Ontario Theatre Photography

Every spring I spend some time working with my home town's community theatre group documenting their production and this year was no different as The Community Players of New Hamburg put on an amazing production of the classic Mary Poppins.

When most people think of community theatre they think of small little productions in church basements but let me assure that isn't the case here.  They convert and entire arena into a professional stage complete with lighting, sound, tiered seating and a full live orchestra.   And to make things even more interesting this year of course Mary Poppins had to fly!

Check out some of my favourite pictures from the play and be sure to join their mailing list to be notified as soon as they announce their 2018 show!
 

WhisteBear Wedding In Cambridge

Sarah + Rob

This was such an amazing wedding at Whistle Bear Golf Club in Cambridge, Ontario! 

Up until this year I had never photographed a wedding in April, probably because the weather is too much of a risk.  Well, Sarah and Rob must have done something right in a previous life because they dodged a massive storm and had a beautiful day for their wedding.

I started the day in Mississauga where the girls were getting ready in the party room of Sarah's grandmothers building. The room was really great, plenty of natural light and lots of room for everyone... beats being in a tiny hotel room with 14 people trying to get ready.  :)

The guys got ready at Rob's parents house in Mississauga.  Big thanks to Nick from Artanis Collective for second shooting and doing a great job covering that.

After Sarah got dressed at her parents home we all headed down the 401 to Cambridge for the wedding ceremony at Whistle Bear in the Grandview Room.   As always, Trish Pajunen did an amazing job officiating the ceremony bringing her warmth, humour and professionalism.  I loved how Sarah + Rob even incorporated a little bit of the Jewish traditions into their wedding ceremony to honour the one side of Rob's family. 

After the ceremony it was time for cocktails and portraits.   The grounds at Whistle Bear are amazing and it makes shooting there such a breeze.   And of course I have to give a big shout out to the staff at Whistle Bear for being so great and accommodating silly photographer requests like opening all the blinds so I can get a nice exterior shot and shutting dinner down for 10 minutes at sunset so I could get some great golden hour portraits with the bride and groom!

Dinner was filled with amazing food, great speeches and some touching moments. And then the dance floor opened up for a great party.

I wanted to give a shout out to the two Josh's from Kindle & Coal Film who handled the wedding cinematography  were really great to work with.   Check them out if you're looking for a wedding film!

You can see some of my favourite wedding images up top and a full wedding slideshow below!

 

Toronto Reference Library Wedding

Noor + John

Noor and John had a beautiful springtime wedding at the Toronto Reference Library.   The library is easily one of the most unique wedding venues in Toronto... it's the fully functional main branch of the Toronto Public Library (you can't even have an event there until after 5pm when the library closes. 

Noor began the day at her parents home in mid-town getting ready and then awaiting John's arrival for the big reveal after John and his brother in law had a relaxing morning getting ready at the Yorkville Marriot.   After their great first look we all hoped into the limousine and headed over to the Reference Library for some portraits before the ceremony.

And what a ceremony it was!  Noor descended 5 stories down a glass elevator as John and their guests looked on to make one of the most memorable entrances I've seen in shooting 12 years of wedding.

The ceremony was officiated by one of their best friends and included readings by friends and family.  

After the ceremony everyone headed up to the reception room and the some of the coolest 'details' I've seen.  Each centre piece was a stack of classic books and everyone's place card was a wrapped book (mine was cookbook!).

The reception began with with  Noor + John's first dance as a married couple.   I have to say that The two MC's at this wedding did a brilliant job... it's not often I laugh at wedding jokes but these two succeeded. :)

Dinner was amazing set of food stations featuring some of their favourite foods... schnitzel, prime rib, poke and biryani.  From there it was some great speeches and then on to the party!

I have to take a minute and thank Trevor from Trevents who coordinated the entire day and did an amazing job!  Trevor is actually an old primary schoolfriend of Noor's.  If you're getting married, give Trevor a call!

You can check out some of my favourite wedding pictures above and the full wedding slideshow below!

Toronto Mehndi Ceremony Photography

Noor + John 

Along with Noor + John's amazing wedding at the Toronto Reference Library, I also had the opportunity to photograph their traditional (and not so traditional!) mehndi ceremony the night before the wedding. 

The mehndi ceremony was held at the Grand Luxe Event Boutique in Midtown Toronto and i have to say I was shocked when I walked in... it looked amazing with hundreds of people attending and was just as elegant as any wedding.

