The way we look at event photography is we’ll gladly do it if we’re approached by companies or individuals, if we don’t have a wedding to be at. We do this for a few reasons, and those reason almost entirely point back to being better wedding photographers.
At events, you’re in situations where you have challenging lighting scenarios (like a wedding), multiple people in somewhat stressful environment (like a wedding) and once an event is complete, you need to have a slick workflow so that you can return finished work back to your clients on time (like a wedding).
So the biggest reason why we book events is so we can not only hammer off some stellar photos for whomever is hiring us for the event, but we can also hone our skills so that our next wedding is better then the last.
All that jabbering aside, events really do have their perks.
For this post, we just wanted to take you through a few of the stunning venues we had the opportunity to visit lately. These are some of the non-wedding related things that we’ve been a part of the last few weeks, and we thank everyone who invited us along to these events for letting us be a part of it.
As well, if you have an event coming up and you feel it could be complimented by a couple of photographers, we’d gladly enter a dialogue with you about our services. Just fire us over an email to info@nordicaphotography.com
So, first up on our small venue list is a birthday party we did in West Vancouver. We were contacted by the lovely Cat Barr (local über-celebrity!) and she invited us along. The venue for this party was at the snazzy confides of Beachside Forno Restaurant on Marine Drive. It’s cozy and for a smaller wedding, you can’t beat this spot. Plus the ocean-side sea wall is a short 8-iron away, so the view is absolutely money.
Next up, you may remember we posted some pictures from a 50th anniversary party we did a short time back. This was a cool experience for us because of a few reasons. Firstly, we went a day early and spent the day as tourists in Seattle. None of us had been there before, so it was good to dip our toes into the waters there. Work is always a good excuse for travel!
But the venue for the party was stunning. Located at the Port of Bellingham, the party was held at the Squalicum Boathouse. Basically, this is another ocean-side venue and left us pretty jealous of every single Washington State photographer who has been lucky enough to do a wedding there. It’s stellar.
Badaboom. Let’s move on to some hardcore lawyer action at the Stanley Park Pavilion. This was an interesting event for sure, and one that sort of caught us by surprise. We were contacted by some representatives of the Melvin Belli Society to cover their annual event that was being held in Vancouver. Having never heard of this American society, we were like ‘Sure!’, and away we went.
What we didn’t know was how established this society was. We’re talking heavy-hitters here folks. There are fewer the 50 members of this exclusive trial lawyer society, and they’re simply the best of the best America has to offer. So, let’s just say it was ritzy and the Stanley Park Pavilion was very suitable for this respectable group of individuals.
So, you with us still? Beauty, because this is the big one.
Ever heard of Meeting Professionals International? Neither had we. But, we were sent an email a while back about covering their World Education Congress that was being held at the Vancouver Convention Centre. The convention was held over four days, and there would be anywhere from 1,000 to 4,000 members of this global community of networkers mingling around the Convention Centre at one time.
So, to say this was a challenge for two fella’s to cover would be about accurate.
But, it was awesome. And even more awesome were some of the venues we were able to cover over the course of the Congress. Like, we’re talking underworld society of Vancouver awesomeness that we had no idea even existed kind of venues.
First up on the list was The Vancouver Club.
Those in the know in Vancouver probably can concur that this is where the global heavy hitters hang out when they roll into town. We were a bit overwhelmed at first by this location because of the history of the venue, but once settling in with the very hospitable staff that worked there, it was a comfortable dinner to photograph. The MPI brass were ‘honouring’ their top ranks at this particular dinner, and they really pulled out all the stops to make this dinner something very special.
Another event on the agenda at the MPI Congress was something called The Big Deal, which was held in one of the Pan Pacific ballrooms. There were many poker celebs mingling about (such as Antonio Esfandiari, pictured below) and it was a world-class poker tournament if we’ve ever seen one.
The tournament was hosted for the members of the MPI network who chose to buy-in. There were about 100 entrants into the tournament, and the winning prize was definitely special: A tournament buy-in to next years World Series of Poker which is worth $10,000. Not bad!
Next on the list of ‘Vancouver Venues We’d Die to Photograph A Wedding At’ is the rooftop penthouse at the Fairmont Pacific Rim. We were venturing into the ridiculous at this point with regards to how stunning this location was. Let’s just say this: The bellboy working there make reference to how much this space was to rent per night and, well, yeah you get the point.
This event was exclusive to the veterans, or ‘ranking officers’ you might say, of the MPI group. It. Was. Snazzy. They were giving out awards and eating some of the best West Coast snacks we’ve ever seen. A wedding there would be absolutely mind-blowing.
The Fairmont is basically a giant when it comes to hosting huge receptions like the ones that MPI was hosting. There were quite a few over the course of the Congress, so we feel like we really got to see the lay of the land in this monster hotel.
Not to be outdone by the Fairmont, the Pan Pacific definitely holds its own with it’s share of venues. The view you get in some of their ballrooms of Gastown, downtown and the North Shore are some of the best you’ll find in Vancouver, so having a few pops and celebrating a wedding in any of these rooms would be totally sick (in a good way).
Another of the MPI’s gala-type events over the course of the Congress was held at the Marriott Pinnacle Downtown Hotel. The event held here called the Rise Awards, and they more or less recognized the up and comers of the MPI family.
From our point of view, we just couldn’t believe that a room this size was located in the Marriott. The venue looked big enough to hold a few thousand people, and it was done up to the nines. The things you learn eh…
So, that was about it for the hotel scene around the Vancouver Convention Centre. But what about inside this beast of a building?
Well, inside the Convention Centre you have it all. But one of the biggest rooms is the West Ballroom, and this is where MPI really put the peddle to the medal with the festivities. Considering how massive this room was, we couldn’t believe how intimate it felt in there. Unless you have a wedding with like 5,000 people, this room probably isn’t for you. But! It was impressive indeed and Vancouver will definitely be hosting some high-profile events at some point in this particular room.
One of the highlites at the Convention Centre was the opening reception that was thrown outside of the building beside the Olympic Torch. MPI had (somehow) managed to block the entire area off from the public, and the party they threw there was simply incredible. There were bars set up everywhere, all the food you could think of, a few different ‘circus’ type acts, bands and much more. They even had the pull to get the torch lit up for the event. 
Off-site, the MPI crew had a few other impressive events. One was called Rendezvous, and was held at the Commodore Ballroom.
Finally, the big one. Having been in Vancouver for the Olympics, we never thought we would see a street party in the city that could come close to that. Well, MPI put in their best effort and came damn close.
For their closing night, MPI had blocked off a section of Granville Street from Nelson to Smithe. That in itself, is not too shabby. But the fact that every single bar and restaurant in that strip was opened exclusively to the MPI crew and every drink was on the house (including the Roxy) is kinda’ mind-blowing. There were stages set up everywhere, food being served constantly, sport cars, bands, tap-dancers, you name it. Even Spandy Andy was there.
Simply put, it was the best party we’ve seen since the Games, so hopefully this will be a trend in the city because Vancouver deserves it.
So there you go folks, that’s what the Nordica machine has been up to. We’d digging it though, and between the weddings and events we’ve got rocking out right now, the photography life is pretty kick-ass at the moment!
by Nordica
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