Colin & Veronica - Tynehead Park Wedding Photographer

Here are my favourite details from Colin and Veronica’s wedding day:

• Veronica’s dress. I am obsessed with the off-the-shoulder look and the ivy/leaf designs all over the dress!

• The getting ready outfits Veronica got for her bridesmaids (on Marketplace, no less! I love a good marketplace find.)

• That Colin and Veronica wrote letters to each other to read before their first look. I love this idea, love love love. It makes your morning special, fills you with extra feelings of love and security before you see each other, and it makes for something precious to look back on years after you get married.

• Tynehead Park! There were so many different little areas we could go that gave different feels and textures to the photographs with the two of them and their bridal party.

• The sweet emotion and laughter throughout their wedding ceremony

• The absolute phenomenal chandelier that was hanging in their reception hall. I have never seen anything like it and it really made for an incredible feel for their reception!

It was seriously, all in all, an amazing day with a wonderful, laid back couple who were clearly just so happy to be getting married and so in love with each other. I feel honored that they chose to have me hang out with them and document their wedding day! C&V, I wish you the happiest of marriages!

Willem & Marietta - Fort Langley Wedding Photography

I love Marietta. Mary and I both arrived at high school early in the mornings, due to her bus route and the fact that my dad was a teacher. We spent lots of time together in the hallways before school started and the rest of the student body arrived, and we quickly discovered that a) we live close by each other (!!) and b) we have the same taste in books and music. We bonded over books by Suzanne Young and dissecting each Taylor Swift album. So it was with great, great joy that I got to be a part of her and Willem’s wedding day this summer. It was intimate and beautiful and I’m happy I got to photograph all their love for each other. Congrats you two; I wish you nothing but years of happiness together!

Ben & Meagan - Crescent Beach Maternity Photographer

I know Meagan through Stepping Stones and am SO glad she is back living in BC with her wonderful husband, and I am so happy that they are expecting their first baby! It was a privilege getting to do photos to document this beautiful time in their life.

Friends - Fort Langley Grad Photographer

I took formal grad photos for Esther, Reece, April and Regan on one of the hottest days of the year and these girls were insane troopers and they looked amazing! If you haven’t already, you can see the photos I did of them with their grad ceremony outfits here.

Friends - Campbell Valley Grad Photographer

Esther, Reece, April, and Regan contacted me wanting to get some photos to commemorate their high school graduation! We did photos the evening of their ceremony, and I can’t get over how much I love their white dresses! We did do photos later in the week in their formal dresses - you can find that in the next blog post :)

Amy - Aldergrove Grad Photographer

I love doing grad photos! It’s such fun getting to document this important time in your life. Amy looked amazing in her incredible, unique grad dress that she bought online (!!!) that worked out so perfectly.

Zach & Laura - Aldergrove Couple Photographer

I love Laura. Laura is one of the greats - those kind of people who you can just click with and talk about anything with and who will go thrift shopping with you and have coffee with you at pricey coffee houses and who will send you little postcards in the mail that give you all the feels and will be the most amazing wedding day-of coordinator you could ever ask for. She’s pretty much the best and getting to do photos of her and Zach was also pretty much the best. Thanks for letting me hang out with the two of you and for letting me be your friend, because it is also the best.

Vic & Nat - Chilliwack Couple Photographer

I am on a blogging role today (mostly because I can’t bear to leave my air conditioned basement and go outside in the sweltering heat) and I kind of can’t believe I haven’t blogged these two yet!

It was a cold, overcast, drizzly-kind of day when we met at the Vedder River but these two were just so wrapped up in each other and laughed a lot together and it was such a good time! Nat and Vic could pursue careers as models if they wanted to, I’m one hundred percent certain.

Thanks for trusting me to capture the two of you together and all in love!

Brett & Monique - Aldergrove Engagement Photos

I am sitting here writing this on one of the hottest days that Abbotsford has ever seen - which is ironic considering that this session was all about the snow.

Brett and Monique are my new family (!!) and it was so fun to get to photograph the two of them as they celebrated their engagement. Brett was totally in his element in the snow since he’s from Manitoba, and Monique stood out amazingly against the snowy backdrop with her gorgeous red sweater. I remember being cold and wet but also so happy; I truly don’t like the snow and could live without it 100000% but even I have to admit that snow looks incredible in photos. It’s also fun to get to shoot in something that challenges me and is different from what I normally do (hello rain!).

