Jennifer + Carlin - Their Day

As promised, here are some more photos and a short story from Jennifer + Carlin's wedding this past Saturday at the Burlington Golf & Country Club!

Jennifer and Carlin met in high school, but it wasn't until a couple years later (after Jennifer's self-confessed 2 year 'crush') that they finally hooked up. She knew seemingly right away that she was destined to marry Carlin - whom, on the other hand, didn't think he would ever settle down at all!

I started off the day - along side Andreas - at Jennifer's house in Oakville, ON. The first 2 things we realized were :

1 - the houses in this area were massive and gorgeous!

2 - there was a Bentley in the garage!

Jennifer, her family, and her absolutely stunning bridesmaids couldn't have made us feel any more comfortable! From the moment we walked into their home, their warmth was incredible. They offered us amazingly delicious-looking avocado and tomato sandwiches, but we were stuffed from breakfast! Jennifer had each bridesmaid make their own mix CD of any songs that reminded them of her - suffice to say, there were quite a few older hip hop and dance tracks, many just for jokes! The girls seemed cool, relaxed, and comfortable - usually rare on the bride's side of things - and they were all more than happy that Jennifer's father decided to take his morning swim with his bathing suit on - a supposed rare occurrence!

I didn't stay long, and was instead off to Carlin's house down the street while Andreas stayed with the girls. Carlin - if you were ever to read this, I must say that you have a solid, funny, and sincere set of friends! I think every one could tell that Carlin was pretty nervous, so a lot of funny jokes and talk about music and concerts they've experienced helped lighten the mood - along with Carlin's VERY infectious laugh! A couple glasses of beer were had, and then it was off to the ceremony!

The ceremony was short and sweet - only 30 mins long. It was a quick jaunt to the country club, where we decided to shoot the group photos, and snap some candids during the cocktail hour. I also discovered an amazing drink - Pimms & Lemonade! For those of you who don't know what it is, Google it - or better yet, order one!

The night went on - dinner was amazing (we had pistachio-crusted salmon), speeches were hilarious, and you could just tell that these 2 families were destined to come together. Carlin couldn't help but laugh every couple of minutes - and the guests were more than liberal with the clanking of the crystal, seemingly never giving Jennifer and Carlin a break from standing up and kissing (not that they minded I'm sure!).

The night went off without a hitch, thanks to Susan from Bliss - one of the most amazing planning companies I've ever had the experience of working for! I've worked with them on weddings of a few hundred guests, and weddings of a few dozen, and each and every time they perform flawlessly - keeping to a tight schedule, and dealing with any issues that might arise on your big day! If you want to rid yourself of the stress of planning your wedding day, make sure to definitely give Bliss a call - Tara, Whitney, and Susan would each be amazing choices!

Below are a few more shots from the day (see the previous post for a few more!). You'll notice that I included a couple sequence shots as well - I believe that single candid shots are great for setting their own mood and presenting a day as it happens, but sequence candid shots give you a slightly different feel and perspective - a slightly deeper feeling of being with us at those moments!

Angela + Chris

Now that I have had a relaxing week/weekend spent with friends and family, and most importantly - my Mother - I will return to the blogging world!

A couple weeks ago, Andreas and I had the opportunity to photograph an amazing marriage between Angela and Chris.

When I first heard about this couple - Chris: a massive, Greek, wooden floor layer - and Angela: a small, Italian, graphic designer - I knew that we would be in for quite the party! Anyone who has attended either a Greek or Italian wedding can attest for the immense family celebration!

I have recently read that Italian families consider a daughters marriage day to be the biggest day of both the daughters and parents lives - the daughter is finally a woman, 'leaving the household' and starting her own life (which hopefully means having MANY children!). Being part Italian myself, everything I have witnessed during family weddings over the years proves this to be true - there are many traditions, and in a way, it can be a very serious day ... this all changes during the reception, where plenty of dancing, polka, drinking, and eating (especially!) come together for an all-night fete.

I began my day at the Greek-Orthodox church, instead of the usual bride or grooms house. I was located on the balcony of the church, while Andreas and Kim shot from around the main level. 3 great angles and one amazing Greek ceremony (my first)! You might notice that Angela opted for a VERY beautiful 'dusty-rose' coloured dress - a very nice change from the standard white!

We then headed to the Liberty Grand - a massive establishment located near the CNE grounds in downtown Toronto.

The food and drinking were fantastic, and the combination of TWO DJ's was something not too often seen.

Thanks to the beautiful Sophie of the Liberty Grand for not only making sure the event ran smoothly, but for lending us a power outlet in a hidden corner of the hall - this allowed us to do an on-site transfer of images and prepare a wonderful slideshow for the couple, in which their reaction can be seen in one of the photographs below.

Siriphone + Jason + Canon 200mm f/2

This past Saturday, I once again had the pleasure of shooting with Andreas of Andreasphoto Inc. - a fairly small wedding for Siriphone and Jason.

These 2 finally decided to tie the knot after 10 years of being together! The weather was hot for a mid-April day - in the mid 20's - and the sun was harsh. To top this all off, winds with speeds as high as 100km/h were blowing shortly after the ceremony ended, which led us to take formal portraits indoors.

There were 3 of us this day - Andreas, myself, and another fantastic photographer by the name of Bruce Macneil.

The combined equipment list between the 3 of us was completely mind blowing, but the REAL treat was the 200mm f/2 that Bruce had brought along for us to try. There are only a few copies of this lens in the entire country (thank the sky-high price tag for this), and no rental company in Canada even carries it for loan, so any opportunity to try one of these quickly garners a 'YES!'.

I shot the entire ceremony with the 200 f/2 mounted to a 1D MKIII - and the resulting pictures show how special this combination truly is!

Despite a few hick-ups through out the day, it still turned out to be a success!

I've been told that the Italian/Greek wedding we will be shooting together next weekend will be absolutely beautiful, so stay tuned!

In the meantime, here are a couple shots taken yesterday: