Many moons ago, we had a Twitter contest where we gave our wedding photography services away for free. It was well-received and we had quite a few entries, and the winning couple was Holly and Phillip from Abbotsford. If you missed the contest, you can click here to learn more about how we did it.

Well folks, we did their wedding last weekend! It was a lovely wedding and the settings were gorgeous. A cool old church, an old school that was built in the early 1900′s and a gorgeous lake setting. It was great!

We have some more editing to do, so for today, we are just putting up this picture as a teaser. We’ll post’em when they’re done!

Thanks Holly and Phillip for the great day, and congratulations on your beautiful wedding!

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Here’s one stat that’s catching our eye: 3 countries have entered so far! Of course Canada is one, but there are two couples with entries from the States (Texas and Californa – that’s making us drool because we’d love to go there) and Ã…land, which is an island between Finland and Swede (also drool-worthy!).

The international flavour is rad, and we’re all for it. Remember, the wedding photography is free but travel expenses must be covered, but we strongly encourage international applicants!

Next on the ‘we’ve noticed’ list is the couples who have clearly gotten their friends and families to enter. Good on you! The “Langer Wedding” jumps out as a couple who’ve got loads of entries on their behalf. Not a bad strategy.

Having people enter the contest for you (you as in a couple getting married) is brilliant and totally within the rules. If you have 1,000,000,0000 people you know who’ll Tweet the message and write the comment, go ahead. It increases your chances of winning and – as The “Langer Wedding” has displayed – gets more votes into the random draw.

So, we’ve got 3 countries represented, 13 couples and 39 entries so far. Not bad! The final number that is jumping out is the amount of time left until the deadline: The 23rd. We think that the numbers are going to jump quite a bit before the deadline, but we’re encouraging people to get going before the date closes in and get their entries up.

It’s going to be a great Christmas (or holiday) gift for one lucky couple, so give it a go and try to get your entries in ASAP!

To enter or read more about the contest, click here.

So, what exactly is this VIP Lounge, why was Nordica – amongst the oodles of Lower Mainland photographers – invited, and what are we doing exactly?

Well, the VIP Lounge is hosted by one of the most lovely ladies around – Gabrielle Durning and her company, The Uptown Giftbox Company. In a nutshell, Uptown creates a lounge at special events (Junos, Canadian Country Music Awards, et cetera) where the who’s-who of everything who’s-who can peruse the room and collect fantastic products and gifts from various companies. The companies who are lucky (and smart) enough to attend the lounge have a common thread that binds them: They are all awesome, high-end companies; quite suitable for celebrities!

What the heck is Nordica doing there? Well, a few months back, I (as in Cole – I’m not going to try writing this in the third person :) ) had been invited to the Canadian Country Music Awards by another lovely lady, Rebecca Bolwitt who runs the most visited blog in Vancouver, Miss604.com. Rebecca and Gabrielle were looking for bloggers to attend the CCMA Vip Lounge and keep their blogs up-to-the-minute throughout the day, so to the CCMA’s I went. Apparently things went well at the CCMA’s!

So, what can you expect. Well, on the Nordica blog you will see live updates throughout the day. Jakob and I will be taking oodles of pictures and posting them here on the site. We’re not sure how many posts or how many pictures we’ll put up exactly, but there’ll be a lot. I guess our goal will be to take the kind of pictures that allows viewers of the blog to get an idea of what exactly the lounge feels like and get a look at the type of schwag that the celebs will be taking home.

The other blogger that is attending is Maryanne Lechleiter from Stimuli Magazine. She was also at the CCMA Gift Lounge and will post throughout the day as well.

Finally, there is a perk for Nordica participating (aside from – well – participating!) and that is we are able to donate an incredible gift basket to a charity. Our charity is the same that I used for the CCMA gift basket, and that’s the 100 Mile House Angels. The Angels raise money for breast cancer, and we’re sure that this basket will be very welcomed!

Voila! That’s that! So, stay tuned on Friday and if you’re a Twitter user, we’ll also be keeping our statuses updated throughout the day – @nordicaphoto @allan_cole @jakobg

What:

We are giving away a full coverage wedding photography package to one lucky couple. When we say full coverage, we mean the whole meal deal: The two of us shooting your whole day from the morning makeup and hair to the reception to the final dance at the end of the night.

To get a feel for what your wedding photos could look like, click here to have a look at some pictures.

How to Win:

To enter into the contest, you enter by doing two (2) things:

1) You must Tweet the following message into your Twitter account*:

RT @jakobg @allan_cole @nordicaphoto #vancouver #wedding #photography http://nordicaphotography.com/?p=257

* If you don’t have a Twitter account, you’ll need to start one up at www.twitter.com in order to be eligible to win. It takes about a minute.

2) You must make a comment in the bottom of this post. The comment must include these three details:

When the wedding is. The name of the couple getting married. Where the wedding will be.
Feel free to make whatever other comments you like, but those three things get you entered!

