Art Gallery of Ontario Wedding

Najwa + Trevin

Najwa and Trevin had an amazing wedding at the Art Gallery of Ontario in Toronto!

These two had a real sense of style and an individual look that I really liked!  Those shoes by Valentino were something else!  Trevin's blue shoes were great too!

I spent the morning going back and forth between the girls and guys but if you ever get a chance to get ready for your wedding in a suite at the Four Seasons I highly recommend it.  :)  The rooms are simply stunning... full of light and lots of room to shoot. 

Trevin and his boys (and one girl!) got ready over in his suite at the Park Hyatt in Yorkville.  The first thing anyone would notice meeting Trevin is his amazing, infectious laugh... I don't think I've ever had a wedding where I've had so many pictures of the groom laughing!   Once Trevin's crew were ready, his family joined them for a traditional pre-wedding blessing before heading off to the church for the ceremony.

The day threatened (and did) rain all morning but thankfully it ended by the time we needed to head off to the ceremony at St Basil's Catholic Parish.   Being a Saturday in the summer in Toronto, there was some sort of parade/festival/gong show going down Bloor so we all had to abandon our taxi's and Uber's and hustle down on foot!

The ceremony at St. Basils was great, it's always nice when churches don't have too many rules about photography.  I'm always discete and respectful when I photograph wedding ceremonies but I'm also trying to get my clients the best pictures possible!

One of the best parts about having your wedding at the Art Gallery of Ontario is that you get to access to their beautiful galleries for wedding pictures! 

Cocktails were held in the Galleria Italia and the reception was upstairs in Bailey Court with an amazing view of the Toronto Skyline. 

The details at the reception were great, Coriander Girl did an amazing job with the florals!

Danielle and her team from Love by Lynzie did an amazing job planning and coordinating the wedding... everything looked amazing and went off without a hitch!

The reception was great with DJ Dopey & DJ Serious spinning some great music.  Of course the highlight  of the reception was when it was announced that Trevin and some of his buddies were semi pro breakdancers and proceeded to put on an amazing show for everyone.

You can see some of my favourite wedding images in the gallery above as well as their full wedding slideshow below!

You can also follow this link to check out Najwa + Trevin's Stratford Ontario engagement pictures!
 

Heirloom Wedding Photograph

I have an ongoing series I call Heirloom Wedding Photographs where my couples choose the one image from their wedding that means the most to them.   

Here is Emilie's pick...

My grand-papa and I always had a strong bond. I spent many summers when I was young in Chicoutimi with him and my grand-maman. It meant so much to me that he made the trip for our wedding in October, especially knowing he didn’t like to leave the comfort of his home in recent years. 

I still remember the emotion on his face from this moment, so happy and proud to see his eldest grand-daughter be married. I am so grateful Scott was there to capture it. What makes this picture even more special is that my grand-papa passed away almost 6 months to the day of our wedding. I will cherish this picture for the rest of my life and remember a man that brought so much joy and love to my life. 

                                                                   Emilie + John

Thank you so much for sharing this image Emilie.   You can see the rest of Emilie + John's Toronto wedding at 99 Sudbury.

Melanie + David | Toscana Banquet Wedding

We should just start with the obvious thing here.... Melanie & David's wedding had one of the coolest, most impressive things I've ever seen at a wedding.

As the best man was giving his speech he asked Melanie & David to join them on the dance floor for a Seinfeld trivia rematch... once they got down there, all hell broke loose. 

Melanie is part of a community theatre group and a LOT of the guests were too.  All of them proceeded to surprise the couple with a surprise 50+ person flash mob song and dance number!   This thing was choreographed and had original lyrics, needless to say Melanie & David were floored and could barely contain their emotions.   It was such a cool thing to see!

As for the rest of the day, the morning started out with me and the girls for hair and makeup but there were lots of familiar faces since Emilie, who's 99 Sudbury wedding I photographed, was one of her bridesmaids!

A quick visit with the guys, who showed off their monogramed Blue Jays hats, and it was off to the church for a really nice Catholic wedding ceremony at St Josephs Parish in Scarborough.  We then headed off to the Evergreen BrickWorks for portraits with Melanie & David and the wedding party.

The wedding reception was held at the Toscana Banquet Hall up in Vaughan and had some great speeches and toasts as well as.... well, you know.  See above.  :)

Check out some of my favourite wedding pictures above as well as their full wedding slideshow below!

If you have the password to their wedding gallery, you can check out the complete set of pictures here.

Published on WeddingBells.com!

Danni + Felipe's fantastic Fermenting Cellar wedding in Toronto's Distillery District has been featured on the WeddingBells.com website!

You can see the complete post on their romantic and intimate wedding here.

And be sure to check out my full blog post on their amazing wedding!

Toronto Wedding Photographer

Sherry + Jonathan 

Sherry and Jonathan had an amazing day for their wedding at the Columbus Centre in Toronto, even if it was a little too hot for Jonathon.   His groomsmen were like a well oiled pit crew, getting him water, fresh towels and a fan during any lull in the day!

