Photography Archives - Page 3 of 4 - Toronto Wedding Photographer

March 4, 2013January 25, 2016

The Most Important Things in Life Aren’t Things

toronto wedding photographer documentary style wedding photography

When I first entered the wedding photography world, I was compelled by a desire to capture all the magical moments that happen on a wedding day; when two people make that commitment and take the leap into a new chapter of their lives. Somewhere along the way, I lost sight of that desire a little, clouded by details, and things that I saw all over the internet, on wedding blogs, in wedding magazines. I submitted one of my favourite weddings from 2011 to a popular wedding blog and was turned down. They said on their submission page that they like something a little different. I felt this one was different. And they even had some pretty details, but after looking through some of the weddings they featured, I realized mine didn’t have enough of those details. I thought to myself, is this how we measure a wedding, and ourselves? By the things that are there. Then I read the Mason Jar Manifesto, stumbled across Moment Junkie, A Practical Wedding, and articles like this. And I thought deep and hard. I started to pay even more attention at weddings, and realized that the most important things about a wedding aren’t and can’t be represented by things. It’s about love, and the celebration of love, it’s about your story, and the stories of your loved ones. And it’s about the little moments, the ones where you open up, you are authentic, vulnerable, at your truest self, caught off-guard. These are the moments that tug at our heartstrings, that make us tear up, or laugh-out-loud. And when those moments are captured, we can look back and experience that wondrous and joyful day once more. I love a pretty thing as much as the next person (just look at my Pinterest boards), but, you, your love, and these little moments are why I do what I do, and why I love what I do.

So I’m really happy, and proud to say that one of the photos from Karla & Steve’s wedding was featured on Moment Junkie on Friday. It was a little moment, but what a sweet moment it was.

February 28, 2013February 9, 2014

Location, Location, Location! // Allan Gardens Wedding // Toronto Wedding Locations

I’ve lived in the GTA area for over a decade but hadn’t heard of the Allan Gardens Conservatory until last year. (I know, which Toronto have I been in?!) I visited for the very first time earlier this week with my friend Alex, of Young Hearts. We were doing a location scout as Alex is shooting a wedding there next weekend.

I’m not really the flora aficionado (does anyone else find this to be a funny word? no?) in the family, my mom is. Though I’ve been known to occasionally geek out at their beauty, so I was quite surprised by the 6 greenhouses at the conservatory and found myself marvelling at all the plants. Each of the greenhouses hosts a permanent collection with different temperate environments. My personal favourites were the Palm House, and the Cool Temperate House. The architecture itself is, well, vintage-y for lack of a better word to describe it. It reminded me of the Grand Palais in Paris, which was built just 10 years before the Allan Gardens, in 1910.

Here are some photos from our scout, I think an Allan Gardens wedding is great especially if you love plants & flowers ;) It’s a lovely and intimate location for a ceremony or just for some wedding photos.

P.S. this is totally unrelated, but according to Wikitionary, the etymology of “aficionado” is Spanish, meaning to inspire affection.

The only Banana Tree in Toronto in the Palm House; Right is the grapefruit-sized lemons that I’m pretty sure came from Sorrento, Italy

Alex in the photo on the right.

Grand Palais of Toronto? It’s the glass domes.

Something a little different.

February 8, 2013February 28, 2017

Photography Dream List

Ever since I read The Alchemist, I believed that when you want something with all your heart, the entire universe conspires in helping you to achieve it. One of my great dreams is to combine my love of travel with photography, so here’s a list of places where I’d love to photograph a wedding, in no particular order. I hope that in uttering them out loud, they will one day become reality.

– Paris. Enough said :)

– on a beach (anywhere!), at sunset

– Nova Scotia, on the coast, maybe Cape Breton?

– Gros Morne National Park, Newfoundland

– A vineyard wedding, in France

– An elopement (how sweet would that be? …ok this isn’t a place, but an elopement to somewhere wonderful and quiet would be amazing)

– A backyard wedding, lovingly handmade with DIY details

– Somewhere in the south of France: the colours, the sun, the hilltop villages, oh my!

– The Highlands of Scotland, or an island

– a Caribbean island

– Havana, Cuba: the colours, the architecture, the people

– A proposal-session (this one is for the extra thoughtful guys out there!)

