September 2, 2007
Free Wedding Photography Contest - The Top Three!
Ok so you can give me heck for saying I’d post these up on the 29th, and here I am posting them on the 2nd, and yeah, I know it’s so bad, but things have been insane! In the past two days alone we have shot for 24.5 hours! But enough excuses, let’s get right into the awesome stuff! Our top three contestants for our free wedding photography contest! It really was tough having to make these decisions, and to turn people down. It made us very sad, I can assure you, and we wished that everyone could have won. But our top three are all really awesome couples who would really deserve and appreciate some rockin’ free wedding photography. I’ll post all the details for voting at the end of this post, to make sure y’all give them all your consideration 
I’ll post these simply in the order they were received to avoid any “preferential treatment”. Here’s we go! (and for the record, these entires are in their own words, with their own pictures!)
Couple #1: Saajidah & Mehdi
“Hey Rob & Lauren!
(By the way, before I get into this email…I SAW YOU GUYS AT THE HARRY POTTER PARTY at Indigo!)…but I called out your name behind you but I dont think you heard me:( There was too much crazy Harry Potter stuff going on! Did you guys make wands? Did you get Sorted by the Sorting Hat? I’m most definitely Gryfinddor! I finished the book a few days ago…I was reading it super slow so I could savor it! Oh…just TOO GOOD!
Okay…so…this is our schpeeel on why we feel we deserve this free wedding!
So…My fiance Mehdi & I have been together for 2 years and 3 months today (yes I know…I still count the months)! We met through his cousin and hit it off right away…after 3 days of talking to each other throughout the day and night…we decided we were meant for each other, and decided right then on the 3rd day that we’re going to get married! We got through thick and thin over the past while and now have finally gotten to the wedding part….but…as you may have noticed Indian weddings are not cheap…nor are they short! Rather, they are LONG…4-5 events…and all come with lots of expensive clothes, halls, food…(always the good spicy Indian food)…and a whole lot of more stuff!
The reason why I think that we should get this amazing free wedding offer is because we’re young (21 & 22), and are pretty much adding wedding expenses onto our tall tower of loans (including school, car and you name it!). I’m graduating from Nursing in June 2008..so I’ll be getting married with about….hmm…roughly $10 in my account! Plus…the opportunity to be photographed for our wedding by the infamous ROB & LAUREN is something I wouldn’t dream of passing off in a lifetime!
Your guys’ pictures and all you do is amazing…but the part I love the most is how well you guys integrate and make yourselves part of the couple and the wedding joy. The best part of your pictures is the atmosphere you catch…and I want you two to be there on the most important day of our lives to capture the moment!
So…the mushy part is done…and now I’ll get to the core of it…the real reason I think we deserve this free wedding photography is because you guys are TOPNOTCH…and…well…frankly…so are we!!
Not to mention, we totally went to the same highschool! When I came back from Jasmine’s henna, I talked to my friend Muntaka Shah (we knew each other really well in highschool) and I know he’s totally into the photography stuff so I sent him your website so that he could see what amazing work you do…and he’s like…Oh my god, Rob and Lauren…I know them! So..that technically means that we’ve all walked the same halls…and been to the same rotunda…and therefore, as fellow Ainlay Titans…we MUST stick together!
And…my last reason is truly because….I want all my guests to meet you all…there will be looots of people coming from Vancouver and Kenya and England for the wedding…so you guys will get an awesome experience meeting other people! AND…to top it all off…This is for you Lauren…but also Rob…you can get your henna done! Maybe not by me, because I will be getting henna’d up myself….but you will most definitely get your henna done by one of the girls who does henna! Well…I hope that explanation is sufficient to be part of your top 3!
With regards and best wishes to the best photographers in the whoooole wide world, (any brownie points for that one?)
Your eternal fans,
Saajidah & Mehdi”
Couple #2: Andrea & Rich
“Hello Rob and Lauren,
To introduce ourselves we are Rich and Andrea, and we are replying to the section on your website about your contest for photography for our wedding.
Recently, we were visiting family we passed by some portraits on the wall of their new baby. When we inquired, they mentioned it was your work and referred us your way. It was through this that we found your website: We are very impressed by the creativity and liveliness of the wedding photos that we saw.
We are two Edmontonians: Andrea is still finishing up school and I am a working stiff.
We met through mutual friends: They hinted that we should get together for a long time but to no luck for Rich for a long time: Eventually though, with the help of alcohol and the video game Dance Dance Revolution (don’t ask) things just seemed to happen.
The rules of your contest ask us to provide a reason why we deserve to win the prize: we don’t think us or anyone else “deserves” to win your services for an evening, but we sure would appreciate it.In fact, we would be downright grateful! A little bit of good luck is sure hard to find these days.
