Adell & Oleh - slideshow

And here is the slideshow for Adell & Oleh's engagement session. Enjoy!

Happy Birthday Ava!!

As you can see below Ava is an absolute darling and we were so honoured when her parents asked us to do their portraits. I've been friends with Ava's mommy Sabrina for several years now, since her and Rocco were newlyweds. Sabrina came to see us when she was pregnant with Ava, to surprise Rocco with maternity portraits. It was wonderful to spend time with them as a family and get to know little Ava. It's hard to believe she turned one this weekend.

I love Ava's slideshow because it shows how natural portraits should look and feel. We want our clients to be comfortable and have the images reflect who they are. With babies in particular it's so important to have fun with them and work with them in their familiar environment. We've all seen posed baby portraits where the baby is crying or startled by the flashes going off. We like to get right down on the floor, use natural lighting and let the baby just be herself. After spending time with Ava I can tell we really captured her beauty and her parents' love for her.


Sabrina is a dancer and we loved her suggestion of "Tiny Dancer" for Ava's slideshow song. It means a lot to us that they're thrilled with the images. I hope as Ava grows they'll look back on the images and remember how they felt as they celebrated her first birthday. I know I will.


Happy Birthday Ava!
Amanda
xoxo

Ava

Meet Ava. Isn't she the cutest little thing? We had a great time photographing her. She was so cute, she would lean on the side of the couch and wait for us to take her picture. It was like she was a mini-model!

Click here for Ava's slideshow.

Creekside Estate Winery & Mike Weir

We recently did some work for Creekside Estate Winery. These guys are fantastic and their wines are winning awards all over the place. They've partnered with Mike Weir to produce his wine for the Mike Weir Estate Winery. Not only are the wines amazing, but 100% of the net proceeds from the sale of his wines are donated to the Mike Weir Foundation. The Foundation was was created to support children in need.

These guys know how to make wine. Amanda and I totally recommend them. And best of all you can buy the wine online and it gets shipped right to your door!

To purchase Creekside Estate Wines click here.
To purchase Mike Weir Estate Wines click here.

Here are a few images from the day. Click here for the slideshow.





Mike greeting some of the Creekside staff.



Here is Barry Katzman (Creekside Estate Winery President) talking with Mike.



Down in the cellars with the wine barrels talking with Winemaker Craig McDonald.






Thanks for the great day Creekside!

Jenn & Rob - slideshow

Jenn and Rob's slideshow. Enjoy! Click here to view.

PS - we've got a few things to post over the next few days. Check back for updates often!

Jory & Adam - Slideshow

You all remember Jory and Adam. We had a great time working with them and their families.

Sorry we couldn't get together for that BBQ guys. We should see about doing it in the next couple of weeks.

Here is their slideshow! The images will be on Pictage in a couple of days. Click here to register to be notified when they go live or visit www.pictage.com/276787

Anya & Chris - Wedding

This past weekend we had the pleasure of working in Niagara-on-the-Lake with Anya and Chris. Even though the weather wasn't ideal, they took it in stride and focused on having fun and enjoying their special day. They had family and friends attending from all over the world - England, Australia, United States and even Asia. It was so touching that their guests traveled thousands of miles to join in the celebration of their marriage.

What a truly an amazing day! Congratulations Anya & Chris. Here are some of the highlights:

Anya on the balcony before the ceremony. A classic beauty.



Her flowers were gorgeous.


A nervous Chris awaits his bride.


The rain wasn't going to stop this wedding. Can you sense the anticipation?


Originally they were going to be outside, but after bringing the chairs and flowers inside historic Navy Hall, the ceremony began. Their reception later that evening was just outside Navy Hall, in a lovely tent overlooking the water.


We were able to use this bed & breakfast nearby, which had a covered porch and made for some brilliant photos. Even though they are a few feet apart, you can feel the connection between them.


Chris and his best man were dressed in traditional kilts. In this shot, we almost got a sneak peak of the question everyone wanted to know but was afraid to ask! What's really under those things....?