– Iceland – the hauntingly beautiful landscape

– A little island somewhere in Italy, like Lipari

– Bali, Indonesia

– Venice, Italy: there is simply no other city on earth like Venice

– Costa Rica

– Seville, Spain

– Banff or Jasper National Park

– Old Town Dubrovnik, Croatia

– Lake District, England

If you or anyone you know is planning on getting married and can help me check off one of these dreams from my list, please do get in touch! :)

Note: Ok, I see a theme here: I’m definitely attracted to nature with amazing landscape, architecture, and history.

January 23, 2013March 7, 2013

First Look: Part Deux

I wrote a short blog post in 2011 about First Look’s and what they are. Honestly I think whoever first thought of doing this was onto something. I thought I’d do a second post on it, after our own wedding 7 months ago.

What is a First Look again? Sometimes it’s also called The Reveal. Basically it’s an opportunity for the bride and groom to see each other before the ceremony and experience those first moments together. So, M and I opted for a First Look for our own wedding, and that was probably one of our favourite moments from the day. Thinking about it now, I’m actually surprised that he agreed to it, because he can be quite traditional at times. Seeing each other for the first time ahead of the ceremony, and sharing our excitement with each other was one of the only moments of the day we were able to spend together alone. (Even though our wedding was very small) When we saw each other, it was as if we were somewhere else and we were isolated from the things and the planning that sometimes had distracted us from the real meaning of the day: to commit to each other. It also helped calm down some of the butterflies before the ceremony :) Since we got the nervousness and anxiety out of the way, we were able to just focus on each other during the ceremony. And, the First Look made my walk down the aisle just as emotional and special, if not more. I still teared up as my Mom walked me down and I looked around at not just my husband-to-be, but our family and friends, and M had a huge grin on his face, waiting at the end. He was so happy, and so was I.

There really aren’t any rules when it comes to weddings I think, you don’t have to hide from each other until the ceremony, you don’t have to wear or throw a garter, you don’t have to throw your bouquet etc. I think you just have to do whatever makes you happy and what makes sense to you as a couple.

Well, here are some photos from our First Look, so see for yourself :)

All images above are from the lovely Chloé of Caught the Light photography. Below are some First Look photos from the past year that make me smile, taken by yours truly.

July 19, 2012July 19, 2012

Location, Location, Location! {Cheltenham Badlands}

For years, I’ve heard of this place called the Cheltenham Badlands and wondered what it was all about. Finally I drove out to Caledon with M one sunny day and paid a visit. Turns out, the Badlands aren’t “bad” at all, it’s just a geological term for an area of soft rock without vegetation and soil cover and moulded into rolling hills and gullies. I guess if you are a farmer, this is not good news. But if you are looking for an interesting location as a backdrop for photos, whether it’s your engagement or your wedding portraits, the Badlands can be good. Alright, I will stop with the cheesy puns. :) In all seriousness, if you are looking for an alternative to parks and fields, the unique rolling red hills (albeit small) can be an excellent choice.

See some photos below, decide for yourself! :)

April 8, 2012

Location, Location, Location! {Scotsdale Farm}

Location is important when you buy a house, and it isn’t any different when it comes to your wedding. Besides your photographer -I’m not biased or anything :) – the location of your venue is probably the most important choice you will make. Often your venue will inspire your theme and the overall look and feel of your wedding. So I’m a big proponent for picking a venue/location that speaks to you and that represents your story as a couple.

I drove up north past Halton Hills to scout a couple of locations for engagement sessions a couple of days ago and Scotsdale Farm was one of the places I visited. As soon I drove down the long, gravel entrance and parked the car, I was smitten. The farm is part of the Ontario Heritage Foundation and it seems many of the original features were maintained. The property is expansive, and is part of the Bruce Trail and Silver Creek Conservation area. It has a few side trails with forests, streams, and bridges. I only covered a small part of the hike this time, but I would love to return and hike the entire trail.

The location is rustic, charming and romantic, perfect if you are looking for an alternative location for a wedding or if you are planning a country wedding. The light was quite gorgeous in the afternoon, and would be stunning in the fall when the trees change colours. This is also great for an engagement session, with great backdrops around the farm and walks around the trail.