Just 11 more sleeps ’til The Wedding Co. Market!

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Eeeek!  Just 11 more sleeps until The Wedding Co. Market!  Which, if you don’t like to add, means that my all-time favourite wedding show in Toronto is happening on Sunday, February 22nd, 2015.

I’ve been in hiding for the past month, planning all sorts of surprises and (of course) crafting* merrily away!  This show features some of the most talented folks in the business so I’m just hoping to do my part and put my best foot (and photos!) forward.

(*I’d show you in-progress photos but I’m afraid to let the cats outta the bag.  Besides, you like surprises, right??)

But seriously, if you’re getting married in Toronto, are in the throes wedding planning, and you really want to make it easy for yourself by just seeing the best of what our fine city has to offer, you should check this show out.  Everyone is super-friendly, there will be prettiness abound and you might even find everything you need for your wedding at this one show.

For tickets, visit theweddingco.com OR BONUS: I’m giving away two tickets on Instagram!

Either way, I’m looking forward to seeing you there.

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Lisa & Joel’s beautiful Casa Loma wedding on the EventSource.ca blog!

Hey – Happy October!

Lots brewing over here but, in the meantime, I just wanted to share a couple of photos from Lisa & Joel’s gorgeous wedding at Casa Loma, now featured on the EventSource.ca blog!

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When we first met, I’m pretty sure I just stared open-mouthed at Lisa the whole time.  She is stunning.  I kept thinking: who do they remind me of?  And then it came to me: uber-sexy couple (but now sadly no longer together) Monica Bellucci and Vincent Cassel.  HOT.

It was a photographer’s dream to work with such a beautiful couple who also happen to be such incredibly sweet and talented people.  (Case in point: their invitations were made by Vince — I mean Joel, who actually handmade and letter pressed each one himself — he took classes, worked with a graphic designer to design what they wanted, had the plates made… and then pressed them himself!  Just wow.)

Anyway, to see more photos from their lovely day, go on over to the EventSource.ca blog and check it here.

5 Tips on How to Have Stunning Wedding Photos — in a podcast… with me!

So a few weeks ago, my talented and good friend Justin Jacques (of Indie Wedding DJ fame) asked me to participate in his podcast series, “The Wedding Insider”.  In this series, he interviews a variety of pros from the Toronto wedding industry and together they discuss what engaged couples can do to make their weddings awesome.

Despite how squeamish it makes me to watch and hear myself (ugh), I promised Justin that I would share this so here it is!  (Also, I’m totally embarrassed with, like, how often I say “like” in real life.  It’s, like, horrible.)

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Admittedly, it does require a fair investment of time to delve into so here are some of the suggestions I made on how to give your photographer the best chance of creating stunning wedding photos for you:

 

1. Find people who create work that you love. 

Of course, this seems so obvious that I shouldn’t even say it but I will anyway.  After the wedding magic is over, your photos will be one of the precious few tangible things you will have as proof that it even happened.  The flowers will wilt, the chairs will be returned, and you might not ever wear your dress again.  But your wedding photos have the potential to outlive you and could even find their way to a place of prominence at your grandchildren’s wedding.  To me, that makes those photographs pretty darn important.

That said, you want to make sure that those photos are going to be captured by someone who sees the world (and, thus, your wedding) in a way that you will absolutely adore.  Of course, if you don’t care about reliving those memories or seeing how utterly amazing you looked or remembering how much fun everyone had — then skip this part.

 

2. Choose to work with someone that you can trust.

Often times, our day as wedding photographers start when people are getting ready.  It’s not unusual for us to find ourselves in a bedroom full of half-clothed people.  You might even be one of them.  And this photographer that you’ve hired will be there to witness it all.  For this reason alone, I think it’s pretty important that this person you’ve chosen to work with is someone you trust.

Plus planning a wedding can be, as some say, Stress-full.  We all know that normal, everyday life is busy enough already.  And then you need to plan a wedding on top of it all?  If only to make life easier for yourself, choose to work with people who make the whole process smoother, not harder.  And if you’ve chosen a photographer that makes you feel good and can confidently assure you that all is taken care of, I believe that resulting peace of mind is money well-spent.

 

3. Communication is key.

As I have a more photojournalistic / documentary-style approach to photographing weddings, I like to have as. much. info. as. possible.  We need to be ready to respond to whatever is happening in front of us, in real time, so if we’re given a minute-by-minute itinerary that the planner or DJ has made in advance, we LOVE it.  Anything that helps us to better anticipate or plan for how the day is going to go is incredibly valuable.

