Ancaster Mill Winter Wedding

Lisa + Tyler

LIsa + Tyler had an amazing winter wedding at the Ancaster Mill in Ancaster, Ontario.

I started my day hanging out with Tyler and his identical twin brother (not going to lie, I almost got them mixed up a couple times during the day) as everyone got ready in their townhouse. From there it was off to meet up with Lisa and her girls at her parents house as she had the finishing touches of hair and make up done. Once the dress was on it was time for a really nice reveal with her dad.

The ceremony was held at the chapel on the grounds of the Ancaster Mill. They did a fantastic job with the construction of the chapel, everything you could want in a ceremony venue1 After the ceremony we staid in the chapel for some family pictures and then braved the cold for some winter portraits on the beautiful grounds of Ancaster Mill.

Dinner and speeches were fantastic, Tyler’s brother doing his best to embarrass Tyler! Lisa had great choreographed dances with both Tyler and her dad to kick off the party!

You can see some of my favourite wedding images from their wedding above as well as the full slideshow below! If you have the password you can also access the full gallery over on the proofing section of my website.

Getting married at the Ancaster Mill? Check out some other weddings:

Michelle + Nick

Haley + Stephen

Jennifer + Conan

Angus Glen Winter Wedding

Anita + Gehan

Anita + Gehan had a beautiful winter wedding at the Angus Glen golf club in Markham just north of Toronto, Ontario.

These two planned a wedding while simultaneously moving to Buffalo to start new careers… and then jetted off to South Asia for an extended 6 week honeymoon (and family visit!)

Spent the morning with Anita and her family who are some of the nicest people you meet! This wedding was truly an international affair with people flying in from all over the world.

Anita had a really stunning pair of Jimmy Choo’s for her wedding, I’m not a shoe guy (or a dress guy, or a flowers guy) but even I was impressed by those shoes!

Anita + Gehan were planning on getting their rings custom made on their honeymoon so one of the most touching moments of the day was when Anita’s father presented Anita with her grandmothers (I think??? I need to take better notes) wedding ring to use.

After some toasts with family and a few traditions, everyone packed into the limo in the rain/snow and off to Gehan’s family church of St Barnabas Catholic Church in Scarborough, Ontario. The ceremony was really nice, the priest did a brilliant job of getting some humour in the sermons… something that doesn’t always happen but is always appreciated by me!

After some hugs and congratulations it was back into the limo for the drive up to Markham and Angus Glen Golf Club where we spent some time getting portraits of Anita + Gehan and their families. The reception in the Great Room was fantastic, featuring some awesome speeches, great traditions, a truly kick ass cake made by Anita’s mom and a great party on the dance floor!

You can check out some of my favourite wedding images above as well as Anita + Gehan’s Angus Glen wedding slideshow below. You can also visit the proofing section of my website to view their full wedding gallery.

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

Enoch Turner Schoolhouse Winter Wedding

Joelle + Mike

What a fantastic winter wedding Joelle and Mike had at the historic Enoch Turner Schoolhouse in downtown Toronto!

The weather gods were smiling on these two as it was a beautiful day for a winter wedding and we were only cold for about 20 minutes.

The day started at the beautiful historic King Edward Hotel in Toronto with the girls and the guys getting ready in separate suites. I’ve said it before but I’ll say it again, that I love this arrangement for the morning. It simplifies and the schedule so much and lets everyone relax.

Although I will say Joelle and her girls had a WAY nicer room than the guys. :)

Joelle and Mike decided to have a first look which is always a great idea for winter weddings because we’re fighting that early sunset and if we can get pictures out of the way it makes life easier for everyone. After our first location for the first look was a bust we headed outside to do it in front of the hotel. From there we jumped in an Uber (the only way to travel downtown) and headed over to the Distillery District to my super-secret-no-permit-required-because-its-just-across-the-street shooting location. We hit a bit of a wind tunnel and this was honestly the only time we were cold all day!

From there we headed over to St Lawrence Market for some more pictures… this is actually where Mike proposed so it was great to visit somewhere that they had a connection to. Both families met up at Enoch Turner School house for some family pictures and then it was on the ceremony.

Following the ceremony (wedding flowers by Coriander Girl) Joelle and Mike went a little outside the box for dinner and had some amazing food stations for a cocktail like dinner. I usually get to eat pretty well but anytime you give me flank steak with bacon bit infused mashed potatoes I’m a very happy camper. Their caterer, En Ville, did an amazing job. The speeches followed dinner and were really great and touching.

Joelle and Mike took the dance floor for their first dance and were then followed by Mike’s grandparents doing a waltz before the dance floor opened up for the party!

Thanks again to Joelle and Mike (and their amazing friends and family!) for having me be a part of their special day.

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

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.

Langdon Hall Winter Wedding

Amanda + Rob

Amanda + Rob had a beautiful wedding at the always amazing Langdon Hall in Cambridge, Ontario.

It was a nice relaxing later start to the day in the beautiful bridal suites at Langdon Hall with Amanda and her sister having their hair and make up done.  Making things really easy on me, always a plus but not always a reality, Rob got ready in the room right beside Amanda's!

They deciding to have a first look before their wedding ceremony so they could get all their pictures done ahead of time and before it got dark... but we still went out for some great portraits after dark too!

Once we finished up with portraits of the wedding party and the families it was time for the
ceremony which was held outside in the beautiful new outdoor Summer House that was part of Langdon Hall's recent additions.  Don't worry though, everyone kept warm surrounded by space heaters and snuggled in fleece blankets.

