We have some exciting news. In all of the chaos at home today we’re surrounded by boxes, pamphlets, canvases, prints and banners I just wanted to get this quick blog post up about what we’ll be up to for the next few days. Tomorrow is the first day of the Baby Time Show and is also the official launch of Charlotte’s new baby and newborn photography company Rainbow Eleven. And… It’s also Charlotte Birthday tomorrow… YEY!! Happy early birthday hun! We’ll be at booth #468 at the Metro Toronto Convention Centre and would love for you to stop by and browse around our booth for a chat. I will be taking Halloween off the Baby Times Show to shoot one of our favourite couples weddings, Sandrina and Jay at The White Oaks Spa in Niagara on the Lake. We did their engagement shoot at The Royal york Hotel here in Toronto last year. It’s going to be one amazing wedding, you should see what these guys have planned!! Stay tuned to the blog for shots from their rock n’ roll wedding!

I just wanted to post a slide show we put together of some of Charlotte’s awesome baby photography that we’ll be playing at the baby show. Hope to see you all there!

Click here to view the embedded video.

We really are spoiled! We get these great couples and fantastic shooting locations all the time. Steve and Michelle’s wedding at The Inn on the Twenty was no exception.

We arrived about an hour before the ceremony to take some shots of Michelle as she got ready for one of the most important moments of her life. It’s so nice being there to capture all of the candid moments and details that really reflect the beauty of a wedding day!

Michelle and Steve were all smiles, don’t they look sooo happy!! Steve’s brother was also his best man and I had trouble sometimes telling them apart. They totally look like twins!

Such a beautiful moments! Don’t they make you feel like you are right there?!

These two are so adorable together! Such a pleasure to photograph

I love this birds eye view Dave captured below. It really gives you a feeling for the stunning landscape of the Cave Springs vineyard wedding.

Awww, you just can’t have a wedding and leave a cutie pie like this sitting at home! What a fuzzy, darling little ring bearer.

I just LOVE the vibrant greens found in the rows of a vineyard. Such a gorgeous shot of these two.

That’s one cool looking driver! I think he looks like James Bond a bit, lol.

I love this shot below. The texture in the barn was so awesome. I thought it was calling for a bit of a quirky pose. Too cute!

Here’s another great texture. I love the faded out blue door. It almost looks like denim.

The vines and Ivy are so beautiful that time of year and make such an incredible backdrop.

The couple spending a few relaxing wedding day moments together just soaking it all in! It’s so nice to sit back together and really feel the emotions of your wedding day together.

I loved the back of Michelle’s Watters wedding dress, her bustle was so beautiful and really complimented the gorgeous lace embellishments on her back.

What a perfect day for a wedding. You guys were amazing and we had a great time being there with you for every step of the way. Congratulations again you too!!

The engagement shoot started off around a cool little marina we have here in Toronto. It gave our couple, Lauren and Adam a chance to relax together and spend a little time just being with each other!

As the sun started to go down we wanted to take a advantage of the twilight and into the dark for some sweet city by night photography!

I love this shot below, doesn’t it look like a volcano irrupting!

Charlotte and I try to mix up our locations all the time to keep things really fresh and fun. The Music Gardens is a location we’ve known about for a long time, but hadn’t actually got in there to do engagement pictures, so it was fun to get in there and play with the textures of the grass and the mixed light sources coming from the street lights as well as having the CN Tower in the background!

I love using the different lighting sources that are available by night… these two portraits were done using the overhead strip of lights and a rear lit poster.. fun Don’t these two look stunning!!

To wrap up the shoot I thought I might have a bit of fun and end the night shoot off right! Lauren and Adam, you guys were awesome- amazing job. We can’t wait to shoot you again this summer for your awesome wedding in the distillery district here in Toronto.

Dave and I have absolutely been itching to publish this post! This has to be one of our favourite weddings from this year. Not only did Jessica look so incredible that we were speechless, but Faruk was quite debonair and I actually think he may have this whole modeling thing down to an art form now he-he!! We’ve just been shooting so many gorgeous weddings and engagement shoots this Summer and now into autumn it makes it difficult to keep on top of all of the blogging- but stay tuned, there are many more AWESOME weddings to come!!

We had the perfect weather for a  gorgeous Graydon Hall Manor wedding. The grounds were beautifully manicured, as always and the stone pathways looked magical as the morning rain left a bit of sparkle! We love shooting at Graydon Hall here in Toronto, it’s so elegant and staff are so professional and accommodating. We highly recommend it to anyone looking for the perfect Toronto wedding venue!

We grabbed some gorgeous shots of Jessica in her bridal suite. I adored her choice of bouquets, wedding dress and her soft gold Yves Saint Laurent shoes. Yes, I do LOVE shoes and YSL is high on my list of faves .

I remember when we shot Jessica and Faruk’s engagement shoot at the Beaches in Toronto. She has such an amazing sense of humour and had us laughing the whole shoot! Goodness, I love our clients! It seems like we always book the coolest people and we truly look forward to photographing their special day for them. Here’s a shot of Jess giggling before the ceremony, it really captures her fun-loving personality!!

With such a stunning bride, I have to say it was hard to resist photographing her every chance we had.

After Jessica was ready and all of the finishing touches were complete it was time to meet Faruk at the Chapel to say “I do”.  Faruk is a guy that’s always happy and has a big smile on his face. When he saw his bride to be walk down the aisle he was taken back, you could feel the love that he radiates for Jess. It was like she had taken his breath away.

You can tell that these two had been looking forward to this day for a very long time and they were so happy that it was finally here!

The great thing about a mix of sun and rain on the wedding day is that you get some amazing light happening! The gray sky was like a giant softbox creating soft natural light for us to shoot in.

The soft light that came in through the windows was so flattering and even made the, already flawless, pink wedding cake look so amazing!

