Photography Blog

My daughter Julia turned 7 on Valentine’s Day!  Every year, we take a special “Valentine’s Day” picture of her, since it’s her birthday and all.

She insisted on this pose, so I used a heart shaped brush in Photoshop. Upon seeing the photo, she said, “I have heart powers!” We all possess the power of love, right?  I think that’s a pretty cool power to have.

Millie and Nuno were introduced to me by my good friend, Erika, who is also a good friend of theirs, so I knew they would be great people.

Erika and Millie know each other from Flamenco dancing at Cristina Pora’s ballet school.

Militza was already dressed when I arrived. I caught her reflections in these mirrors. I love how they had one mirror on top of another at slightly different angles.

We went outside for a quick photo of the bridesmaids.

Meanwhile, my associate, Sarah was outside at Nuno’s place, taking photos of the groomsmen.

They arrived at the church before us, where she took a few pictures of Nuno before the ceremony.

Millie’s mom walked her down the aisle of Sts. Martha and Mary parish.  As  you can see, Millie was quite excited.

Sometimes I love the anticipating photos even more than the standard photos during a ceremony.  I love how they both look so happy in the photo shown below.

I forget what was so funny, but the Matron of Honour is sure having a good laugh!

We went to the Humber Arboretum for the bridal party photos.

One of the really great things about the Aboretum is that is has both indoor and outdoor areas.

Nuno loves Batman, so he was wearing batman cufflinks.

Millie wanted a photo showing the back of her dress.

First dance at Le Parc.

Millie’s Niece and Nephew sang a beautiful duet.

I have rarely seen a bride and groom enjoying doing their wedding speech together as much as these two!

Their speech certainly cracked up the bridal party.

Nuno and his mom enjoy the mother-son dance.

Erika leads the flamenco group in a dance performance for the wedding reception.

Bouquet toss, of course.

Congrats again on your marriage, Nuno and Millie!  I am looking forward to seeing you again, soon.

Every Wednesday throughout the year, I go to The Palais Royale for their charity lunch, put on by Pegasus Hospitality Group.  As far as I am concerned, it is the best deal in the city.  $15, all you can eat, gourmet food and all proceeds go to three different charities (Hellenic Hope Centre, Carmelina’s Home and Join the Dance Canada).

Surprisingly, after 13 years of photographing weddings and 14 years of swing dancing (including several dances at this historical venue), I have yet to photograph a wedding or even get an inquiry to photograph a wedding at the Palais Royale, though I would love that opportunity.

A few weeks ago, when we were at the Wednesday lunch, they came around to tell us about Santa’s Brunch.  I happened to be there with my parents, who convinced me that it would be worth it to get the kids there at 8:30 AM on a Saturday morning.  We are not morning people and even on weekdays, we rarely even wake up before 8:15. Luckily, Julia’s school doesn’t start until 9:15.

I was pleasantly surprised to find that they were absolutely right!  My children definitely agreed.

I love the font of the Palais’ entrance sign.

The elves and reindeer are always hard at work.

Santa Claus arrives!

Tire is quite possibly my favourite food of all time. I always had in Quebec when we went to visit my grandma and uncle growing up, so I only ever heard it by the French name (tire), but at Breakfast with Santa, I learned that it is called maple taffy.

These elves were quite funny. My daughter was, however, convinced that the one dressed in green was actually Peter Pan.

My children were quite happy to meet Santa. They were also extremely happy when they each received a colouring book from him. Note the deer on the right.  Emily was very upset that she did not see Rudolph at Santa’s Village this summer, but when Santa was holding the deer, she was convinced that it was Rudolph (in spite of that deer not having a red nose and actually, quite possibly being a moose…).

Merry Christmas!

Scott and Steph may look familiar from their engagement photo session, which you can see here: https://www.rabbatphoto.com/blog/2014/08/scott-and-stephs-engagement-photos-at-the-distillery-district-and-the-roundhouse/.

I was pretty excited to photograph their wedding at The Toronto Cricket Skating and Curling Club, since they were so nice to work with for their engagement photos.   Their wedding was of course, no different. Scott is American and did not yet have Canadian citizenship, so from what I understand, they went through a few stressful forced separation periods, which as the cliche goes, only made their love grow stronger.

Scott and Steph were totally fine with seeing each other before the ceremony, so we did  what is called a reveal.  A reveal is done before the ceremony. Typically, one half of the couple waits for the photographer while the other sneaks up behind their betrothed, revealing themselves for the first time.  Reveals can make for some emotional moments!

As the couple have seen each other before the ceremony, they will usually do the formal photos (portraits with the wedding party and their families) before the ceremony as well, so they can party with  the guests right after the ceremony (and take formal photos while everyone’s make-up is still fresh).

The reason the tradition of not seeing each other before the ceremony began is that brides and grooms used to have arranged marriages. These were considered a business deal, where the bride’s father would exchange his daughter for land and wealth.  No father wanted to risk the groom’s family saying ‘no’ if his daughter did not meet the groom’s expectations on the attractiveness scale, so they did not chance it by letting them see each other first.

Today, many couples don’t envision seeing each other until their walk down the altar, because they are afraid it will ruin the magic of seeing each other for the first time when they are heading towards their vows, but from what I have seen, they just get extra magic during the reveal and the moment is still there during the ceremony.

Scott was very impatient to see Steph.

