Ottawa Engagement Pictures

Huong and Aaron

Travelled up to Ottawa for Huong and Aaron’s engagement session a couple weeks ago! We had a blast at a local park and then headed downtown for some more urban pictures (as well as some of the obligatory tourist spots!).

These two are getting married next summer in Toronto at the Argonaut Rowing Club but since they live and work in Ottawa (they’re both doctors!) we thought it would be fun to do the engagement pictures there.

Paris Wedding at the Dominion Telegraph Event Centre

Coral + Stephen

Coral and Stephen had an amazing autumn wedding at the Dominion Telegraph and Event Centre in Paris, Ontario.

The girls started off in a beautiful suite at the Arlington Hotel, with is right across the street from the venue in Paris, which makes sense the Arlington Hotel owns the Dominion Telegraph Event Centre!

Fun fact about the Dominion Telegraph Event Centre… and it’s name is a big clue. Everyone knows that Alexander Graham Bell made his call from Brantford but he had to call somewhere right? And that place was here to his assistant! Pretty cool huh?

Anyways before I go too much farther I wanted to give a huge shoutout to two of the best hair and makeup people Iv’e ever worked with! Melissa + Brittani from Pretty Please Makeover Me did such an amazing job. They were quick, efficient and most of all made the girls look even more amazing!

Once the everyone was ready we headed across the street to the Dominion Telegraph Event Centre for the wedding ceremony which was officiated by Mike from As You Like it. The ceremony was great and finished off with Stephen dancing his way around Coral and then the two of them running under and arch formed by their wedding party!

We did some family and formal portraits around the venue, including their amazing riverfront terrace, and then wandered the beautiful downtown for a few more.

The rest of the night was great with amazing food, great speeches and a DJ who kept everyone on the dance floor last into the night!

You can see some of my favourite wedding pictures at the top of this post and the full wedding slideshow below. If you have the password, you can see their full wedding gallery at this link.

Waterloo Family Photography

Willard Family

Here are some of my favourite pictures from a recent family photography session in RIM Park in Waterloo, Ontario.

I photographed Elizabeth & Ben’s wedding years ago (don’t ask, I feel old!) and it was great to see them again and all their amazing kids!

Hessenland Inn Wedding

Alex + Colton

These two must have some good connections upstairs… their wedding day was a gorgeous one bookended by some really crappy weather. This worked out great since Alex + Colton had a beautiful outdoor ceremony on the ground of the Hessenland Inn. We even lucked out with a beautiful sunset for some nice golden hour portraits!

Alex had both of the tower rooms above the Couch House to get everyone ready for the big day while the boys had the front house to relax in. Once everyone was ready, Alex had a big first look with her dad in the orchard and then we all headed off to the wedding ceremony in front of the waterfall.

Two of the cutest kids were the ring bearer and flower girl and they did an amazing job (it can be hit or miss!)

For portraits locations we were really spoiled. Right of the bat the the grounds at the Hessenland Inn are amazing but they’ve added vineyards and an amazing patch of sunflowers. We also had access to their private beach!

The reception was great, with some really heartfelt speeches and of course an amazing meal! Liz and her staff always provide amazing service, making every guest feel like part fo the family.

A couple of highlights from the reception… The grandparents dancing and celebrating their anniversary and Alex’s brother shaving his leg and pulling switch on a blindfolded Colton for the garter toss.

You can check out Rebecca + Jeff’s amazing wedding at the Hessenland Inn over here!

I had an amazing Goderich engagement session with Alex + Colten you should check out too!

If you have the password, you can see the full gallery of wedding pictures from Alex + Coltons wedding over on my proofing website.

Goderich Engagement Pictures

Alex + Colton 

I've gotten behind a little on the blogging but figured I should probably blog Alex + Colton's amazing Goderich engagement session before their wedding in a couple days.  :)

I don't think I had ever actually been to Goderich (maybe I flew in there once?) but I have to say it's a beautiful town and held a special place in Alex's heart as she spend summers as a kid up here.  We met up at a public beach right around sunset for a nice golden hour session.   We had some plans to to another few places but honestly it was so great where we were and sometimes I like the challenge of trying to squeeze every photographic drop out of a single location. 

We started off heading out onto a rocky pier and I proceeded to break my sandals within the first 5 minutes... in my defence, I heard 'beach shoot' and assumed I'd be barefoot for most of it.  :)

From there it was just a matter of waiting for time and clouds for some perfect light.

Alex + Colton are getting married this fall at the amazing Hessenland Inn on the shores of Lake Huron in Southwestern Ontario.

Check out Rebecca + Jeff's wedding at the Hessenland Inn from a couple years ago!

