Barbara + Cameron Are Married!

How fitting that on the last day of the year I am posting some of my favourite images from the last wedding that I photographed in 2008! Barbara + Cameron's wedding took place on November 29th in Hamilton and Ancaster. I started with getting ready shots of both sides before heading to Dundurn Castle for the formal photographs. I love shooting the posed portraits before the ceremony as it gives time for the bridal couple to relax before all of the formalities of the day. After the photos we then headed to one of my favourite venues - The Ancaster Old Mill - where both the ceremony and reception took place. Barbara + Cameron: your wedding was absolutely perfect! Congratulations!

These stunning flowers were created by the awesome Cool Green & Shady!

Barbara's sister performed a handfasting ceremony.

Isabela + Richard Are Married!

I have known Isabela + Richard since they first got together. I knew Isabela first and when Richard officially came into her life, it was as though he had always been there. They complete one another. They are always laughing and having fun. Even through serious times, they come out of it hand in hand with a smile on their faces. When they told me at the end of October that they were getting married, I was ecstatic for them. I could not imagine them any other way. They then told me that they had set a date - November 10th of THIS YEAR! They did not want the big fairy tale wedding. They wanted something simple that represented them. They wanted their closest friends and family to be present and they wanted each other. I met them at City Hall for the ceremony. The officiant was lovely, everyone was beaming. We then headed to Peter Pan on Queen Street for a lovely wedding day meal. Since we were on Queen Street West and you may remember Isabela + Rich's love for grafitti, we had to do some portraits in that neighbourhood, their style. Before we headed to the dark alleys of Toronto, we stopped in at Fashion Crimes to show the ladies there how fabulous Bela looked in her dress that she bought from them. Congratulations Isabela + Rich! I could not be more happy for you!

Wedding Bells Feature!

Have you seen the new Spring & Summer issue of Wedding Bells yet? If not, pick up a copy and check out my photos featuring Caroline + Vav's fabulous wedding! Roseanne Dela Rosa was also kind enough to give me a shout out on her blog. Thanks Rosie! To see the whole story on Wedding Bells, please click here.

Sara + Mark Are Married!

Sara + Mark were married on October 25th at the beautiful Richmond Hill Country Club. After doing their engagement portraits back in June, I was very excited to photograph their wedding! The weather was gorgeous that day so we managed to do portraits outside. Sara + Mark are a fantastic couple. I love the way that they look at one another, particularly during the ceremony. Their reception was a lot of fun and I would say that everyone present had their turn on the dance floor! Congratulations Sara + Mark!

Mark chose the best guys to be a part of his wedding party! They had no problem helping Sara with her dress and flowers!

Sara is Finnish and tradition has it that the groom drinks a toast out of the bride's shoe! Good man, Mark!

Shayne + Howard are Married!

I have a confession to make regarding Shayne + Howard's wedding - I spilled a couple of tears, not once, but twice at their wedding! I am such a sap when it comes to people really, truly loving each other! You may remember Shayne + Howard's engagement session that took place a mere ten days before their wedding. I was super excited to photograph their big day that took place on October 17th at the ever-so-lovely Carlu in Toronto. I met Shayne + Howard before the ceremony to get the formal portraits out of the way. We even managed to go outside for a few. Their candle-lit ceremony then took place in the Sky Room, while their reception was later held in the Round Room. I loved the food stations that they had set up, especially the yummy desserts! There was much celebration and dancing for Shayne + Howard once the speeches were over. Shayne + Howard, you are a fantastic couple! Thank you for allowing me to capture your big day for you. Congratulations!

Look at how adorable/in love they were walking down the aisle after the ceremony!

Shayne + Howard are Married!

[More Images Coming Soon!]

Michelle + Julian Are Married!

On October 12th, Michelle + Julian said their, "I dos" in front of their closest friends and family members. I was very excited when Michelle called me and said that she was getting married because I knew that Julian and herself would pull off a fabulous wedding with lots of style! Michelle is a details woman and every little thing was taken care of. I started the day with them and their crew at Moronra Park to do the formal portraits prior to the ceremony. It was a beautiful and warm autumn day which made it perfect for outdoor portraits! Their ceremony and reception was then held at the new Best Western Hotel in Orangeville. Michelle + Julian, you are a fabulous couple and I wish you all the best! Congratulations!

Leslie + Toby are Married!