I loved all of the pretty pink details and wedding flowers!  This coupled with the sophisticated charm of Grayon Hall Manor made the wedding feel as if it took place on an estate in the French countryside.

The food was so scrumptious and delectable. Dave and I thought that we had died and gone to heaven. If we weren’t having our wedding in Australia we’d definitely be looking at Graydon Hall as our wedding venue!

The speeches we’re full of laughter and sometimes tears. We love the candid moments that happen during speech time! We even had a tiny guest come up to the podium to wish Jessica and Faruk happiness on their journey together!

See what I’m talking about with the rain. Check out how slick it made their red Mustang. Faruk was looking pretty slick himself, great work Faruk

It was a fabulous wedding day for a fabulous couple! Thanks so much for letting us be a part of your celebration. We know you’ll look back on these photographs and remember how your day felt for a lifetime. Congratulations to you both and we hope you had an amazing time on your honeymoon in Aruba!!!

We started out the photo shoot at an old school house in Mississauga, which made for incredible pictures. Sonia looked incredible and Khiem wasn’t too shabby either I really love the shots Charlotte and I took through the rain from across the driveway. Two of the groomsmen were good enough to hold big golf umbrellas over us. You can see Charlotte was getting the wide angle image which I was shooting tight with the 70-200mm lens.

You may remember Sonia and Khiem’s Engagement Photos in High Park.. we had a great time together, wandering through the park, stopping here and there to take some more pictures. We had a great time and one shot in particular that Charlotte came up with, but had me execute (because it involved climbing up into a cherry tree!) was the image they chose for the canvas that was on display at their reception… Isn’t it an awesome shot?

We arrived at the wedding & reception venue in Markham, and proceeded with the family photos. I had to share this shot with you all… isn’t this just the cutest little girl on the planet?!!

Their ceremony was wonderful. Full of fun, lighthearted laughter and lots of love.

Sonia and Khiem’s entrance was nothing short of hilarious… their entire wedding party ran through a long corridor of people giving high fives.. then when the bride and groom made their entrance, Khiem broke out the phantom camera and snapped away at his beautiful bride with the wedding party!

Sonia and Khiem are environmentally aware and chose to have locally grown flowers for their event, as well as offsetting the carbon emissions from their wedding by sponsoring the event with bullfrog power… incidentally, if you’d like to bullfrog your home, you can save $25 by using our promo code DAVE5412.

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Without further ado, I’d like to invite you all to check it out! Click here for our Wedding Photography Portfolio… Click here for our Engagement Photography Portfolio.

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Dave & Charlotte.

In case you haven’t noticed Dave and I are shooting A-LOT of weddings this year! There is only the two of us but this year we’re quickly approaching the 50 mark for 2009 bookings. I guess you could say we’re taking on all of these bookings because we’re mildly obsessed with shooting weddings… in a healthy way of course;) We were chatting the other day about maybe limiting the number of weddings we shoot to only one per weekend but then, actually started feeling a bit sad with just the thought of it all. Was it because of all of the fun we get to have being a part of so many weddings, or capturing the unique moments of true emotion for our couples that only happen on their wedding day, or just because we become good friends with all of the clients we photograph.

Whatever it is, I don’t see us turning people away for free wedding dates any time soon. We also have an amazing editor Stacey which we adore and she helps our work flow to keep rockin’ . We just LOVE shooting weddings way too much, and here’s why…

We shot a three day weekend when we had the honour to be a part of Alvin and Erin’s wedding day and I don’t think we would have missed it for the world. I absolutely love this shot of Alvin, it makes me tear up just looking at it. He can barely hold back his emotion as he sees Erin for the first time. What a sweet and honest moment that they will always get to remember because it was captured in a photograph.

What a gorgeous church and ceremony. Erin looked so elegant in her silk fit to flare gown.

Such a happy couple!! What a rush they must have felt walking down the aisle with their friends and family cheering them on! They were just glowing after they said “I do”.

Ahhh, I love this shot Dave captured below. Alvin gives Erin a gentle kiss on her shoulder as they leave the church together.

Here’s one of my personal favourites from the bridal shoot we photographed in downtown Toronto. I posed Erin up so this tiny strip of light would illuminate her face while Alvin went in for a little kiss and voila, pure wedding day magic!!

I would not want to mess with this smokin’ bridal party!! Lookin’ bad @$$ guys!

We were setting the groomsmen up for a “proper” shot and these guys couldn’t help to joke around and have a few laughs. They seriously had to have been the funniest groomsmen we’ve had the pleasure to shoot in a while. It was like hanging around with traveling band of comedians all day!!

If you look up the meaning of “foxy” in the dictionary, I’m pretty sure you’d see this picture below. Great job girls!!

We had some fun with the shadows as the groomsmen lit up some wedding day stogies in celebration.

Before heading to the reception, we made a stop at one of Toronto’s most well known landmarks, The Gladstone Hotel. The Gladstone has to be one of the best hotels in Toronto. We love the artistic style and design of the rooms and they have such a cool take their hotel.

Erin and Alvin cruised the streets in style on their wedding day. Check out their ride, what a gorgeous Bentley!

I don’t think you’ll find prouder parents out there than these. If there’s one thing for sure they adore their children!

Alvin and Erin’s reception took place at the Old Mill, here in Toronto. They had a stunning wedding reception that was so much fun for their friends and family.

I love these first dance shots. It’s like you can feel the strong connection these two have for one another.

Remember Alvin and Erin’s tea ceremony we blogged about a couple of days ago… well the fun and games didn’t end there. Dave and I were so shocked that these shots actually turned out because we were laughing so hard. No Chinese wedding would be complete with out some fun and games to entertain the guests! Erin had to feel each of the groomsman’s behinds to guess which one was her new husband… It was a difficult task (mainly because Alvin switched his spot a couple of times, hehe) but she got it right in the end!!

Check out this groomsman’s expression, lol, hysterical!!

