Thursday, August 26, 2010
Yesterday was the first day of CreativeLive featuring the fabulous Jasmine Star, filmed & broadcast live from Seattle. This epic CreativeLive 5-day workshop is FREE and is held from August 25-29, 2010.
What a day it was! Jasmine is so real & personable, putting it all out there and sharing her experiences. She said she was a nervous ball but I beg to differ. She was a total pro and knocked her presentation out of the park. Yesterday was a classroom presentation covering various topics. What stood out for me were the following things Jasmine said, things that embodies her personality, style and talent.

“Create your own game” – don’t follow/copy other people, play by your own rules
KYC – know your client
“Let your website be your handshake and your blog be your voice”
“Be personable”
“Under promise and over deliver” – this one is a true gem.
KIR – Keep it real.
Today she’ll be covering ‘Scoping out the Wedding Venue’, tomorrow we’ll be shadowing Jasmine as she willl be shooting a groundbreaking reallife wedding, and Saturday and Sunday it’s back to the classroom for post-production and editing. If you’re looking for a more in-depth classroom schedule check out Jasmine’s blog post here.

*** Jasmine doing her thang! ***
I’ll be logging in again today and the next few days to Creative Live to learn as much as I can from Jasmine Star. If you’ve missed any broadcasts don’t panic. You can watch the re-runs from anywhere in the world! Waht are you waiting for? Join the live broadcast and sign up for a ticket to the free LIVE stream.
I’m SO stoked & excited to share with Jasmine and see what’s in store for the next few days!
Brooke & Brent met in 2001 through a mutual friend. They immediately became best of friends, hanging with their group of friends and always spending time together. Soon Brent’s charm won Brooke over and they fell in love! Not long after that they moved in together. When Brent proposed to Brooke last year Brooke’s dreams came true! The date is set for September 4th 2010 when they’ll celebrate their love with family and friends as they tie the knot at the gorgeous Queen’s Park Rose Garden in New Westminster.
They are an amazing couple who love to laugh and smile and just be with each other. Brooke has a tenderness about her, always smiling & laughing while Brent has such a big heart and giving nature. Brooke and Brent, we adore you and are blessed to count you as friends.
Brooke & Brent got into the creative process of their engagement shoot and it was such fun planning and executing their engagement session. The shoot incorporated a back alley, tall grassy fields, balloons & a picnic. We were also lucky to come across a field of horses.
Here are a few of our faves from their session:












And then the famous paint fight followed …….



The best of all was saved till last, making up of course!!

Thanks for the fun filled afternoon Brooke & Brent! Can’t wait for your wedding in September
Meet the Nijjer family! We photographed them last weekend around several locations in White Rock, starting at Crescent Beach. We were blessed with a beautiful summer day, just perfect for a family portrait session. This family was a ton of fun and full of laughter. Everyone was relaxed and having a good time, making it so easy for us to capture some truly relaxed family portraits.
Thank you to the Nijjer family for sharing your afternoon with us!
Click here to read more about their story!
P.S- If anyone would like to schedule a family session with Juan and I, please send us a message via our contact page. We look forward to hearing from you all soon!






Gary & his fiance is an amazing couple tying the knot in late August. We wish you both a gorgeous wedding filled with love and joy!



This weekend we captured the engagement session of Preeya & Colin at Stanley Park. It was a lovely summer day, slightly overcast and just perfect for shooting portraits. These two are so sweet together, so laid back and so much in love. It was a pleasure getting to know them and being able to document their love.
Click here to read more about their story!
Enjoy a few of our faves!






