Where Magic and Christmas Dreams Come True:
Our Saint Nicholas Storybook experience is so much more than a portrait session; it’s pure magic!
The Saint Nicholas Storybook experience allows your children to meet and interact with our vintage-styled Saint Nicolas in a private full-room setting while enjoying some truly magical moments with him. Your children will have the chance to talk with Saint Nicholas about all their Christmas wishes and even find their name on his nice list; they will get a magical peek into what is in Saint Nicholas’s Magical big red bag, see the northern lights through his magical Kalidascope and enjoy a Christmas toast with milk and cookies while learning more about the North Pole and his reindeer. They will even help paint a magical toy in his workshop, read a book and enjoy a fully personalized experience with our Vintage Saint Nicholas.
The best part is there is no waiting in line, and is a Full private interactive session.
A Fresh Hot Chocolate Bar with homemade Gingerbread cookies and other goodies will be ready for parents to enjoy while you watch all the magic unfold. This is an experience that will make your child continue to believe in the spirit of Christmas for years to come.
The magic of Christmas truly comes alive in our Saint Nicholas Storybook experience; as they enter his workshop, it will be like entering a child’s magical Christmas dream. The delicious smell of a fresh gingerbread house will fill the air, and the sounds of Saint Nicholas’s special polar express bells that are each crafted and personalized with each child’s name on it will make your child truly believe in the spirit of Christmas. Your children will be completely engaged in this truly magical experience. Saint Nicholas workshop is filled with magical toys and vintage North Pole treasures such as our famous Saint Nicholas reindeer call bells, which St Nicholas will explain during the session, truly create a truly magical memory that will last a lifetime.
The Planning:
The first part of the experience is once you book, we will have a phone conversation, and we will discuss your child. This is part of the personalized experience. By the end of our conversation, we can tell Saint Nicholas what they love and don’t like, so when they arrive, Saint Nicholas can have a fully personalized experience with your child. We also go over wardrobe options as Our studio has a massive selection of perfect wardrobe pieces to complete the experience and scenery.
Approximately 2 weeks before your session The magic will begin as a personalized letter arriving for your children on special North Pole paper from Saint Nicholas inviting them to join him in his temporary workshop in North Gower, this letter will have some of the details we discuss during the planning session, so it gets them truly excited for the experience as it’s all about them.
The Session:
Our hour-long sessions are filled with pure magic. There’s also plenty of time to tell Santa what they want for Christmas and ask as many questions as they would like. You, as parents, will enjoy witnessing the excitement as you sit back and watch the magic come to life in front of you while enjoying access to our Fresh Hot Chocolate bar and gingerbread cookies. While your children are in their experience with St Nicholas, I will be documenting this experience with my heirloom-styled painterly photography. Each of our Fine Art portraits is a unique hand-finished art piece; These are more than your typical Santa photos you get at the mall. They are pieces of art you can put up every year and enjoy for generations to come. I take great pride and care in selecting the perfect archival prints from Italy, so they last for up to 300 years. We offer a wide variety of options and finishes that we are certain will exceed your expectations.
Saint Nicholas Story Book Experience Sessions are Limited Edition and will only occur over 2 days In October, the 22 and 23nd of 2022!!
A great deal of attention has been put into creating these beautiful keepsake portraits. I have spent a lot of time paying attention to even the smallest detail when creating this set. Each part of the set design is special right down to the custom Saint Nicholas Vintage Outfit which was meticulously thought out to match the set and Is a one of kind belonging to our studio, the wardrobe that is picked for our little guests who are visiting is fully planned out and will match the scenery perfectly. I have spent months testing and buying treasures that are unique to this experience. I can’t wait to show you some of the beautiful surprises and items that will be added to the storybook experience and will add a whole new level to the story. I can’t wait to see the children interact with St Nicholas when he tells them more about the north pole, as I have some amazing surprises from his treasure collection that is fully interactive. Every detail adds to making this experience truly special and makes the setting perfect so the children would believe and feel the magic of Christmas. Parents will enjoy watching the session unfold as much as the children!
