A year in review....

As we begin 2016 I thought it might be nice to take a look back at how great 2015 was!

I had a bunch of amazing couples and weddings at some of the best wedding venues in Toronto and Ontario including Fermenting Cellar, Hessenland Country Inn, Bruce Hotel, One King West, Liberty Grand, Waterloo Region Museum, One King West (again!) The Tannery, Copper Creek Golf Course, The Stirling Room, 99 Sudbury, Ancaster Mill, Federation Hall and WhistleBear Golf Course as well as weddings across ontario including Tobermory and Windsor.

Now, usually I do a slideshow for these year end posts but this year I thought I'd try something different and post 10 of my favourite images.  Wow... it was way tougher to pick 10 than I thought.   So many great moments from the year but I finally managed to whittle it down to my favourite 10 (in no particular order!)

I love this portrait from Josh + Paul's wedding at the Bruce Hotel in Stratford, Ontario.

The best light is always around sunset (or sunrise... but that's not happening!) so I always try to sneak my couples out for a quick portrait session to take advantage.  

To me this image feels really natural, not forced at all... which is exactly how I like to work.  I put the people in the nice light and then let things happen!

I really like this photograph from Spencer + Jonas' wedding at the Stirling Room in Toronto's Distillery District.

During the wedding ceremony, they had something called a 'ring warming' where the two wedding rings were passed around to all the guests before they said their vows.

Having shot over 300 weddings, it was nice to see something new and unique!

For me, a great moment will always trump a great portrait but there is something about this photograph of the wedding party from Emilie + John's wedding at 99 Sudbury in Toronto that I really like.

I think it has that timelessness and elegance to it, something I'm always striving to achieve!

Plus, I photographed it vertically so that makes it pretty rare for me.  :)

I'm always looking for a different angle when I photograph a wedding.  It's a hazard of the job that you're essentially photographing the same events week after week so you have to keep looking for new ways to see things!

This picture is from Rebecca + John's wedding up at the Hessenland County Inn in Ontario on the shores of Lake Huron.

Here's another one from Rebecca + Jeff's wedding at the Hessenland Country Inn (what can I say, it was  great wedding!)

I like everything about this picture... the look on Rebecca's father's face as he dances with his daughter... the guests looking on in the background... the contrast  of tones between the subjects in the foreground and the warmth in the background.

This wedding photograph is from Jennifer and Alex's wedding in Toronto.

The speeches during the reception were really great, and really emotional.  

Somewhat surprisingly, this image was captured as the best man was giving his speech and talking about how Alex and him had a bond closer than brothers.   This really touched Jennifer and I managed to capture this just as she wiped away the tears.

 

This image is from Andrea + Chris' wedding at One King West.

I love the connection they have as Chris listens to Andrea's speech.

This is a portrait from Joohee + Joel's wedding up in Tobermory. 

We had just finished the civil wedding ceremony, right on the water at Joel's mothers property, and paused for a few pictures. 

I love the colours in this picture, from the traditional Korean hanbok to the brilliant blue of the sky.

I love it when people are smiling in wedding photographs (I'll take happy crying as well) so obviously I love this picture from Kaylen and Roberts wedding this spring at Federation Hall in Waterloo.

You can see the joy on Kaylen's face as she enjoys their first dance during the wedding reception.

Photographers love the soft light of overcast days and golden hour sunsets.  Unfortunately, wedding portraits sometimes need to be made during the middle of the afternoon under harsh sunlight.

This was the case during Maria + Theo's wedding this fall in Toronto as we met for portraits near the Art Gallery of Ontario.

One King West Toronto Wedding

Danielle + Eric

Still catching up on blogging all my weddings after a busy 2015!

This was such a great wedding that Danielle + Eric had at Toronto's One King West Hotel!

I love when the bride and groom get ready at the same location, it means less running around which in turn means more time to let great pictures happen.   I really try to capture moments at a wedding, and the more down time or relaxed a wedding timeline is the better the chance of photographing those little moments that happen in between the big moments!

I had a great time hanging out with the guys and girls in the morning, heading outside the hotel (and even the pub across the road!) for some portraits.  

Once the ceremony was over, the wedding party and I headed out for a little walk around downtown and found some great spots for pictures.

The reception at One King West was stunning... I've heard some photographers don't like the uplighting but I think it looks great and would love to see it at all my weddings!

After all the wedding formalities, we settled in for one of the best parties of the year.  The dance floor was packed all night long!

Check out some of my favourite wedding pictures from Danielle + Eric's wedding above as well as the full wedding slideshow below.

Andrea + Chris | One King West

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Andrea + Chris had such an amazing wedding at the One King West Hotel in downtown Toronto!  

Andrea is actually the cousin of one of my past brides... I always love going to a wedding where I see past couples and their families.  You can see Andrea + Chris' engagement pictures here!

I started the day off at Andrea's parents house with the girls getting hair and make up done by Toronto Beauty Group.  One of the great details of the day was Andrea carrying the lift ticket for the ski hill from their first date in her purse all day!

I'd like to thank Kevin Lam, a great photographer, for hanging out with Chris and the boys before the ceremony and getting some great pictures.

The ceremony was a great mix with both families having a priest help at Resurrection of Our Lord Jesus Christ Catholic Church.  From there, it was off to James Gardens in Etobicoke for some family and wedding party pictures.

After fighting some toronto traffic, we arrived for cocktails, a few more pictures and the reception in the grand ballroom.  The reception had the traditional Lithuanian Bread, Salt & Water as well as the Sakotis cake!

There were some great speeches and then a great party!  (I love a good party, probably my favourite part of the wedding day) 
 

Here is the complete slideshow of their wedding photographs!

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• DJ/Lighting          bbBlanc (http://www.bbblanc.com/)
• Wedding Decor    Majestic Wedding Decor
• Hair & Makeup      Toronto Beauty Group  (http://www.torontobeautygroup.com/)
• Limousine             Majestic Limo Services  (http://majesticlimos.ca/)
• Ceremony             Resurrection of Our Lord Jesus Christ Catholic Church
• Reception             One King West  (www.onekingwest.com)            

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