It started out with emails and when all the details were set, Rachel & Casey’s destination wedding was all booked at the stunning Barcelo Resort on the Mayan Riviera. Yay!! I was super excited for many reasons. Not only do I love to travel and shoot destination weddings, I also enjoy meeting people and sharing their beautiful stories. This time around I also got to shoot at the popular Barcelo Resort, which offers amazing locations from sunny beaches to breathtaking architecture!
Rachel shared their story with me: “Casey and I are from central Wisconsin, a small town near Wassau called Wittenberg. We met in highschool and have been sweethearts ever since. Currently we’re both college students and wish to continue on with a career in the medical field. Our faith, family and friends are central to our lives and we also share a deep love for music and traveling. We actually got engaged on a trip to Jamaica 2 years ago!”
Rachel and Casey had a group of 21 friends & family members join them on this special occasion. Rachel’s inspiring brother served as their officiant and it was such an intimate and touching ceremony. Rachel and Casey, you’re an amazing couple and made us feel instantly welcome & part of your group. Thank you for your trust in allowing us to capture your wedding day. We’re truly blessed in having met you & getting to know you and your family! Hasta luego amigos!
Here are a few favourite images from their beach wedding.








Posted in Destination Weddings, News, Travels, Weddings | Tags: destination wedding at the Barcelo Resort, destination wedding in mayan riviera, destination wedding photographer, Destination Weddings, destination weddings in mexico, Gwen Franco Photography destination weddings, wedding photography, Weddings
When Julie asked me to shoot her destination wedding in Mexico I was honoured & over the moon. I immediately answered YES! After many emails flying here and there all the details were finalized. I finally got to meet Julie & Josh a few days before their wedding and got to know them more intimately during a mini engagement shoot around the resort. How did they meet? At first they were friends and went on group dates together. But even from the start they only had eyes for each other. Julie wanted to train for a marathon so she asked Josh to help her train and set some goals. You see, Josh is a proud United States Marine and uniquely qualified to assist Julie in long distance running. Yeah, I know what you’re thinking. It was all a ruse to get to Josh and conquer his heart! Just kidding. They are soooo in love and it’s visible to all in the way they stare into each others eyes and in how they lovingly hold hands all the time.
Julie getting ready in her suite.

The ceremony was very emotional and touching. So strong, yet so tender!

a toast following the ceremony

and a few dreamy shots of the breathtaking couple, may I introduce Mr & Mrs Kim!



Definitely one of my favourite shots of the day. Soulful, dreamy & timeless!

I can’t resist, here’s a sneak peak of radiant bride Julie ….


The wedding season started of with a bang! Shooting stunning brides in absolutely fantastic locations. I recently traveled to the Mayan Riviera in Mexico to shoot an engagement session and two gorgeous destination weddings at the Barcelo Resort. I was thrilled and ecstatic to meet my wonderful clients for the first time and be a part of their special celebration. I loved the experience as I was able to combine my love of photography, traveling and meeting people!
Here’s a sneak peak of bride Rachel, an absolute stunner ….

Here’s a sneek peak from this Sunday’s e-session with Magda & Curtis. This couple is so cute & adorable together. Guys, you totally rocked your session. Thanks for sharing your story, for being so adorable and laidback.






Can’t wait to shoot your wedding June 19, 2010!
I was so lucky to be a participant at the Portrait House Fundraising shoot held by the fabulous Laura Marchbanks at the Las Vegas Country Club. Portrait House is a charitable outlet for photographers to give back. They have an ongoing project list one of their first projects is Habitat for Humanity. We were a bunch of eager photographers, all on the same page, all knowing that if we stand together so much can be achieve in this life. The impossible becomes possible.
The day was cold, the wind was blowing and we even had a few drops of rain threatening. But nothing could damper our spirits as we were so blessed to photograph this shoot along side Justin and Mary Marantz. Here are a few of our fav images from the shoot!
The sultry and sexy, untraditional wedding couple Sami and Joey:


Jennifer & Jim, so infectiously bubbly and so obviously in love:



and then the beautiful Megan and Mike,

Jared only had eyes for his wife Chantal, and who can blame him? Chantal with her unique and striking features would knock the socks off any man!



And our hot couple Amanda and Tim braved the cold and rocked out their Lifestyle Session!


To Laura and her crew of assistants, Justin & Mary Marantz, the models and the sponsors, thanks for making this all possible. We look forward to seeing you next year and repeating this humbling & wonderful experience.
Posted in Engagements, Giving back, News, Weddings, Workshop | Tags: justin and mary marantz, las vegas, las vegas country club, laura marchbanks, portrait house, wppi, wppi convention
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