Archeo Toronto Winter Wedding

Emily + Aaron

Archeo is one of my favourite Toronto wedding venues… it’s got a great vibe & decor, is the perfect size for an intimate wedding and is located in Toronto’s Distillery District. Throw in the fact that it’s winter and the Christmas market is in full swing and you’ve got something magical.

But we’ll get to all that, first things first I met up with Emily and her girls at her apartment as they all got ready. They were lucky enough to be able to rent their neighbours house as an AirBnB so there was lots of room for everyone to relax and get ready. Once Emily was into her amazingly cute dress, it was off to Archeo and the Distillery District.

After a great first look and some wedding party portraits, Emily, Aaron and I went off to tour the Distillery District for some wedding portaits…. One of the highlights was when we ran into a group of Christmas carollers and they sang to Emily + Aaron!

The ceremony was chock fill of great moments: an officiant I’d never worked with before but who was great, multiple kisses before ‘the kiss’ , the rings on a little dog statue and a Stranger Things duet to finish things off.

Dinner was great (mmm… steak) and was filled with tons of laughter and some amazing speeches, capped off with an amazing wedding toast by Emily’s sister the maid of honour. Emily + Aaron’s speech finished off with Christmas crackers… one of Emily’s favourite things.

The DJ that night was DJ Nine and let me tell you he was one of the best I’ve worked with in all these years… really kept the night moving and the dance floor jumping. Aaron was part of fraternity in university and they have a great tradition where they welcome one of their brother’s new wives by serenading her on the dance floor. Garter and bouquet tosses, slide bars and a donut table rounded out the night!

You can see some of my favourite wedding photographs at the top of this blog post and Emily + Aaron’s wedding slideshow below.

If you’ve got the secret password, you can see their full wedding gallery here.

Also check out Emily + Aaron’s engagement session at Toronto’s Riverdale Farm.

Looking for a little more Archeo wedding inspiration? Check out Anne + Tim’s winter Archeo wedding and Cindy + Enrico’s autumn wedding!

Riverdale Farm Engagement

Emily + Aaron

Spent an afternoon with Emily + Aaron at Riverdale farm for a chilly late fall engagement session!

These two are actually getting married this weekend at one of my all time favourite venues, Archeo in the Distillery District.

Check back soon for what I’m sure will be some amazing wedding pictures but in the meantime check out some other weddings at Archeo.

Anne + Tim

Cindy + Enrico

Julia + Kevin

Archeo Winter Wedding

Anne + Tim

Lunch time weddings… why has no one told me about these before? They might be my new favourite thing!

Anne and Tim had a beautiful winter wedding at some of my favourite wedding spots in Toronto…. the Intercontinental Yorkville, Trinity Chapel at the University of Toronto and Archeo in the Distillery District.

Began the day nice and early (unavoidable with a 10am ceremony!) at the Intercontinental Yorkville Toronto hotel with the Anne and her friends and family as they all got ready for the wedding. Since the hotel was so close to the wedding chapel, Anne decide to she could easily walk there. Luckily the polar vortex had ended the day before so it was only a respectable -5 for the walk over. Anne also made the very wise decision to no wear her dress for the walk and instead get dressed at the chapel.

The ceremony went great even with a reluctant (but still adorable!) flower girl leading the way for Anne to walk with her mother down the aisle. Trinity Chapel is one of the most beautiful wedding venues in all of Toronto but it does have some strict conditions on photographing there but even with those conditions I managed to great some great shots and even made it up to the balcony for some nice scenic shots of the ceremony.

After the ceremony we hung around for some family pictures and then we all headed down the the Distillery District for some pictures with just Anne and Tim…. and their adorable dog! Anne and her friends also have this great tradition of a leather jacket with ‘Just Married’ bedazzled (???) on the back that they pass down from wedding to wedding!

The reception was great, the staff at Archeo always do an amazing job! The reception featured some great speeches and a fantastic sprinkle cake as requested by Tim!

You can see some of my favourite wedding pictures above and the full wedding slideshow below.

