Patrick Chondon 10/5/15 Patrick Chondon 10/5/15

Janine + Steven Wedding - Old Fort William

Admittedly, I truly don't know what to expect with each and every wedding I do. Yes, there are always going to be similar parts to the day through each wedding but sometimes, there are those brief moments during the day that just catch you off guard, and often for the better. Well, this wedding provided one of those moments as soon as I arrived. As I parked my car and I was grabbing my stuff I heard distant music in the background. I didn't really think anything of it, I just thought it was part of the wedding music. Then, it got louder, and louder still. All of a sudden I had a flashback of the Karate Kid. Before I knew it, there it was, an old camper streaming down the road, arms waving out the windows, blaring the following lyrics..

You’re the best!
Around!
Nothing’s gonna ever keep you down
You’re the Best!
Around!
Nothing’s gonna ever keep you down
You’re the Best!
Around!
Nothing’s gonna ever keep you dow-ow-ow-ow-own

It was just such a surreal moment that I wasn't quite sure that what I was seeing was actually real. It was. Oh, it was. Then it parked in front of the entrance and the all the groomsmen and Steven walked out of the vehicle. My first though was that I needed to get a photo of them in front of the camper. And that's exactly what I did. There you have it, the first photo of the day. That set the tone for the rest of the wedding day and what a day it was.

Once I got that cheesy 80's song out of my head I focused on the task at hand. And that was to capture Janine and Steven's day. Everyone gathered on the balcony shortly thereafter and that is where I started getting a lot of great candids. This was a unique wedding in that Steven and Janine did their portraits before the ceremony. So they actually met on the balcony not to long after Steven and the gang arrived.

The minute everyone was good to go and tall the family members arrived, we took the shuttle bus to the Fort to do the family portraits. I absolutely love doing the portraits before the ceremony because it's not as rushed and it leaves a lot more time to get more photos. Plus, when you are at a location like Old Fort William, you can't help but not want to spend a couple hours there.

There are so many wonderful spots there so I simply chose a nice wall in the shade to work and we were off to the races. That way everyone can stay in one spot and just switch out for the required groupings. After getting all the family photos out of the way we then focused on some of the wedding party photos in the same location. From there, I decided to use a different backdrop for the bridesmaids and Janine. Another great thing about the Fort is that the wall surrounding it is gorgeous. So we were able to get some great shots using the wall too.

It was then off to where the barn and animals were. My favourite moment of the day (aside from the grand entrance by the boys) happened as we were walking to where the animals were. Everyone was greeted by a herd of goats. Well, as Janine leaned down to pet one, he decided to use her bouquet for lunch. I managed to get a few shots in sequence showing the incident. It was so priceless and everyone had a great laugh.

We finished up there and eventually headed back to the shuttle to head back to the ceremony where everyone was waiting. It was about 45 minutes in between so it gave me a lot of time to get photos of guests interacting and arriving. Then it was time. The wedding party made their way to the alter and ceremony took place. All in all it took about 30 minutes or so and it was very beautiful. I just love turning around, facing the crowd, and seeing so many smiles and raw emotion.

When the ceremony was all done Janine and Steven wanted to spend a little more time getting some portraits on the trail so that's what we did. It was the perfect time to do so as the sun was low in the sky which made for perfect lighting. Plus it gave them both a chance to be 'almost' alone with one another. After about 20 minutes we head back to the reception area.

That was pretty much it for me. I spent another 1.5 hours photographing guests, the introductions, getting some great detail shots, the first dance and eventually some of the first speeches. As with most weddings, I'm always amazed at just how many great little moments there are throughout the day and it's up to me to document these moments so Janine and Steven can remember them for the rest of their life. Thank you to both Janine and Steven for a fantastic day!

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 5/30/12 Patrick Chondon 5/30/12

Jen + Dustin Wedding

My first out of town wedding of the year took me to Fort Frances. This was the first time I shot a wedding in this city. I was very anxious to do so because I have really wanted to explore the city for some time now. I arrived early in the afternoon which gave me a small amount of time to scope out the ceremony location as well as some spots in the city which we would eventually be using.

The ceremony itself was at the hotel which was a beautiful location. It was right on the lake with a variety of docks leading out to the water. Everyone gathered in the back courtyard and watched as the wedding party made their way to the alter. Their was a little bit of fear that the weather would not hold but it did, and for the majority of the day which was perfect.

After the ceremony there was a receiving line and then it was time to start the family portraits. The first set took place on the docks on the lake. As you can see from the photos it was a great location. Then it was off to the forest beside the hotel that overlooked the water. This is where we focused more on the entire bridal party. The adventure started soon after that as we made our way to rest of the locations around the city.

The first stop was the ‘Point’, which had a huge tree which we used in some of the photos as well as a spectacular view overlooking the city. There was also a train bridge which we also used as a backdrop for some group photos. It was very windy but the unpredictable weather only added to the photos. We got out of that spot just as a storm rolled in. Luckily our next location was indoors…the hockey arena!

This was definitely one of the more unique locations I have shot at. We were able to have the entire rink to ourselves. We took advantage of the team benches, the penalty box as well as the stands. Once we left there we went to our final location which was the boardwalk. It was then back to the hotel where the reception took place.

Overall the reception was a lot of fun. There were some great speeches, the food was superb and lots of people got up to dance which is always good to see. Last but not least was the bouquet toss, which as always, ended with a mad sprawl amongst the single women. Congratulations to Jen and Dustin and the rest of the party for a wonderful wedding. Everyone was easy going, fun and it really came through in all the photos.