I choose approximately 15-17 images from each session to edit. These images are then meticulously hand-edited and painted by International Award-winning Photographer Sonia Gourlie. We work with one of the best print labs in the world in Italy to create the highest quality art pieces available. These are truly heirloom quality art pieces to be cherished for a lifetime and shared for generations to come. The recommended age for a visit begins at six months or when your child can sit alone unassisted
The Ordering appointment:
Approximately 2-3 weeks after your Santa experience, we will make an appointment for you to come back into the studio or do a virtual reveal if you are from out of town to view your beautiful art pieces and pick your artwork. You can purchase the basic package or move on to the upgraded menu with an album or wall art collection; it is up to you! I never put pressure on a client as they set their own budget.
I have hand-selected the most beautiful fine art line of wall art for you to choose from that is perfect for displaying and cherishing these beautiful images for years to come. From Matted Prints to Metallic wall art that is truly breathtaking and show pieces for your home at Christmas time each year.
Our stunning personalized storybook album is made of the finest quality paper made on the Amalfi coast and binding and made of either faux suede or Italian finest leathers available. Each album is completely custom created for your family to cherish for years to come. It includes all the images edited and will have a poem-style storyline and the night before Christmas story at the end, complete with your children’s names and titles.
The Creative Fee:
These will take place at my beautiful professional portrait studio in North Gower Ontario ( 15 mins outside of central Ottawa).
Our creative fee is $150 plus tax. This is 60% off at this time *This does not include Prints or Digitals or Packages* Here is what you get with the Creative fee
A 60-minute private interactive experience for your children in our beautiful Portrait studio!
A Gift filled with “Santa’s Magical Reindeer Dust.” And their own Polar express Reindeer Bell” to take home” as a gift from St Nicholas.
A chance to purchase hand-finished art created under the direction of PPOC Award-winning and accredited children Photographer Sonia Gourlie from Pretty Dreams Photography.
A private appointment with a slideshow of your images and an ordering consultation.
Complimentary 8×10 sized digital files of any photograph you purchase for sharing with your friends and relatives.
Complimentary Hot chocolate Bar and Gingerbread cookies at the studio
Access to stunning studio wardrobe pieces that match the set and are timeless.
Basic Christmas Storybook Package:
The Original Storybook Christmas Experience. $599 plus Tax
- Three 8×10 mounted and Matted in 11 x14 HD Fine art prints, ready for framing.
- Accompanied digital files of the 3 portraits purchased only.
Upgraded Packages Available :
If you want to upgrade from the original basic package, you can pick from the list below, but this is not mandatory, It’s only if you want more than the basic package and want to get some stunning larger wall art or album. The below packages include wall art and albums but is an upgrade to the basic. At the time of the reveal, you can either choose the basic package or go with one of the upgraded packages below for the Upgraded packages:
How To Book Your Experience:
You can email us at prettydreamsphotography@gmail.com or speed up the process by calling us directly at (613) 633 8618 to reserve a session or click here to book: https://soniagourliefineartphotography.com/contact
After we determine which of the two dates and times you want for the session, you then must pay the creative fee to reserve your spot and sign the contract.
The Creative fee must be paid to book and the remaining package amount must be paid on the day of your ordering appointment.
Read all the materials we sent from now till your session.
Have an amazing experience!
Has this ever been done with adult children….would love pictures like this with my adult children😁
Good Morning Sue, Yes we can definitely do this with your adult children, and yourself these are heirloom treasures that are true keepsakes . Only part is I don’t supply the wardrobe for adults but guide you every step of the way and give you suggestions on wardobe. I look forward to hear more from you.
I truly cant wait to see my daughter in this setup your saint Nicholas is perfection !! You always take the most stunning portraits and love seeing them on my walls. Now I will be able to add some Christmas ones to that collection, Im so excited to do these before she doesn’t believe in Santa anymore, what a timeless setup. See you in October