This wedding was full of entertainment and fun. We even had one cool lookin’ guest come up and work some of his Michael Jackson dance moves for us all!! I think Simon would agree that he’s definitely got the “X” Factor!

I know this is a long post, we had such a difficult time narrowing it down with so many awesome images to choose from, but here is a few more of our faves I love this shot of Alvin joyfully looking on as Erin and her dad enjoy their father/daughter dance together. You can see that Alvin has soo much love for Erin. What a sweet couple.

Thanks to everyone that made our photography experience so memorable. We absolutely had the time of our life shooting this wedding and we wish Alvin and Erin all the very best and a future filled with joy and love! Congratulations you two!!

We love the experiences that we get to be a part of at each wedding we photograph. No matter the culture or style of a wedding, we enjoy the way our couples make their wedding uniquely their own. Chinese weddings have to be high on our list of favourites. We love capturing all of the excitement, fun and tradition that comes hand and hand with a Chinese wedding.

Erin and Alvin held their tea ceremony the day before their elegant and sophisticated wedding here in Toronto. In case your not sure what tea ceremonies are all about, they’re a way for the bride and groom to honour their families and also a way for relatives to extend words of love, advice and present red envelopes with jewelry or gifts of money to the couple. Tea ceremonies can take place before or after a wedding and is also a way to introduce the bride and grooms families to each other.

Alvin and Erin’s Chinese tea ceremony was some of the best fun Dave and I have had in a while! The festivities were fabulously decorated in red to bring luck and good fortune. Red signifies love, joy and prosperity and is used in a variety of ways in Chinese wedding traditions. The bride’s wedding gown is often red, as are the wedding invitations, menus, and wedding gift boxes. Erin wore a traditional red Chinese dress for the tea ceremony and looked simply stunning.

Both sides of Erin and Alvin’s family took part in the tradition. They sipped tea, wished the couple well as they began their new life together and passed on red envelopes to show their love and support for the happy couple.

Remember how I was saying that this tea ceremony was some of the best fun Dave and I have had in a while… Well… let the games begin! Alvin’s younger cousins and relatives had a special surprise for the soon to be married couple. They handed off four tea cups with a spicy, salty, sour or sweet surprise in each. Both Alvin and Erin had to drink the wild concoctions that were made especially for them. Take a look at Alvin’s expression after this hot n’ spicy sip, lol!!

This next game had everyone laughing, it was so hilarious it almost had us all in tears! The object to this game was for Erin to be blindfolded, take a hard boiled egg and feed it trough Alvin’s pant leg until it came out the other side.

It took a while but Alvin stood proud as everyone cheered them on!

What a great time we had! Thanks for inviting us to take part in your awesome tea ceremony guys! We’ll have some of Alvin & Erin’s awesome wedding picks up shortly…

Whenever we first meet with new clients, we inevitable get to chatting about how they met and begin to discover their love story… For these guys it’s a great story. They met on Erin’s first day of school (or Uni as you say it in Australian!). Alvin had volunteered to show the newbies around campus and help them settle into their residences. Needless to say, a cute young lass with long curly locks caught his eye. They became friends and soon their love for one another was blossoming.

So it’s with their story that we all decided that it’s make sense to visit their old stomping ground. We headed up on a lazy afternoon during the summer and wandered through the campus as they told us about the various stories they had as each location brought back different memories.

After shooting outside for a while we decided to cruise into the math building to get some cool shots… I love these photos that Charlotte came up with… cool right?! She’s definitely got a great sense for the quirky.

I’m sure you can tell that these guys are pretty down to earth – well we had to coax Erin to rock this fashion pose – but rock it she did!

We then headed down to a favourite spot of both theirs and ours for long bush walks… Websters Falls (just up the hill from Dundas if you ever want to check it out).

It was a really fun engagement shoot and we’re stoked to be shooting your wedding tomorrow guys!! Sleep well

Check out John and Amanda’s same day slide show and don’t forget to click the HD icon and go full screen for the ultimate experience!!! Dave and I have recently begun adding video footage created on our 5D MkIIs to the coverage we provide to our clients… So we’re pleased to share this sample of fusion video to you all at the end of this post. In future videos we’ll also be integrating the audio from the ceremony and speeches… can’t wait to see how this new product evolves… I certainly see huge potential for creating even more emotionally charged wedding day stories for our wonderful clients. GO Canon!!

We love our dogs so much! They are sooo spoiled. We spend hours with them at the park playing fetch or giving them swimming lessons at the beach. We give them thousands of kisses and cuddles a day and yummy treats now and then. They really are so much a part of our lives it would just feel wrong not to have them be a part of our wedding celebrations somehow. I have a feeling they’ll made an appearance at our wedding reception here in Toronto when we get back from our destination wedding in Perth, Australia. If you consider your pets to be your “furry kids” like we do, you may understand why John and Amanda wanted to incorporate their little darling dogs Gunner and Bailey into their big day- tuxedos and all

As you can tell from our blog, we shoot destination weddings all over the world but we primarily photograph weddings here in Toronto. We haven’t had too many opportunities to photograph in the elegance and beauty that Niagara region has to offer so we were pretty excited when we got this inquiry. It’s actually a huge coincidence! We were so thrilled to be shooting a gorgeous vineyard wedding at The Inn on the Twenty when we booked John and Amanda last year for the August 29th date. They told us all about Gunner and Bailey and how they would be there on the big day.

Amanda is a veterinarian and has rescued many animals big and small, cats and dogs and they soon become a part of the family. It’s so nice to see someone with a big soft spot for animals like us. We were stoked to finally have a wedding that featured some four legged friends. A few months later we booked Steve and Michelle, also having a wedding at The Inn on the Twenty and also including a cute doggy sporting a tux… awwwww! That’s not all, they were having the wedding ceremony the day before, August 28th, at the exact same location, how wild is that?!? Hey it gave us a great excuse to stay a couple of nights in Niagara-on-the Lake… sweet!!