Rich and Andrea”
Couple #3: Gerryl & Juan
“Our Story
Love at First Sight
Maybe not for me, but apparently it was for him. I met my husband-to-be for the first time when I was in grade 7, 1992, Ms. Green’s home room. I didn’t pay him much attention, but my friends were always pointing out to me that “Juan keeps staring at you” I would just laugh and although I was a tiny bit creeped out; it was nice to have an admirer. (He still always tells me that when he saw me for the first time that day he told himself he would marry me.)
Opposites Attract
Little did I know three years later in high school I would fall in love with him. We were complete opposites. I was on the honor roll and played on all the sports teams as did all my close friends. He ran with the rowdy bunch and to say he didn’t take school seriously would be an understatement. But somehow we clicked and eventually we were inseparable.
Day In Day Out
So the days, weeks, months and years passed. Fall to winter and spring to summer, repeat….but one thing was always the same; Juan and Gerryl. We have come such a long way, when I think back at how young and naïve we were it’s truly amazing to believe what we had found in each other so long ago at such a young age.
Absence Makes the Heart Grow fonder
I went away to work over seas last year. It was a rough year being away from him, especially since we’ve never really been apart for more than a couple of weeks. I would take trips home every couple of months and it was heart breaking each time I got ready to board that plane. But we learned to appreciate each other more, and started to realize the value of the time we spent together…..
Popping the Question
I was home for a week late last fall and we had plans to spend our 12 yr anniversary in Banff. There were rumors going around that Juan had been shopping for rings, so I had some sort of idea that the time was finally coming. That morning we left for Banff, I couldn’t find my keys…so there I was rummaging through my room as Juan was still asleep. I thought he may have taken them by accident. So I poked around in his coat pockets, until I felt a small box……a ring box. I took two quiet steps back and didn’t say a word and anxiously waited. Later that night Juan asked me to be his wife.
And They Will Live Happily Ever After
I am home now and we’ve recently bought our first home together. We have grown up together and we continue to laugh and play together. And although we’ve been together for so long there are still little things we learn about each other as time passes. As we head into our 13th year together I am so excited to say that next June I will marry my high school sweetheart, my best friend.
Why I think we deserve free wedding photography.
Aside from wanting beautiful pictures for free…..Juan and I share a love of photos……not so much taking pictures (perhaps because we’re not great at it, he will contest that) but treasuring them. Our home is filled with a year’s worth of traveling Europe together in 2005 (plus countless others) and the pictures are the most precious pieces of our trip. It’s amazing how a quick glance at a photo can bring you back to the sights, sounds and smells of that very day. That’s what we want from our wedding photos. We’re in awe of your work, they’re not the usual, boring, wedding album photos; the colors and images pop out and they have character and they can tell the story about the day and about the people that were there. Even the pictures of the banquet halls and reception, they make you feel like you’re looking in through a window and the scene is captured exactly how it was.
Hmmm, I sit here and really ask myself “why we deserve free wedding photography”. The truth is, as I’m sure you know or have heard a wedding these days is a small fortune…..lots of crunching numbers and trying to squeeze the most out of every last penny. Juan and I are definitely on a budget, we have a serious list of “to-do’s and still-need’s” as we have just moved into our first home in April…….so I guess free wedding photography would be an answer to some of our prayers! (Figure of speech of course, we don’t really pray for free wedding photography!)
Lots of Love,
Gerryl & Juan”
Alright! So those are our top three, and as you can see they all gave us really touching, heartfelt, and super-sweet submissions. I’m really glad our job of choosing is over, because I don’t know if we ever could!
To vote for your favorite send an email to this address: love [at] robandlauren [dot] ca. (or just click on that link). In the body of your message include the names of the couple you think deserves the free wedding photography. You can also feel free to include your reasoning, if you wish!
We will end the voting on September 21st (give you guys a little more time to get your votes in!) and then announce the winners on the 23rd!
Good luck to everyone and thanks so much for the submissions! It’s always so fantastic to read such touching stories and we can’t wait to see how things play out!
With love,
rob & lauren
Filed under: Weddings, Fun stuff, News
September 8th, 2007 at 5:12 am
hey ! Wow ! What a Site to Share… ( little pun in there ).
I was most impressed with your site and the work you two do… very nice captures of the moment and memories you two Create,,,, oh and BTW Happy Belated Birthday Rob… love your photos too…
we have known Gerryl and Juan for about 5 yrs and they have made our shared moments memorys as well…. a great couple with a lot of life adventures shared and to share…
I hope Couple # 3 win this contest as they deserve to have only the BEST and I will be there to share their SPECIAL day….
Good Luck Guys…
~~~Emma and Scott
September 12th, 2007 at 12:26 pm
Couple #3! Great story! Biased, I may be, but I believe it was the sweetest story of the three =)
Great job with Marina and Erik’s wedding, Rob and Lauren! Looking VERY forward to working with you guys again =)
September 22nd, 2007 at 12:31 pm
Couple #3! Cutest story, and I admire any couple who can make a long-distance thing work! They definitely deserve it!!