42 pound 40 to go.

So according to my Dr D. I've lost 42 pounds. Not bad if I do say so myself. And I do say so. Well I guess I just did.

Did you ever stop and look at how poorly restaurants cater to healthy people. Since going on this diet (life plan, roll my eyes) I've had a heck of a time finding places to eat. Seriously. Tim Hortons does not offer any low calorie salads, neither does McDs or Wendy's. More often than not I eat a salad from Starbucks. Yep I'm serious.

I like to dream from time to time. I remember once I had to dream of becoming one of Canada's top photographers. Done that. Had a dream about running a marathon. Done that. Opening a business in Florida. Done that.

The point of dreaming is not list your goals, but list things that would make you happy if you were about to make it happen. the journey or battle being difficult enough that when it did come true you can be proud that you and only you made a go of it.

Here are few:

• turn away 100 couples for 2008 (were at 8 so far!)
• I want an LR3 (Its a truck for those who dont follow)
• take the kids to London or Paris or Tokyo or Hawaii
• move into a bigger studio
• take a week off every 2nd month and 2 days off a week
• Grow THM and FHM into a North American brand
• Build a website dedicated to the preservation of peoples memories. I want to teach people how to preserve their photos, videos and audio recordings for future generations
• I want to get my MBA

I have about 30 more. I wont achieve all of these, but just by writing them down I am one step closer to actually meeting my goals. Cool huh?

I hate hairdressers/makeup artists

OK hate is a strong word. But guys seriously its getting ridiculous. I understand the Bride needs to get her hair done. But why spend thousands of dollars and be late for the photography?

This year I've had 2 brides miss the Brides house photos. Wonderful, organized highly educated smart people. But, on the day of the wedding you cannot forsee that the hairdresser/make up artist is going to take 5 hours.

Here is my advice.

1. Bride is first!!
2. Lie to the hairdresser/makeup artist. You are getting married exactly one hour sooner then what is on the invitation
3. Do a trail run a month or 4 before
4. Spend money for quality. Sure you can save 40 bucks but what does that mean when their electricity keeps popping a fuse and you are 2 hours late?
5. Have then come to your house.
6. Tell them you will give them a bonus if its done by a certain time.

Seriously. Your wedding day is a one day event. If you are one of my couples you probably spent a huge amount of money to book us. You are very likely a person who appreciates quality. So when you are planning even the small stuff remember there is only 24 hours in a day and every minute counts.

Even your fun time.

I wrote an article many years ago about how your wedding day should be about having fun.

Here is a copy

Why Not?

Its not that I don't like sandwiches!!! It's just that if I had a choice between a gourmet wood stove pizza and dry bread pannini I choose the Pizza!

It seems that someone in the Wedding World realized that people get hungry on a Wedding Day. So to make it easier they suggested packing food for the Bridal Party and bringing it with then on the Bus/Limo. The thing is if you plan it right, you can save money and look good. Remember how many Wedding's YOU have been a part of and basically ate pannini standing outside the bus/limo just before taking photos.

We at Excellence ALWAYS try to do things slightly differently. Here is an example of a typical Italian and Portuguese wedding shot recently. The bride woke up at 5 am to get her hair done, breakfast was a piece of toast and a coffee she grab as everyone was leaving for the hairdresser. The Groom didn't bother with the toast, just down 3 coffees before we showed up for the video and photography. If you consider the time, they will not eat again until lunch. They will be close to passing out.This is supposed to be the best day of their lives!!

Another couple was a little different. A week before the wedding day they contacted Sam at Sunnyside Cafe. The Groom ordered 4 pizzas, 3 plates of Nachos, the Bride ordered a Veggie platter and Pina Coladas, then not to be outdone the Groom ordered BEER. But, they told no one but me!!

When we arrived at Sunnyside for the photo session I told the Bridal Party I wanted to take a natural shot with everyone sitting down, then signaled for the food. The Bridal Party was BLOWN AWAY!!!! Never had they been to a wedding where they were treated sooooo well. I think the Maid of Honor said "you guys are so classy!!!" and one of the Brides Maids who was getting married in a few months immediately decided to do the same exact thing. During the lunch we will shoot some of the most amazing candid Photographs and Video. The best of all is seeing the Bride feeding the Groom Pizza. No one new we took the shot but the proofs were amazing. After lunch the Bridal Party was so grateful that when we were doing the thanks on video, every single person took extra time to thank the Bride & Groom, the skits were 10 times more energetic because they WANTED to be apart of it.

Here is example of timing:

• approx: 6 am - Bride and Groom wake and actually eat something
• approx: 2 pm - Bride and Groom lunch break for all
• approx: 7:30 pm - Everyone eats!!!

