Photography Blog

Stephanie and John had their wedding at The Albany Club in downtown Toronto.

Stephanie got ready in the bridal suite before the ceremony began and it mostly went off without incident, at least until she was pinning the boutonniere on her grandpa and we heard a “BEEEEEEP.”  Nobody could figure out where the alarm was coming from and then finally, her grandpa said, “Oh, that’s my defibrillator.”  I was worried Stephanie was going to have a heart attack when she worried about her grandpa, but they put it on the other side (it had a magnet) and all was well. Phew!

I went outside, where John’s brother was serenading all the guests and people on King St. with his bagpipes. He is 1/2 of 416 Pipes. They can often be seen outside Blue Jays games and play many songs that would not be considered traditional piping material (like the Flinstones theme song, for instance).|

Stephanie’s youngest sister walked her down the aisle, where she and John laughed and smiled throughout the ceremony and continued upstairs during the cocktail reception and when we went outside to the St. James Cathedral gardens for photos of the happy couple and bridal party.

There were many pigeons outside with us and you can spot them in a few of the outdoor photos, so have a close look!

At the reception, tenor Nathan Martin came to sing many songs for them, including a very heartfelt and lovely song Elizabeth (John’s mom) wrote to the tune of Leonard Cohen’s “Hallelujah,” that was specifically about John and Stephanie.

After lunch, speeches and music, we went upstairs and took formal portraits of the whole family before everyone parted ways, delighted for Stephanie and John.

 

 

I won’t use their full names to protect them, but R and O were sponsored by Royal York United Church to come over as refugees, because in Jamaica, it is still unfortunately very dangerous to love someone who is the same gender as you are.  Just a couple of months after they came over, they were ready to get married and their wedding came together very quickly.  This never could have happened in Jamaica, but in Canada, everyone was happy to help their wedding dream come true.

Here is O making sure his hair is perfect for the big day.

 

 

 

A couple of weeks ago, I did a day of Easter photo sessions. This was my second time in 18 years of business, doing themed photo sessions and it went extremely well, so I think I will do it again! Is this something you would be interested in doing?
These kids were super adorable and amazingly, we didn’t need to do any retakes, even though each session was just 20 minutes long.
I loved seeing and photographing so many adorable kids in one day and I am happy their parents will be able to enjoy these photos of them forever, and of course, the kids will love them too. Are your kids favourite photos the ones of themselves?  I remember flipping through my parents photo albums when I was little and I think all those memories are what prompted me to want to be a photographer.
I hope you have a fantastic Easter (or Passover if you are Jewish), weekend this year!

I first met Rachel over 15 years ago at a dance because she made a comment about my hair, which is the same colour and texture as hers.  We became fast friends and she even introduced me to Janette, who was her Maid of Honour and my photography associate for many years.  Rachel dated extensively, but it wasn’t until she met Jay that she was ready to make that final commitment.

She was single for awhile, and some friends joked with her that she should go downstairs to the barber shop (which she lived above) and meet a man there.  That was how she met Jay.

We were all thrilled for Rachel when Jay proposed.

He is quiet most of the time, but when the party starts, he is in the middle of it. Rachel needs someone who can listen well and keep up with her and she found that in Jay.

Congratulations, Jay and Rachel!

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Rob and Joan were hoping for fall colours for their engagement session at James Gardens. It was only 2 degrees celsius, but we definitely had fall colours. I made sure they cuddled lots for the photos to stay warm and of course, cuddling looks good in romantic photos. They took me to parts of James Gardens I hadn’t been to in awhile and the colours and their chemistry were incredible. I first went there over a decade ago and this was the first time I learned that it was sold to the city by the James family and that the house they lived in is still there and is now used as a recreational facility.

Thanks for choosing such a lovely spot and time of year for your photos, Rob and Joan!

Ashley and Marwen had their Toronto wedding on a beautiful late September day at City Hall. Their actual wedding is going to take place in Tunisia in January, which is where Marwen is from.
He is a pilot, but they met as passengers on an airplane en route to Nashville. Only their immediate family members were invited to the ceremony, but they celebrated with around 40 guests at their condo party room afterwards. Some of them are really looking forward to their Tunisia celebration, which is where they will exchange their rings.
Thanks so much for having me be part of the special Toronto celebration, Ashley and Marwen. Congratulations on your marriage! I can’t wait to see photos from Tunisia!

