OUR SUPER HELPFUL CLIENT GUIDE

YES!

With 7 billion people in the world, you've found someone to share this life with. That is so worth celebrating!

Congrats to you for getting engaged & for deciding to enter this beautiful life called marriage. We've only been here for a bit but ... it's so good. Yes, like anything of value, it takes some elbow grease; but we gladly roll up our sleeves together each day. We highly recommend marriage! Please let us take a moment to pause and say a big, genuine thank you - for liking our work enough to email us & for taking the time to find out what we're about. Whatever it is about what we do that brought you to us we're so honoured and we can't wait to hear more about your story; what brought you together and what makes you tick! This Client Guide will hopefully answer some questions you might have while letting you know more about us and how we approach what we do. Enjoy!

PRICING

ALL PACKAGES INCLUDE THE FOLLOWING:

• a mini engagement session (1/2 hour, one location) OR a mini wedding photo album (8.5 x 8.5, hardcover, 40 pages)*
• An online gallery of your images

• High res edited images supplied electronically

• Two photographers (except receptions)

Every year we try to accommodate a few couples who have huge hearts but small budgets. If this description fits you, reach out, let us know your budget, and we'll see if we can accommodate you.



~ Subtract $500 for any non-holiday Mon-Thurs bookings

~ If you wish to hire one photographer instead of two, you may subtract $500 from any package

~ Additional time on the wedding day is $500 per hour

~ Ameris is based out of Victoria, BC.

~ 5% GST is not included

*Upgrades available upon request

TRAVEL:

~ We travel often and love to weave wedding work into our adventures. Send us an email with your details and we'll see if we can get there!

So, what do we get?

A couple of months after your wedding, we'll provide you with the most lovely date night you can imagine. We'll send you an email with a link to your Pixieset gallery (a Pinterest-style web gallery that allows you to print and share your photos super easily), and you can settle in together and relive the story of the day you committed yourselves to each other for life! The contract we share allows us four months (max) to supply you the images, but we usually aim to deliver in half that time.

Pixieset has a function that allows you to download all your images right onto your computer. You may also print via Pixieset, which will send your images straight to our favourite printer and then to your doorstep, but if you'd rather, you can download the files and take them to your favourite printer.

All of the photos you end up with will be edited in the same style you've seen in our online portfolio. We'll sort them down a bit and get rid of the ones that are near-duplicates. We don't supply the raw, unedited images (or the ones that didn't make the cut).

EXTRAS

THE WEDDING DAY

Your wedding day is just that: a single jam-packed day, full of events and people (lovingly) vying for your attention. In the whirlwind, it's easy for your whole day to go by without spending quality time with those you love most. Over the years, we’ve seen a variety of ways couples have set aside little intentional moments of time to make lasting memories with their loved ones. With a little bit of planning and forethought, you can create a schedule that will give you the room to breathe a little easier and make sure you set aside time for your people. When you intentionally spend time with them, it gives us the opportunity to capture more of the candid, heartfelt, real moments you’ll want to remember. We want to share some of these experiences to help you find your own ways of prioritizing personal interaction with your friends and family. 

the "REVEAL"

A first look is an intimate, emotional, and joyful time for couples to spend with just each other. But what if you could also share a similar experience with other people you value deeply? Before your first look or wedding ceremony gets underway, consider inviting your special people to see you in your dress and spend a few intimate moments together. As parents ourselves, we would be so honoured to have a moment set aside for us to spend with our son or daughter on their wedding day.

WALKING DOWN THE AISLE

If someone is walking you down the aisle, ensure there is enough time to spend with them pre-ceremony. More often than not, a dad will be rushed into the waiting area just moments before walking his daughter down the aisle. Give a little breathing room here so that you can share a small conversation or say a quick prayer before it’s go time. If the traditional dad escort doesn't feel right to you, consider switching things up. Invite someone special to you to escort you, walk solo, or have your love come meet you at the end of the aisle.