Heres the point. Your wedding is supposed to be fun! We have been to soooo many weddings in which the point is lost because of poor planning. We suggest that you plan a lunch break. Even 15 minutes will go a long way.

Here is a list of my favorite places to stop for lunch!!!

• Sunnyside cafe
  
• Pizzaolo
• Futures Bakery
• Mcdonalds!!!!
• Second Cup
• Timothys
• Starbucks@@@@
  
• Sushi!!!

Remember, if you plan to have extra time on your wedding day you are going to have fun, if you rush to fit as many things as possible you end up missing out.

INTERESTING ARTICLE ABOUT PEOPLE WHO LOSE WEIGHT AND KEEP IT OFF!

As of last Tuesday I have lost 41.5 lbs. Of course, diet and exercise was a major part of it, but my brain is the one thing that controls all decisions. Like do I go to Mandarin and eat 85 shrimp for lunch today?

http://www.cnn.com/2007/LIVING/personal/06/29/in.your.head/index.html

The more things get done the less I write

There are few things that give me immediate pleasure (yea!!!I just thought of another) Writing is one of them. Each day I've tried to write for the pass month and for whatever reason I've be diverted. So this is my apology. Sorry.

Met more people this past weekend. I was at a wonderful restaurant called The Marlowe for my birthday. Its a restaurant that after 11 becomes a dance club.

So Marianna and all the girls are dancing, a few of the husbands, me I hate to dance. Its a chore for me. I think its because I'm French. I'd rather sit and watch the people. So the dance floor in right in the middle of the place and our table of 8 is perfectly situated to the right, almost on the dance floor. The Marlowe is a meat market. Tons of single men and women trying to hook up. Each time a new girl came onto the dance floor, its like an episode of National Geographic.

The lions try to catch their prey. Anyhow. I was sitting there as everyone is dancing and the next thing I hear is " Jean!! Hey!!" and 5 gorgeous girls walk up to my table. The next thing I know all the lions are staring at me like I've taken their food. Of course, it was cool for me to have 5 girls hanging at my table. Too bad it was just because I shot a wedding and they were brides maids. Well, I was cool in my mind.

Nice when Couples stay in touch

One of the great things about being a wedding photographer is seeing my brides grow up. In the past few months I have run into dozens of my old wedding brides ( not to say their old yehshs). Each time I love to freak them out with how much I remember about their wedding.

At Cinzia;'s wedding I talk to one couple that I shot almost 10 years ago.


I've been trying to get the stress out of my life. So since my March Madness, when I began my diet, I've read all I could on stress relief. Mostly I've tried to reduce the pressure to complete overdue jobs.


At first I tried working 100 hours a week. But Marianna only let that happen once. Then I tried not sleeping, or waiting until she fell asllep, work 3-4 hours and hope she didnt notice. But then I dragged my butt all day.

Finally, I hired more people and found that training and up time was not as fast as I liked. In the end I had to admit that I am the problem. So, Alex suggested this book call Getting Things Done, by David Allen.

Wow. While I was in Florida I read the book. Twice. And started to implement some of his ideas.

The David Allen Company is a professional training, coaching, and management consulting organization, based in Ojai, California, USA. Its purpose is to improve the quality of life by providing the world’s best information, education, and products that enhance personal and interactive productivity.

LD Endless Gifts

Here is the site for a bride I shot last year. She now a fellow wedding industry pro!! ,

Please visit Linda's new website. She has set up a company that

• Gift Baskets

• FRUIT FRAPPE

• BATH ACCESSORIES

Ratatouille : Rat-a-too-ee was great

Went with the kids (and Marianna) to see Ratatouille : Rat-a-too-ee yesterday. Very funny. Its about a rat that wants to be a chef. Set in Paris, it is the perfect family movie.

And much more for us. You see, Marianna and I just celebrated our 10th wedding anniversary, just a few weeks ago. We actually went to Paris on our honeymoon.

So as the movie unfolds I kept thinking we gotta go back. So, I'm going to start my research. Whenever we travel, i always go through a very thorough review of each city.

Even if I won't be going for a few months or even years, I'll start by making a new folder for Paris bookmarks on the internet. Every time I visit a cool site about Paris ill save the link. Then I will buy a Foders travel guide.

tip: put the book in the bathroom

Once we have set the date - I begin to look at flights and hotels. I love to read reviews in tripadvisor.com - especially the bad reviews, although I take them with a grain of salt.

As we book stuff i visit the neighborhood sites looking for local events. I can't tell you how fun it is to find a local art festival.

If you are going somewhere cool add a note in the comments and people can give advice.

my next trips are

montreal in 2 weeks
new york in august
boca raton in august
boca raton in novemebr maybe october
disney cruise in december


next year possiblities
paris and monte carlo
duh florida
london
europe disney cruise
los angeles
las vegas
new york