Are you thinking of doing a pre-wedding photoshoot? We caught up with Fred and Carol who just shot some pre-wedding (gorgeous) images that sweetly tell their love story. A morning Starbucks encounter brought these to undeniably sweet, affectionate and kind souls together and we are so happy it did! Check out their story and reasoning behind a summer wedding shoot with the incredibly talented Lisa Vigliotta

How has the wedding planning process been so far?
We have planned our wedding for December 31, 2019. It is exciting for me to have Fred wanting to be involved in planning. We talk about all the details, and Fred surprises me with the list he prepares.

What is a pre-wedding shoot?
The idea of a pre-wedding shoot actually came from our photographer Lisa Vigliotta. I came across her website, saw her work, and showed Fred. We both said – ‘she’s our photographer.’ Her pictures were beautiful, romantic, unique, and told a story. I contacted Lisa and explained our situation and she suggested a pre-wedding shoot. The concept is usually in the form of an ‘engagement shoot’ however, in our case it made sense to do an actual wedding shoot. Our wedding is in winter and although you can have some beautiful wintery scenes, summer allows you to have the beauty that is summer. Lisa helped us create a suitable setting that flattered the both of us, and really created a romantic time for Fred and I.

What was it about LIUNA that drew you to our venue?
Lisa had wanted to see a picture of my dress prior to the wedding shoot in order to come up with some suggestions of locations to match ‘my look’. One location was LIUNA Station. I googled it, and showed the website to Fred, and we had to see it. We drove out to Hamilton and found this hidden gem-LIUNA Station.

What was your favourite part about shooting in our LIUNA venue?
I loved the elegance of LIUNA Station. Standing on the stairs of history, taking our pictures made us feel proud. The interior of LIUNA Station was exquisite and felt luxurious. Fred and I remarked how we felt like we were part of a Great Gatsby movie, transported back in time. Lisa was able to capture all the uniqueness that LIUNA Station has to offer, a beautiful fountain, beautiful flowers, elegant interior, and a classy exterior. It was an extremely hot and humid morning and the staff were so kind to offer us refreshments. The bridal suite offered to change in was beautiful.

How was working with our coordinators when planning out your session?
Lisa worked with the coordinators in planning our photoshoot. The time was planned, the flowers were arranged, the refreshments were ready. Fred and I only had to show up, change, and be photographed.

Where do you go from here? Do you print your pre-wedding photos, or do you hold onto them until after your wedding day? How does this part work?
Our pictures turned out better than we imagined. They are gorgeous. Lisa’s creative eye, and with the beautiful backdrop of LIUNA Station created pictures we are so happy with. We will be printing up some pictures to display for our ceremony, as well as picking out the perfect one that we will enlarge to have in the entranceway for our guests to be able to sign.

Just how emotional were you? Do you think you will be just as emotional on the day of now that you have seen each other?
Although Fred has seen me in my wedding dress, and I in his suit. I have a few surprises up my sleeve for the actual wedding day. These surprises are not only for me, but for Fred, that he doesn’t know about yet, so I don’t want to go into too much detail. However, I am sure I will get the jaw dropping reaction I got the first time he saw me in the dress when we bought it together at White Toronto, to the second time he saw me in it at LIUNA Station for our pre-wedding shoot, and every time after that when I put it on for years to come.

Any words of wisdom for a newly engaged couple looking to do a pre-wedding shoot? 
For any couple wanting to do a pre-wedding shoot, I would suggest having a heart to heart conversation to see if you are both on the same page with regards to seeing each other in your wedding day attire. Discussing the pros and cons is essential. Asking yourself, how important is it to you to have your fiancé see you for the first time on your wedding day? If you want to keep everything a surprise, then an engagement shoot may be the right choice. Either way, I would definitely recommend LIUNA Station to do a photoshoot.

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From all of us at LIUNA Events, thank you for following along!