Julia & Blair's Wedding :: February 24th, 2007

Julia & Blair got married this past Saturday at the gorgeous Inn at Christie's Mill in Port Severn. It was a special wedding for me to photograph as I have been quite close with Julia and her entire family for a number of years. Julia is a great person - she is honest, driven, caring and always tells you what is on her mind. I have the utmost respect for her because of this. When Julia first started dating Blair it was evident that the sparkle in her eyes shone a little brighter; he was the one for her. When they first got engaged I was honoured that they wanted me to be the one to photograph their day and I was looking forward to the wedding ever since then.

I arrived in the early afternoon to meet Julia and her maid of honours, Abby & Amanda, to photograph their "getting ready". Abby & Amanda have been best friends with Julia since high school and they are a hilarious bunch! Once the ladies were ready we met Blair and his best man, Rob, for some posed wedding party photos. After the ceremony we did all the family portraits before I rounded up the wedding party again for some quick photographs outside in the snow. We just had to get some images outside since we were in Muskoka and it was February!

Christie's Mill is a beautiful location for a wedding. When you walk in, there is a feeling of warmth and of home. Their ceremony was held in the main foyer in front of a large fireplace and the reception was in a room with high wooden ceilings and a view of the sunsetting on the frozen lake. It was a perfect winter wedding!

Congratulations Julia & Blair! I love you both and I thank you for inviting me to be a part of your day!

Amanda helped Julia with her make-up.

A little bubbly before it all officially began!


Julia & Blair's room at the Inn was huge! The bathroom alone was basically the size of my apartment. I love the dueling mirrors/maids of honour.

Julia's little cousin was the flower girl for the wedding. Her dress was made by her Grandma and her jewellery (Julia's as well!) was made by her mom, Cheryl.

A sweet moment before the ceremony with little cousin and her grandparents.

The Poyntz family.



The Schmitt clan.

You know he is a good man when he willingly holds the bouquet!


Julia's cousin Gordon of the Gordon Hyland Trio played during the cocktail hour.

Julia's Oma, Ilona, holds a special place in my heart!

Julia & Blair had five candles lit at the reception to represent special family members that have passed away.

The beautiful sunset over the lake.

Julia's brother surprised her by travelling all the way from Laos for the wedding.

His Worship Mayor David Miller

On Monday I photographed my last day with Reel Canada for this round of screenings. We had a very special guest for the morning, his Worship Mayor David Miller. I have never met his Worship before but upon first meeting him, you feel as though you have been friends for years. He is a genuine, everyday person who just happens to be the leader of our city. He is a great supporter of Reel Canada.

His Worship chats with the crew from the documentary EMPz 4 Life.

Sporty Katerra

Last week I went over to baby-sit Little K while her Mom & Dad went to the Raptors game at the Air Canada Centre. It was their first date in over a year so it was very exciting. I was also very excited to spend some alone time with my niece. Of course, Katerra was decked out in her jersey and Converse Allstar high-tops to match the theme of the night. I just had to take a photo!

Vacation Alert!

I wanted to let you all know that I will be out of the country from Tuesday, March 6th until Thursday, March 22nd. I will be travelling to Mexico City to visit my sister and to work on some personal photography projects that I am very excited about! While I am away my access to email and phone will be limited so I appreciate your patience in waiting for a response to any inquiries!

Congratulations Julia & Blair!

Julia & Blair got married yesterday at the Inn at Christie's Mill in Port Severn! I know that there are many people who attended the festivities that are eagerly anticipating seeing the photos from the big day. Give me a couple of days and I will post a bunch. In the meantime, here is one!

EMPz 4 Life

Another film that has been screened this past week as part of Reel Canada is the documentary EMPz 4 Life. EMPz is directed by the great Allan King. The film focuses on four young men who live in Toronto's Malvern Area. It is about their struggles with prejudices, attempting to follow their dreams and working with their despairs. This documentary is as real as it gets in showing what it is like to grow up in any desolate neighbourhood. The film was screened twice last week at two different high schools. For the first one, I had the pleasure of photographing the crew of young men that the film focuses on, along with their mentor Brian Henry. For the second screening the director Allan King was there to answer questions from the students.