Leslie + Toby got married on October 11th in Oakville. They are such a fantastic, fun couple. The tears were seriously rolling down my cheeks because I was laughing so much while I photographed these two. I originally met them when I photographed Amy + Neil's wedding exactly two years before this wedding! Because of this, I knew exactly who I was dealing with and I knew what I could get away with for this crew - yes, I made them run! Congratulations Leslie + Toby! You are a wonderful couple and I know that life is only going to continue get better for you two because of your continuous laughter.

I loved Leslie's green shoes!

Happy Monday!

[from Leslie + Toby's Wedding :: October 10th, 2008]

Michelle + Scott Are Married - October 4th, 2008!

I was very excited when Michelle + Scott booked me as their wedding photographer because their wedding took place in my hometown of Port Hope! I always love going home to shoot (and so does my grandmother because that means I get to visit with her!). Michelle + Scott's wedding took place on October 4th at the gorgeous Port Hope Golf Club. The last time that I was here was for my high school formal which was a, uh, number of years ago! Their ceremony was held outside looking over the golf course and Lake. Cocktails and Hors D'Ouevres were served inside the house. Michelle + Scott requested lots of candids so that is what they got! Here are some of my favourite images from their big day. Congratulations Michelle + Scott!

Michelle arrived to the wedding in this AWESOME car that your Father has been working on for years. If I remember the story correctly, this is the first car that her Father owned and it sat for Michelle's childhood gathering dust in the garage. He always told her that he would drive her in it on her wedding day.

I love how happy everyone was at the ceremony!

I had a little competition at their wedding - Scott's father!

The Best Man truly was the best - here he is holding Michelle's dress.

Scott's Mother, Barbara Winfield, is quite famous in the Port Hope area for her mouth paintings. The wedding favour for everyone was a card that had a print of one of her paintings. How special is that?!

Happy Friday!

[From Michelle + Scott's October 4th Wedding]

Robin + Paul :: September 21st, 2008

One of my favourite weddings that I have photographed was Amy + Neil's that took place almost exactly two years ago (Happy Anniversary you two!). So when Amy's cousin, Robin, contacted me about photographing her upcoming wedding, I was super excited! Robin + Paul's ceremony was held at St. George Greek Church and their reception took place at the amazing Archeo Trattoria located in the Distillery District.

Robin + Paul are so madly in love. If you are not one to believe in true love, you just have to spend a couple of hours with this couple to change your mind. Their secret? You gotta have fun with each other! Congratulations Robin + Paul!

Robin loves icecream, especially SOMA icecream. Paul actually proposed to Robin at this location!

In case you missed the post from last week! I love this photo.

Happy Friday!

Happy Friday!

[from Robin + Paul's Wedding :: September 21st, 2008 - more coming soon!]

Tania + Chris :: September 6th, 2008

Tania + Chris live, breathe, eat and sleep Queen Street West. They live in this 'hood, they shared their first kiss together in this 'hood and they had their wedding in this 'hood. I absolutely loved photographing their wedding because they were literally up for anything! I started the day with Chris and his crew at the wicked Gladstone Hotel. Conveniently, the guys' ties matched the wall colour in the stairwell there. Chris swears that this was not on purpose but considering his tightly planned itinerary for the day, I beg to differ! We then headed to Tania and her crew at their house that you can literally see from the Gladstone. Their ceremony was held at the lovely Holy Family Church. Next up was Sunnyside Pavilion for some fun wedding party photos. I made sure to take full advantage of Tania's cathedral-length veil. We then sent the wedding party off to the reception so that we could do more photos of Tania + Chris along Queen Street which is so dear to their hearts. Their reception was held at my favourite venue - The Great Hall. As always, the food was fabulous and everyone had an awesome time! Congratulations Tania + Chris!

In case you missed my original post with this image, here it is again. Nothing beats being photographed on your wedding day on the exact corner where you shared your first kiss.

Nothing Beats...

Nothing beats being photographed on your wedding day on the exact street corner that you shared your first kiss together. Love it.

[From Tania + Chris' Wedding, September 6th, 2008]

Kara + Tom :: August 29th, 2008

I love to laugh. When my sisters and I are together we laugh so hard that tears roll down our cheeks and anyone else present gives us looks as though we are nuts. Kara, she loves to laugh as well. Never have I had such a happy, laughing bride before! Kara + Tom got married on August 29th at the very lovely Sunnybrook Estates. The weather was perfect and everyone was a blast to work with! Kara + Tom had a lot of fun details for their wedding including a very dreamy spread of candy at the end of the night! I have the lovely DJ-extraordinaire Duarte Da Silva to thank for the recommendation of me to Kara + Tom that happened with a chance meeting of Kara's sister on a streetcar. I love how the world works! Congratulations Kara + Tom!