I loved how Noor + John incorporated many of the traditional elements while still putting a modern touch on it!  And of course the food was amazing!

You can see Noor + John's amazing Toronto Reference Library on my blog. 

You can see their Toronto Engagement session on my blog as well.

Heirloom Wedding Image

Laura + Chris' Wedding at Paletta Mansion

Here's another submission in my ongoing Heirloom Wedding Photograph series.  I always love opening these emails because I'm usually surprised by the images they've chosen.

I was especially surprised with Laura & Chris' submission... I don't think I had any inkling of the backstory when I took this photograph.  I just remember her aunt giving a really emotional and heartfelt speech and their reaction to it.  Now that I know the backstory, the images in that sequence have a lot more impact and become much more powerful.

Here are Laura's own words about her Heirloom Wedding photograph:

"This photo was captured during a speech given by my aunt Carla.  My aunt had offered to say a few words on our wedding day, and I was very honoured by this request.  My aunt has suffered for several years with mental illness, but as she spoke in front of everyone on our special day she was so composed and spoke with such passion that you completely forgot about the illness which has controlled so much of her life.  Her words came from such a warm place in her heart, and she had such beautiful things to say about Chris and I that I was so moved and felt so loved.  Scott captured this wonderful moment as Chris and I were hanging on every word she said.  This is definitely one of my favourite photos of the day."

You can see the rest of the Heirloom Wedding series on my website here and Laura & Chris' wedding at the stunning Paletta Mansion here.

Toronto Reference Library Engagement

Noor + John

Here are a few of my favourite photographs from Noor + John's engagement session at the Toronto Reference Library this past spring. 

You can see their full wedding at the Toronto Reference Library on my blog here.

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!
 

Happy New Year!

Toronto Wedding Photographer Year in Review

2016 was a great year for me. Amazing clients, fantastic moments and some stunning weddings.

I had the pleasure to photograph weddings at some of Toronto and Ontario's best wedding venues including Malaparte, Fermenting Cellar, Langdon Hall, Liberty Grand, Sunnybrook Estates, SteamWhistle Brewery, Paletta Lakefront Mansion, Art Gallery of Ontario, Ancaster Mill and Graydon Hall
 

I had a really hard time picking these pictures, and I'm sure I forgot about a few, but I hope you like them and here's hoping 2017 is just as good!
 

I love this image from Christina + Tim's wedding at Malaparte in Toronto.  All their guests surrounded them as they had their first dance by candlelight.  After shooting over 300 weddings it's always great seeing something new!

This year I've really been trying to capture wedding details that have a human element to them.   I don't know about you but I think a wedding dress looks so much better on then on a hanger. This is Danielle's beautiful dress from her wedding at the Fermenting Cellar. 

I love simple window light.  On any wedding day you'll find me dragging people towards that beautiful soft window light but in this case Jing was already standing there and I grabbed a quick candid portrait of her before their Chinese tea ceremony.

Not the Mediterranean... this is actually Lake Ontario.  We grabbed this beautiful portrait during Laura + Chris' amazing wedding at Paletta Mansion in Mississauga.

It's better to be lucky than good!   (it also helps being good).

Sometimes when you have an uncooperative ring bearer you turn lemons into lemonade.  As we were trying to get a big extended family picture the groom's nephew decided he was going to do his own thing.

This one is from Alex + Bobby's small, intimate wedding at Langdon Hall in Cambridge, Ontario.   

There were only about a dozen people at the wedding but even so it feels like these two are the only ones there.

I love this casual, relaxed portrait of the wedding party from Danielle + Felipe's wedding at the Fermenting Cellar in Toronto's Distillery District. 

Love this portrait of Jenny + John from their autumn wedding at Graydon Hall. 

Even when I'm shooting portraits I try and keep things very relaxed, letting the couples just interact with each other in some nice light and see what happens!

Always helps to have a classic Rolls Royce too!

Always looking for a different angle, I got this picture during the Tea Ceremony at Haidee + Martin's wedding at the Estates of SunnyBrook in Toronto.

Love the joy and laughter on Jing's face after their backyard wedding ceremony in Toronto.

This was one of the best moments of the year as Melanie and David were surprised by their theatre friends with an amazing flash mob at their wedding!

