Katie and Andy have a son and spending time outdoors with him on Katie’s parents farm is an awesome day in their world. Add walking their dog along the nearby dyke into the mix, and bam – this is their family in its essence. So photographing them at the farm on Westham Island, which is also where they will get married later this year, is as real as it gets.

We had been out to the island before when Katie was one of the bridesmaids at her friend’s barn wedding last year (the same barn Katie and Andy will have their wedding reception in this year). At that time, nobody told us about the amazing hockey barn that was just down the road. Katie’s grandpa, dad, brother, uncles, cousins and of course Andy have all played there, so this hockey barn means a lot to them.

So if you add up what we did during our time together on Westham Island, taking photos of Katie, Andy and their son on the family farm, walking along the dyke with their dog and hanging out in their ultimate man-zone hockey barn, this is who Katie and Andy are.

Capturing that essence of a couple is what the Document You sessions are all about.

/Jakob

Bryan makes beer that would knock your socks off. At his wedding, the beer he served the guests was absolutely awesome. 12% alcohol content and smooth as silk. Delicious.

When we first met Grace and Bryan, we never would have guessed that one of their favourite pastimes together is checking out brewhouses. And as we happen to enjoy slinging the odd pint ourselves, we felt right at home with these two. It’s nice when common interests trickle to the surface, especially when we spend so much time together on a wedding day.

Melissa and Josh’s wedding portrait request was something along these lines: Just do what you do. We’ll give you all the time you need.

Creative freedom is a very good thing.

One of the biggest challenges that we look forward to with weddings is scouting locations, and ideally, never using the same spot twice. So when a couple gives us fee reigns, it’s happy times in Nordica land.

When we arrived at one of the spots we’d picked, we hopped out of the car and scoped things out.

“Vintage Nordica”, Josh said.

Mission accomplished.

The most interesting in-between moments for us usually have nothing to do with photography, and are often what we remember from the wedding. It can be a conversation we were having with the couple while taking their picture, or perhaps something that happened, something we’ll never forget.

Take Daisy and Mali, for example.

We were on day three of their three day Sikh wedding, and we were finishing their portraits beside the Olympic Village in Vancouver. Everything was going smooth – the pictures were turning out great and we were right on schedule for the 6:00PM arrival time at the reception in Surrey, where the 500 or so guests were waiting (about 45 minutes away).

At about 5:15, we cut things off so that we wouldn’t be late.

“Are you sure? We can keep going and get more if you think we should”, Daisy said.

“We’ve got lots – let’s head out so you’re not late”, we replied.

So Daisy and Mali hopped into their car, and we hopped into ours. We fired up our Jimmy (which had just shy of 400,000 kms – we’ll come back to that in a second) and they sort of fired up their VW.

We say sort of because, well, it sort of didn’t want to start. And eventually didn’t. It was dead.

So, here we were on a tight schedule with a stunning bride looking like she was on her way to a fashion shoot, an Indian groom with a bit of a James Bond thing going on, two photographers and a dead car. We did the most logical thing that came to mind and had Daisy steer the car while we pushed it about a kilometer, to a spot where it would be safe overnight.

Parallel parking a dead car with no power-steering wasn’t exactly easy, but we managed. And into the Jimmy we went, which was comedy in itself because earlier that day, we had been joking that it was due to die any day with so many kilometers.

But the Jimmy survived and we made it to the reception on time, and nobody had any idea we had just been pushing around a dead VW 45 minutes earlier.

So there are different interpretations of in-between moments in our industry, but for us, every wedding seems to have some sort of a special memory that sticks. Like pushing a dead car.

Day one:

Day two:

Day three:

We recently started doing private one-on-one mentoring sessions. And since we enjoy doing them, as well as getting to know fellow photographers, we’ve now decided to “go public” with them.

So, during winter/spring 2012, we’ll be offering private Nordica one-on-one workshops. Or two-on-ones, as is the case with us.

It’s a day of us (Cole, Jakob and you) hanging out, and the focus is on helping you move your photography, your brand and your business forward.

We’ll scout locations, do a photo session with a couple and edit everything together. We’ll chat about the business model we use, about blogging, about clients, about search engine optimization, and so on – we’ll talk shop, basically. The entire lot. We’ll cover any questions you have, and we’ll be open about everything we do.

Details:

The one day workshop is just that: an entire day (9am-5pm, we’ll provide lunch and have breaks throughout) and is meant for any photographer, emerging or established.

We’re offering the workshops on weekdays from February to May, 2012 and they are limited to one person per day (or two, if you’re working as a team).

If you’re from outside of Vancouver, we’ll pick you up when you get here and transport you from A to B, if needed. We’ll also provide you with options for accommodations.

If you’re based outside of Vancouver and would like for us to come to you, that’s fine as well. Additional charges will apply to cover expenses.

Booking:

If you’re interested in booking, or you just want to learn more, fill out this form and we’ll get back to you asap:

Nordica // Workshop

Please don’t hesitate to get a hold of us if you have any questions or thoughts about the workshops. We’re happy to provide you with more information.

Daisy and Mali’s three day Sikh wedding was as intense as it gets. And we’re not just blowing smoke and mirrors here – they partied hard.

5 am mornings, 2 am nights, lots of laughter, lots of tears, wild dancing, serious stage-diving, extreme partying, incredible food and drinks, and lots of love. It was full-on.

Their wedding had it all, and we’re stoked to have been able to come so close to this culture that’s still very new to us.

We’ll post the full wedding soon.