 

Katie and Christian had an incredible wedding day at La Maquette restaurant, which is now a Berkeley events venue. My cheeks hurt from laughing for a week after photographing this awesome event!

I knew this was going to be a super fun wedding as soon as Katie arrived with a big smile and when Katie and her bridesmaids decided to loosen up with a mini dance party before they even put their outfits on.

Christian wrote his own vows and they were hilarious. As you can see from the photos of people reacting to the speeches, they were also filled with emotion and the guests went from laughter to tears and back again.

I wish you many more years of laughter together, Katie and Christian! Thank you so much for having me there to document your day.

Vendors:
Wedding Day Coordinator: Ange Kavanas from La Maquette
Officiant: Martin Frith
Hair and Make-up:  Claudia Coellho Artistry
Jeweller for rings: Aret Oymakas 
Donuts: Von Donuts
DJ and/or band: Evolved Entertainment

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

This summer my cousin got married in PEI (she married an Islander!), so we went out East this summer for her wedding. We flew from Halifax to Hamilton on Swoop Airlines, which is West Jet’s low cost carrier.  We paid $250 per person instead of $500 from Toronto to Charlottetown, plus it was cheaper to rent a vehicle in Halifax than Charlottetown.

We stayed at the newly renovated Mill River Inn in Woodstock, Prince Edward Island. The rooms were bright and comfortable and the indoor pool had a really awesome waterslide!  We had delicious breakfasts there too.

We were guests at this wedding and I had all three kids, so I only took a few photos at the reception, which took place at the O’Leary Legion Hall.

The day after the wedding, we went to The Village Feast. Esteemed chef Michael Smith puts it on every year as a fundraiser.  There was steak, lobster and Kenyan ghiteri,, which I tried for the first time in my life. It is healthy and delicious. We were lucky we had such nice weather, or it would have taken place inside a hockey arena.

After dinner, we went for a walk on the beach in Souris.

Here is one of many jellyfish we saw on our walk. We were skipping over them because there were so many.

We went to Basin Head Beach as well.  There were quite a few jellyfish there too.  The next day, I rented a paddleboard and brought the kids on it with me.  The jellyfish added an element of risk, which made it a little more interesting than usual, but we didn’t fall in (much to my children’s relief).

My mom took this great photo of our family!

We went to the Anne of Green Gables Museum in PEI and the girls took turns dressing up as Anne.

We were pleasantly surprised by a concert at the Anne of Green Gables Museum.

We went to Cavendish Beach, but we forgot the girls’ bathing suits. They didn’t mind at all!

We stayed at The Best Western Chocolate Lake in Nova Scotia and our hotel had a room full of video games. Our daughters enjoyed playing some of the games we played as children.

We ended our trip in Halifax. We took the ferry from PEI to Nova Scotia and that was a great choice because we were treated to a concert on the boat.

We were very impressed with the Halifax public gardens.

Our baby Chloe calls all birds ducks. We actually saw a baby duck and of course, she shouted, “Duck!!!”

I loved this beautiful mural that we saw in downtown Halifax.

The kids loved this wave near the playground by the pier.

We went to the beautiful Peggy’s Cove. We ate dinner at the Sou’Wester.

 

I have been getting a lot of spam inquiries recently, so when I first received an email from Matt and Lily where they told me they were going to be the only people at their wedding and that it was going to be at 7AM, I worried about the legitimacy.
Fortunately, I did respond and when I met with them in person, I discovered they were both incredibly genuine people. I am so glad I responded and was able to photograph their wedding because photographing two people who adore each other is now my favourite way to start a morning.

They regularly walk their Border Collie at Humber Bay Park so it made sense for them to officially get married there too.  The Marrying Lady, Tade Cradgeur did a beautiful job officiating their ceremony.

My assistant and I also had the privilege of being their witnesses, which was truly an honour.

This was probably the shortest and smallest wedding I have ever done and while I love full day weddings, I would love to also photograph more elopements and super small weddings.

Thanks so much for thinking of me, Matt and Lily.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Congratulations again on your marriage and beautiful ceremony!