Patrick Chondon 10/27/20 Patrick Chondon 10/27/20

Amy + Family Portraits - Centennial Park

Last week I photographed David’s side of the family over at the Tree Farm, and it was a super fun session. This time around, we choose Centennial Park, to capture Amy’s side of the family. It was equally as fun, if not a little bit colder. Regardless, everyone had a great time and I once again, ended up with a good mix of posed and candid photos. What a beautiful family!

Patrick Chondon 5/13/18 Patrick Chondon 5/13/18

Amy + David + Jace at Centennial Park

Amy and David decided to do a spring portrait session this past weekend at Centennial Park and I really couldn't wait, for a couple reasons. The first one being Amy is pregnant expecting her second child, and the second one being I got to see how much more Jace had grown up.

This session was just a 30 minute one but we came away with a ton of great photos. Amy brought two cans on a string as a prop and it ended up producing some of my favourites from the session. It also helped that Jace was probably one of the calmest kids I have ever photographed. I felt like he could have done it all day!

Once the photo portion of the session was over, Amy and David were kind enough to let me shoot a very short video of them. This is something I want to start offering families and wedding clients so it was great to get a chance to do it. I could have easily spent 3 hours following them around but I didn't want to take up too much of their time. If you want to view the video, you can find it below, as well photos from the session as well.

Patrick Chondon 8/31/15 Patrick Chondon 8/31/15

Darlene + David Wedding

There are still a lot more weddings I can look forward to photographing this year but Darlene and David’s was one that couldn’t come soon enough, for a couple reasons. The first one being that it was at Old Fort William which is one of the nicest locations in town. Secondly, upon first meeting them prior to the wedding, I knew it was going to be a very intimate and fun wedding. Well, it met both those criteria and exceeded beyond what I expected. I arrived, as I always do, about 30 minutes before the wedding to capture some unique and candid photos. With guests constantly arriving, mingling and taking their seats, there were definitely lots of opportunities for photos.

The ceremony took place just in behind the main building right by the pond. This is where almost all the weddings usually take place and there is a good reason why. It is beautiful. As everyone waited for Darlene to make her way down the aisle, David and his best man along with other family members waited down the paved path. As people showed up they said hello and even got a chance to talk a bit with David. It was kind of nice to have it set up like that, where David is able to interact with everyone who wanted to, before thew wedding. The wedding didn’t start on time, which is often the case, but Darlene was later tested because supposedly she had to send someone home to grab her shoes which she forgot.

Well, the shoes finally arrived and they were ready to get started. Everyone made there way to their seats and the ceremony began. The weather couldn’t have been more perfect. It wasn’t too hot, and there were even sporadic clouds to offer some shade. Darlene and David would eventually meet at the alter and it had officially begun. Soon after saying their vows, and sealing it with a kiss, they made their way to the signing. The final task was one that I haven’t really seen before but it was very cool. Everyone was asked to hug the person beside them in celebration. If presented a few really sincere and delicate moments between the guest and even the wedding party.

Once everyone cleared away, we quickly went through the portraits. I must say, with rain looming, these were the fasted portraits I have ever done at a wedding to date. The good news is, is that we came away with all the ones we wanted. Afterwards, I made my way upstairs to the balcony and grabbed a few more pics of guests mingling and waiting to enter the reception area. It continued to rain a bit more so they opened the doors and the reception was officially on. The ballroom at Old Fort is very nice and the decorations and decor that David and Darlene chose only accentuated that. It took a while for people to eventually sit down, but then again there was no hurry to do so. That is the great thing about an afternoon wedding.

As afternoon snacks were served, the speeches also began. There were a few tears shed and all the speeches were all very heartwarming. The food was great and completely different then other wedding I have photographed or attended before. They decided to go with kind of an English Tea theme. There were different sandwiches, jams, sausage rolls, teas and a few other surprises as well. I’m not really doing it justice as the names of all the snacks made me feel like royalty. Let’s just say everything tasted fantastic and it really came together with the overall decor. The last speeches were from David and Darlene. As a photographer it’s obviously my job to take photographs, but even for me, I wanted to just take some moments and listen to what they were saying. You could tell just how much in love they are with one another. It came through, in not only the speeches, but the entire day. I don’t think David or Darlene stopped smiling the entire day.