Behind every fabulous bride is a GREAT pair of shoes!

Kara + Tom had, quite possibly, one of the cutest flowergirls ever!

I absolutely love this photo of Kara meeting Tom's eyes for the first time. You can see her holding in her breathe (and tears!).

My kind of bride!

Jen + Mike Trash the Dress!

I met Jen + Mike last week at Cherry Beach in Toronto for a post-wedding portrait session, better known as "Trash the Dress". Jen + Mike were married in the winter and felt that they did not get enough photos of themselves at the wedding (let alone the weather put a hinder on that!). I was not their wedding photographer but I did photograph Jen before the wedding so I was excited when she called me to book this session! Mike gets a gold star for being such an awesome husband: Jen did not actually tell him what they were doing when they headed to Cherry Beach. When they arrived he asked why there was a photographer wandering around (me!) and she had to laugh and tell him that I was there for them! He was all game to do the session and we had a lot of fun shooting.

No Day But Today

[From Kara + Tom's Wedding on August 29th.]

Sherisse + Greg :: August 23rd, 2008

Sherisse + Greg are a really sweet couple. They have been together since high school so their wedding was definitely a big celebration for everyone! Sherisse looked like an absolute perfect bride and there were definitely tears in Greg's eyes when he saw her coming down the aisle! I loved that I was able to capture it all with my camera. After the ceremony we did the wedding party photographs at Kariya Park in Mississauga and once we were done, Greg asked if we could do some more "urban" portraits. So we crossed the street and found some brick buildings to use as a backdrop! I loved the details that Sherisse + Greg had at their wedding, including the centrepieces that they made by themselves. The lovely Vivian's Decorations & Designs provided the beautiful backdrop for the head table. Congratulations Sherisse + Greg!

Claire + Roy :: August 9th, 2008

You know those people that you cannot help smiling around? The ones that have that contagious smile that just make you feel happy? Claire + Roy are exactly those people. I had a fun engagement session with them back in February so was really looking forward to photographing their big day! The day started early at Claire's parents where we did all of the formal family portraits for her family. We then headed to Auberge du Pommier to meet with Roy's family for his family portraits. They had an elegant lunch reception at Auberge du Pommier after their ceremony. It was a nice and relaxing day - in fact, as my assistant Abby and I drove home afterwards, we said how the day could not have been any better! Congratulations Claire + Roy!

Andrea + Ravi :: The Portraits

This post is the conclusion of Andrea + Ravi's wild Trinidad wedding. I wanted to save some of the best portraits for last. After their Catholic ceremony, we drove to the gorgeous Bamboo Cathedral to do some portraits. We were losing light quickly so we had to really bust it to get there in time! The Bamboo Cathedral is an area that has bamboo growing so tall that it starts to bow, forming an arc over the walking trail. It was really beautiful. On the way there, I spotted the ruins of a church and convinced Ravi to pull over for a few photos there. I loved the contrast between the two of them in their wedding clothes with the ruined church and lush forest behind.

Andrea + Ravi are such a fantastic couple. They have this comfort with each other that is simply remarkable. They are one of those couples that fit so well together that you can hardly imagine that there was once a time when they were not together. They are their own unique people but blend so well into this super being that you cannot help but want to be around them.

Andrea and Ravi are the type of people who invite a stranger to spend a week with them in their family home to photograph their wedding and then tag along on their vacation. I cannot imagine many people would do the same. They are fantastic people who deserve all of the happiness that comes their way. I feel honoured to have met them, feel blessed to have been given the opportunity to photograph their wild wedding and feel lucky to now call them friends. Congratulations Andrea + Ravi!

Ravi found this perfect mango on the ground near the church. It was dubbed the wedding mango.

Andrea + Ravi's Trinidad Reception :: August 2nd, 2008

Andrea + Ravi's wedding reception in Trinidad was KILLER! After having two days of ceremonies, everyone was ready to let loose and celebrate the newlyweds. When you have two cultures coming together at an event like this, there is always the risk that things will not mesh. But not with this crew! Everyone was up and dancing to whatever the song the DJ put on. The Trinidadians learned to Salsa from the Colombians and the Colombians learned to "screw in the lightbulb" from the Trinidadians. The night was incredibly fun! I had a blast capturing it - even working on these photos made me laugh out loud!