The ceremony was officiated by the good folks at Kettle Creek Weddings who always do a great job.  It's always great working with them!

Unfortunately, Rob's mother broke her leg a week before the wedding and was unable to fly out from the west coast but I though it was a really nice touch that they set up a live stream so they could watch the ceremony and still be a part of everything.

Cocktails after the wedding ceremony were held in the new Firshade Room and then everyone headed up to the Orchard Room for the wedding reception where Amanda & Rob were introduced and a beautifully choreographed first dance.

Every wedding I see something new and this time it was the kissing game... you know the type, you have to do something to get the bride and groom to kiss instead of clinking glasses.  This time it was 'Mean Tweets' and let me say that their guests came up with some good ones that they forced Amanda + Rob to read.  :)

At this point I shouldn't have to say that the food at Langdon Hall was amazing as well as the service.

Amanda + Rob are big karaoke fans so it was inevitable that everyone was singing during their reception... I'm not going to lie, I've heard better versions of Piano Man.  :)

You can see my favourite wedding photographs from Amanda & Rob's wedding up above and their full Langdon Hall wedding slideshow below.

 

North Bay Wedding Photography

Jayde + David

Jayde and David decided to throw 200 of their closest friends an amazing New Years Eve party... oh, and they got married too. :)

North Bay, Ontario in the winter... so yes, it was it cold.  Let's just get that out of the way right at the beginning.   And it wasn't just the cold, we got a bit of a storm on their wedding day (the limo ride to the church was... interesting).

We began the day at Jayde's hair salon in North Bay, Vida Salon, and then the girls headed back to Jayde's house for the makeup and finishing touches.  After a quick visit to the guys at David's father's beautiful home  (that he built himself!) I joined the girls and we all piled into the limo for the snowy drive out to the little town of Bonfield.  Jayde grew up in Bonfield along with some of her bridesmaids and her parents still live there.   It was a beautiful old church of Ste.  Bernadette Parish, really interesting to see how French churches in Canada have a very distinctive look compared to English churches of the same age.

Jayde's father had a health scare just before the wedding and it was going to be hit or miss if he was going to be able to even be there so it was really amazing to see him walk Jayde down the aisle (and then their dance routine during the reception!)

After the church ceremony we all headed back into North Bay and Jayde had arranged for us to use the historic Capitol Theatre for some portraits.

The reception was held at the historic http://clarion-resort-pinewood-park-north-bay.hotelmix.co.uk resort and the cocktail hour featured an amazing spread put on by David's cousin who happens to be a great chef!

Jayde and her sister own an amazing dance studio (that they run when they're not busy being teachers and nurses) and some of Jayde's students surprised her with  dance-mob (is that a word?) during the wedding reception.   The look on Jayde's face was priceless as she fought to hold back the tears.

David's grandfather sings with a group of guys in their church and they entertained the guests with a couple of really touching Italian songs.   The rest of the night was filled with some really heartfelt speeches.

A really special moment for me was when David danced with his sister in memory of their mother who had passed.  I caught their father looking on and it's one of my favourite images from the night.

But I think the highlight of the night had to be the garter belt.  David went ALL IN on this... barely keeping it PG for the kids in the audience.  Not going to lie, behind the camera I was laughing.  :)

As the clock ticked down to midnight, we all gathered on the dance floor confetti guns, hats and whistles at the ready!

You can check out some of my favourite wedding photographs above and a full slideshow of wedding photographs below!
 

Toronto Indian Wedding

Shilpa + Rishi 

Shilpa & Rishi were married in a beautiful Indian wedding at Toronto's Liberty Grand.

We started the day with portraits in the beautiful courtyard of the Liberty Grand, we even managed to dodge the raindrops.

It's not many times that the bride walking down the aisle can be upstaged, but since Shilpa had their beautiful daughter in her arms we can make an exception in this case. I actually did a newborn photography session with their baby a couple months ago, check it out here!

Indian wedding ceremonies are always so cool, so many traditions and details go into them.

It was great watching the kids at the wedding ceremony desperately searching for Rishi's shoes in order to sell them back to him after the ceremony (it's an old tradition at Hindu weddings!).  Rishi hid them VERY VERY well.   :)

After the ceremony everyone headed up to the lounge for appetizers and cocktails.

I thought it was really great that even with a wedding of over 400 people Shilpa & Rishi made the time to go around to every table and talk to everyone... it really shows how much they value their family and friends. 

Rishi is a very quiet guy when you meet him but he gave one of the most elequouent speeches by a groom I've heard all year... really well done!

The party was great, the DJ did an amazing job of keeping the dance floor jumping and playing a great mix of music.

A huge thanks for Steve from Tara Lilly Photography for helping out and doing an amazing job second shooting.

Julla from 87 Events did an amazing job planning and coordinating both the wedding and the mehndi ceremony the day before at the beautiful Sunnybrook Estates (check back soon for a blog post on this!)

Check out some of my favourite images above as well as the full slideshow below. 

WEDDING FLORIST  |  Berries and Blooms 

WEDDING DECOR  |  Dance Floor Decor

WEDDING PLANNER  |  87 Events

WEDDING DJ  |  Empire Entertainment

Langdon Hall Wedding

Renee + Senem 

Here are some of my favourite wedding photographs from Renee + Senem's intimate winter wedding at Langdon Hall, one of Ontario's premier wedding venues!