Ok, back to the wedding!! When we arrived to Amanda’s bridal suite the room was buzzing with the sound of wedding day chit chat! We got started right away shooting all of the lovely details. I LOVED the detail of Amanda’s Paloma Blanca gown and Stuart Weitzman shoes.

I also LOVED Amanda’s bird cage veil. So glamorous and perfect for a vineyard wedding.

Amanda’s four bridesmaids and two maids of honour were sooo much fun, seriously hilarious!! We’ll be photographing Amanda’s sister Samantha (above-third from the left) next year. The way Sam had us cracking up all day, there is no doubt we’ll be laughing up a storm when we get to tag along on her wedding day

The girls arrived via golf cart and were trying so carefully not to be seen by the groom. They all giggled and hid behind the grapevines until it was time to make their entrance.

They had an enchanting wedding ceremony in the vineyard, full of romance and style!

Gunner and Bailey escorted the newlyweds down the aisle and jumped up on the bride and groom to show their excitement!

What a good looking bridal party!!

Since the forecast was calling for thundershowers… eeeek, it was nice to have big blue skies and lots of sunshine during the ceremony.

But as you can see when I took the grooms-people out for a few shots these awesome clouds rolled in to make a dramatic appearance.

When I told John to strut his stuff for the camera, his sisters had to tease him just a little bit… They always have to pick on the groom eh John, lol!

I love this shot of Dave’s below… Soo arty and cool.

Haha, I love this shot of these crazy kids on the runaway golf cart… See what I mean, Sam is too funny, lol!

This shot of Dave’s rocks! Check out all of the little moments and expressions between the bridal party… It truly captured all of the fun they were having- Love it!

Another great shot of Amanda, she was absolutely elegant, what a beautiful bride.

I wanted to have a little bit of quirky fun with Amanda and John so I posed ‘em up and told them they weren’t allowed to smile… Haha- it’s harder than it looks when Dave’s joking around in the background, what a fun wedding day!

Congratulations guys. What a gorgeous wedding, we were so happy to be a part of it with you both! We look forward to seeing you guys again soon and don’t forget to bring the doggies!!

Check out Amanda and John’s awesome wedding entrance dance! You won’t believe how they can move, talk about skills. They worked with a choreographer to surprise their friends and family with this bootylicious groove. They did such an amazing job our video even made CBC Newsworld!!! Beyonce… can you handle that?!?

As we chatted with Currie about the the amazing Jewish wedding that was planned it almost felt like we had slipped out of reality for a moment. This was by far the most original and unique wedding we had heard of yet. We were captivated by all of the ethereal and spectacular plans for the event. Keep reading you’ll see what I mean!

An intimate wedding ceremony took place in Pam and Ian’s beautiful home. The garden was filled with music, champagne the chit chat of friends and family. A tent shaded the guests from the sun and the gorgeous chuppah made of floral arrangements greeted the bride and groom at the end of the aisle. When I was told about the tradition of the chuppah I thought it was so lovely and meaningful… It signifies that both bride and groom are joining as one under the same roof.

Pam and Ian are always keeping each other laughing and full of smiles. You can see the joy and emotion they felt during their wedding vows. Weddings are such a wonderful time in peoples lives, we’re so happy that it’s our job to document all of these joyful moments!

No Jewish wedding would be complete with out the traditional breaking of the glass!! Mazel tov!!

Isn’t this such a cute shot, Pam trying to find her way out of the veil for their kiss. You can see how much fun they were having, what a great couple!

As friends and family enjoyed wedding day Hors’ Dourves, pastries, crepes, cakes, and many other delectable treats, we stole the newlyweds away for a few quick shots. You can see they are still glowing from the excitement from the ceremony.

The intimate garden ceremony was full of gorgeous wedding day details. You could tell that every floral arrangement was designed with finesse and care.

At last, the grand wedding reception! The next day, celebrations continued at The Toronto School of Circus Arts. The plan for the evening was unlike anything we could ever dream of. Full of excitement, entertainment and surprise!

The event had three national themes… Canadian, British and South African. It was nice to see the marriage between the three countries designed into one opulent wedding reception. Pam and Ian now live in Canada, but lived in London and fell in love with the city and being South African by birth wanted to incorporate their roots. What an amazing idea, and it was incredible how they brought it all together.

Acrobats swung from the ceiling offering Champagne to the guests below.

So much entertainment and so much for the senses! Take a look at the British themed room on the left… Can you believe performers were bathing in bath tubs of chocolate, how cool is that!?!

I love the wedding cake design as well. Each tier had the wedding theme incorporated. Canadian, British and South African… I love the darling little elephant on the bottom tier .

Remember what I was saying about details… Check out the “LOVE” podiums!

The night was filled with live music, dancing and performances. What a spectacular event!

Pure wedding day bliss, I love this shot of Pam having the time of her life on her wedding day. That’s how it should be for every bride!

Pam and Ian look so happy and in love as they listened to the wedding speeches together. You can see the emotion in their eyes. So sweet.

The kids performances got a giggle out of mom and dad, so cute!

What a way to celebrate the love of marriage, life, friends and family. They really blew us away, what an evening!

Here’s to Pam and Ian for one fantastic wedding and reception. So much love, laughter and fun! We want to wish you both the very best and enjoy this amazing new chapter in your lives. A very special thanks to Claudia Hung for her help with the wedding reception, great work Claudia!

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Charlotte arrived in the bridal suite to find Toni having the finishing touches done to her hair and makeup. I love this series of images shot through the bathroom door. The flourished wallpaper and guilded frame set the scene perfectly with that amazing halter gown Toni was wearing.

Toni’s father, Early reminded both of us of Richard Gere… he even had the charming personality to boot. Don’t they look great walking down the aisle!?

