An engagement Session, or Document Love session as I refer to it is simply a portrait session for couples. You don’t have to be engaged to have a photo session where your story is told through images. You just need to be in love. It could also happen after you’ve already been married: it could be your honeymoon, and it could be an anniversary session. Life is precious, don’t wait for the “perfect” moment to have your story recorded.
I approach Document Love sessions the same way I do weddings: with a mostly “documentary” approach coupled with relaxed & natural portraits. The goal is to document you, your love for each other and your life together.
Love, documented: Jeannie & Beukes. They are wine lovers, and they are getting married in less than a month. For their document love/engagement session, we went to the restaurant where they had their first date, had some fun with giant purple balloons and walked around Village Square in Burlington.
“For it was not into my ear you whispered, but into my heart. It was not my lips you kissed, but my soul” – Judy Garland (from the song My Love is Lost). These words describe how it feels to find that person with whom you can share your life with. And I think that’s how Jeannie & Beukes feel about each other.
Windy day by the lake = balloons trying to escape. We lost one shortly after these photos.
Anna Maria & Duy: high school sweethearts, bicycle lovers, and food lovers. They are laid back and appreciate the simple things in life – my kind of people. :) Their engagement was quite a story! It involved a special trip to the Bahamas, jet skiing, Duy almost losing the ring, and a proposal in the middle of the azure Caribbean ocean. So incredibly sweet. I love a good engagement story . For their Document Love/engagement session, we took a day trip to Niagara-on-the-Lake because they love biking in the area. We walked around downtown Niagara on the Lake, made a geltao stop (yum!), and walked around the neighbour by the lake. It was a beautiful Fall afternoon to be spent in the company of two great people.
Anna & Duy, I’m super excited for your wedding in September!
If you missed the sneak peek from Simona & Daryl’s relaxed engagement session, it’s here.
What can I say about these two love birds? They are so in love and so cute. They make each other laugh and absolutely adore each other, and their cute Boston Terrier, Oreo. From the first time I met them, I knew that we would work well together. :) For their engagement session, they really wanted something unconventional and non-posey, which is exactly how I feel about “engagement photos” as well. So we crafted a custom session for them that included a walk in the park where Daryl proposed, as well as some down time at home doing things they love and just hanging out. I really enjoyed documenting all of it.
Thanks guys, for letting me share a little part of your Sunday and I can’t wait to photograph your wedding at the Royal Botanical Gardens in June! You are perfect together and your home is so lovely. Enjoy the photos!
If you’ve browsed my site, you know that I’m a “natural light” photographer, which means that I make use of natural light as much as possible, especially the amazing kind that comes right after sunrise and right before sunset (though I’m much more inclined to take advantage of sunsets since I’m not really a morning person anytime before 8am). And sometimes being a natural light photographer can mean postponing a photo session a couple of times. Though in our defence, there were two weeks of almost non-stop rain. Finally on the morning of Karen & Marcus’ Document Love session, the sun made an appearance. We caught some of the golden morning light outside of St Lawrence market, then we wandered around since Karen and Marcus love to visit markets and love to cook. We then made our way on the ferry to Ward’s island to catch the last of the Fall leaves before winter sweeps them away.
Though my fingers were practically freezing (with gloves), it was heartwarming to spend time with Karen & Marcus and capture snippets of love for them. I mean, just look at the way Marcus looks at Karen and how he makes her laugh.
P.P.S next up: a few summer weddings (I know!) and quite a few sweet babies.
There was this really old piano in a little house all by its lonesome self near the Ward’s island ferry terminal (which I’ve never, ever noticed in my years of living in Toronto/near Toronto, and so, I asked Karen to show off her piano skills =)