You can go ahead and plan a surprise for your spouse or your guests, but don’t keep any surprises from your photographer.  Those are the moments you want us to be ready for!

 

4. When choosing a venue, pay attention to your first impression.

The venue you choose will be the backdrop to all of your wedding photos.  And if a place, free of any adornments or decorations, has the power to put a flutter in your belly the very first time you see it, it likely will help make for great photos too.

But if, when you walk in the door, it feels dark or brings to mind a long list of things you’d have to do to make it better, it might not be so good for photos either.

It doesn’t have to be fancy but a place that enjoys beautiful light is something that I feel we all experience instinctually, and that’s a feeling I believe is worth paying attention to.  Coincidentally, beautiful light helps make beautiful photos.

 

5. Whatever you choose to wear, whether it’s your make-up or your shoes, be comfortable.

Simply put, the more comfortable you are with what your wearing or with what you look like, the more confident you will feel.  And as long as that puts a big, happy smile on your face, that’s all I need!

 

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If you’d like to hear more, plus learn a little bit about how I became a wedding photographer in the first place, feel free to go on and have a listen on the Indie Wedding DJ blog here!

Lisa & Joel on Blush & Bloom’s blog!

Last week, the very sweet and talented Becky of Blush & Bloom fame shared some photos on her blog from Lisa & Joel’s fabulous Casa Loma wedding.

Becky created such prettiness that I can’t help but sigh whenever I think about it.

But don’t just take my word for it — go visit her blog and see for yourself here.

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Kate & Mark & their wedding in Today’s Bride!

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If you hadn’t guessed by now, it’s a goal of mine to blog more often.  Maybe not everyday, but at least more than semi-annually.  I know — that’d be a HUGE improvement.

That said, because of my poor posting of past (bad blogger, BAD!), I do have quite the backlog of things that I should’ve told you about.  Like, Kate & Mark’s wedding that was featured in the latest Fall/Winter issue of Today’s Bride!  They also did a lovely little bit online and you can peek at that here.

In the meantime, and since it is seasonally appropriate, here are a few of my favourites from their wedding that took place on that oh-so-brilliant & bright winter day.

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(An overly brief and wholly incomplete) look back at 2013, plus a glimpse into 2014!

Seeing as how we’re just two weeks shy of starting a brand new year, now could be an appropriate time to begin reflecting upon the year that was 2013.

At first I thought I could compensate for my lack of blog posts by presenting a kaleidoscopic, yet tidy, summation of the year.  But after a quick scan through the archives, I decided that I could do no such thing.

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Besides, on a personal level, you already know the highlights:

* Husbo and I saw our friends Wilson & Ngaio get hitched in Jamaica;

* I made a sketchbook with my niece, Sol, and we all traveled to New York City to see its debut; and

* I experienced my first Coachella!

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Outside of that, I really just spent most of this year happily working.  Quietly, steadily, sometimes fervently, but mostly unblogged-ly, working.

Now suddenly it’s mid-December, and 2014 is knocking at the door.

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Overall though, 2013 was a great year; full with awesome clients that I kinda wish would get married repeatedly because I just loved working with them so much.

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As for this year coming, I’ve got some plans for 2014.  Things I’d like to do, places I’d love to see, you know.  It’s a bit too early to let the cats outta the bag but I’ll keep you posted.

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But before I go, I’ll leave you with a bit of big news: I’m going to be at The Wedding Room!  February 22nd & 23rd at the beautiful Arcadian in Toronto.  Come say hello and meet some of the many ultra-talented people in Toronto’s wedding community.

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Until next, stay warm and cozy.  Hug those you love and I’ll see you soon!

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Love in Paradise.

We’ve been home a week and I still don’t have the words to describe how incredible Ngaio & Wilson’s Jamaican wedding was.  It was capital “A” Amazing.

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We’d only been back from NYC for three days before we flew off to Montego Bay.

It was a bit of a shock, experiencing the extreme temperature differences in such a short span of time but, if I had to, I’m pretty sure I could get used to the jetsetter lifestyle.

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The wedding was held at Coral Cove, an intimate and lovely resort in a little fishing village near Little Bay.  It’s about 10 miles south of Negril and, apart from us, was completely void of tourists.  It was peaceful, quiet, and beautiful.