I always love it when groom’s get emotional.  He was super excited to finally be marrying her.

We did the formal photos immediately after the reveal. It was really cold outside, but we managed to get a few.  I love the purple ties, shirts and bridesmaids dresses!

Everyone loves a musician, right?

Scott was grinning like this throughout the ceremony.

Steph was also grinning at Scott throughout the ceremony.

They told me in advance that they were going to take a selfie at the end of the ceremony for immigration purposes. Hopefully, this immediate proof of their marriage is speeding up the process!

My associate, Sarah, always told me that her favourite part of a wedding is immediately after the ceremony when all the people closest to the couple congratulate them and show their emotions.  Steph’s grandma congratulates her and her mom welcomes Scott into the family.

They honoured their deceased loved ones with photos on their bouquets.

Scott and his daughter, Kayla, who lives in Kentucky, where she is studying to become a vet.

I think there was a bet that Steph wouldn’t get emotional.  The speeches were just that good.

First dance.

Cake cutting and time to party!!!

Congratulations on your wedding! Thank you for bringing the emotions and not being afraid to show them in front of the camera.  Scott, I hope you get your citizenship really soon!!!

Norm, Diane and I connected immediately when Norm told me that he was very involved in the Toronto Blues community, because I also love that type of music.  We also connected upon realizing that we live just one kilometre from each other!

I love how Diane and her son are grinning at each other before they head out for some photos.

Rolls Royce cars always look great in photos!

We took these photos at James Gardens, in Etobicoke and we lucked out because we had perfect weather.  Even though our photo session was at midday it was not too bright because the sun kept hiding behind clouds.

Everyone in the bridal party was also family.

Their ceremony took place at the always stunning Islington United Church.

The architecture was so beautiful we went back inside the church after the ceremony to sneak in some formal portraits.

This cake was ready to be eaten at the reception, even though it looks too beautiful to eat!

First dance!  Norm loves to play music and Diane loves to listen and dance to it.

This band was the big surprise of the evening. Norm did not tell Diane they were going to have a live band. She was thrilled when she found out!

Congrats on a perfect wedding day, Norm and Diane! Thanks so much for having me there to document it.  I loved the big surprise too!

I love it when my couples come to me with unique ideas and Militza and Nuno sure did! They wanted to incorporate both Militza’s passion for flamenco dancing and Nuno’s love of comics into their engagement session.

Nuno and Militza found out about me through our mutual friend, Erika.   Erika also happens to do flamenco dancing with Militza, so she came along to the session and helped Militza and first-time flamenco dancer, Nuno, get into the right positions.

We took the flamenco dance photos at The Adamson Estates, which we thought was a perfect location because the building could pass for one in Spain.

We also took some photos in Port Credit.  One of their first dates took place at a Starbucks, so of course we had to incorporate that into the session.

Erika also assisted me by holding up my second flash. Here is the resulting photo.

Here is the out take. We all got a laugh out of this.

Nuno is a huge comic book fan and a regular at One Million Comix. We got stuck in very bad traffic, so it was dark and closed by the time we arrived, but we took a couple of photos in front of the store.

Congrats again on your engagement! I am so looking forward to photographing you two again and seeing and documenting all the unique touches you put into your wedding!

The first time I met Colleen and Nigel was actually on their wedding day (due to their originally scheduled photographer having a health emergency), but by the end of the night, we felt like old friends.

I am thrilled that I got to be their photographer in the end (and the other photographer has since recovered in case you were wondering).

I always love photos of the groom and groomsmen getting ready.  Here is Nigel’s best man helping him out with his tie.

Luckily, Colleen’s best friend knew how to steam clean dresses, because they decided to steam clean the wedding dress before Colleen put it on.

The ceremony was quite emotional.  The photo of Colleen laughing was taken less than a second after this one!

It was pouring rain, so we used the spa area waiting room for some group photos.

The rain slowed down, so we went outside for some more photos.

I love the colours in this photo, as well as the way Colleen is smiling for the camera, of course!

Colleen and Nigel were happy to get some ‘alone time’ though it was in front of the camera.

The MC, Mark read some tips out on how to sustain happy marriage from an old magazine, including tips like, “Don’t complain if he’s home late for dinner or even if he stays out all night. Count this as minor compared to what he might have gone through that day,” and “A good wife always knows her place.” He is lucky his wife is laughing!

I love the way she is looking at him for the first dance.

The game where they have to answer questions about which one of them the answer pertains to by lifting up one of their shoes.

Can you spot the little hand just to the left of Nigel? That is her nephew, ready to go for the garter!
A kiss at the end of the night.

Thanks so much for making me feel like a part of your family, Colleen and Nigel. Congrats on fantastic wedding day!

Scott sent me one of the most exciting wedding requests I have ever received. His email was titled, “1920s wedding photos.” Everyone who knows me, knows I adore that decade (so please, call me if you are having a 1920s themed wedding).

We did their engagement photos in the historic Distillery District and at the Roundhouse, where all the historic CN trains are located.  Both Scott and Steph’s grandparents worked on trains.

I am looking forward to photographing your wedding in October!

Every year, my family goes to The Mariposa Folk Festival in Orillia (my parents, husband, the kids and I).  Besides fantastic music, they also have an amazing area for children.  Emily made this crown at Mariposa this year. I think she was pretty proud of it. This is definitely my favourite photo from the festival.