Stephanie & Matt got married on a beautiful day in sunny Cabo San Lucas, Mexico while spring was still struggling with Toronto. Surrounded by their nearest and dearest, it was a most relaxed and lovely wedding day. I’ve said this before, but small weddings are always more dear to my heart. Not that I think there’s anything wrong with big weddings, but when you are planning something so big, sometimes it’s easy for the wedding to get “out of scope” to speak in project management terms. You start to worry about every single little detail, and lose sight of the reason why you are having this wedding to begin with: a celebration of love and a coming together of family and friends. It’s too easy for big weddings to become a “production”, a “show”, rather than a wedding.
This was not so on Stephanie & Matt’s wedding day. They hung out with their wedding party in the morning while getting ready, got to talk to each of their guests, and had time to just slow down and remember it all.
Thank you Stephanie & Matt for not only having me document one of the most special days in your life, but for making me feel welcomed as one of your dear guests.
“And forget not that the earth delights to feel your bare feet and the winds long to play with your hair” – Khalil Gibran
This is a quote Kelly sent me after she read my Iceland post. This, along with several other quotes she loves were displayed at her and Mike’s wedding. It kind of sums up how she feels about life she said.
“Dear Janice” was how Kelly’s first email to me started, funny enough I received her email while we were in Iceland.
“My fiancé and I decided on a short engagement as we wanted something simple and will be getting married at my parents’ home in the country near Orangeville.”
Right from that first email, I had a feeling that things would work out. Sometimes you just know. A handful of emails and a meeting in person further cemented that feeling. And their wedding day? Even though it rained and poured early on, it was simply wonderful. I witnessed so much love and joy. I know I go on about this all the time, but only because it’s true.
I’m going to share how Kelly & Mike met, because it’s one of my favourite stories. They ended up next to each other alphabetically at their Master’s convocation ceremony at the University of Toronto. Mike had no intention to sit through a stuffy convocation ceremony but luckily his parents made him go. They talked through the entire ceremony, but it wasn’t until Mike started cracking jokes that Kelly really started to fall for him. After the ceremony they got separated and didn’t even get to say goodbye. But with his name and degree on the program, Kelly tracked him down and sent him an email the next day, and had butterflies all day. This is what Mike said about that: I knew Kelly was the one when I woke up the day after meeting her and received that email.
Thank you, seriously, thank you for not only letting me do what I do, but for caring about what I do. I can only hope that these photos do the day justice.
Here is the story of Kelly & Mike’s wedding day.
The Wedding team:
Venue: Kelly’s parents’ backyard near Orangeville, ON.
Decor/Flowers: pretty much everything DIY by Kelly & her amazing bridesmaids
So here’s the deal. Here’s what happens when I photograph your wedding: I will smile, giggle, laugh and tear up with you. We will hug at the end of the night. Then I will go home and smile, giggle, laugh and tear up all over again when I go through and edit your photos. This was definitely the case with Hayley & Mark.
It rained a little on their wedding day, but that didn’t matter. Not when you are about to marry the love of your life and your best friend. You only needed one look at them to feel and share their palpable excitement and joy. I adore how much they adore each other.
Thank you H & M: for inviting me into one the most special days in your life, for trusting me to document it and create memories for you. It was truly a wonderful and heartfelt celebration. Here’s Hayley & Mark’s beautiful Pipers Heath wedding.
Mark checking the weather network app for updates on the rain :)
Remember this sweet couple and their engagement session? Helen and Adam had a beautiful Auberge du Pommier wedding on a sunny day in May. It was an intimate and heartwarming celebration with their nearest & dearest.
I must confess that as a photographer, of all the different weddings I shoot, the smaller, more intimate weddings have a very special place in my heart (perhaps partly because that’s what M and I had). They are more relaxed, more intimate, allowing you to actually be able to spend some time with your guests, and focus on being present for that special day. It doesn’t just blur past you, and it doesn’t have to be.
I don’t even know what else to say, but that the people I get to meet, and the stories I get to tell, that’s what it’s all about.
Thank you, Helen & Adam, for being genuine, authentic, for being you; for being in love the way you are; for loving the way you do, each other, and your friends and family; and most of all, for inviting me into your story and trusting me to tell it. Here’s to love & laughter. xoxo
Remember this sweet & relaxed engagement session? Simona & Daryl had a beautiful Royal Botanical Gardens wedding and I went along to document the day.
What can I say about these two? They are easy going, funny, genuinely kind and so perfect together. Simona wore an incredibly beautiful Victorian-inspired gown with lace trimming and Daryl was dashing in a three-piece suit. Even their pup little Oreo got dressed up with a special collar. Despite the fact that there were around 200 guests at the wedding, it was still a perfectly relaxed celebration. Love, family, friendship; these are the common themes I see in all of the weddings I photograph, and it was no exception that day.
Thank you Simona & Daryl, for having me as a part of your heartfelt celebration at the RBG, and for trusting me to capture it all.
‘In these bodies we will live, In these bodies we will die, Where you invest your love, You invest your life.’
Denis & Kim had a wonderful Mildreds Temple Kitchen wedding last month, where they had a heartfelt celebration with terrific food (best bread pudding I’ve ever had!), amazing company and lots of love.
I’ve been thinking about this blog post for a long time, ever since Denis and Kim first got in touch. Words fail me sometimes, especially when it comes to some of the people I get to meet and the weddings I photograph. Naturally, that is why I’m not a writer. But I will try a little here, and then let the photos tell the story.
I’ve gotten into the habit of sending a Q&A to my couples in an effort to get to know them better. They usually come back to me in the form of snapshots of the couple’s lives, but I was not prepared for the 4.5 pages that Denis & Kim sent back to me (you see, they are both writers). They shared so much of themselves and their story with me, I was deeply moved. As much as what I do on a wedding day is about being an unobtrusive observer and documenting the story as it unfolds, the true magic happens when the people I photograph trust me enough to let me into those stories and moments. Their personalities and sense of humour and love for each other just seeped through the pages, and made a great impression on me. I suspect that’s how everyone they know feel about them (and I think I’m correct in that regard based on what I saw and experienced on their wedding day).
When I met with them in person, they expressed to me how much they loved my work and the photos I took at Greg & Thea’s wedding. They had complete trust in me as a photographer. Whenever something like this happens, I feel two things: 1) absolutely floored; and 2) a bit unnerved. Because I felt that they had more trust in my ability and vision than I did myself. An individual’s personality and their connection with others are so complex, multi-faceted and intangible, that sometimes I think something like a two dimensional photograph will never be able to capture. But I try anyway. And I truly hope I was able to so, even if just a little bit, with the photos I took.
Finally, here’s a snippet from Ernest Hemingway’s A Farewell to Arms, which Kim’s brother, Cade, read at their ceremony:
Often a man wishes to be alone and a girl wishes to be alone too and if they love each other they are jealous of that in each other, but I can truly say we never felt that. We could feel alone when we were together, alone against the others. But we were never lonely and never afraid when we were together.
Thank you Denis & Kim, for entrusting me to tell the story of your wedding day, for being so genuine and kind, and for sharing your story with me.
Greg & Thea, whose wedding I photographed last fall.
