downtown toronto wedding

Happy Anniversary!

in

Danni + Felipe 


Can’t believe this wedding was 4 years ago, feels like yesterday!

Still one of my all time favourite weddings, it’s actually my current sample album.

Happy anniversary to these two (and their adorable daughter!).

This wedding was amazing.

Danni + Felipe met on the beaches of Australia and have been globetrotting ever since.   They currently live in British Columbia so it's always a bit of a worry when I haven't met a client before their wedding... needless to say this this wasn't problem.  Danni + Felipe, their family and their friends welcomed me with open arms and I felt like one of the gang!

The wedding started out at the fabulous Shangri-La Hotel in downtown Toronto with the guys and girls getting ready. Wendy Rorong did an amazing job with the makeup; giving all the girls a clean, natural look! We then headed over to Osgood Hall for an amazing first look and a few formal portraits of Danni + Felipe and their wedding party!

Over at the Fermenting Cellar the amazing wedding planner Alusha from A Lush Affair had put together a beautiful candle lit space for their wedding ceremony, which was partly in Spanish by Paula Da Nova in honour of Felipe's friends and family from Ecuador.  The flowers from the Coriander Girl looked great, especially the bouquet. 

Some good speeches, some good food and some great dancing (Helped out by DJ Lexx) rounded out the rest of the night!

I'd like to give a huge thanks to wedding photographer Nick Driver from Artanis Collective who did an amazing job second shooting!

You can check out my favourite wedding pictures above and the full wedding slideshow below.

If you have the password, you can see their full wedding gallery here.

 

 

Archeo Toronto Winter Wedding

in

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!

Argonaut Rowing Club Wedding

in

Huong + Aaron

People always ask me what my best wedding story is. Usually it’s the time the reception venue had a fire and we had to relocate the reception to the church basement.

Going along with a theme, this is the wedding where my car caught on fire. On the Gardiner Expressway. In the middle of the wedding. On the plus side, I’ve got a really nice new car!

But the day started really great. Honestly.

Huong + Aaron began their day getting ready at Aaron’s fathers beautiful home. I love when couples throw out traditions out the window. Once everyone was ready, they had a really lovely first look in the backyard by the pool. First looks can be a great idea to help smooth out a wedding day timeline and the nerves of the couple. :)

From there we headed off to their church ceremony at the stunning St Gabriel’s Parish in North York. I absolutely love this church, it’s so different than 99% of the churches out there. Clean, modern lines and tons of natural light… A photographers dream. The wedding ceremony featured some beautiful readings, a great singer and some great moments as Huong + Aaron exchanged their vows, rings and a kiss.

We hung out the church for a while, getting some family portraits done and then it was off to the Argonout Rowing Club for the reception… and that’s when my day went HORRIBLY WRONG. :)

Luckily Huong + Aaron’s wedding had a nice break built into the afternoon, plenty of time to wait for the firetruck, get my SUV towed to a dealership and then Uber it over to the reception. Technically, I was only 2 minutes late.

Cocktails and the wedding reception at the Argonaut Rowing Club was great. It’s a beautiful venue right on the waterfront in Toronto, a real rarity. The night featured TWO live bands, some great speeches and a beautiful sunset.

You can see some of my favourite wedding pictures up top and their full wedding slideshow below.

Before you leave make sure to check out some pictures from Huong + Aaron’s amazing Ottawa engagement session.

Liberty Grand Wedding in Toronto

in

Katherine + Kosta

My day began with Katherine and her family getting ready at the Hyatt Regency in Downtown Toronto in a beautiful hotel suite. Kosta began his day at his parents place getting ready and having some family pictures done with my second photographer for the day, Ryan Rowell from Rowell Photography who did an amazing job helping me out for the day

The wedding ceremony was held at the beautiful St. George Greek Orthodox Church in Downtown Toronto. I love shooting Greek Orthodox weddings for a couple of reasons… the churches are beautiful, there’s some great and unique traditions and the priests are always cool with me moving around to get pictures (they usually motion for me to get closer!)

After the ceremony we all piled into the party bus for the short ride over to Osgoode park for some pictures with Katherine, Kosta and the wedding party. Osgood hall is a great option for wedding pictures because of it’s central location, it mix of nature and architecture and it’s free…. a very rare thing in Toronto!

From Osgoode Hall it was off to Liberty Grand for some extended family pictures and a great cocktail hour.

A huge shoutout to Alusha from A Lush Affair. Alusha is an amazing wedding coordinator and one of my favourites to work with in Toronto. The day went off flawlessly and the ballroom looked amazing!

The wedding party made an amazing entrance and then Katherine + Kosta had their first dance followed by dinner and speeches. Once the bride and groom gave their speech everyone headed to the dance floor for some traditional Greek dancing and then a great party late into the night!

Toronto Reference Library New Years Eve Wedding

in

Andrea + Rob

Andrea and Rob had an amazing New Year’s Eve wedding at the Toronto Reference Library in Downtown Toronto! The Toronto Reference Library is one of my favourite venues! (check out Noor + John’s wedding there!)

I love the idea of New Years weddings… let’s face it, if you get invited to one then you have to do zero planning. Big fancy dinner, dancing, midnight celebrations… it’s all taken care of for you. And Andrea and Rob did a fantastic job planing a great evening for all their friends and family.

Another bonus, at least for me, for new years weddings is it’s usually a later start. :) I met up with Andrea and her bridesmaids at her suite at the Fours Seasons Hotel in Toronto’s Yorkville neighbourhood. Bonus points that it was so close to the Toronto Reference Library we could see it out the window!

After some time spent photographing the girls I Uber’d it over to see Rob at his best man’s condo to document them getting ready.