If you’re perusing this during the 43 degree heat, I hope the snow photos help cool you down a little (along with your A/C hopefully, and buckets of iced coffee, which is what I’m doing).

How To Change Your Name in BC

Getting married? The best. Changing your name in BC? The absolute WORST.

I went through this after my own very-recent marriage and it was such a headache to try and figure out the order in which to do things, how to do things, what documents you needed where, and what all needed to be changed. I decided to compile a little list together that will hopefully make this a bit easier for new wives, because changing your last name and address is quiiiiite the process.

If you are reading this before you are married, be wise and book everything for your honeymoon with your maiden name. Don’t use your married name until everything is finalized, especially if you are planning to fly anywhere.

1. Everything has to wait until you receive your marriage license in the mail. No real use in starting the process without this very important piece of paper!

2. After you’ve received the marriage certificate, the very first step is changing your name on your BC Care Card. Right now, you don’t even have to call in to do it (although you can at 604-683-7151). You can go right to their website my.gov.bc.ca/msp and go to “New MSP Account Change Request.” It’ll prompt you to change your personal information. You’ll need to upload a photo of your marriage license. The online process is really easy - but they’ll make you wait 7-14 days for the update. Call the number above roughly 24/48 hours after you’ve submitted the request online and ask them to expedite your request so you can make an appointment with ICBC. Have your reference number ready during this call. They will do this for you within seconds, and your Care Card information is done.

3. Once your Care Card name is changed, you can book an appointment with ICBC. You need to change your name and your address on your license. You can book an appointment online at a Driver’s Licensing Center. You’ll need your marriage certificate with you (the real thing, not a photocopy), and two pieces of government ID, and you’ll need to pay for your new license.

4. Once you’ve received a temporary license from ICBC with your new married name and your new address on it, you can go to an Auto Insurance place and change your name on your car insurance. You’ll need to have your temporary license, your marriage license, and your car insurance.

5. Now you can call your doctor and have them update your name and address in their files. Same goes for your work, your gym, your bank(s), your university, your social media.

6. Next you have to call the CRA in order to change your name, your marital status, and your address. You can call them at 604-959-8281 (their website is here: https://www.canada.ca/en/revenue-agency/services/tax/individuals/frequently-asked-questions-individuals/should-you-tell-cra-about-your-change-name.html ) You’ll need to provide your SIN number, the name and address they have on file for you, your birth date, and you’ll need your two most recent tax returns open so they can verify your identity. It’s a pretty quick phone call.

7. Then you have to change your name that’s registered on your SIN number. This one is a bit more tricky. I think technically you can visit a Service Canada Office and do in person with your old SIN number, your marriage certificate, and your ID. You can also apply for it online. I found information on when to change my information here (https://www.canada.ca/en/employment-social-development/services/sin/after-applying.html) and this was the link I used to complete my application (https://www.canada.ca/en/employment-social-development/services/sin/before-applying.html#Secondary_Documents). You’ll need images of your marriage certificate, your birth certificate, your temporary drivers license, your temporary care card, and a photo containing proof of address (a bill etc.)

8. You’ll also have to apply for a brand new passport. You’ll need your birth certificate, two pieces of ID with your new name on it (so you have to wait until your new drivers license and care card arrive), two passport photos (taken at your local London Drugs), your marriage certificate, a guarantor and two references (who are not family members) and money to pay for the new passport. You can do the application online: https://www.canada.ca/en/immigration-refugees-citizenship/services/canadian-passports/new-adult-passport/apply-how.html but then you’ll have to mail it in.

Other places to think about is your emails, if you have a student loan, your landlord (if you have one), utility companies, your cell phone company, any store cards that have your name on them, your will (if you have one), your RSP, your paypal/amazon/any other online companies that send you stuff directly to your house, and your voicemail (this one is almost always forgotten).

Chances are that little things will crop up over time that you’ll have forgotten you even signed up for! But I hope this helps your task of changing your last name a little less daunting.