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.’
Karen & Marcus had a beautiful Argonaut Rowing Club wedding on a warm, sunny day last month. Karen was radiant in a sequin ball gown and sparkly shoes, and Marcus couldn’t stop beaming for the whole day. They had an intimate and lovely ceremony with personalized elements. One of which was a passage from Sonnet XVII by Pablo Neruda (one of my favourite).
I love you without knowing how, or when, or from where.
I love you straightforwardly, without complexities or pride;
so I love you because I know no other way
than this: where I does not exist, nor you,
so close that your hand on my chest is my hand,
so close that your eyes close as I fall asleep.
Also I love it when couples do things their own way, instead of having a full reception at the ARC, they had cocktail and hors d’oeuvre and then a sit-down dinner at Pearl Harbourfront.
Thank you Karen & Marcus, for inviting me to share your wedding day with you and to document it all.
Jeannie & Beukes. The first time I met them, I thought Beukes seemed very serious. That is, until he smiled at something Jeannie said. And from the first time I met them, I knew they had something special. You can’t see it, but you can feel it. I feel this about all my couples but with them, it was a little more palpable.
True love is a big deal, and it’s a big deal to get to witness it. It’s the way you feel around each other, how much you make each other smile, and the connection you have on a very emotional, spiritual, and authentic level. But marriage isn’t an ending, it’s a beginning to a new chapter. That’s what I love about weddings, the celebration of love, family, and friends; of what was and what will be. And acknowledging that it’s not going to be easy, but only that it’s going to be worth it.
Here’s how I saw the story of their wedding day.
P.S. I never appreciated how beautiful the Braveheart theme song is until that day; it was played on piano before the ceremony.
The weather was phenomenal that day for March, and then we had this incredible sunset.
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.
Oh these two! I don’t usually pick favourites, but they definitely hold a very special place in my heart. So thank you to the lovely Melissa from Moments by Melissa Miller for having me along to help for this wedding!
Blake & Lindsey tied the knot on a bright and sunny May afternoon. The wedding was held at the Hamilton Waterfront Centre. I shot a wedding here in 2011 with Melissa as well, and they’ve made some updates to bring a more modern sensibility to the space. The entire day was lovely, but Blake & Lindsey were definitely the star of the show. They are just so in love with each other. He absolutely adores her, and she makes him laugh. And when he kisses her, she does this thing where she scrunches up her nose. They absolutely love each other wholeheartedly. And that love isn’t just for each other, but for their friends and families as well. You can feel it. I don’t even know what else to say about this day without making it sound clichéd, except that this is why I love what I do, to witness such heartfelt love and document it, and know that as long as such love exists, the world is still a beautiful place.
Blake & Lindsey opted for a First Look, and it was really sweet. They spent the time laughing together, chatting and just being themselves.
One of the nearby boats sounded their horn (do you still call it a horn from a boat?!) to congratulate the couple!
Their MC’s made a special video for the couple that began with: “Good Evening, I’m Peter Mansbridge, and today from Hamilton, Ontario…” Everyone was absolutely floored.
The video then continued to interviews from some of their closest friends and family. Words that had everyone laughing and tearing up. Including us photographers.