I love this small, intimate moment as Laura + Chris walk back to their wedding at Paletta Mansion after we did some wedding portraits down by the lake.

Christina + Tim dance the knight away late into their reception at Malaparte in downtown Toronto. 

A beautiful sunset portrait from Alex + Bobby's intimate Langdon Hall wedding.

Whenever I can, I always try and sneak my couples out of the reception for a few minutes of portraits during the golden hour.

I'm always looking for a different angle, especially during wedding ceremonies. 

Sometimes you have to get right down on the floor for that different angle.   This one is from Jenny + John's Catholic wedding in Toronto.

Love the look from mom as she looks on during the Orthodox wedding ceremony of Christina + Tim this past September.

This is one of my favourite first dance images from this year, I love the contrast of the Danielle + Felipe with the warm tones in the background.

Plus, check out his expression.... that's one happy groom!

I love a good, classic wedding portrait with some nice window light.

This one is from Haidee + Martin's spring wedding at the Estates of Sunnybrook in Toronto. 

This is from Sherry + Jonathan's wedding during their Chinese tea ceremony during their wedding in Toronto.  I love the expressions and framing in this picture!

I'm a sucker for emotion in pictures so I live this one as Augusto's mom gives him one final hug before he marries Mashael during their outdoor wedding ceremony at Ancaster Mill.

Sometimes you have to go a little abstract... this one is from Jing + Rene's backyard wedding in Toronto as Jing has her makeup done.

I snuck Danielle + Felipe away from their wedding reception at the Fermenting Cellar for some quick, intimate portraits of them.

We didn't go far, this is just at the entrance way to the Fermenting Cellar.  I love their expressions in this one.

This one is from Melanie + David's wedding in Toronto.   Whenever I have weddings in ballrooms I always try to get back from my subject and try and show the entire scene.

In my mind, this kid is thinking 'Dude, don't do it... girls are gross!' but him and his brother were two of the best behaved ring bearers I've ever seen.    The stood still and kept quiet even during a long Orthodox ceremony... better then my kids would have done!  :)

It's not much of a secret that my favourite part of the wedding is the party at the end of the night... I'm one of the few wedding photographers in Toronto that cover the entire day from start to finish.

Haidee is having an amazing time with her friends on the dance floor during their wedding reception at Estates of SunnyBrook in Toronto. 

I grabbed this shot as I was leaving Alex + Bobby's wedding from outside at Langdon Hall.

Indian wedding ceremonies are amazing to shoot!  There's so much going and such vibrant colours.

This image is from Shilpa + Rishi's wedding at Liberty Grand this pst autumn.

MMMMM... Golden hour portraits.

Whenever I can I try to get my couples out at sunset for a quick portrait session.  The light at that time is amazing and we can get so many great pictures in such a short time!

This one is from Savanah + Bernie's wedding at the SteamWhistle Brewery in Toronto.

I love photographing joy.  And I think it's safe to say that Jenny + John are enjoying their big day at Graydon Hall.

This one is from Najwa + Trevin's wedding at the Art Gallery of Ontario. 

I always try to get a casual, relaxed portrait of the wedding party along with a more formal one.

Graydon Hall Toronto Wedding

Jenny + John

Jenny + John had an amazing autumn wedding at Graydon Hall in Toronto.  For a November wedding we really couldn't have asked for better weather, sunshine and warm all day.

Both Jenny and John spent the morning getting ready at their parents beautiful homes in Etobicoke.  It's always nice to have the bride and groom surrounded by friends and family as they prepare for the big day.

The ceremony was at St Mary's, a beautiful old downtown church that I love shooting at.

After the ceremony we gathered everyone outside on the church steps for a nice group photo.  A lot of my couples ask for this picture and I'm always happy to find a way to make it work.

We had the use of a great classic Rolls Royce for the day (and some great pictures).... the great thing about this one was how nice it was on the inside.  Some of those classic cars are great from far, but far from great.  :)

Jenny and John took the time to great each and every one of their guests as they arrived for the reception,  a nice touch that showed how much they value their relationships with their friends and family. 

After they made their big entrance we had one of the coolest moments from the day when John's cousin played guitar and sang for their first dance.

The food as usual at Graydon Hall was amazing.  After Jenny + John and gave a really heartfelt speech we had some parent dances and then the dance floor was open for partying. 

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

You can also see Jenny + John's engagement photos from the Guild Inn.