The ceremony took place at the Old Mill in Toronto. While we’ve photographed many many weddings there over the years, this was our first time shooting a ceremony in the Wedding Garden.

After the ceremony we had some fun shooting them in Owen’s classic car. How sweet is this shot of Charlotte’s?!

We took some nice relaxed candid photographs as we wandered up to their reception in the Garden Room. Again, we’ve shot many weddings at The Old Mill, but this was our first time photographing this room… and it was a real pleasure. The natural light was streaming through the windows, allowing Toni’s carefully planned wedding details be enjoyed by all.

As you can see, Toni has an incredible knack for event design. She runs a small wedding planning company which operates by referral only, so if you’re interested, give us a call and we’ll connect you with her.

As the sun began to set, we took a few more photos of the wedding party and stayed until the sun had set to capture the ambiance of the evening… don’t these hanging lights look incredible? Charlotte and I are sure to incorporate these into our reception.

Toni and Owen – Thank you sincerely for inviting us to be part of your special day. We had a wonderful time with you both and wish you all the very best in your married life together.

When Christina and Dave crossed floral arrangements off their wedding day checklist, they also got a referral for their wedding photography. Our awesome friends at Pink Twig , a stylish and modern floral boutique here in Toronto, told the newly engaged couple about our work! Thanks Pink Twig, you’re the best!!

We LOVE their work and they have this amazing ability to create the most unique and fashionable floral designs for your wedding day. If you’re a bride to be and haven’t heard of Pink Twig yet we highly recommend them.

Dave and I arrived at Christina’s house excited for our day of shooting and for the bride and groom to be. Christina and Dave had been waiting for this day for such a long time and for it to finally be here, meant so much to them.

Christina’s face illuminated as she put on her veil, it was like someone turned on a light switch. What a gorgeous bride!

I love these little moments… When a mother holds her little girl for one of the last times before she’s married. You could feel the love and the energy between mother and daughter. What a beautiful time in their lives.

Wow, yet another stunning shot of our gorgeous bride! She looks so elegant; almost like a beautiful piece of fine art.

Some of the other moments we love are the beautiful wedding day photojournalism. Candid photos that just happen. Such a simple shot and so elegant. I just love these “waiting” shots!

The ceremony was so moving and the priest had so many kind words of encouragement and love for the newlywed couple.

We always do our best to get great ceremony coverage while at the same time staying out of sight not to disrupt the service. Dave and I were really honoured when the priest took a moment to thank us at the end of the Catholic wedding ceremony for being the most respectful photographers he’s had in his church in a long time… Wow, that was so nice of him!

We had a few locations in mind for the bridal party shots but Christina and Dave absolutely loved the Brickworks- and for good reason!

This has got to be one of the best locations for wedding photos in Toronto! We love discovering new spots for our bridal portraits and wedding party photographs. It really is difficult to shoot in the same spot twice at the Brickworks… the possibilities are endless! This is actually the same spot Christina and Dave chose to do their engagement shoot. We love the combination of the grungy brick walls and the lush and vibrant meadows!

I LOVE this shot Dave grabbed with the orange background. Soo cool.

I wanted to try a quirky shot of the bridal party posin’ with some attitude I used our tilt shift lens for this one so I could have some fun and blur out their toes.

If you are looking for a gorgeous wedding venue in Toronto try the Rosewater Supper Club, it’s superb. So full of class and style not to mention elegantly designed both inside and out!

We were so lucky to have a day full of sunshine and bliss. When we made our way to the Rosewater Room it clouded over for a bit. We couldn’t resist heading inside this cute little wine bar for a quick photo op!

Dave went outside to shoot through the window and pick up some of the reflections in the glass.

I stayed inside with our couple and caught some really sweet, candid moments of the two of them enjoying some wedding day champagne! It was nice for them to relax and take it all in.

Christina and Dave wanted to incorporate their first date into the wedding day. They reminisced about cooking up a storm together with ingredients and spices that they found in Kensington Market (a little funky and eclectic must see spot in Toronto). We thought it was such a brilliant idea that they gave the same spices they used on their date as wedding favours!! Hmmm… sounds to me like a recipe for love.

What an entrance!! They totally looked like Hollywood celebs .

I don’t know whats happening lately, but whatever it is we love it. All of our weddings have had the most amazingly sweet, emotional and deeply loving wedding speeches. Dave and I have become so sensitive to the kind words couples have for each other that it’s really getting difficult to hold back our own tears. Dave and Christina definitely had one of those moments. We were particularly choked up when Christina spoke on what a kind, loving, generous and amazing man she had found in Dave. How they are best friends and even though it was a long and sometimes difficult time while he was in medical school they made it through together. I know we were both teary eyed when Dave spoke of how he told his best man that he knew after his first date with Christina he was going to marry her one day.

They truly are such a sweet couple. We were so blown away by their kindness and hospitality on their wedding day. Here’s a note they sent us after their honeymoon we’re so excited to share with you all:

Hey Dave and Charlotte!!
Dave and I just got back from our awesome honeymoon in Morocco and Spain and we just wanted to express how much we loved having you both photograph our wedding day. You both went above and beyond the role of photographers! Thank you!
We both just came to really appreciate how you were never ‘in our face’ from the church to the reception. We’ve been to weddings where the photo and video guys were always blocking the bride and groom and the guests never had a chance to see them and be emotionally involved with the church service, and speeches. Thanks for balancing taking amazing shots, while still letting our guests really be in the moment. We really had an amazing time at the wedding and we can’t wait to see the photos!!!
The engagement shots you took rock!! Everyone thinks you were up on some crazy tall ladder for the first shot (in the grass)! The photos look so good – we are really happy to have you capture our love in such a beautiful way!!

Thanks again,
Talk to you soon,
Christina and Dave

Click here to view the embedded video.

