Beautiful & Touching Playa del Carmen Wedding | Sandos Playacar Beach Resort
I can’t believe that Michelle and Eshan’s beautiful Mayan Riviera wedding was 6 months ago now! I joined them in sunny Mexico for 2 days to document their celebration and although it was short (and hot), it was also very sweet.
Some of the moments from their day still stay with me. For example, the way Eshan grinned from ear to ear upon seeing Michelle that just lit up the whole, well, ceremony space on the beach (not that it wasn’t already bright with the hot Mexican sun). And then there was Eshan’s mother and son dance with his mom, where not only Eshan teared up but it also made everyone else emotional. Not to mention their first dance, and the great speeches throughout dinner.
Thank you Michelle and Eshan for inviting me to share in the wonderful celebration of your wedding day and trusting me to document this day so that you can look back at all these moments and remember what it felt like.
Here’s the story of Michelle & Eshan’s sunny and beautiful wedding day.
In early November when I was travelling in Thailand, I had the opportunity to photograph an engagement session in Koh Lanta.
Heather & Kevin are one of my couples who are getting married at the end of the month and they currently work and live in Bangkok. After I booked my trip to China & Thailand, I remembered that Heather & Kevin are there too so I emailed them about doing their engagement session in Thailand and they were totally up for it! After a few emails, we decided on Koh Lanta, one of the southern islands. It is a less well known island which was perfect as we really got to appreciate the beauty of the island without crowds.
The day of our session arrived, and the forecast was calling for rain. Luckily it held off until we were done. As we walked back to the car the rain started to fall. The sun was playing hide and seek for most of our session but right at the end, it came out and the light was perfect.
Thank you so much for having me photograph you in Koh Lanta Heather & Kevin! I hope these photos will remind you of the wonderful time you spent in Thailand when you look back at them years later. xo
Last summer I had the opportunity to second shoot with the awesome Rik Pennington while I was in the United Kingdom for a couple of weeks. Rik is an incredibly talented photographer who has an amazing grasp for light and composition. I had a great time second shooting with him for Grace & Danny’s heartwarming and beautiful Godwick Great Barn wedding.
As an introvert, I can be a bit slow to warm up to people. But when I met Grace & Danny for the first time the day before their wedding, they welcomed me so warmly with open arms, literally. As a photographer, I always try to find the aspects of my subjects that make them shine – qualities that make them who they are. That can be hard when you meet someone for the first time, but Grace & Danny’s warm welcome instantly made that easy. And on the day of the wedding, you could easily feel the sense of community and of family. A wedding isn’t just a celebration of romantic love, it’s a celebration of togetherness in all its forms.
Grace & Danny’s wedding had a lot of lovely details, a lot of which were handmade. It was a true labour of love. But what I’ll carry with me from that day aren’t those details, but the love they showed each other, and to their friends and family and vice versa. Grace, Danny, and of course, Rik – thank you so much for having me! Here’s the story from that wonderful day.
Rustic California Ranch Wedding | Triple S Ranch, Calistoga
Last month I had the opportunity to photograph Kim & Eric’s beautiful and fun wedding at the Triple S Ranch in California wine country, just 1 hour north of Napa and Sonoma. It was a gorgeous day, the temperature was just right for an outdoor wedding and the sun was shining. Kim & Eric tied the knot under the hundred-year old walnut tree on the ranch, surrounded by their friends and family who came from all across the continent and as far as Europe. There was amazing food, awesome music (with their favourite local band The Soft White Sixties playing), great company and a whole lot of love.
Kim was born and raised in Toronto while Eric is from Lake Geneva, Wisconsin. They had respectively moved to New York and San Fran before they met. All signs would have pointed to “no” but it was inevitable really. Their shared career in advertising brought them to L.A. one fateful day as Eric was shooting in L.A. and Kim was visiting friends doing a shoot. They totally hit it off and the rest was history.
Kim is so full of life and passion and her enthusiasm is so infectious. Eric is so warm and down to earth. They both share this goofiness and it’s so sweet.
Thank you so much for having me join you in beautiful Calistoga and document your wedding day!
Here’s the story of their day.
Event design: Event by Katy Elizabeth
All the yummy food & drink: Chef Stephen Beaumier + Event by Katy Elizabeth
Intimate destination wedding | RIU Guanacaste, Costa Rica
In October, I had the opportunity to photograph Arlene & Francis’ beautiful Costa Rica wedding at the Riu Guanacaste. Francis and I worked together years ago at our local Chapters bookstore. I think he was still in high school then. It was incredible to see him after all these years and marry the love of his life. Arlene and I hadn’t met before, but as soon as she greeted me at the door to her suite, I knew it was going to be a great day.
From Arlene: “I don’t know where to begin. Janice’s photos are amazing!! When I first saw Janice’s portfolio, I knew I wanted her to be our photographer for our destination wedding. Her photos capture once in a lifetime moments that I now can relive in pictures over and over again (moments I, myself did not know were going on around me or wouldn’t have thought could be captured in one photo). Through her pictures, I am able to feel the raw emotions from that day. I still find myself getting excited or teary looking at the same photo from a few days ago. I especially enjoyed her little ways to get to know us and capture our personalities in our photos. There is just something magical in her photos like going to Disney World as an adult.”
I have always believed that photography is a way of feeling. So if my work is able to touch someone in a way, even just for a short while, then I feel like I’ve done a good job.
Featured on La Bride | A Romantic Greek Island Elopement | Skopelos, Greece
If you’ve watched Mamma Mia, the movie, then you might have wondered (or already know) where they filmed the gorgeous Greek islands scenes (let’s not discuss Pierce Brosnan’s singing…although personally I thought he was ok!).
And you guessed right, many of the scenes were filmed in Skopelos! When Jo contacted me about photographing her and Dan’s wedding in Skopelos, I was ecstatic! Skopelos is in the Sporades group of islands, about 3 hours away from the nearest mainland port of Volos by fast ferry. After the movie was released, mass tourism really hit the island. Luckily from what I’ve seen, that has died down a little. Of the four Greek islands I’ve visited this summer (Crete, Rhodes, Samothraki, and Skopelos), this was my favourite. For me, it has just the right balance between scenery, beaches, architecture and local culture.
Jo and Dan are from Australia, they were planning a big European adventure when the idea came to get married while overseas as well. They chose Greece because it’s somewhere new for them, exciting and full of romance (I couldn’t agree more). Jo and I had already emailed each other quite extensively and talked on the phone before, so when we finally met, I felt like I had known her for a long time. I met them the night before for dinner, and it was quite apparent how genuine they are and the special connection they share. On the wedding day, I joined them on the surreal, dreamlike Amarantos Rocks with their officiant, in addition to their lovely planner Daphne and myself as witnesses. Afterwards I was lucky to join them for dinner at Korali taverna as we watched the sun dip below the horizon.
It was truly one of the most intimate weddings I’ve experienced as a photographer and I couldn’t have asked for a more lovely couple to spend that day with. Thank you Jo & Dan, for having me capture your special day in stunning Skopelos and welcoming me so warmly.
A severe storm battered Skopelos a few weeks after we were there, many areas of the island were severely damaged, including the taverna where we had dinner. These photos will always remind me that there are very few things in life we can have forever, but your memory will always be yours.
