Patrick Chondon 6/15/19 Patrick Chondon 6/15/19

Heidi + Rob Family Portraits

I photographed Heidi and Rob’s wedding back in 2016 and it is still one of my favourite weddings ever! When Heidi and Rob contacted me to do some family portraits for them, I simply couldn’t wait to do so. They recently welcomed Alfred to the family so it meant Wallace now had a younger brother to compete with. Upon arriving Alfred did not know what to make of me. I used that to my advantage as I got some really good looks from him. Fast forward about 15 minutes into the session and it was hard to get him to sit still.

Aside from hanging out with Heidi and Rob once again, I was also anxious to see their beautiful house again. We did some of the wedding photos there on the day of their wedding and I fell in love with it then and there. Of course it served as the perfect setting once again for this portrait session.

For anyone interested, here is the original blog post of their wedding.

The session itself was very relaxed and extremely candid, which is exactly how I like it. Alfred was a champ and was very calm, and also extremely cute too. Wallace was not to be outdone of course. There is talk of making this a yearly thing and I really hope that is the case, because I had a wonderful time capturing family moments with Heidi and Rob. Plus, I really do love seeing the kids grow up each year and documenting it along the way.

Patrick Chondon 11/4/16 Patrick Chondon 11/4/16

Heidi + Rob Wedding

As the wedding season winds down for me, it's easy to look back on the year and really appreciate all the amazing couples I had the chance to photograph. Case in point, I was lucky enough to have the opportunity to document Heidi and Rob's wedding day. My day started in the early afternoon at the Prince Arthur Hotel where Rob and the guys were getting ready.

When as I arrived, I was great by all the guys, all of whom I was meeting for the first time. I'm a pretty easy going guy so after the quick introductions I just settled in and started taking a ton of candid photos, along with some detail shots. Shortly after I arrived, Rob's father showed up for a bit and helped him prepare for his big day. I came way with so many good photos from that part of the day.

The more weddings I do, the more I realize they aren't following the traditional structure. For Rob and Heidi's wedding, they wanted to do a first look, which took place at Waverly Park and then all of their portraits as well. I'm hoping more couples continue to do it this way, because it really does leave more time for all the formal (and candid) portraits. Plus, it usually gives the bride and groom a bit of a break from the day and it allows them to spend just a bit of time together 'alone'.

At Waverly Park, we did the first look photos as I mentioned above, and then it was a no brainer to get some photos in front of the law school. Prior to the wedding, Heidi asked if it were a good idea to get some smoke bombs, and I immediately said yes, of course. Well, we put the first couple ones to use in park as you can see from a couple of the photos below. This was my first time shooting with smoke bombs so it was a learning curve for me. I think it worked out pretty good though.

Once we were done at Waverly Park we headed to the back alley off of Court Street. That may sound a bit odd, but it's actually pretty darn cool. All the walls have graffiti on them and it's just overall a very unique backdrop. Luckily we saved a couple smoke bombs so we used them up in the alley. By far, some of my favourite photos came from this portion of the shoot. I will definitely be suggesting other couples to potentially get smoke a smoke bomb or two. I have so many ideas now, after Heidi and Rob's wedding.

The last stop for portraits, was Heidi and Rob's new house that they just recently moved into. They wanted some photos in and out of the house, which I thought was the perfect location because it obviously meant so much to them. It was such a beautiful house too. It almost impossible not to come away with some great photos. I could have easily spent an hour in their just photographing their actual house, because it was so nicely decorated!

The ceremony took place at The Red Lion, which is a restaurant/bar downtown. Downtown Thunder Bay is continuing to get more and more great venues and The Red Lion is right up there as one of the coolest ones. I was so excited to get the chance to shoot a wedding inside of it. The way they had it all set up and decorated set the perfect mood for the ceremony. Everything was just so laid back and casual that it really came through in the photos. The funky atmosphere totally suited Heidi and Rob too.

Lastly, the reception took place at yet another amazing venue, Bight Restaurant & Bar. I have been to Bight a few times before but never to shoot a wedding reception. Upon entering the reception, Heidi and Rob had a photo station set up where they took photos of the guests with Instax Mini 8's. The resulting photos were placed on a wooden frame. The guests had fun getting their photos taken and it was really great idea, one that I see more and more couples doing. Of course, later in the evening, I still surprised Rob and Heidi with my own prints from the day. :)

Just like the ceremony, the reception was laid back too. Speeches were mixed in with dinner and drinks so all the guests could mingle and have a good time during the entire night. The dancing took place in the adjoining hallway which also served as the perfect place for guests to hangout. The entire day just flew by, mainly because I had so much fun, and Rob and Heidi were such a blast to photograph. Please be sure to view the photos below, but not before you watch a short black and white slideshow showing some of my favourite photos of the day.