FAMILY PORTRAITS

We realize that standing around while your family is herded into a variety of different combinations around you while you force a smile isn’t anyone’s idea of a good time, especially when cocktails and appetizers are on everyone’s minds. While family portraits typically aren’t the most creative time of the day, they are also some of the most historically important. Think about scheduling these portraits with enough time to enjoy this rare collection of your kin. What if you had the time to share a thank you and a toast to all of your family for their role in raising you? Share a special memento or gift with some dear family members, a congratulatory cigar with your uncles, extra hugs and kisses for Grandma. Allow time for moments before, in between, and after the posed photos and you will create truly meaningful memories and photographs for you and your family.

WEDDING DAY TIMELINE

First and foremost, we're present on your wedding day to document all the little stories that make up the big, beautiful story of your big day. This means we are observers of all the chaos and beauty that will ensue! Chaos and beauty need no timeline...we just want to make photos of what's happening - we don't want to dictate what happens! With that said, we get it - you kinda need an idea of how much time we need to capture all of the important elements of your day! So, here's a breakdown of what we typically cover, and how long it can take. Please note that this does not include driving time.

Altogether the photo time takes about 2 hours. Everything is far more fluid than this timeline suggests; it's just meant to give you an idea of how much time we typically use.

If you don't have very much time scheduled between the ceremony and reception here are a few recommendations:

1. Consider doing couple / wedding party photos before the ceremony.
2. Plan to do all of your photos in one location, either at or very near to your ceremony or reception venue.

QUIET TIME WITH YOUR SPOUSE

Ironically, there is very little time on the wedding day when just the two of you are together. Schedule in time before or after the ceremony for just the two of you that isn’t “portrait time”. Most people are not used to being around 100+ people all vying for their attention, so setting aside a bit of quiet time can be essential to feeling centred and ready to take on the rest of the day. We might discreetly capture some of this "quiet time" but we make sure not to intervene too much.

JOIN YOUR COCKTAIL HOUR

Sometimes spending time with some of your favourite family and friends is as easy as intentionally seeking those people out and sharing a drink. If you are planning on seeing each other before the ceremony, there is a really good chance that you will be finished with your photos with plenty of time for you to enjoy some of your cocktail hour. If you are planning on scheduling your portraits after the ceremony and want to enjoy drinks with your guests, consider having a longer cocktail hour so you can still enjoy that time with your friends and family.

WHAT ABOUT WEATHER?

If the weather is wet or cold on your wedding day, your photos will turn out best if you're alright with both being cold and getting your dress a little dirty. Of course, if you don't want to experience either of those things, it's totally fine; we'll work around it. Please plan ahead by bringing coats, boots, etc. We have enough umbrellas for your entire wedding party, as well as a white sheet we lay down for the bride to sit on. If rain is in the forecast, we'll figure out an indoor location during the week before your wedding. If you have any ideas, we'd love to hear them, as we only have so many connections to unique indoor locations.

Please remember to bring comfortable shoes. We might trek down to the beach or up a hill; flip-flops are such a lifesaver during those times. Also, if there's a long stretch from breakfast until dinner, it's a great idea to pack some sandwiches/snacks and some water. We've seen bridesmaids pass out on the stage after a long day in the heat, because of too little food & water!

RECEPTIONS

There are lots of tricky little ways to make sure that as many of your reception events as possible take place within the number of hours we're hired for. A few ideas we've seen work well: some couples ride the high of their grand entrance into the reception and move right into their first dance. We've seen bouquet tosses take place to kick off the dancing (rather than at the end).

Like it says on the price list, don't forget that you have one photographer for your reception (unless you have booked a photo booth). This will always be Rob. Please don't forget that we don't take breaks, so his legs might be tired and his tummy a little rumbly. Please remember to have a seat and a meal for him :) If you've booked a photo booth, please provide a meal for both photographers (most caterers include meals for the vendors in their price - you typically should not have to pay additionally for our plates).

lastly...

Wedding days are all about personal relationships and even though the day will inevitably fly by, we encourage you to set aside small moments throughout the day to intentionally connect with your people. What do you love and what will they appreciate? How can the experience be about the people who’ve brought you to this point and how can you honour them during your celebration? We encourage you to reflect on what makes the most sense to you and your people and we’ll be there to capture it all.

Thanks for reading!

Rob and Julia