Emily + Jared Wedding

Emily and Jared got married this past August and once again I was so thankful to be a part of it. For any wedding I do, I always feel honoured to have been chosen and entrusted with such an important day. I was also very excited to finally photograph a wedding at The Chanterelle. I had done a couple events there but not a wedding so it was pretty stoked about that. That is actually where I first started my day with the boys.

Upon arriving at The Chanterelle, as usual, the boys were just taking it easy and very relaxed. I was only with them for a little over 30 minutes but I managed to capture some really good candids. We were in the lounge room of The Chanterelle which is really a great space. I made sure to get a nice group shot a well against the beautiful bar.

It was then off to Emily and Jared’s house where the girls were getting ready. I was them a bit longer then I was with the boys and again it was very low key and relaxed. I had time to get some good detail photos and of course the girls in different parts of the house. Before I knew it, the bus arrived to pick them up which meant it was time to head to the church. Photographing at the Bethlehem Christian Reformed Church was another first for me so I was excited to that as well.

The ceremony actually went by very quick, at least for me. Every single seat was full, even the balcony so it was great to see so many close family and friends there to support Emily and Jared. Once it was over everyone gathered outside and mingled and congratulated the happy couple. I tend to get some of my favourite photos of the day during these portions of the day. There are lots of opportunities for candids and genuine moments.

The next stop was Waverely Park. Emily had the fantastic idea of doing all the family portraits up on top of the hill where the old bunker is. Surprisingly, I had never done wedding photos up there. It turned out to be the best location ever. There was just enough shade to make sure the lighting was perfect too. Before it was time to go the reception, we made one more stop at the Cascades trail where Emily and Jared had one of their first dates. So it had a lot of meaning to them. The portrait I got of Emily and Jared there were definitely my favourite photos of the day.

The last part of the day was of course the reception at The Chanterelle. It’s hard not to come away with beautiful photos at such a great location. As with most receptions I simply captured the moments I saw. It was a lively crowd so it made my job easy. After the speeches and the first dance I was almost done. Not before Jared pulled out his absolutely amazing rendition of Billy Idol on the dance floor. He’s in his own band so put on quite the performance and I got so many sweet photos. The crowd loved it of course. It was a fitting end to the day for me. I know the party just go going after I left but that was definitely more then enough excitement for me. It was long day but I still can’t believe how fast it went by and how much fun I had capturing Emily and Jared’s special day. :)

Katherine + Scott Wedding - Thunder Bay Marina

What can I say about Katherine and Scott? Well, they are one of the nicest and most genuine wedding couples I have ever had the pleasure of photographing. Their wedding took place at the Thunder Bay Marina, and it ended up being the perfect weather. It wasn't too hot and it was overcast which meant the lighting was absolutely ideal for me to document such a special day. 

Upon arriving I immediately started getting some candids of the guys and the few guests that were already there. Shortly after, Katherine and the girls arrived and we did the 'first look' which actually turned out to be some of my favourite photos of the day. You could just feel the pure emotion and love between Katherine and Scott. I had so much fun looking for moments amongst the guest and of course the wedding party and family. It wasn't that hard at all because there were so many people at the wedding and everyone was so happy to be there. 

The ceremony was beautiful and filled with some great moments as well. I managed to walk around and really get some nice close up photos as I always do, but also good wide angle photos showcasing all the people there and the beautiful location. It really is one of my favourite places to capture a wedding. 

After the ceremony and some catching up with guests we did the bride and groom portraits. As you would expect, Scott and Katherine were complete naturals in front of the camera. With one of the nicest backdrops in Thunder Bay, I captured some of my best wedding portraits to date. 

Once we were done the portraits, we made our way to Bight for a well deserved drink. I can't remember the last time I was looking forward to a cold drink. The night ended for me at the reception which took place at the CLE Coliseum. It was actually my first time photographing a reception at that venue. They really did an amazing job in decorating the venue. I was only there for a couple hours but I still got a chance to photograph a lot of the details, guests and of course the first dance. 

I'm so very thankful to have been a part of Katherine and Scott's wedding day. I hope that these photos will help them see all the great moments that I was able to witness throughout the day.

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Eden + Chris Wedding Portraits - Current River Park

Eden and Chris decided to get married at City Hall with just a small gathering of family members. So they decided to hire me for an hour to take all the family portraits. Usually my wedding days are fairly long but this was a nice change seeing as how I just focused on the portrait session of the wedding. We decided to use Current River Park as the setting which was a great choice. It was yet another beautiful day so the weather couldn't have been any better.

As soon as I arrived we got right into all the large family portraits and eventually made our way down to just Eden and Chris. After grabbing a few portraits in the park area, the three of us decided to take a short cut through the bush and into the dam area. Eden was a real trooper as it wasn't the most groomed trail but we made it safe and sound. That is where we spent the next 20 minutes or so. The dam was definitely my favourite location of the shoot as there were just so many different spots to capture great photos. 

Once we were done on the rocks, we headed up to the bridge and continued to have some fun with different poses. Then, before we knew it, it was time to head back to the park. We managed to get a few more portraits around the trees at the park and then we were done. The hour just flew by but as always, I was able to get a lot of beautiful photos in that short amount of time. Of course it helped that their entire family were very easy going. 

Thanks to Eden and Chris for such a fun photo session. I'm glad I was able to be a part of their wedding day, even though it was for only an hour!