Patrick Chondon 10/26/15 Patrick Chondon 10/26/15

Nikki + Rob Wedding - Gammondale Farm

Nikki and Rob were officially my last wedding of the season, and what a busy wedding season it was. I couldn't have imagined a more perfect wedding to end the year too. The location was Gammondale Farm which is one of prettiest places in town in general, let alone the location for a wedding. Before I made it to Gammondale, I had the chance to spend some time with Nikki and her bridesmaids getting ready.

Not all couples hire me to capture 'getting ready' photos but I always encourage it simply because there are so many natural moments during that time. You can always feel some nervous tension during this time, but that just adds to the emotion. It also allows for some truly memorable photos. Although, one of my favourite photos of the first part of the day was a wedding dress shot. I don't always get a chance to capture the wedding dress by itself but when I do, I always like to try something different. In this case, I managed to hang it on the window with the blinds slightly drawn behind. The final result, I think, turned out pretty cool.

When all was said and done at the house, I made my way to Gammondale Farm. The day was overcast but that proved to be perfect weather for this Fall wedding. As soon as a I arrived I noticed all the people waiting anxiously by the pumpkin field. It was quite the backdrop for a wedding, the farm on one side and the expansive hillside on the other. As guests waited I just walked around and captured a lot of candid photos.

Before we knew it, Nikki had arrived and was getting ready to make her entrance by horse and carriage. That moment alone, summed up the entire day, everything was just so picturesque. Accompanied by her Father, who eventually helped her down and walked her down the aisle, the ceremony soon began. It was a lovely ceremony with all the close friends and family watching on, smiling. I could see that Nikki and Rob were completely lost in the moment.

Once it was done, everyone headed back to the farm area and mingled for a little. As everyone gathered I got some more great candid photos. Eventually we managed to get the closest family members together for some formal portraits. Of course we used the amazing backdrop for the portraits. Once we were done there we got some more portraits against the main big barn and then I spent a short amount of time with just Nikki and Rob. There were so many vibrant colours there that it was easy to come away with good looking photos. Plus, Nikki and Rob looked amazing.

The reception took place in a tent just beside the main house. It was an intimate reception which I always like. The food was served in the main house, which was decorated so beautiful. There was a candy table, a s'more making station and of course, a desert table. For the ceremony, it was pretty laid back, the speeches were short and everyone pretty much just hung out and enjoyed the evening. The real fun began later in the evening when the dance floor opened up. It wasn't just any dance floor, it was located in the main big barn. It was decorated so lovely and it as the perfect place the spend the rest of the evening dancing the night away.

I only stayed for the first dances and then my night was over but everything looked amazing and Nikki and Rob doing their first dance in that atmosphere was a perfect end to the night, at least for me. I know their night kept going so I can't speak to that. Nikki and Rob were probably one of the most easy going couples I have yet to photograph which made the day so much fun and relaxed. I'm still amazed at how many great photos I came away with.

Patrick Chondon 6/10/13 Patrick Chondon 6/10/13

Rob + Theresa Wedding

Rob & Theresa celebrated their wedding this past June 1st and I had the pleasure of photographing them the entire day. We started at St. Peters Church in the East End. I had never been in this church before so I was in awe of how it looked on the inside. My favourite part was being able to go upstairs which allowed me to get some nice wide shots of the entire ceremony. After the ceremony was done everyone gathered outside the church and talked for a while before moving on to the next location. This was a good opportunity to get some more candid photos as well as some posed shots in front of the church.

For the next few hours we went to different locations for the portraits with the wedding party. The first stop was the Thunder Bay Museum. The three of us recently did a short engagement shoot there so I was anxious to get the whole wedding party inside and take advantage some of the exhibits. Some of my faves from this part of the tour was when we got both bridal parties in front of the old street exhibit. Upon exiting the Museum I quickly got Rob & Theresa to stand in the middle of the busy street so I could get some shots of them with the city as the backdrop.

It was then off to the Thunder Bay Conservatory. We spent about 40 minutes here. This is always a good location to shoot at because the lighting is great and there are lots of wonderful backdrops. Plus, we basically had the place to ourselves.

The last stop before the reception was Comix Plus, one of the local comic book stores downtown. Everyone had a great time there posing with the all the old comic books and albums. As you can see from the photos below we came away with some very unique photos.

The reception took place at the Italian Hall. As always it was a great venue. Everyone had a great time and there were a lot of laughs. Especially when Rob and Theresa were put back to back on chairs and asked to answer questions about their relationship. Some of the expressions during those moments were priceless. My night was almost done but not before the first dance. You could really tell just how much in love Rob and Theresa were by the way they danced and kissed during that first dance.

Thanks again, as always, to Rob and Theresa for letting me document their special day!