I started the day with Sherry and her bridesmaids as they got their hair and makeup done and then we waited for Jonathan and the guys to arrive....The traditional Chinese door games were great, everything from eating some really sour stuff to composing (and singing!) songs on the fly!   Eventually, after a small bribe, the girls let Jonathan in and we had a little mini tea ceremony with Sherry's parents (followed by a much bigger one later in the day!)

The outdoor ceremony and reception took place at the Columbus Event Centre, an amazing venue and hidden jewel in the middle of the city!  During the outdoor ceremony we were surrounded by trees and couldn't hear any traffic... it was so great!   The best part of the venue though is that all the money they make from weddings get put back into the adjoining senior citizens home.

Mike from Enduring Promises did an amazing job officiating the wedding, even without a microphone!

We took a bunch of family formals after the ceremony but the highlight was the little ring bearer stealing the show!

The reception was filled with great food, great people and some great speeches

It's always great when past couples are at weddings and this one was no exception!   Alex and Daniel, who had a great wedding at the Eglinton Grand, were there as well as Haidee and Martin who got married this spring at Estates of Sunnybrook.

You can see some of my favourite wedding photographs from Sherry + Jonathan's wedding above as well as their full wedding slideshow below.

If you're lucky enough to have the password, you can view the entire collection of wedding photographs here.

Toronto Wedding Photography

Morgan + Rosie

Morgan and Rosie had a fantastic wedding on what was probably one of the hottest days of the year!

I had Nick Driver helping me out again and he did another fantastic job hanging out Rosie and the boys in the (very) early morning!  :)

This wedding had two ceremonies, a Sikh wedding ceremony at the temple in the morning and a 'western' ceremony in the afternoon at their reception hall at the Jewel Event Centre in Vaughan. 

I had never photographed a Sikh ceremony before so I loved seeing all the different traditions and customs.

Because of the heat, we kept the wedding portraits nice and short but headed out later that evening at sunset for some great golden hour portraits.

The reception was action packed with all the usual speeches and dances but had the added bonus of some amazing Bollywood dancers to entertain the guests as they ate dinner!

You can see some of my favourite pictures above as well as the full wedding slideshow below!

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

Fermenting Cellar Wedding

Danni + Felipe 

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.

• Wedding Venue | Fermenting Cellar

• Wedding Planner | A Lush Affair

• Second Shooter | Artanis Collective

• Hotel | Shangri-La Hotel

• Wedding Officiant | Paula Da Nova

• Disc Jockey | Lexx Decibel

• Wedding Dress | Romona Keveza

• Wedding Make Up | Wendy Rorong

• Wedding Flowers | Coriander Girl

• Wedding Cake | Dufflet Pastries

Paletta Mansion Wedding

Laura + Chris

This was such a great wedding!

Laura, her sister and her mom started the day at Laura + Chris' brand new house while Chris spent the morning at his parents place only a couple minutes away. 

From there we all headed off to the Paletta Mansion in Mississauga which is an amazing venue right on the waterfront of Lake Ontario.

Laura and Chris kept things traditional and didn't see each other until Laura walked down the aisle during their outdoor wedding ceremony which was officiated by Mike Van Slingerland, who always does such an amazing job.

Cocktails on the outdoor patio, some wedding portraits and then we headed inside for dinner and speeches. 

Please check out some of my favourite wedding pictures from Laura + Chris' wedding above and the full slideshow below!

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

Thanks to Laura + Chris for trusting me to be a part of their big day!

Chris is good friend with my friend (and amazing wedding photographer!) Aron and he recommend them to me so big thanks for that!

 

• Wedding Florist  |  Maya Bukta
• DJ  |  Sound Obsession
• Wedding Venue  |  Paletta Mansion
• Wedding Cake  |  L.A. Cupcake Boutique
• Wedding Officiant  \  Mike Van Slingerland  (Enduring Promises)

Their Favourite Image... Pauline + Jordan

I love it when past clients participate in my Heirloom Photographs project and choose their favourite wedding image and their reason for choosing it.

This time it's Pauline & Jordan's turn!   I photographed their wedding in Toronto last year (Check out their wedding I photographed at the Liberty Grand) and the photograph they chose is from their portrait session we did at Liberty Village.

Pauline had actually chosen a park for portraits but after spending a little time there I felt it just wasn't working as a great location... so I asked Pauline if she trusted me and we headed off to Liberty Village!

In their own words, here is the wedding photograph they chose as their Heirloom Wedding Photograph.

 "Humour is what brought Jordan and I together when we first met.  Throughout all the preparation leading up to the wedding, we told ourselves not to take everything so seriously on the day of because if anything were to go wrong, it would be beyond our control.  During our portrait shots after the ceremony, Jordan and I were true to form and giggled ourselves through it."

                                                                               Pauline + Jordan