Charlotte and I have recently begun adding video footage created on our 5D MkIIs to the coverage we provide to our clients… So we’re pleased to share the first sample of fusion video to you all. In future videos we’ll also be integrating the audio from the ceremony and speeches… can’t wait to see how this new product evolves… I certainly see huge potential for creating even more emotionally charged wedding day stories for our wonderful clients.

Speaking of awesome clients… haha – do you like that segway?! Jay and Audrey, like many couples, they met during their studies at Queens University, and fell in love with one another – and believe me, it’s obvious that their love runs deep.

Their wedding was held at Taboo Resort in scenic Muskoka. Needless to say, the weather was perfect, slightly overcast and a mild 28 degrees with a bit of sunshine every so often – absolutely perfect conditions for an outdoor ceremony in the woods. Now you may have already watched the video we posted above, but if not, please enjoy the photos below.

Isn’t Audrey stunning? And check out her awesome Melissa Sweet Gown! Beautiful.

Details of the day… Aren’t these “Bride” flip flops adorable? Add the sexy shoes, a fresh boquet and one very sparkly engagement ring/wedding cup cake and you’ve got some great wedding day details.

And check out the funloving, gorgeous bridesmaids.. they kept Audrey laughing all day.

I’m loving these shots of Audrey… She was such a chilled out bride. We shot this beautiful soft portrait with our glorious 50mm f1.2. Buttery eh?

There’s often a beautiful moment shared with sons and daughters see their parents before the ceremony. Jay’s mum was just so sweet when she was tearing up just before they went down the asile.

Jay hilariously smashed the glass a little too eagerly – just one of those things that make for great little moments on a wedding day!

And here come the sweetest newly weds…

Jay and Audrey had some sweet props for their wedding party. Rockin’ it gang. Haha- Totally awesome!!

Their reception was held in the Boathouse, with panoramic views looking west over the lake. The dance floor was packed most of the night, and the energy was high.

During the reception, we were lucky enough to be able to sneak the bride and groom off for a 15 minute photo session.. I’m sure you’ll agree that these were some of the most romantic photogrpahs from the wedding day.

The reception concluded with some very touching and sometimes tearful speaches and a wonderful first dance.

Ankush is a Mechanical Engineer and Lina is a Food Engineer. In the bakery where Lina worked the Oreo cookie machine was giving them problem after problem. Much to their dismay no one could fix this troublesome machine! Lina laughs back at it now, but she was not in the best of moods while this little issue was holding back production!! Like a knight in shining armour… Ankush arrived. The handsome young man, designed a part to fix the machine for good and solved a big headache for Lina and the bakery! A little over a year later they were on their way to the other side of the world be married in exotic New Delhi, India. They really wanted to find photographers that knew how to capture their love for each other to last for eternity.

They told us how they scoured the web, high and low, in the USA, India and beyond and that nothing quite clicked until they saw our work! We were so honoured and humbled that they felt this way about our work and the vision we have with our couples. It means so much to us because we really put our heart and soul in to each wedding we photograph. We know how much these images mean to our clients, as wedding day images represent so many different things to you. Not only is it one of the most important days of your lives together, but it also captures so many important moments of your dear friends and family all together in celebration.

When we arrived in the Delhi airport, Ankush’s dad arranged for one cool looking government vehicle to drive us to the guest house we were staying in. How cool is that!?! We felt like the president ~ lol!! Ankush and Lina were so amazing and accommodating to us, we couldn’t have asked for better clients. They really made us feel like close friends and made our experience so memorable.

The following day, after the beautiful mehndi and ladies ceremony, we were prepping for the wedding. Lots of rest to get over the jet leg and lots of amazingly delicious Indian food that really made Dave and I consider staying a bit longer in India… I’m telling you it was fabulous! As we finished photographing Ankush’s pre-wedding Hindu ceremony with his friends and relatives we made our way outside. I grabbed this shot of the men getting ready to light the way for Ankush on his horse- incredible.

One really good thing about Dave is that he is 6″4 so he can get these crazy overhead angles like in the shot below. We’ve had so many people swear that some of our shots are taken on with a ladder… haha, no, Dave’s just really tall!!

The day of the wedding was a visually stunning event! A marching band played big-band music that filled the air as Ankush made his way on the white horse. Drums, trumpets, saxophones, tubas, trombones, you name it, they played it! They danced to the beat of the music and you could just feel the love they had for the groom to be. What an amazing time we were all having.

Here is Ankush with his sarbala. It’s usually a nephew or cousin of the groom who accompanies the groom during a Hindu wedding ceremony as his protector. Pretty cool huh? I think that his little cousin quite liked all of the attention, who wouldn’t, I’m sure you feel a bit like a celebrity up there with all of the singing, dancing, cheering and lights!

I love this shot! All of the Aunties watching as Ankush rides by. This was one beautiful display!

Don’t try this at home kids… This one really caught us by surprise, lol!! One of the band members lit fire crackers to help in the celebrations… I have to say I was sweating bullets when Dave shot this one… Sure it looks dangerous setting off fire crackers in the middle of a 4 lane road with cars and mopeds driving by, but I guess it’s just more laid back in India

I now know how I want to arrive to our wedding (insert sound of jaw dropping)!!! Have you ever seen anything like it, how awesome!!! Lina looked sooo elegant, nothing short of royalty. I absolutely LOVED her Sari as well. It was so opulent and beautifully detailed. It was covered, head to toe with natural pearls and crystals. So stunning…

I can’t begin to tell you how amazing the aroma of flowers was when we arrived. The entire outdoor wedding reception was covered with jasmine flowers, marigolds, rose petals, you name it, they had it!

We followed Lina as she made her way down the aisle. As we rounded the corner, we were speechless! This was bigger, better and more beautiful than any celebrity wedding I’ve seen! There must have been 1000 people there. They had food stations set up all along the outskirts of the grounds. Chefs prepared food from almost every country right before your eyes! They had Mexican, Italian, French, Mediterranean, Continental, Asian, Indian and then the desserts… ohhhh the deserts!! The food stations must have gone for 300 metres, no joke!