When:

The contest starts today and the winner will be announced on December 24th, 2009. Entries will be accepted until December 23rd, 2009 at 12 (noon) Vancouver time. The contest is open to anyone having a wedding before September 1st, 2010.

Contest Details:

How many times can I enter for the contest?

One individual = One entry. However, you do not have to be getting married in order to enter the contest. What this means is if you are a couple that has 10,000 friends (for example), those 10,000 friends can each enter the contest. This would obviously increase your chances of winning, so by all means, get your friends to enter!

How is the winner selected?

The winner will be selected in the form of a draw. All the names of the eligible contestants will be put in, and one winner will be selected. The draw will be recorded on video and the video will be here, in the Nordica Photography blog.

What is not included with the winnings?

Travel expenses. What this means is if you win the contest and live in Bangladesh, Moscow, Hong Kong, Helsinki or New York (for example) we’d be more then happy to shoot your wedding, but our travel expenses will need to be covered. That being said, we encourage international contestants! We’re big on the traveling thing and destination wedding photography is right up our alley! Our passports are always needing more fancy stamps in them!

What is the value of this wedding photography?

$3,500. With that in mind, you cannot try to exchange this for cash.

At the wedding, who does the photography?

You win the two of us. We work together on all projects, including weddings, so we are both shooting your wedding.

Why Are We Doing This?

We want someone to win this because if one day either of us were given the same gift, we’d be totally pumped. So, we’re making some lucky couple happy and karma is a good thing!
Photography is fun. Winning free stuff is fun. Combining those two things is fun. The end.
Our wedding photography skills are something we’re proud of, and if you don’t win, you can still book us!

—

Current Entrants:

Total Entries: 88

Amount of Couples: 19

Rebecca    Jenny | Sean    New Westminister | Fall, 2010

Vancity Buzz    Dennis | Dilara    Fairmont Chateau Lake Louise | Fall, 2010

Karan    Dennis | Dilara    Fairmont Chateau Lake Louise | Fall, 2010

Yogeshwar    Dennis | Dilara    Fairmont Chateau Lake Louise | Fall, 2010

Adela    Dennis | Dilara    Fairmont Chateau Lake Louise | Fall, 2010

Jill    Samantha | Wesley    Summer Hill Winery | August, 8th, 2010

Sukhpai   Dennis | Dilara    Fairmont Chateau Lake Louise | Fall, 2010

Sophia    Dennis | Dilara    Fairmont Chateau Lake Louise | Fall, 2010

Sim    Dennis | Dilara    Fairmont Chateau Lake Louise | Fall, 2010

Richard    Dennis | Dilara    Fairmont Chateau Lake Louise | Fall, 2010

Mary    Dennis | Dilara    Fairmont Chateau Lake Louise | Fall, 2010

Mike    Samantha | Wesley    Summer Hill Winery | August, 8th, 2010

Samantha    Samantha | Wesley    Summer Hill Winery | August, 8th, 2010

Hilary    Dennis | Dilara    Fairmont Chateau Lake Louise | Fall, 2010

Donna    Dennis | Dilara    Fairmont Chateau Lake Louise | Fall, 2010

Karm    Dennis | Dilara    Fairmont Chateau Lake Louise | Fall, 2010

Dexter    Dennis | Dilara    Fairmont Chateau Lake Louise | Fall, 2010

Sofie    Monica | Erik    Los Angelas | February 6th, 2010

Per    Monica | Erik    Los Angelas | February 6th, 2010

Saarthak    Dennis | Dilara    Fairmont Chateau Lake Louise | Fall, 2010

Prabh    Dennis | Dilara    Fairmont Chateau Lake Louise | Fall, 2010

Humaria    Dennis | Dilara    Fairmont Chateau Lake Louise | Fall, 2010

Jenny K    Nina | Steinar    Norway | Early fall, 2010

Mamta    Dennis | Dilara    Fairmont Chateau Lake Louise | Fall, 2010

Debbie Litonjua    Dennis | Dilara    Fairmont Chateau Lake Louise | Fall, 2010

Dr. Ben Anders Robbie Kelm | Lindsay Anders | Kelowna, BC | August 28, 2010

Caylie    Dennis | Dilara    Fairmont Chateau Lake Louise | Fall, 2010

Christine    Dennis | Dilara    Fairmont Chateau Lake Louise | Fall, 2010

Patrick    Dennis | Dilara    Fairmont Chateau Lake Louise | Fall, 2010

Sabera    Dennis | Dilara    Fairmont Chateau Lake Louise | Fall, 2010

Jennifer    Dennis | Dilara    Fairmont Chateau Lake Louise | Fall, 2010

Ben D Anders Robbie Kelm | Lindsay Anders | Kelowna, BC | August 28, 2010

Shannon Robbie Kelm | Lindsay Anders | Kelowna, BC | August 28, 2010

Phoenix Lamb    Dennis | Dilara    Fairmont Chateau Lake Louise | Fall, 2010

Richard    Dennis | Dilara    Fairmont Chateau Lake Louise | Fall, 2010

Michael Kwan    Dennis | Dilara    Fairmont Chateau Lake Louise | Fall, 2010

Art    Dennis | Dilara    Fairmont Chateau Lake Louise | Fall, 2010

Francis    Dennis | Dilara    Fairmont Chateau Lake Louise | Fall, 2010

Merry W     Merry W | John | Grouse Mountain, BC | June 19, 2010

Jolene     Steve | Jolene | Maple Ridge, BC | August 21, 2010

Lorene Anders      Robbie Kelm | Lindsay Anders | Kelowna, BC | August 28, 2010

Melissa     Robbie Kelm | Lindsay Anders | Kelowna, BC | August 28, 2010

Silvia    Dennis | Dilara    Fairmont Chateau Lake Louise | Fall, 2010

Daisy    Dennis | Dilara    Fairmont Chateau Lake Louise | Fall, 2010

Dennis    Dennis | Dilara    Fairmont Chateau Lake Louise | Fall, 2010

Elisse    Dennis | Dilara    Fairmont Chateau Lake Louise | Fall, 2010

Flora    Dennis | Dilara    Fairmont Chateau Lake Louise | Fall, 2010

Joanne    Dennis | Dilara    Fairmont Chateau Lake Louise | Fall, 2010

Dilara    Dennis | Dilara    Fairmont Chateau Lake Louise | Fall, 2010

Denleigh    Dennis | Dilara    Fairmont Chateau Lake Louise | Fall, 2010

Lorene    Robbie Kelm | Lindsay Anders | Kelowna, BC | August 28, 2010

Robbie    Robbie Kelm | Lindsay Anders | Kelowna, BC | August 28, 2010

Hjalmar    Robbie Kelm | Lindsay Anders | Kelowna, BC | August 28, 2010

Lindsay    Robbie Kelm | Lindsay Anders | Kelowna, BC | August 28, 2010

Stephanie    Stephanie Lambert | Justin Jackson   Wallis,Texas | January 8,2011

Pilar    Alex Langer | Tracy Macdonald    Whistler, BC | August 21st, 2010

Rick    Alex Langer | Tracy Macdonald    Whistler, BC | August 21st, 2010

Gabriela    Alex Langer | Tracy Macdonald    Whistler, BC | August 21st, 2010

Triston    Alex Langer | Tracy Macdonald    Whistler, BC | August 21st, 2010

Barb    Alex Langer | Tracy Macdonald    Whistler, BC | August 21st, 2010

Jennifer    Alex Langer | Tracy Macdonald    Whistler, BC | August 21st, 2010

Alexis    Alex Langer | Tracy Macdonald    Whistler, BC | August 21st, 2010

Loudres    Alex Langer | Tracy Macdonald    Whistler, BC | August 21st, 2010

Jane    Alex Langer | Tracy Macdonald    Whistler, BC | August 21st, 2010

Rosita    Alex Langer | Tracy Macdonald    Whistler, BC | August 21st, 2010

Tracy    Alex Langer | Tracy Macdonald    Whistler, BC | August 21st, 2010

Alex    Alex Langer | Tracy Macdonald    Whistler, BC | August 21st, 2010

Jess    Alex Langer | Tracy Macdonald    Whistler, BC | August 21st, 2010

Triston    Alex Langer | Tracy Macdonald    Whistler, BC | August 21st, 2010

David    Alex Langer | Tracy Macdonald    Whistler, BC | August 21st, 2010

Gabe    Alex Langer | Tracy Macdonald    Whistler, BC | August 21st, 2010

Wendy    Trevor May | Angela Melick    North Vancouver, BC | July 10th, 2010

Cassandra    Trevor May | Angela Melick    North Vancouver, BC | July 10th, 2010

Trevor    Trevor May | Angela Melick    North Vancouver, BC | July 10th, 2010

Sammi    Trevor May | Angela Melick    North Vancouver, BC | July 10th, 2010

Angela    Trevor May | Angela Melick    North Vancouver, BC | July 10th, 2010

Allison    Holly | Philip    Abbotsford, BC | April 3rd, 2010

Karen    Holly | Philip    Abbotsford, BC | April 3rd, 2010

Joslyn    Holly | Philip    Abbotsford, BC | April 3rd, 2010

Holly    Holly | Philip    Abbotsford, BC | April 3rd, 2010

Philip    Holly | Philip    Abbotsford, BC | April 3rd, 2010

Dolly    Dolly | Christopher    West Vancouver, BC | May 16th, 2010

Christopher    Dolly | Christopher    West Vancouver, BC | May 16th, 2010

Katelyn    Nathanael |  Katelyn    Cypress Mountain, BC | October 16th, 2010

Emily    Sherrie Galey | Kevin Creasser    Victoria, BC | August, 2010

Jenny    Jenny Miles | Sean Cassidy    New Westminster, BC | October 2nd, 2010

Carina    Lina Eriksson | Oscar Sjöholm    Silverskär, Finland | June 12th, 2010

Kashif    Kashif | Shazia    Richmond, BC | June 12th, 2010

Gina    Gina Johnson | Logan Kane    Surrey BC | August 21st, 2010