Bandit Brewery Wedding // Jes & Kevin

candid wedding portrait by Janice Yi Photography

Today I’m sharing one of my favourite weddings from the past couple of years. Jes and Kevin’s Bandit Brewery wedding was so fun, and full of warmth. I had a huge smile on my face looking through the photos again as I put together this post.

Bandit Brewery is also one of my favourite restaurant/small wedding venues in Toronto, check out that blog post here.

Jes and Kevin met during the Covid years, both of them had been staying with their parents in their hometowns when both decided to get back to the city and start dating again. Jes had a goal of going on 5 dates. Kevin was date number 4, and she never did make it to number 5. Their timing was impeccable, and goes to show that some things are just meant to be. This was also the case when they contacted me about photographing their wedding. I was originally booked for their wedding date, but the other couple emailed me about postponing their wedding a couple of days before Jes’ email. And boy am I glad that I was able to capture their special day.

Thank you so much for having me be a part of your day Jes and Kevin! Here is the story of their intimate wedding at Bandit Brewery. xo

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bandit brewery ceremony setup

 

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Toronto street wedding photos

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Spadina House Wedding + Boehmer Restaurant Reception

Outdoor garden wedding at the Spadina House; couple walking through the grounds

Spadina House wedding ceremony | Intimate restaurant reception at Boehmer

I’m excited to share this beautiful outdoors Spadina House wedding today! The Spadina House Museum is one of those locations that I’ve always wanted to photograph at. So I was pretty excited when Caitlin and Anthony contacted me to shoot their wedding. The museum is also a great spot for wedding portraits even if you don’t have your ceremony here. The gardens are beautiful especially in spring and summer, and the house itself just exudes old world charm. 

We started the day with getting ready at the stylish Kimpton Saint George hotel, then we were blessed with beautiful weather for Caitlin and Anthony’s wedding ceremony in the gardens of the Spadina House. After some portraits on the grounds of the Spadina House and also at a bar where the pair had their first date, we made our way to their reception at Boehmer restaurant along Ossington. It was an evening filled with great food, heartfelt speeches, lots of laughter and awesome live music. 

A wedding photographer is a visual story teller, and as I look through these images from that sunny June day, I find myself smiling, laughing and tearing up all over again. And that is what I hope my images would do for all of my couples, to remind them how their wedding day felt, and to feel again the emotions that all those fleeting moments brought. 

Here’s the story of Caitlin & Anthony’s wedding day. xo

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The Wedding Team

Planner & Coordinator: Claudia Cole Events

Bride preparation: Kimpton Saint George hotel

Hair: @shanpetrohair

Makeup: @presleyfoskettmakeup

Ceremony Venue: The Spadina Museum

Reception Venue: Boehmer Restaurant

Band: The 99s

Vineland Estates Wedding // Diana & Lee

Vineland Estates Wedding

Niagara-on-the-lake Wedding | Intimate Vineyard Wedding

I’m excited to share Diana and Lee’s intimate Vineland Estates wedding on the blog today! Their celebration took place on a clear summer day at the beautiful Vineland Estates Winery in Niagara-on-the-Lake. If you are looking for an intimate venue outside of the city, this is a great option!

Diana and Lee is proof that sometimes you just don’t know what life has in store for you. They met on Tinder and swiped right because they thought the other spoke English. Lee was teaching in Shanghai at the time and Diana was travelling in Shanghai visiting friends and family. Their initial dumpling-eating date turned into a week-long date. After lots of food and long walks around the French Concession neighbourhood in Shanghai, they quickly realized they wanted to see more of each other. Over the next six months they made an effort to see each other despite having an ocean between them. After having spent so much time travelling together (and if you’ve travelled with other people, you know that travelling is a true relationship endurance test!), they knew there was something more to this courtship. So Lee planned a proposal in beautiful Bali during a stopover while they were travelling (but of course), and that’s what led us to their heartfelt celebration at Vineland Estates.

Thanks Diana and Lee for inviting me to share in and document your special day! I still remember how much joy and laughter filled the day and I hope you do too. Here’s the story of their wedding day. xo

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Gimcrack Equestrian Centre Wedding // Schomberg Wedding Photographer

gimcrack equestrian centre wedding

Boho & Vintage Inspired Outdoor Wedding at Gimcrack Equestrian Centre

A few months ago, I had the pleasure of photographing Ginger and Cedric’s unique Gimcrack Equestrian Centre wedding. Even though we live in Canada, where we only really have two months of summer, and where outdoor weddings are often wrought with complications due to the weather, I still love me a good outdoor wedding. September is a great month for it. Your chance of good weather is fairly good still, and most of the mosquitoes are gone by then. September also tends to be quite a bit cooler compared to the sweltering heat we usually get in July/August.

