Courtney + Evan Wedding - Best Western Plus NorWester Hotel
My first wedding of the season took place a few weeks ago in May and I was so excited for it, if not a bit nervous. Within a few minutes of arriving and getting started, I was off to the races. Anyone who has seen my work before on this site, knows that I love candid photos. I would say 95 percent of every wedding I shoot is candid. I always challenge myself to find those special moments or expressions throughout the day. It's a hard challenge often times but a fun and rewarding one nonetheless.
My first wedding of the season took place a few weeks ago in May and I was so excited for it, if not a bit nervous. Within a few minutes of arriving and getting started, I was off to the races. Anyone who has seen my work before on this site, knows that I love candid photos. I would say 95 percent of every wedding I shoot is candid. I always challenge myself to find those special moments or expressions throughout the day. It's a hard challenge often times but a fun and rewarding one nonetheless.
Courtney and Evan's wedding took place at the Best Western hotel off the highway, and it's always a beautiful location so I knew I had a great backdrop to work with. The weather held up so that was awesome. After getting a bunch of candids before the ceremony, it was soon time to head on outside to the courtyard to get the main event on the way. As I mentioned above, it's a beautiful venue so that made my work that much easier. It was quite a beautiful ceremony and I think I managed to get some nice genuine moments, not only of the wedding couple but also everyone else.
Once the ceremony was done, there was a short break and then we tackled the family and wedding part portraits. Just before the reception was to get on it's way, I stole Courtney and Evan away for a good 20 minutes and we did some portraits with just them. Knowing that I would probably get the chance for some more portraits with them later in the evening during golden hour, I didn't take up too much of their time.
It was then time for the reception which I never know what to expect. I must say, the food was amazing, the speeches were so funny, genuine and emotional at times. It made for some really pure moments within the crowd. Courtney and Evan did the shoe game which also had everyone laughing and of course their was the first dance along with the parent dances as well. Then ... it was time for the dance floor to open up and it was so great to see so many people out on the floor. I got so many great dancing photos! The ones below are just a small sampling, but some of my favourites from the bunch.
Before I was done my day, Courtney and Evan joined me outside for some more photos outside. The lighting was just perfect and the weather was too. The resulting photos were definitely some of my favourites from the entire day. The highlight of the night hands down, goes to Courtney. As we made our way outside, she sprinted, in her wedding dress, to the open field where a whole bunch of geese were settled down. Well, once they saw her coming they all flew away and it made for quite the seen. I wish I would have had my zoom lens on me but I still managed to get a pretty good photo.
I couldn't have asked for a better wedding to start the year with. Courtney and Evan were an amazing couple to photograph and the entire day was just so much fun!
Lindsay + Markus Wedding - Tapiola
A couple weeks ago I was lucky enough to be a part of Lindsay and Markus's wedding. To see some of the fleeting moments from the day please take the time to view the slideshow as well as all the images below. As you can see from the photos, it was such a fun day. Although, it was a bit stressful for me on the way to meet up with Markus and the boys getting ready. I was betrayed by Google Maps. It told me to go to one end of the road, where I thought Markus was getting ready, it turned out it was the other end of the road. Luckily, I still managed to get to the house only a few minutes late. Who knew you can drive that fast down a dirt road in a Mazda 3.
A couple weeks ago I was lucky enough to be a part of Lindsay and Markus's wedding. To see some of the fleeting moments from the day please take the time to view the slideshow as well as all the images below. As you can see from the photos, it was such a fun day. Although, it was a bit stressful for me on the way to meet up with Markus and the boys getting ready. I was betrayed by Google Maps. It told me to go to one end of the road, where I thought Markus was getting ready, it turned out it was the other end of the road. Luckily, I still managed to get to the house only a few minutes late. Who knew you can drive that fast down a dirt road in a Mazda 3.
Once I arrived at the house, everyone was just relaxing and getting ready to start putting on their suits.I just tried to be a fly on the wall and stay out of the way, documenting the process and capturing anything that caught my eye. The highlight of this portion of the day was when Markus opened up Lindsay's special present for him. The letter she wrote, which he read out loud, definitely produced a few tears in the room, including Markus.
After spending a bit of time outside in the backyard it was time to head out to Tapiola. It was literally a 5 minute drive so we didn't have to go very far at all. Surprisingly, I had never been to this location before so I was anxious to see what it was like. I was definitely not disappointed because the ceremony was set up at the back end of the wide open field with the forest in behind. It was quite beautiful. As we waited for everyone to arrive I simply walked around and got a ton of candid photos of guests and the process leading up to the actual ceremony.