A quick shot as we walked along. Sometimes we don't even have to look in the camera to know it's going to be good. I believe I was talking to them at this moment, camera at my side and....click!


The rain stopped for a few minutes so we were able to go out by this pond for some great shots.


This image is one of our favourites. We told them to imagine that this was their porch and they were just relaxing. Imagine how they are going to feel looking at this picture 30 years from now...


By this point they were starting to look like professionals. Check out the poses!


This was really cute. They were having a bit of a moment and Chris suddenly looked over to the camera and gave me the most wicked Cheshire cat grin I've ever seen. I wonder what he was thinking...


Some amazing lighting in this one. At this point we were drawing a bit of a crowd. After this shot we noticed that there were about 20 people watching us work, and all of them were smiling.


And over to the gazebo for this last shot. Congratulations Chris and Anya. Check back soon for their slideshow.

Adell & Oleh - Engagement

We had a great engagement shoot the other day with Adell and Oleh. They are from Toronto and thought a trip to High Park would be a good place for pictures and I must say they were right! There were so many great locations!

Adell and Oleh were great fun, even though Oleh admitted at the end of the shoot that he was a little nervous. We got to know them as we worked and by the end of our shoot it felt like we had known them for years. It turns out that High Park was one of the first places they went together as they were getting to know eachother and they make a point to come back every year.

Guys, you did great! We can't wait for the wedding! Check back soon for a slideshow.

What a great moment on the bridge.


The park had a really cool water feature and it worked well for pictures.


All I can say is awwww!



Down by the water. Who knew this place is right in Toronto just off the highway? We've been to Toronto hundreds of times but never to the park.

Angelique

This weekend were so honoured to work with the incredible wedding planner Angelique to shoot Melissa and Sean's 7.7.07 wedding at the White Oaks Resort in Niagara-on-the-Lake. Click here to view a slideshow of what went into creating this amazing wedding.

We were there to capture this wedding from Angelique and her team's perspective, from the days of setting up this grand production to the final details at the end of the night. You may recognize Angelique from the Slice Network's show Rich Bride, Poor Bride. The network calls her "The mother of all wedding planners" and I think it fits perfectly. As you can see in the slideshow she has wisdom, pride and love for all of her couples.

This wedding has been nominated for Wedding of the Year and Angelique has been nominated for Wedding Planner of the Year. It was truly spectacular and the award would be very well deserved. Here are a few of our favourite shots of Angelique and the wedding.

Angelique, Andrea and Laura - Angelique's Weddings and Events

A favourite shot of the Head Table

The candlelight and flowers at the ceremony were breathtaking.

Angelique watching the ceremony from the balcony, looking so happy for Melissa and Sean

I love this shot of Melissa and Sean at the altar. The altar was beautiful with orchids, peonies, roses and candlelight.

This is one of our favourite shots as Sean smiles and Melissa waves her bouquet. Their stunning aisle runner was custom made with their names and the wedding date. We have more shots of it in the slideshow. There's Chris on the altar covering them at another angle.

The reception at White Oaks was unbelievable. This is one of our favourite centerpiece shots. The entire room had the fragrance of peonies and roses.

Their lovely wedding cake was designed by Anna Olson, best known for her shows on the Food Network as well as her business Olson Food and Bakery.

They had so many special touches, including custom lighting for the reception. The colour yellow is special to the couple and the room was lit with yellow throughout the night. The walls were lit from the floor with yellow lights to compliment the candlelight.

Melissa and Sean's first dance was to Yellow by Coldplay. When they danced a custom light show started and the entire room turned yellow. It was really spectacular and I know it meant a lot to the bride and groom.

Angelique loves taking care of her couples and at the end of the night we followed her and her assistants Laura and Richard up to the Bridal Suite. As you can see in these shots they left a beautiful and romantic surprise for the bride and groom.



This is one of my favourite shots. There we so many beautiful shots from this wedding!