My day was done after that. We quickly gathered by the cake, got a few photos of the cutting and then I was off. It was great to be a part of Darlene and David’s special day. One of the main reasons I love being a wedding photographer is obviously because I enjoy taking photos, but another reason is because I get to experience a couple’s most important day in their lives over and over again. And then I get to tell that story in my own special way.

Patrick Chondon 10/29/14 Patrick Chondon 10/29/14

Amy + David Portraits

Last year I had the pleasure of photographing Amy and David's wedding. It was such a blast. I then got to work with Amy on a gorgeous wedding album. Just as we were finishing that up she mentioned that she wanted to get some portrait photos while she was pregnant. Well, fast forward to last weekend and that is exactly what we did. The backdrop was Jumbo Gardens which is a not so well known place in Port Arthur. Even around this time of year with most of the colours gone, it is still a fantastic place to take photos. There are lots of nice trails and trees there.

Along with Amy and David, we had another member of the family joining us, Oliver. I don't think he stopped running the entire time we were there. But, when it was time for a photo he ran up on cue and posed for the camera every time. It was actually quite amazing.

This session was a lot of fun as I knew it would be. Amy and David are extremely easy going and awesome to work with. We did some serious photos as well as some playful ones as you can see from the set below. One of my favourite photos of the session was one of the last ones. As we were walking back to the parking lot I noticed a big hole in one of the fences. So, I got Amy to stand behind it and pretend her pregnant stomach somehow burst through the fence. It is kind of a silly photo but those spontaneous one are sometimes a lot of fun.

Thank you to Amy and David for another great time taking photos. I can't wait to potentially photograph the new addition to the family.

Patrick Chondon 8/26/13 Patrick Chondon 8/26/13

Amy + David Wedding

Vahalla Inn in Thunder Bay was the location for my wedding with Amy & David. I showed up around 1:30 and immediately started taking photos of David and his party. Upon arriving, all the boys were in a relaxed mood joking and having fun. I spent the next 30 minutes taking photos of them getting ready. We did a couple outdoor shots since they were on the main floor and of course there were also some Jagerbombs which further helped to calm the nerves.

Then it was off to Amy’s room. I got there just as they were tying up her dress. It was quite the lace job but once it was done it looked fabulous! The girls were joking around just as much as the guys were. This was a sign of the rest of the day would be. Everyone was just so easy going and carefree. It really made my job that much easier. It also made for some equally fun photos. My favourite photo from this part of the day was when the entire party pretended they were misbehaving.

I then made my way down the ceremony. This took place in the beautiful courtyard. Since this was my first time shooting a wedding here, I was anxious to see how it all looked. On some of the trees they hung up a whole bunch of photos of Amy and David. This was such a nice touch. Once the music got going and everyone took their seats, it was time for the boys to walk, more like run, down the aisle. Once the girls made their way, it was a lot more deliberate. Surrounded by the trees and eventually the crowd, it made for some great photos.

The ceremony itself took about 30 minutes, then it was time for the portrait session. We spent the next hour in the courtyard getting all the family shots as well as ones of the bride and groom. As I mentioned before, everyone involved was willing to have a bit of fun with the photos as you can tell from the resulting images below.

Once that was all said and done it was time to head off to the reception area. I took some time to just photography the table settings and different aspects of the room, before everyone arrived. As soon as everyone had their seat, dinner started almost immediately. The next hour and bit was spent walking capturing some of the special moments. The cake looked fantastic and food was very tasty. So much to choose from!

All in all it was an action packed day and I was so lucky to be able to be a part of it. Thanks again to Amy and David.