2009 started out in sunny Carefree, Arizona at a convention for wedding photographers.  My family rented a house in Scottsdale and stayed there for an additional 3 weeks.

That gave us a chance to explore Arizona and see the Grand Canyon.

On Valentine’s Day, our daughter Julia turned 1…and stopped sucking her thumb sometime after that.

We were supposed to do a maternity shoot when baby Neve was inside mommy’s belly, but she came 3.5 weeks early (on New Year’s day) so we did a family session instead.  Happy birthday and happy new year!

Alejandro turned one so his family came from Ottawa for his birthday party and a photo session.

I’ve know Jen for a few years through lindy hop dancing, so I was very excited for her when she told me she was engaged and even more excited when were chosen to photograph their wedding.

Tanya and I also met through lindy hop, and although she has lived in various provinces throughout the past decade, we kept in touch.  I was super excited to go to Montreal to photograph her wedding and even more thrilled when I learned the ceremony would take place in the Notre Dame Basilica!

Lauren is yet another bride that I met through lindy hop dancing (geez, I did not notice the theme until now!), though we saw her more often on the dodgeball court than the dancefloor.

She met her husband through west coast swing dancing. He was from Switzerland, so they are currently living there, but first they got married on Centre Island!

Nadia and Andrew found us at a bridal show and they are an extremely nice, friendly couple.  They smiled throughout their entire wedding day and every other time I’ve seen them.

Kristen was in the bridal party of Joanna and Alain’s wedding in 2008, which means that a lot of the same people were at this wedding as well!  You cannot get a bad picture of her and Antony, so I decided to try out an animated.gif, which is basically stop motion animation (correct me if I’m wrong) with 3 different images.

Amy and James are also friends with Sylvia Nickerson and we met last year at their New Year’s Day Levee.  Their daughter Pippa was very happy on their wedding day!

They had lots of things for the children including a pinata and a magician!

Amanda found out about us at the bridal show in 2006 and she called us even before she got engaged, then she did get engaged she called us before anyone else to make sure we had her wedding date available!!! We love people who are that enthusiastic about us.  Brian and Amanda’s wedding day included lots of Scottish traditions, like bagpipers, a dance, lots of kilts, etc., which made it extra fun!

Phil is responsible for getting my husband (and I) back to Toronto from Waterloo.  I was especially eager to photograph Phil and Yi’s wedding when I found out it was going to be inside the Historic Sunnyside Pavilion (closed to the public except for private functions like weddings) and that after the wedding everyone would go to a rock show!  They really incorporated their personalities into their celebration.

Stacey and John were really lucky that the sun opened up their wedding day JUST in time to get some outdoor photos. It had been pouring all afternoon and we did many of the photos indoors, thinking that it would not let up, but as soon as it did we were outside! They were super sweet when they gave their speeches.  They are the kind of couple that does a great job supporting each other.

Jenn and Jay got married in a place that felt like a country retreat.  It was really ‘back to nature’ and beautiful-just like them.  We had lots of fun going all over the venue for photographs.  It was probably the hottest day all summer, so Jay and the groomsmen did an extra great job looking cool in their suits.

This is from Benita and Dave’s “post-wedding” session.  Do you ever wonder what do with the wedding dress you have hanging in your closest? If so, consider doing one of these sessions! You get to wear the dress again, and you get beautiful photos doing things in the dress you may not have wanted to do on the wedding day.

Baby Corrie came into the world 6 weeks early and even though she was just 6 weeks old here, she looks totally alert!  She was so tiny and sweet. I don’t think I heard her cry once.

Alan and Esther were up for anything!  Even though I met them as ‘their photographer’ I felt like we had known each other for years.  They are true urbanites, with an excellent sense of fashion. They were also very nice and easy to connect with.

I love the lighting on these.  I knew Esther wanted some ‘artsy/fashion’ shots, so here they are!

When I met Karen several years ago, she was dating Jeremy, so it came as no suprise when they announced their engagement.  You can probably tell by the way they are holding each other that they are a perfect match.

We will be photographing Claire and Dave’s wedding next year.  I met Dave in grade 9 and Claire just a few years ago, but I hoped that she would be the one!  They both have an excellent sense of humour and they definitely know how to make each other laugh.

Maria turned 90 years old! Here is her granddaughter, daughter and husband, and a violinist serenading her. She had quite the celebration for her 90th birthday!

In October, my parents, husband, daughter and I drove to Hilton, Head South Carolina for a relaxing beach vacation. It was actually warm enough to swim in the ocean (for Canadians anyway)!  Julia enjoyed putting her new sunglasses on upside down.

Michelle and Geoff, whose weddding I photographed in 2008 had me over for some photos of their sweet baby girl Emily in December!  I like how she looks like she’s asking a question in this one.  It was so great seeing them again.

We did a photoshoot and Christmas cards for our awesome next door neighbours!

In 2010, we want to photograph you and your friends! If you are looking for portraits or know somebody who is engaged, please pass on our link!

In the meantime, HAPPY NEW YEAR!