Toronto Restaurant Elopment

Kristina + Amin

Another first for me after hundreds of weddings… I got to be a witness at a wedding ceremony!

I joined Kristina + Amin for their intimate elopement at the restaurant Oretta King West in Toronto’s entertainment district for a lovely ceremony and some portraits around the neighbourhood after.

I make it all seem pretty simple and straightforward but there was a huge wrinkle… this was the day of the big Rogers blackout.

With no internet or the ability to call anyone I arrived in the area with no actual address and only a vague notion of where the restaurant was. I asked anyone and everyone I could find if they knew where Oretta King West was but struck out with even the taxi drivers! I finally got a traffic cop to Google it for me and arrived with 10 minutes to spare before the ceremony started!

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!

Sassafraz Yorkville Toronto Wedding

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 Family Photography

Heather and Shay are getting married this august at Sassafraz in Toronto's Yorkville neighbourhood.  We decided to convert their engagement session into a little mini family session which I thought was a great idea.

On what seemed to be the last cold day of the season, everybody was real troopers braving the wind and chill... even their little guy!

Here are some of my favourite images from this Toronto family photography session, check back in a couple months for some amazing wedding pictures featuring these guys!

Toronto Downtown Wedding

Ashleigh + Erik's Wedding at the Queen + Beaver Public House

Small, intimate restaurant weddings are fast becoming my favourite way to spend a Saturday working.  There's just something great about the laid back vibe and intimacy of these events and Ashleigh + Erik's wedding at the Queen and Beaver Public House was no exception.

We started the day with some getting ready pictures at the Eaton Chelsea Hotel which was right across the street from the pub... a wedding photographers dream, I only had to park once!  :)

It was a super relaxed ceremony, not even walking down the aisle.  Everyone just grabbed a pint, sat down and then the ceremony began. After some really emotional toasts, we headed outside for some quick downtown wedding portraits.

The Queen and Beaver definitely lives up to the British pub heritage, putting on an amazing feast of Indian curries and Sunday roast for dinner.  

The partying and dancing were great that night, with Ashleigh's ballet friends and Erik's band (Oh yeah, I forgot... Erik play's the Great Lake Swimmers!  Great band, check them out) went late into the night.

Check out my favourite wedding photographs in the gallery above as well as their full wedding slideshow below!

Toronto Restaurant Wedding

Stephanie + Mike

I love smaller, intimate weddings and Stephanie + Mike's downtown Toronto wedding was no exception!

I started off the day with Mike and his best man at what has to be the coolest barber shop in Toronto.  It's called The Crows Nest and is in Kensington Market.

After Mike's trim, I headed over to the Royal York where Stephanie was getting ready in a beautiful suite with her family.  Stephanie's make up was by Rachel Chivers and her hair was by Salon SR.

Once Stephanie was looking amazing in her dress by David's Bridal, Oscar de la Renta shoes and flowers by Dandie Andie, (Okay, Mike looked pretty good in his suit from The Bay's West End Shop too) it was time for a first look in the hotel suite with just the two of them and their son!

Osgoode Hall is a hidden little gem of a park in downtown Toronto that's a great spot for some family pictures... best of all, no permit required!

After all piling into taxis we headed over to Le Select Bistro where the ceremony and reception were held and I had one of the best steaks of my life!

Check out some of my favourite images in the gallery above and the full slideshow below!