Then it was time for the ceremony, which was absolutely perfect. There were so many smiles in the crowd and you could really feel the emotion from Lindsay and Markus as they each made their way down the isle. It was a relatively short ceremony but it provided so many great photos on my end. Not only of the guests but of Lindsay and Markus's two dogs as well. Before I knew it, they were sealing their vows with a kiss and then walking off to meet the guests. Shortly after some photos of the family, we gathered up the boys and girls and made our way to another portion of the park. That is where we did the majority of the bride and groom portraits. There was nice little bridge crossing over the stream as well as a huge open field.
Once I was done Apple Wagon Films, took over for about 10 minutes and did some amazing video footage with their drone. I wanted to give a big shout out to Curtis and his crew for being a pleasure to work with. When we headed back we got a few more intimate photos on the bridge and then eventually in the field where the ceremony took place. As you can see from the cover image, it was hard not to come away with spectacular photos. Plus, it also helped that Markus and Lindsay were the perfect, most natural models.
Up next was the reception which was under the big tent. It was decorated to the tee by Shalini Irish at Maid for the Bride. She did an amazing job and it was a pleasure working with her too. The reception itself was very laid back. There were some speeches, some tears, and eventually some dancing. The highlight of the reception was definitely the garter toss where Markus put on quite the show. I think even Lindsay was surprised.
After I got some good dancing shots my night was done. I said good bye to Lindsay and thanked her for a very action packed day. I'm so happy to share all these wonderful moments with them finally.
Tammy + Weston Wedding
Tammy and Weston had the pleasure of being my first wedding of the 2016 season. I would be lying if I said I wasn't a tad bit anxious and nervous going in but I'm actually like that before every single wedding. If I wasn't, I would probably be worried. Once I arrived at the church and starting taking photos of the venue everything fell into place and the entire day went by very quickly. Before guests started arriving I used the opportunity to grab a few detail photos and also get set up. I had done one other wedding at this church before so I was already familiar with it.
About 30 minutes before the ceremony guests started arriving and I just did my thing. I looked for all those moments when people don't realize you are photographing them. Those natural moments, are I think, some of the most genuine and memorable ones of the day. But then again, that is what 90 percent of my wedding photography is comprised of. This year, I am going to incorporate a lot more black and white photography as I think certain candid moments really shine when you strip away the colour . So you will see a mix of colour and black and white photos throughout.
Tammy and Weston had the pleasure of being my first wedding of the 2016 season. I would be lying if I said I wasn't a tad bit anxious and nervous going in but I'm actually like that before every single wedding. If I wasn't, I would probably be worried. Once I arrived at the church and starting taking photos of the venue everything fell into place and the entire day went by very quickly. Before guests started arriving I used the opportunity to grab a few detail photos and also get set up. I had done one other wedding at this church before so I was already familiar with it.
About 30 minutes before the ceremony guests started arriving and I just did my thing. I looked for all those moments when people don't realize you are photographing them. Those natural moments, are I think, some of the most genuine and memorable ones of the day. But then again, that is what 90 percent of my wedding photography is comprised of. This year, I am going to incorporate a lot more black and white photography as I think certain candid moments really shine when you strip away the colour . So you will see a mix of colour and black and white photos throughout.
Once guests settled in, it was time to start the ceremony. The wedding part and parents made their way down the aisle and once Tammy arrived at the alter it began. As with every wedding I photograph, the ceremony was very lovely and very laid back. These are my favourite kind of weddings because there is no rush and it allows me to just walk around (discreetly) and get photos of the guests and of course the wedding party.
After the ceremony, guests gathered in the entrance and congratulated Tammy and Weston. We then went back into the part of the church where the ceremony was and captured some of the family portraits. We had to stick indoors because it was blistering cold outside. Shortly thereafter it was time to head to This Old Barn, which is where the reception took place.
I showed up around 5 which allowed me to get a lot of great detail shots before most of the guests arrived. As well, it allowed me to get ready to photograph the guests as they made their way in. Just like the ceremony, it was a very relaxed reception. I simply went with the flow and came away with so many fantastic photos of people interacting and eventually watching the speeches and the first dances.
As the dancing began, I took a few more photos and then my night was done. Before I left we quickly got a good shot of Tammy and Weston eating the cake and a final family photo with the relatives. It was such a fun wedding and a good transition into the 2016 wedding season. It's going to be a super busy year and I know if every couple is like Tammy and Weston, I'm in for the best season to date!