Their Favourite Wedding Photograph

Cindy + Enrico  -  Archeo, Toronto 

Here is one from my ongoing series of Heirloom Photographs from Cindy + Enrico's fantastic wedding at Archeo in Toronto's historic Distillery District.

I really enjoy this project because it gives me some insight into the kind of wedding photographs my clients (and future clients) cherish and appreciate.  

I love the wedding photograph that Cindy + Enrico chose for so many reasons... the connection between the two of them, the fact that it's not your 'typical' wedding picture and of course that it's from late into the night during their reception.  Right from day one I've always believed in photographing the entire wedding day, from getting ready to late into the night. 

So here, in Cindy & Enrico's own words, is their favourite wedding photograph:

"It’s  important to us because it  symbolizes our soul connection which always comes when we are lost in anything creative together....like dancing. It’s especially beautiful because we were not aware of the camera ..."
 

Thank you so much Cindy & Enrico, I hope you still love this picture for years to come.

For more of Cindy + Enrico, check out their full wedding on the blog here.

You can also check out their stunning beachfront engagement session here.
 

Best of 2017 Wedding Photography

Before we do anything else I want to give a huge thank you to all my couples in 2017... It's really an honour that you place your trust in me to capture one of the most important days in your life.  You welcome me into your homes (and hotel suites) with open arms and truly make me feel like one of the family.  I hope you love the moments I've captured for generations to come!

It was so tough going through all these wedding photographs and trying to chose my favourites.  One thing I really noticed is how different the weddings all were... everything from intimate gatherings at the amazing Langdon Hall, backyard weddings in Barrie and some amazing weddings at venues around downtown Toronto.  I also got to shoot at a bunch of different wedding venues I've never worked at before which is always great!

I'm already looking forward to a great 2018!
 

Archeo Wedding in the Distillery District

Cindy + Enrico 

Cindy + Enrico had a beautiful, intimate wedding at Archeo in Toronto's Distillery district.

Everyone spent the morning hanging out and getting ready at the beautiful Hazelton Hotel in the Yorkville neighbourhood in Toronto.   I must have walked by this hotel, and it's amazing suites, a dozen times in the past and never even knew it was there.

Once everyone was ready to go we piled into the limo for the ride down to Archeo and their outdoor wedding ceremony.

The ceremony kicked off with a truly special moment when one of Cindy's son's walked her down the aisle while her other son sang for her (He's in the band Magic!).

Cindy and Enrico incorporated so much of their own heritage into the wedding ceremony... a native tradition of honouring the four directions and elements, an Italian wine blessing and an Irish hand fastening.   They also had a ring warming ceremony which is fast becoming one of my favourite wedding traditions. 

After exchanging vows and a kiss, Cindy + Enrico were showered with bubbles by their guests as they danced their way down the aisle.  We made a quick trip out to the historic Distillery District for some wedding party portraits and then back to Archeo for cocktail hour and an amazing meal.

I'd like to pause for a second and take a minute to thank Alusha from A Lush Affair for doing such an amazing job with this wedding.  The room looked great and everything went off without a hitch.

When you have such an artistic group of friends (Cindy + Enrico were both actors, Cindy still teaches acting) it's no surprise that these two were treated to several performances during their wedding reception.   Enrico's father recited a beautiful poem in Italian... Well, I assume it was beautiful, all the Italians were tearing up!  :)   And to top it off, two of their closest friends sang and their mentor gave a beautiful toast to the happy couple.

After giving their own heartfelt speech and toasting their guests, Cindy + Enrico did an amazing job getting the dance floor open with their first dance... the party was still going strong when I left late in the night!

You can see some of my favourite wedding photographs up above and the full wedding slideshow below.

Also be sure to check out Cindy + Enrico's amazing Toronto Beaches Engagement session.

Archeo Wedding Photography

Julia + Kevin

Had the pleasure of helping my good friend Tim Forbes out with Julia + Kevin's wedding in Toronto's Distillery District.  

It was a rainy day so we started off with some portraits in the Stirling Room which the couple had rented just for the occasion, and then headed off to the beautiful St Pauls Basilica for their Catholic ceremony and then back to Archeo for an intimate wedding reception.