The first item our Green transportation initiative involved our first ever wedding photographed using a bicycle for transporting us and our gear. This was really great fun! With the help of Victor Cuevas at Rain City Bikes, who is the Vancouver specialist in Dutch bicycles, we managed to get ourselves set up with a Dutch bike called the Bakfiets Box Bike, now this is one cool bike! It is basically a bicycle with a large (good looking) wooden box on the front which can officially hold up to 200lbs. This was the perfect solution for photographing Louise and Dean’s Wedding, who got married at the Stanley Park Chapel and then spent a little over an hour going around Stanley Park in a horse and carriage. The idea was to stop at a few places on the horse and carriage ride and take some photos of the two of them. So while they were in the horse and carriage I pedaled the bike, all our gear, and Steff nearby. It was great; quiet and clean (no fossil fuels being burned here, just my leg muscles on the hills) and with no worries about finding parking or following the horse and carriage. And thanks to clever Dutch bicycle engineering (and an internal 8 speed hub) the bike was super easy to ride, steer and pedal even with all the weight, in fact the bike actually handled better with weight than empty, amazing! We really enjoyed being able to work and use the Bakfiets Bike and since hyperfocus is also an equal opportunity employer, the next time we do this it’s going to be Steff who is pedaling me ;-)

The second thing is that we decided to join the Vancouver Car Cooperative. We had been looking around at new vehicles and thinking about what kind of car to lease for the business, when it was suggested that we check out the car Co-Op. As it turned out the Co-Op made a lot of sense partially because of the neighborhood we live in; there are at least two dozen Co-Op cars very nearby. So we initially decided to join on a trial basis to see how it goes. It’s going very well!

Now whenever we need a car we simply book one ahead of time or a few minutes before we need it, no real problems so far. All the cars are generally less than 4 years old, very well maintained and there is a nice variety of vehicles to choose from depending on what we are doing, whether its shooting a wedding or doing other shoots involving extensive lighting equipment and props. It is a smart way to be involved in sustainable vehicle ownership that makes a significant reduction in the number of cars on the road and it just makes sense on so many levels. It really feels great to be a part of this community cooperative that is really quite unique in North America. I am sure that in 15-20 years time this concept will become common place in communities everywhere.

If you are looking for a wedding planner who plans great weddings that are eco-friendly and environmentally responsible, then you really ought to get in touch with Susan Johnston at Green Coast Weddings.

Needless to say there are many other aspects to our company that are consciously sustainable, sophisticated and eco-friendly, but that would lead to a much longer article. If you’d like to know more about us and our Green aspect to wedding photography. just give us a call! :-)

justin