More of Reel Canada

On Wednesday I had the pleasure of shooting more for Reel Canada at another Toronto high school. The special guests for that day's screenings included: Paul Gross who wrote, directed and acted in the film "Men with Brooms"; Stephen Mchattie who acted in "The Rocket" which is a film about the great hockey legend Maurice Richard; and the lovely Devyani Saltzman who is the daughter of Deepa Mehta and who wrote a memoir about the filming of "Water" called "Shooting Water".

Director Deepa Mehta

This week I have been working with Reel Canada which is a program that is essentially a Canadian film festival that travels around to various high schools in Toronto. Films are screened and then the directors, actors or other people who play a role in the film take part in discussions with the students after the film is shown. It is a great way to introduce students to Canadian films and to show them that this country produces some pretty fabulous work!

On Monday I was very excited when I found out that I would be photographing one of my favourite directors - the lovely Deepa Mehta. She was there to discuss her film "Water" that has been nominated for an Oscar for Best Foreign Language film. It is also the film that opened the Toronto International Film Festival in 2005. "Water" is part of Deepa's trilogy of films that also included "Fire" and "Earth". "Water" was special in that it took her six years to film. She had originally began shooting it in India but since the film was dealing with some pretty controversial issues, violent protests began there and she was basically forced to stop. Six years later, she began the film again, this time shooting in Sri Lanka. Deepa was not prepared to take "no" as an answer. She felt that making this film was something that she needed to do and she let nothing stop her from creating such a beautiful story. I feel honoured that I was able to meet such a great human being and I know that the students who met her that day left feeling just as inspired as I did.

On the farm

I recently visited my friend Rafe at his farm which is just north of Port Hope. I love getting out of the city and heading back to my hometown. Rafe's is a very peaceful place to go.

He has a German Pointer named Spy who has got to be one of the coolest dogs ever. This guy is pure muscle and loves running around outside. We took him for a walk on the Ganaraska River, which is of course frozen this time of year.

I think that these must be raccoon tracks because it looks like a tail dragged behind this critter.


The frozen Ganny. Only one of us fell through the ice at one point (and no it was not me!).

The Eisens!

On Sunday I photographed the lovely Eisen family. I have known Johnnie Eisen for a few years now. He is a great photographer; someone that I truly admire. Him and I also have similar personalities. At times we could almost be twins, well except for the fact that he is a 60-year old gay man and I am, well, I guess the opposite. Johnnie has twin sons who now have their own families. Jason lives in Japan with his wife and baby, while Dale lives literally a half block up the road from Johnnie. It was great to see Johnnie in "Papa" mode as I photographed Dale, Lori and their two cute children.

Happy Valentine's Day!

Time for Boudoir Portraits!

Boudoir portraits make a great wedding gift for your fiancé! Now is the time to book your session before your summer wedding. Boudoir photography sessions last between one and two hours, depending on the number of outfits that we shoot. The session can take place in your home, in the studio or at a hotel room. Please do not hesitate to contact me if you have any questions or if you would like to book your own session.

Marrying in Mexico in March?

I will be in Mexico City in March for a couple of weeks. If you or someone you know are getting married in Mexico during that month and are interested in the possibility of having a Canadian photographer photograph your wedding, please send me an email!

Baby Esme!

On Friday I was lucky enough to meet my friends', Ben & Ceri, new baby. Her name is Esme and she was born a mere two weeks ago. She was quite the sleepy girl while I visited but she did manage to wake up for a bottle. I cannot wait to watch her grow!

Naked Baby in the Studio!

Babies love being naked! Katerra was so happy to be allowed to hang out and show off her little bum.