Patrick Chondon 9/6/22 Patrick Chondon 9/6/22

Jennifer + Les Wedding - Delta Hotel Thunder Bay

The Delta Hotel was once again the latest location for a recent wedding I captured. Jennifer and Les were the beautiful bride and groom this time around, and it ended up being a very memorable and fun day. My day started about an hour before the ceremony which gave me some time to capture the details of the ballroom and some of the arriving guests.

Before I knew it, everyone was sitting down and anxiously awaiting the Jennifer and Les to make their way down the aisle. It was a very sweet ceremony, and capturing some of the reactions of the crowd, you could tell everyone in attendance were very happy for the couple.

Shortly after the ceremony finished up the wedding party, and a few of the closest family members headed down to the nearby Marina. Before returning back to the reception, Jennifer and Les spent a short amount of time with me getting some photos of just them amongst the gorgeous backdrop.

The rest of the night went by very fast for me. The food was amazing, the speeches were great and of course, the dancing, once it began, resulted in many spontaneous photos. I couldn’t have asked for better couple to photograph!

Patrick Chondon 10/25/19 Patrick Chondon 10/25/19

Melissa + Brandon Wedding - Best Western Plus NorWester Hotel

Melissa and Brandon’s entire wedding day took place at the Best Western Hotel here in Thunder Bay. If I had to shoot at wedding at just one hotel, this one would definitely be at the top of my list. It did rain the whole day so it was completely indoors but that’s what often happens this time of year. Regardless, it was such an amazing day to be a part of.

The good thing about a completely indoor wedding is that you often get to spend more time with the couple, which is exactly what happened with this one. It was very laid back and casual. It was almost like I was just hanging out with the Melissa and Brandon. I prefer it that way because it allowed me to capture a ton of candid photos.

I jumped back and forth in the early afternoon between Brandon and Melissa getting ready. They were both super relaxed and it showed through in the photos. Brandon bought all the guys in his wedding party watches, that as far as I could tell, they had to put together. It was very cool and something I had never seen before.

After a few hours it was time to get the ceremony started so everyone headed down to the main ballroom. This is where the reception would eventually take place so it was very convenient, and perfectly decorated. It was an intimate wedding but a busy one for the room nonetheless. I don’t think there was an empty chair. Looking around in the crowd I could see all the proud family and friends. I could also feel it too. Of course, as I expected there were some laughs during the ceremony too, which is always a good sign.

Once the ceremony was done, all the family and close friends made their way upstairs where we did some family portraits. I would have preferred to do them outside but the weather had other plans for us. Nonetheless, it was actually kind of nice having all the family in one room like that. Melissa and Brandon also made their announcement about her pregnancy which surprised a lot of people!

As I mentioned it was raining all day but that didn’t mean we couldn’t get outside to do some bride and groom portraits. We simply used one of the balconies. Since it was cloudy, the lighting was absolutely perfect. Those are definitely some of my favourite photos of the day.

The reception was just as fun as the rest of the day. There were the first dances, a shoe game and some very moving (and funny) speeches. Melissa and Brandon also revealed on their slideshow that they were having a baby to the rest of the wedding guests. It was during their first dance which was perfect timing. I hope both Brandon and Melissa have an amazing life together!

Patrick Chondon 6/5/17 Patrick Chondon 6/5/17

Betty's 80th Birthday at the Norwester Hotel

Today the weather held off just long enough for me to have a very fun family portrait session over at the Norwester Hotel. The occasion for this particular session was to celebrate Betty's 80th Birthday. Plus, it was one of the rare occasions where most of the family would all be together at once. As soon as I arrived at the hotel, we all made our way out to the back field which overlooks Mount McKay.

We started off by getting an entire family portrait and then worked our way down from there into different groupings. Even though this was more a 'posed' session, it was still very natural and I was able to sneak in a few candids here and there.

With one of the most beautiful backdrops in Thunder Bay, and a perfectly overcast day, it really did make my day that much easier. Plus, the whole family was a pleasure to work with. I managed to get about 40 minutes worth of photos in before the rain told it was time to wrap things up. Regardless, because we worked fairly fast and loose, I still came away with tons of great photos.

Thanks as always to the whole family for letting me be a part of such a special occasion. I hope these photos provide memories for years to come!

Patrick Chondon 7/13/15 Patrick Chondon 7/13/15

Canadian Council of Forest Ministers

This past Friday I had the pleasure of photographing the Canadian Council of Forest Ministers at the Best Western Plus Norwester Hotel & Conference Centre. It was an all day event which concluded with a press conference with The Honourable Greg Rickford, Canada's Minister of Natural Resources and Minister for the Federal Economic Development Initiative for Northern Ontario, and the Honourable Bill Mauro, Minister of Natural Resources and Forestry for the Province of Ontario.

All in all it was a very informative and productive meeting between all the Ministers throughout Canada. Without knowing much about the topic going in I did come away with a greater understanding of some of the challenges facing Canada and the Forestry Industry.

Patrick Chondon 5/1/15 Patrick Chondon 5/1/15

Minister Rickford Speaking to the Economic Action Plan 2015 for Northern Ontario

This morning I had the pleasure of photographing a very special event hosted by the Thunder Bay Chamber of Commerce, the Thunder Bay Community Economic Development Commission and Ambassadors Northwest. The Honourable Greg Rickford, Canada's Minister of Natural Resources and Minister for the Federal Economic Development Initiative for Northern Ontario spoke about the Government's actions to create one of the world's most favourable investment climates by lowering taxes and opening new markets through free trade agreements.

For a much more comprehensive outline of what happened at today's event, head on over to Newswire.ca. To view some photos from the event take a look below.