I love this shot below… The band taking a break. Everywhere you looked fairy lights hung in the trees, sooo magical!

After Ankush and Lina, greeted all of their loving friends and family. We headed inside to begin the beautiful Hindu Wedding Ceremony.

Indian weddings are so visually stimulating. The way the bride and groom sparkle and shine when the light hits them. We love the beauty and traditions of the Hindu wedding ceremony. Each little moment holds so much meaning.

After seeing all of the dolla-dolla bills (or rupis) Ankush was receiving around his neck, Dave quickly noted to me that he wanted to have an Indian themed wedding… hmmm

All I can say is WOW! What a stunning ceremony.

Ankush’s Grandmother looked on with so much love in her eyes for the couple. I was getting a bit choked up myself watching her hold back tears of joy.

The fire under the Mandeep was blowing smoke into Lina and Ankush’s eyes… hehe. I’m not sure if they were tearing up because they were laughing so hard or if it was from the smoke… too cute!

After they were officially man and wife… YEY Ankush and Lina… we took them outside for some time alone together. It means so much to us to be the first photographers to capture such an important moment for them. Still glowing from their wedding vows and so happy and in love!!!

Isn’t Lina GORGEOUS???!!! What a classic beauty. I couldn’t resist taking full advantage of her big brown eyes in this shot. I love our Canon EF 50 mm F1.2L USM lens it makes everything pure magic. Look at the way her Sari sparkles in the light, gotta love it!

It was a trip and wedding of a lifetime for Dave and I. We can’t even express how thrilled we are that Ankush and Lina searched the globe for their photographers and chose us to document their day. We will always remember this trip and their incredible Indian wedding in our hearts, we can’t wait to go back to India again soon.

Ankush, Lina and little Mariana, we know you will be our friends for a lifetime and wish you all the best as you continue on your journey together.

Before we sign off, I wanted to share a beautiful note that Ankush and Lina sent to us soon after the wedding, it really touched our hearts…

Hello Dave and Charlotte,

How are you guys doing. Hope exploring the world full of colors and happiness.

News from our end is that we are doing fine—Lina watches her pictures online 10 times a day, Mariana gets excited to see herself and asks for you.

You guys have changed our spectrum of life—from being realistic and practical—for the past few days we have predominantly imaginative and would like to relive our moments spent in India again. We have been able to share the photos with friends and family and the response has been immaculate. People are stunned and so are we. Not to mention that the idea to be able to see the photos online on your website is wonderful.

We are very satisfied with the quality of the pictures shot and they are just magical moments frozen in time. The level of work is just beyond our expectation and feelings.

Both of us spend our weekends choosing which will be the best suitable ones for our albums and to be honest with you guys it has been a challenge to select the best from the list of best—but we will put together a list for you guys soon.

On a personal note, I feel you guys are a amazing couple. The way you handled your trip to India with patience, enthusiasm and immense hard work is not only truly touching but very professional.

We appreciate every effort that you have made so far and will be making in the future to keep our memories wonderful and unforgettable. Hats off to you guys and CHEERS!!!

Have loads of fun and spread the fragrance of your talents everywhere you go.

Lina and Ankush—with a small and tiny Mariana.

We figured we’d sit down Thursday night for a few hours to go through the shots before we left Friday for Jay & Audrey’s wedding at Taboo in Muskoka and then Jessica & Faruk’s wedding at Graydon Hall back here in Toronto on Saturday!!

The wedding was so much more than we ever could have imagined in our wildest dreams and we’ll get to that post next. The celebrations started off with a mehndi ceremony for all of the ladies. Mehndi is made out of Henna and is used to create gorgeous designs in celebration of the couples soon to be marriage. They say the darker the pigment gets, the more your Mother-in-Law loves you

All of the ladies along for the ceremony were given unique designs for their palms and for some the back of their hands as well. Even I had a chance to have a little mehndi done!

Ankush and Lina’s little sweetheart Marianna, kept us giggling through out the party. She was so careful not to smudge her design. It just looks so cute on little fingers, doesn’t it?!

Lina waited patiently for hours as she had her wedding day mehndi application done. It was so perfectly applied, it really is a work of art. It was so beautiful and she had it applied to her arms and legs for an absolutely stunning result.

After the mehndi party, we made our way to the Ladies celebration. There were so many colours and so much fun, singing and laughter- A true celebration for the couple!

Ankush and Lina’s friends and family, including their Mothers, Aunties, Grandmas, Cousins and Nieces took part in welcoming and blessing the new marriage.

They acted out humourus skits for Ankush and Lina, danced and sang. Everyone was having an incredible time!

I love this shot below. Hindu ceremony’s are so beautiful and every ritual has such meaning.

After the Ladies Ceremony Ankush and Lina had a good time with everyone partying to the music and even asked Dave and I to join them for some dancing to celebrate! We had a good laugh at our rusty dancing skills. It was so like Ankush and Lina to ask us put our cameras down and join in for some of the fun! They were always so accommodating making sure we had everything we needed and welcomed us like a part of the family. Such a sweet couple, they truly have become our friends!

You can see a bit of Ankush’s sense of humour here. He was always getting a giggle out of Lina and such a charmer with those dance moves!

At the end of the celebration we took the couple outside for a few quick shots on the grounds of the reception hall. Little fairy lights were swinging in the palm trees, so romantic! It was a nice chance for them to have a bit of time together before the Hindu wedding ceremony the next day.

Check out the blog tomorrow for Ankush and Lina’s gorgeous wedding in New Delhi, India.