Ginger had a very unique vision for her wedding day from the start, and it came together perfectly. I especially love the circus top tent they had! All tent weddings should have a tent like that. Then there was the vintage VW camper that Ginger arrived in – so cool!

What I love the most about their wedding day was when Ginger said in their thank-you speech how she always giggles when she’s at Home Depot and someone asks if she’s found everything she’s looking for – because that’s where her and Cedric met! She found her soulmate there after all.

Thank you for having me document your lovely celebration Ginger & Ced! Here’s the story of their wedding day. xo

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Sonoma Valley Wedding // Jack London State Historic Park

Sonoma Wedding Photographer | Jack London State Historic Park Wedding

In the Spring I had the pleasure of photographing Zinzi and Brian’s Sonoma valley wedding at the beautiful Jack London State Historic Park. It was so lovely to be back in sunny California again. The day started with joining Zinzi at a lodge in the surrounding hills in the mists. The skies then cleared and we got some typical California sunshine for the wedding. There’s nothing I love more than an outdoor ceremony in comfortable temperatures and dinning alfresco under the stars.

Zinzi and Brian initially met at a work conference where they had hit it off right away. Zinzi gave Brian her phone number and although Brian was planning on asking her to coffee later, they “ran” into each other on Tinder before he had a chance to do that. And the rest as they say, was history. I love how they describe their relationship: the most similar but opposite people. I think for a relationship to last, we have to have similarities that keep us together, but also have opposite aspects that are complimentary and keep things interesting.

Thank you Zinzi & Brian for inviting me to document your beautiful and fun day of celebration! Here’s the story of their wedding day. xo

 

Jack London State Historic Park First look with dad Jack London State Historic Park wedding ceremony
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The wedding team:

Venue: Jack London State Historic Park

Planning & design: Bri at Desert Child Events

Florals: Annie at Ida Blooms

Cake & baked goods: Natty Cakes

Catering: Kronnerburger

DJ: Heart of Gold

Rentals: Encore Events Rentals

Granite Brewery Wedding // Katie & Gordon

granite brewery wedding

Eclectic Floral Themed Wedding

I’m excited to finally share Katie and Gordon’s eclectic and heartwarming Granite Brewery wedding today! From the moment Katie told me they wanted to go standup paddle boarding for their engagement photos, I knew their wedding was going to be very unique! And unique it was!

The moment I saw Katie’s wedding dress, I was blown away. I’ve never seen such a unique wedding dress before, mostly because it wasn’t white at all. Katie didn’t want to look like a “bride” on her wedding day, she just wanted to look like herself. Katie was certain about the fabric she wanted to use from the beginning – a beautiful sheer organza with floral print. Florals was definitely the theme. Katie’s dress designer Breeyn then hand sewed embellishments over the patterns on the back of the gown to create more vibrancy and added little insects. Then there was this incredible veil made by her friend and designer David, it was inspired by Cinderella’s veil (Katie & Gordon got engaged at Disney)! Katie completed her look with real dried flowers painted onto her nails, and a beautiful bouquet inspired by 1920’s wedding bouquets.

Then there is the wedding itself. The rain forced us to have the ceremony under the awning instead of in the garden but that didn’t dampen the joy of the occassion. Katie is the only bride I’ve photographed who walked down the aisle to the theme song of Star Wars. Gordon, and everyone were very pleasantly surprised! Wayde, their officiant, had one of the most touching ceremonies I’ve witnessed. And the evening festivities included one of the funniest Lip Sync Battles I’ve ever seen. So all in all, the day was a lot of fun.

Thank you so much for inviting me to the Granite Brewery to share in and document your special day Katie & Gordon! It was such a pleasure to be a part of it. Here’s the story of their wedding day.


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The Team:

Hair: Rikki Zuker

Makeup: Julie Lynas

Wedding dress: Breeyn McCarney

Veil: David Dunkley

Bouquet: Quince Flowers

Invites: designed by Gordon

Table centre pieces: DIY by Katie