Today we would like to welcome Fabian Raemy as he writes a guest post! Fabian is a writer for The Florist Guide and a dedicated anthophile, a true lover of flowers. Whether roses or rampions; red, white or blue, Fabian enjoys all of them just the same. With a knowledgeable and down-to-earth tone, he offers his tips for all of your floral needs on The Florist Guide. The 10 Most Popular Flowers For Weddings: With so many guests at a wedding looking at floral arrangements, choosing the right ones can be a difficult task.  It's all about choosing flowers that look nice and smell nice, but ar ..read more

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Hello fans of Topaz & Lace!  I am Mandy Drew, the wedding consultant at Trillium Floral Designs in Kanata. I thought I would hijack Samantha’s blog to write a little bit about things that us florists wish you knew.  Being in business 18 years, we have seen and heard many things that go on throughout wedding planning process and, hopefully, by giving you some insight into our industry, it will help make the planning stage a lot easier.  On with the list! Pricing There are many myths surrounding the pricing of flowers. A lot of it could be due to incorrect information online o ..read more

So you're engaged and planning your wedding, and thats why you're here. I have one thing to say; Congratulations!  Well, I have more than one thing to say but I had to tell you congratulations right off the bat. Next step is planning for your engagement session! If I am your photographer, I am so excited for this! If I am not, I wish you all the best in your engagement and wedding! Maybe some of these tips will come in handy for you, and if so I am so happy for you. Keep reading either way! This blog post is all about how to prepare for your engagement session and what to expec ..read more

    First thing’s first – congrats on your engagement! Making the decision to say “yes” to your future spouse was an easy one, but now it’s time to make some tough choices as you now chose the wedding vendors that will bring your dream wedding to life. It has to do with the trust as much as falling in love with their work on their Instagram page, which is why choosing a professional {no matter which vendor category they are} is extremely important; especially when it comes to the person capturing all of the important and magical moments of the biggest day of your life. I 100% can un ..read more

Today on the blog we are talking about venues. Picking your venue is one of the biggest tasks that you will do for your wedding planning. What do you look for when looking at a venue to be the backdrop to your special day? Well, let’s start off with what the vibe is on your day? Some couples go for a rustic or a rustic glam, or maybe you want it to look like a fairytale in a forest? Maybe you have enough space on your property or a family member’s property and you want to rent a big white tent and party at the location that holds sentimental value? There is no wrong answer! But it is an overwh ..read more

I have always loved destination weddings. I have always loved the beach or some fancy destination in Europe. And now you're doing a destination wedding. I can already tell that you’re doing all of your research. You’re on the right path to planning your dream wedding day at a destination resort!  Something that isn’t common knowledge is that when you book your wedding at a resort, you are assigned a photographer that you don't get to choose. You may get to look at their portfolio but you don’t really get to get to know them or do an engagement session with them. That means that you won't ..read more

Today’s post is a goodie, and I am so excited to share it. I am so happy for my besties because they get a personal photographer as their best friend so they’re never lacking in photos or content for their instas. When Kalie told me she wanted to do a boudoir session I jumped on it because I needed content and was so excited to photograph this babe. We planned a date and she shopped for lingerie that she looked BOMB in. I could keep talking about this session but as the saying goes, a photo is worth a thousand words so let’s see the end result and you will agree with me that this session was S ..read more

Hey there! Welcome to my blog! I am Samantha Marie! Owner and head photographer at Topaz & Lace Studios, specializing in Wedding Photography and Boudoir Sessions. I am so happy you are here! I began photography in 2009 as a 14-year-old nature photographer. I was fascinated by nature and the beautiful skies. I took pictures of everything and everybody that I could and became fascinated with seeing how the world looked through my lens. When I got to high school I started in film photography and art classes. I was in heaven! That all changed when I was forced to take an accounting class becau ..read more