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!

 

Waterstone Estate Wedding

Chelsea + Danny

Chelsea + Danny had an amazing wedding a few weeks ago and I was really honoured to be a part of it.

The day began nice and early with the girls getting ready at Chelsea's parents house in North York.   Since day one I've always offered full day coverage and some of my days can get a little long but I honestly don't mind.   I want to photograph the entire day, everything from the getting ready in the morning to the late night party (more on that to come later!).

The boys were just around the corner getting ready and then joined us at the house for the traditional Chinese door games!   The bridesmaids weren't too hard on the guys... a couple songs, a dance routine and some light seaweed kissing.   The bribe to get in the door consisted of a used watch, a PC Optimum points card and some car keys.  Okay, and some cash.  :)

After a really nice tea ceremony it was time for Chelsea to get into her white wedding dress (one of three outfits that day!) and head off to the church for a really nice Roman Catholic ceremony.    The priest was great and funny, I actually found myself laughing a few times during the ceremony.  After a few big group photos at the church the wedding party piled into the limo for the drive up to Waterstone Estates for wedding portraits and the reception.

To be honest, this is where the wedding went off the rails a little.  We had pretty tight timeline for pictures but this went completely out the window when the limo driver somehow got lost and was 45 minutes late.   Dude, you had one job.  :)

Anyways, I pride myself on being able to adapt and turn lemons into lemonade.   Sometimes I think I actually create better under pressure.   We managed to get a bunch of great shots with Chelsea + Danny and their wedding party.  Plus, I worked with the venue manager to tweak the schedule for dinner so we could get 10 minutes at sunset!   At this point, I'd gladly trade 10 minutes of nice golden hour light instead of an hour at high noon.

The DJ did a great job of keeping the party going strong all night... There might have even been a conga line at one point.

A final huge thank you again to Chelsea + Danny for trusting me to capture their day.

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

You can also check out their engagement pictures here.

Toronto Fermenting Cellar Wedding

Meghan + Jeff

Meghan and Jeff had an amazing spring wedding at the Fermenting Cellar in Toronto's Distillery District.

Meghan, her sister and her mother spent the morning getting ready at One King West.  One King West has stunning suites that are the perfect place to spend the day.   I met up with Jeff and his best man at the Fermenting Cellar to photograph the finishing touches as they got ready.

Meghan and Jeff decided to have a first look which I always think is a great idea as it allows the bride and groom to spend time with their friends and family after the ceremony instead of running off to do pictures for an hour.   

While we were doing some family pictures Meghan was dive-bombed by a bird.  Meghan HATES HATES HATES birds.   :)

Meghan + Jeff had a really beautiful candlelit ceremony in the Fermenting Cellar that was full of laughter and emotions followed by a cocktail hour with some amazing appetizers. 

The Fermenting Cellar is one of my favourite wedding venues in all of Toronto... I love the dramatic uplighting, the industrial feel and the great layout.  I can't recomend it enough if you're looking for something a little different from your traditional wedding venue in Toronto. 

Dinner was intermixed with some amazing speeches and toasts by Meghan + Jeff's family and friends.   They had a great kissing game where guests had to answer (impossibly hard) trivia questions about Meghan + Jeff's favourite TV couple.... seriously hard questions.  

Once the cake was cut and the desert was served, it was time to hit the dance floor and Meghan + Jeff's wedding was an amazing fun party.

You can check out some of my favourite wedding pictures from Meghan + Jeff's wedding at the Fermenting Cellar above and their full wedding slideshow below.

You can also check out some other weddings I've photographed at the Fermenting Cellar:

Danni + Felipe
Renee + Ian

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!

Heirloom Wedding Photograph

Here's another image in my ongoing series titled 'Heirloom Photographs'.   This one is from Jayde + David's amazing New Years wedding I photographed up in North Bay.

The purpose of the project is for me to understand which images I've created are truly important to them and why.  I consider the wedding photographs I create to be the first heirloom of a new family that will be passed down and cherished for generations.

In their own words, here is Jayde + David's Heirloom Photograph:

"We both love to be surrounded by our loved ones and getting married on New Years Eve seemed to be a great combination of family, friends, fun and love!
Although we truly love so many moments that were captured by Scott at our wedding, this picture definitely encapsulates our feelings about the day. The excitement and joy in this photo really do bring us back to that moment during the countdown to midnight as we celebrated with those we cherish. The colours are as vibrant as the people and personalities in the photo. We are currently building our dream home and plan to have a large print of this moment in our great room. Thank you Scott!"

Jayde + David

PS  I LOVE this picture too!   And it even won an award!  :)