We had an amazing first look amongst the bookshelves of the Toronto Reference Library followed up with some portrait time. The wedding ceremony was held in the main space of the library but they had a completely different layout than I’ve ever seen there. Instead of one aisle leading to the alter, they had a central alter with two aisles leading up to it and guests in all for quadrants (this is probably making no sense).

Rob and his side came down the one aisle and Andrea made an amazing entrance descending down the glass elevator and then walking up the aisle arm in arm with her father. After the ceremony it was some family pictures, a fun receiving line and then straight into dinner!

Andrea + Rob went with a buffet for dinner and chose to have different dishes from around the world as well as Canadian favourites…. I rarely get to eat so well at a wedding!

Speeches and dancing rounded out the evening all leading up to the big midnight countdown featuring all the usual hats and horns as well as a big confetti drop!

You can check out my favouring photographs from Andrea + Rob’s wedding up above as well as they full wedding slideshow below.

You can also check out their fun, urban Toronto engagement pictures here.

Sassafraz Yorkville Toronto Wedding

in

Heather + Shay

It's not often that someone can steal the show from the bride at a wedding (and get away with it!) but when you're the couples adorable son... it's allowed.  Check out this great Toronto portrait family session we did this spring!

I love a restaurant wedding... there's something really nice about the the casual, laid back vibe it seems to automatically impart to a wedding.   Add into that a Jewish wedding ceremony (fast becoming my favourite kind of weddings!) and you have a recipe for an amazing day!

Heather and Shay spent the morning hanging out in their amazing suite at the Four Seasons in Toronto's Yorkville neighbourhood.   I love shooting in those suites as they provide a great backdrop for the getting ready pictures.  Plus I'm a sucker for luxury. :)   Shay and Heather were a little unconventional and spent the morning hanging out together which I have to say was a great idea...  I think it helps manage the nerves and excitement in the morning.

We snuck down to the a beautiful staircase in the lobby of the Four Seasons hotel for their first look and then toured around Yorkville grabbing some great wedding portraits.  We met up with all the family a little early at Sassafraz Restaurant before the wedding ceremony for some family pictures.

The Jewish wedding ceremony was great, officiated by one of my favourite Rabbi's with a great cocktail hour following. 

Dinner was a relaxed, low key affair with only a few speeches and lots of time for mingling and conversations.   Shay and Heather opened up the dance floor with their first dance and from there the dance floor was packed for the rest of the night thanks to Tiffany from Bounce Entertainment!

A big thanks to the team from Heidi Gruenspan for doing an amazing job planning this wedding!

 

Toronto Fermenting Cellar Wedding

in

Meghan + Jeff

Meghan and Jeff had an amazing spring wedding at the Fermenting Cellar in Toronto's Distillery District.

Meghan, her sister and her mother spent the morning getting ready at One King West.  One King West has stunning suites that are the perfect place to spend the day.   I met up with Jeff and his best man at the Fermenting Cellar to photograph the finishing touches as they got ready.

Meghan and Jeff decided to have a first look which I always think is a great idea as it allows the bride and groom to spend time with their friends and family after the ceremony instead of running off to do pictures for an hour.   

While we were doing some family pictures Meghan was dive-bombed by a bird.  Meghan HATES HATES HATES birds.   :)

Meghan + Jeff had a really beautiful candlelit ceremony in the Fermenting Cellar that was full of laughter and emotions followed by a cocktail hour with some amazing appetizers. 

The Fermenting Cellar is one of my favourite wedding venues in all of Toronto... I love the dramatic uplighting, the industrial feel and the great layout.  I can't recomend it enough if you're looking for something a little different from your traditional wedding venue in Toronto. 

Dinner was intermixed with some amazing speeches and toasts by Meghan + Jeff's family and friends.   They had a great kissing game where guests had to answer (impossibly hard) trivia questions about Meghan + Jeff's favourite TV couple.... seriously hard questions.  

Once the cake was cut and the desert was served, it was time to hit the dance floor and Meghan + Jeff's wedding was an amazing fun party.

You can check out some of my favourite wedding pictures from Meghan + Jeff's wedding at the Fermenting Cellar above and their full wedding slideshow below.

You can also check out some other weddings I've photographed at the Fermenting Cellar:

Danni + Felipe
Renee + Ian

Elginton Grand Wedding

in

Happy Anniversary to Elsie + Jeff

A wedding photograph from Elsie + Jeff's wedding at the Eglinton Grand in Toronto, Ontario by Toronto wedding photographer Scott Williams.

Social media can be a double edged sword. 

There's all the terrible aspects of it (the hacks, the curating, the online bullying) but it also allows a connection with people that I think would be difficult any other way.  It was through an Instagram post that I was reminded that Elsie + Jeff, one of my all time favourite couples, are celebrating their 6 year anniversary!  

Elsie + Jeff had a fantastic wedding way back in 2012 at the Eglinton Grand event space in midtown Toronto with a wedding ceremony at the always stunning Trinity Chapel on the University of Toronto grounds.

A lot of photographers hate looking back at the older work.  

Am I a better photographer than I was in 2012?  Probably, but it doesn't mean I'm not still proud of the pictures I've created over the years for my wedding clients.   And sure, there can be some cringeworthy stuff in there as we all succumb to certain fads, processing styles and technical limitations with the older cameras.   And of course the most glaring thing will always be how much you've grown and learned as a photographer over the years.

But it can also be a lot of fun looking back at these images and seeing the joy in their faces and the great moments.   Here are a couple of my favourite images from their Eglinton Grand wedding.

Also check back soon for a family session with Elsie + Jeff's beautiful family!

Happy anniversary you guys!

 

Archeo Wedding in the Distillery District

in

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.