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I haven’t written anything down recently but I do have a bit of a mental bucket list going.

Before this trip, I was so excited for the wedding that I didn’t think about much else, nevermind checking things off my list.  Things like snorkeling through caves (check) or jumping off a cliff into the ocean (check).   Both of which were awesome — though the latter had me pacing in fear for about 10 minutes before making the leap (which I mostly had to do because a 9 year-old went ahead and did it just before me).

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Really, the whole trip was just awesome and full with fun times.

Like the time we flew kites on the beach.

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Or went sailing on a 40 foot catamaran.

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Or went fishing and caught a 25 lb King fish (which Raina heroically reeled in herself and had the bloody knuckles to prove it).

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But when it comes down to it, we were there for our dear friends, Wilson and Ngaio, and to see them get married.

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Wilson is a photographer (he’s the other half of the awesome Raina + Wilson duo) and Ngaio works in advertising.  Together, they make an amazing team — as evidenced by all the thought, care, and effort they put into planning their wedding.

Case in point: a significant portion of their luggage was dedicated to lighting.  They brought down string lights for the reception, coloured bulbs for the main building, gels to tone down other lights that would’ve otherwise been overpowering / ugly, to name a few.

Of course, given that Wilson is a photographer and producing is something that they both do as part of their day jobs, I wouldn’t expect anything less.  But still.  It was impressive.

And like the rest of the trip, their wedding was simply beautiful.

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It was an incredible trip, in a beautiful place, and full with beautiful people.  My only wish is that we could go back and do it all over again.

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Cocktail Wedding Receptions

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I’ve been photographing weddings for (eek!!) over 12 years and of the many trends I’ve seen, one idea that I believe has real staying power is that of the cocktail party wedding reception.

For modern couples who want to break from the tradition of getting married earlier in the day and having a (some would say “inconvenient”) 3 or 4 hour break before the reception starts, it can be a great way to keep the flow of the day (and your party!) going.  Not only can you accommodate more guests if your venue has limited seating capacities (people take up less room standing up than they do sitting down), you also won’t have to worry about your out-of-town guests entertaining themselves at the local Tim’s all afternoon dressed in their finest evening wear.

The Wedding Co. (my local and favourite source for finding all those uber-talented wedding vendors in Toronto) wrote a blog post about cocktail-style wedding receptions, along with photos from Lindsay & Andrew’s cocktail-style wedding I shot at the Thompson Landry Gallery.  (Which, by the way, was a bangin’ party thanks to Husbo aka Greg of enjoi dj outfit.)

If a wedding cocktail party something you’re considering for your own wedding, head on over to The Wedding Co.’s blog to learn more.

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Stef & Ian’s wedding on The Wedding Co. blog!

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All this snow makes me want to do nothing but curl up into a tight bun and sleep until spring.

So, while sunlit fairies and butterflies dance in my dreams, let me direct you to the blog of our good friends, The Wedding Co.

My photos from Stef & Ian’s beautiful, sentimental & handcrafted wedding at The Waterstone Estates are online and you can read all about it here.

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A beautiful First Nations wedding.

So I don’t know if you’ve noticed but there’s been a real lack of wedding photos on this blog lately.  And it’s certainly not because I haven’t taken any.  I’ve got loads that I totally love and adore but because I have hopes debuting them elsewhere, I’ve been keeping them under wraps.  Which has been hard.  Really hard!

Especially with Michelle & Ramses wedding.

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Back in June, Michelle and Ramses had a traditional First Nations wedding.  They married on the summer solstice, at the edge of Georgian Bay on the Cape Croker Indian Reserve.

Now, I’ve been to a lot of weddings and of course, all weddings are beautiful in their own way.  But this wedding… wow.  It was poetic.

I’d never been to a First Nations wedding so I didn’t know what to expect.  Thankfully, Michelle and Ramses were kind and patient enough to explain all the details and rituals, both big and small, of which there were many.  Everything had symbolism and meaning.  And there was a real emphasis on the communal and familial aspect of weddings.  For example, just prior to the ceremony, the men and women went into separate tents.  The women shared with the bride their stories or lessons they’d learned about marriage and what it means to be a wife while the men would do the same with the groom.  It was at times hilarious but also sweet and sincere.  And I totally cried.

Anyway, if you’d like to see and learn more about Michelle and Ramses unique wedding celebration, go check it out on The Wedding Co.’s blog!

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