We’ve both been dying to see some more of Europe for a while… and as we began planning our adventure, we realized that some photogra-friends of ours – Jerry & Georgina Ghionis – were going to be in Paris during our vacation period. We’d attended one of Jerry’s workshops in Washington DC last year and had an absolute ball, as well as being totally inspired. So we dropped them an email and were very excited when they asked us to model for Jerry in Paris! Of course, there’s nothing I love more than modeling (ahem), but to be photographed by Jerry is an amazing opportunity – both to learn what it’s like to be on the other side of the lens as well as to have some absolutely incredible images of us in the city of love.

So we planned the first 10 days of our vacation in Paris. Upon touching down we quickly felt at home in the city… the people were very friendly and the workshop attendees were a lot of fun and a very down to earth bunch. We felt very blessed to get to know Alex & Hazel, a sweet couple from Miami who like ourselves run a wedding photography business together. They were fortunate to have their wedding photographed by Jerry last year (they’re in this promo video on Jerry’s Ice Society site), and I kid you not, their album will probably win best wedding album of the year at WPPI and PMA this year.

We will definitely post some of Jerry’s photographs of us when we’re able to, but in the meantime we’d love to share some of our travel photos with you… mum, please forgive me for not taking more photos!!! It’s a vacation after all!

We spent a full day at The Louvre and only scratched the surface… Check it out.

Isn’t this a cool shot? Charlotte saw it before I did! She’s a sneaky one!

The Nike sculpture was spell binding – we spent 15 or 20 minutes circling it and enjoying it’s power and majesty.

Charlotte took those very pretty shots!

This next painting was another wonderful work, and we felt inspired to do something similar with future photo shoot… Which is where the concept for this watery engagement session was born.

I know you probably don’t want to see Charlotte and I kissing, but I loved this shot so much that I felt compelled to share it.

We had such an amazing week in Paris. We made some really cool new friends – like Alex & Hazel – and thoroughly enjoyed the amazing food, wine and deserts… then we jumped on a plane and were off to Greece!

We landed in Athens and caught a ferry to the quaint little island of Naxos. The island is known for the famous doorway to a Apollo’s Temple, called Portara. You can’t miss it as you hope off the ferry. Apparently it faces the birthplace of Apollo… All I know for sure is that it faces west and we had the pleasure of watching a full moon rise over the horizon through it! We spent several sunsets there enjoying the beauty of the spot and also loved our charming little hotel that faced the gorgeous St. George beach!!

We created a panoramic image by taking about 10 photographs and stitching them in photoshop. Have a look.

Doesn’t this look like a toy boat?? So cute.

One one of our days, we rented this little beast and cruised the island (we did it in a dune buggy another day!). How cool is this white marble mine? It looked so beautiful.

There were tonnes of cute villages along the way where we got out and acted like real tourists, snapping away like everything was about to vanish!

There were some mind blowing vistas along the drive… this temple below was well worth a long drive on dirt tracks to get to.

We created another beautiful panorama when we found a lookout that couldn’t be passed up…. Check it out.

Signing off for now… Our destination wedding in New Delhi, India post is almost ready… will post it tomorrow

Some of you may remember Sara & Hami’s gorgeous engagement session we photographed at one of our favourite spots, The Berkeley Church, Toronto. We had so much fun that day, playing around and utilizing all of the cool shooting locations and discovering new ones we hadn’t seen before. No wonder they had hundreds of “keepers” from the shoot. They’re even ordering a stunning engagement album to showcase all of their awesome images!!

In the morning I met Sara at the Hilton Suites downtown Toronto to take some shots of her getting ready with her girls. She looked so glamorous even before she put on her opulent Maggie Soterro wedding gown. Sara had to be one of the prettiest brides I had ever seen- she just looked gorgeous! When the suite full of Sara’s friends and family were ready to go we went down into the lobby where the anticipation was building!! Hami was waiting downstairs for his “First Look” of his beautiful bride to be. When he saw her for the first time you could tell he was awe-struck and nothing but smiles!

We took them out in a bit of wedding day rain for a few shots with their wedding umbrellas, the rain really added to the romance. We then headed to the limo for some more shots at Victoria College, another great location for wedding photos right here in Toronto! We played around and had a good time with the bridal party and gave the two soon to be newlyweds a bit of time alone before the ceremony to enjoy some relaxing time together.

We arrived at The Manor in Kettleby unsure what the weather might bring. It was cloudy, sunny, rainy and combination of the three while we were shooting. It was actually quite nice to have a bit of overcast and little drops of rain because it gave the girls an excuse to use the cute little paper umbrellas they had with them and the cloud created a nice even glow to the photographs. As Sara walked down the aisle, Hami felt the same anticipation as before but was lucky enough to experience it now for the second time!! How awesome is that?! Dave and I have officially decided that we want to have a “First Look” at our wedding and enjoy being a part of the rest of the wedding with our guests!

They ended the ceremony by releasing some vibrant Monarch Butterflies that fluttered around and kept flying over and landing on Sara like they knew she was the bride.

The ceremony was so beautiful. If you haven’t been to a Persian wedding before it really is a great experience. It’s a night filled with beauty, colour, laughing, dancing and just a genuine celebration of the couples love for one another. As soon as the music starts everyone, grandma’s, grandpa’s, kids, aunties and uncles, yes everyone hits dance floor with the couple. It is sooooo much fun, everyone is having a blast and the tables are empty right up until the food is served, of course!!

Sara and her wedding planner worked very hard to create the dream wedding decor. Sara wanted a red wedding with fresh red roses and candles, it looked visually stunning in the photographs. Sara and Hami also loved a shot of the two of them against a red wall from their engagement shoot and had it made into a gorgeous panorama canvas to go with the theme from their wedding day… Awesome idea guys!

Dave and I were stoked to be a part of such a fabulous time in their lives! At the end of a very long shooting day we were a bit tired but so stoked to have sooo many great shots from the wedding. Just like the engagement session, these guys rocked it and had so many great images from their day.

If you didn’t watch it yet, check out the slideshow of the wedding day and congrats to Sara and Hami!!