Whiskeysito!

Ravi's sister-in-law made these incredible centrepieces! She even cut down the bamboo herself.

Ravi's sister and a friend did a dance during dinner.

Apparently Ravi is not really a dancer so he surprised everyone at the reception: Andrea and himself had been taking salsa lessons just for this moment!

I love that they brought their signing board all the way down from Toronto. To view their engagement photos, please click here.

As I said, apparently Ravi is not really a dancer... but his sister, Sherry, who also acted as MC for the evening, forced him to come down for a dance with his Mom! I love this series of photos - particularly Andrea's reaction in number three.

The real dancer in the family was their little three year old niece!

Andrea's friend, Marina, who traveled from Toronto for the wedding was determined to catch the bouquet! Nice catch!

Are they not the cutest Mother-Daughter duo ever?!

To view more photographs + purchase prints from Andrea + Ravi's wedding, please click here.

Andrea + Ravi's Catholic Ceremony :: August 2nd, 2008

The day after Andrea + Ravi's Hindu ceremony in Trinidad, they headed to the chapel again - this time for a Catholic ceremony. There was a little chaos beforehand but the ceremony ran smoothly, the Priest was amazing and the choir was fantastic! I have made a slideshow of my favourite images but have also pulled a few of my favourites to show.

Andrea + Ravi's Hindu Ceremony :: August 1st, 2008

What happens when a Trini marries a Colombian?! Things get a little wild! I was very excited when Andrea + Ravi contacted me last fall about the possibility of traveling to Trinidad to photograph their wedding. This was not going to be the average destination wedding and they were wondering if I was up to the challenge. Of course I said YES and we began the planning.

Ravi is originally from Trinidad and is Hindu. Andrea is originally from Colombia and is Catholic. Two cultures and two religions required a lot of challenges but they pulled it all off perfectly!

First stop for Andrea + Ravi's wild wedding: the Hindu ceremony that took place on August 1st. It was held at the incredible Temple in the Sea. The Temple is exactly that: it is joined to the mainland by a bridge and is surrounded by the Sea. As a photographer, I was loving the view and could not stop photographing them! I have hundreds of favourite images from this day so here are a few of the top choices, as well as a lovely slideshow!

To view more photographs + purchase prints from Andrea + Ravi's wedding, please click here.

Andrea + Dave's Wedding :: July 26th, 2008!

When Dave looked at Andrea it made my heart melt. I cannot imagine what it must do to her own. Their awesome wedding took place on July 26th at the very lovely Willow Springs Winery located in Stouffville. I promised Andrea that it would not rain for their 5pm outdoor ceremony and by 4pm, the dark clouds cleared and blue skies appeared! I cannot say enough great things about this location - the space made for great photos, the reception room was inviting and the food was delicious! Congratulations Andrea + Dave!!

To view more photographs + purchase prints from Andrea + Dave's Wedding, please click here.

I Have Returned!

I have returned from sunny Trinidad & Tobago after spending a lovely week photographing Andrea + Ravi's wedding! Stayed tuned for lots of photos from their awesome wedding!

I appreciate your patience in waiting for a response from me to all of your emails and phone messages!

Cheers,
Jessica

Wedding in Kratero, Greece

I was merely a guest at this wedding and it was such a pleasure to be (although I wish that I was the official photog because of all the photo opps!). Friends got married in Kratero, Greece which is a tiny village with a population of 80, situated a kilometre from the Macedonian border. It's surrounded by mountains and not much else. It was a trek to get to the wedding but incredible when we arrived! The groom is Greek-Canadian and his father grew up in Kratero. The bride is German and her parents drove in an RV from Germany for the wedding. There were 230 guests - 50 came from Canada, 50 came from Germany and the rest were local Greeks.

The night before the wedding, some cousins of the Groom went around to all of the houses in the village to officially invite them to the wedding. They were invited and then had to do a shot of some homemade moonshine. The day of the wedding, there was a live band and a flag bearer that picked up the groom and his family. They did some dancing then got the bride and her family. The groom's parents gave her gifts and then everyone (all family/guests) walked through the village to the tiny church near the bottom of a hill. Only about thirty people could fit inside so everyone else filled the street. Afterwards we all walked back up the hill to the square of the village where the tables for the reception was set up. Once everyone was