Atlantis at Ontario Place is a venue I really enjoy shooting at in Toronto. It’s not your traditional wedding venue as it’s 300 feet from shore and suspended over lake Ontario. Steph & Ken had such an amazing wedding here. It’s the first time I have seen someone fully utilize their incredibly high ceilings with aerialists, in fact, it’s the first time I’ve seen aerialists at a wedding (a la Cirque du Soleil).

On our way back to Atlantis they decided to stop for some Ice Cream.

The place was setup beautifully by To Suit Your Fancy.

Aerialists at the wedding was the highlight for me. I hope I get more weddings with them in the future.

I took the couple out to the roof of Atlantis to do a few night shots showing off some of the local lighting and architecture.

When Steph & Ken called me up about their engagement session they really wanted the lights at night of downtown Toronto. Shooting at night isn’t as common as it takes a lot more time to setup each shot – but the outcome is well worth it.

Starting off at Massey Hall we moved around the downtown core stopping off at Union Station, the TTC, and a few other spots downtown.

Tomorrow I’m posting their wedding from Atlantis at Ontario Place, so keep posted for that one.

I have known Rita and Adam for a few years and they are such a great couple. Even my mom says so. When they told me they were getting married and wanted me to photograph their wedding I was really excited. They got married at East Dell Estates Winery which is in the Niagara region and is a perfect spot for a wedding. I found them so friendly and helpful, which really made the wedding that much more special to the couple.

The cottage on the pond for the bride to get ready is the perfect setting to wake up to and get married. Tranquility with a view.

I could shoot for days in a vineyard. I wish I lived closer to the Niagara region sometimes.

A truly fitting sign considering it rained solid just before the ceremony. The great thing about the day was that the rain didn’t impact photos once.

One of my favorite shots from the day. In a sea of grape vines.

Everyone

Some nice jam wedding favours

The view of Toronto from the window of East Dell Estates after a rain storm is amazing.

I shot Linda and Ted’s engagement session earlier on in the year and was really excited to shoot their wedding at a location I hadn’t herd of before. I love shooting weddings downtown Toronto – La Maquette is a small unique wedding venue in the heart of the city right beside the Toronto Sculpture Garden and close to a lot of great photo locations.

We started out at the King Edward and it was great to be able to walk over to the ceremony at La Maquette.

A little walk from the Hotel and we arrived at the Novotel building which always has great light and has amazing architecture.

I got in a little bit of trouble for this ring shot. I do enjoy taking pictures of the little details so I stole a giant stone from their bar area. They got really worried when they noticed it missing (there wasn’t anyone for me to ask when I needed it). It was returned without problem and it was definitely worth the shot.

The day after Sarah and Murray’s wedding and after they cleaned up a bit from the night before we got together to do a really creative day after session. Starting off we went to her Uncle’s barn where Sarah grew up as a kid.

When Sarah mentioned we could use one of the horses, I had no idea she was going to bring out a Clydesdale. I don’t think I’ve ever seen a horse that big in person before. It took a couple people just to get Sarah on. I’ve always wanted to get a picture of a bride on a horse.

The farm had everything. Red barns, horses, corn fields. Everything a photographer could ever want.

We then drove down to the Rideau River where both Sarah and Murray grew up and families have houses on and took a little paddle in the canoe.

And last but certainly not least. Wakeboarding Bride. We had some difficulty with Murray running into Sarah and making her fall but we managed to get a few photos before packing it in for the day.

It was just a matter of time when this day would come. Murray is one of my cousins and has been with Sarah for quite a long time now. It was always a question of when, ever since his older sister Loren got married in 2007 in Mexico. I remember when Sarah told me they got engaged, and it was only a few months ago. I was sitting in my hammock in Mexico earlier this year editing some images from the wedding the day before. She asked me what date in June I was available so they could get married this year without waiting. They just needed to know when I was available.

Sarah & Murray did almost everything themselves or with the support of friends and family. Sarah even made her own bouquet the morning of the wedding with flowers from the garden. The boutineers, center pieces, open bar, to even packing everything up the next day. They did it all. The whole wedding was amazing and it shows you don’t need to have a huge budget or years to plan an amazing day. The wedding was held at the Baxter Conservation Area in Kars, just south of Ottawa.

So now I have shot the weddings of two out of my three cousins on this side. So next up is Don (no pressure – but I’m expecting my hat trick).

Boutineers by Sarah herself.

Probably one of my favorite bouquets of all time. It was the perfect colour choice for a green area.

This has to be my favorite kid picture of all time. What made it just that much more special was how she was talking to the little ones, asking them their names and how old they were.

Owen, my oldest cousin Loren’s little boy. It didn’t seem that long ago where I shot baby pictures of him. I could have taken pictures of him all day.

Troy Lajambe of Tympanic

I’m in this picture

Olga & Adam picked a great spot in Toronto to get married. The Old Mill is a historic venue in Toronto that offers a timeless look while still being right in Toronto.

I can’t wait to head back to the Old Mill in a few weeks for another wedding there.

If you ask some of my brides and grooms, or even other photographers I have worked with they will tell you I can try and push boundaries when I photograph. I’ve asked brides to jump off cliffs into water (that were afraid of heights), shot in abandoned areas that are closed to the public, or climbed some pretty crazy things to get the shots I want. Linday & Justin’s wedding wasn’t so much pushing the ourselves but pushing the limits of where we could shoot.

Golf courses are beautiful to get married at. With perfectly trimmed grass, ponds, and nice landscaping for acres providing a great backdrop for photos. Unfortunately, we aren’t always able to take advantage of their beauty. Recently many courses have limited the use of their grounds for their weddings out of fear the bride will be struck by a stray ball (which would not be a good thing). Lindsay & Justin were OK with pushing our luck a bit and we were still able to capture a few images around the course (much to the dismay of the staff member who stalked us in his shiny red “official” golf cart.

To this I say thank you to Lindsay and Justin for breaking some rules and sorry to the official who I’m sure didn’t enjoy following us rule breakers around.

I shoot wedding all across the GTA as well as internationally but it was nice to finally be able to shoot a wedding close to my home town of Bolton at the Caledon Estates. I was pleasantly surprised to find a forested area with clearings that the owners made just for photos as us photographers are always looking for shade and it’s not always the easiest thing to find on a sunny day.

Cullen Gardens (also known as Cullen Central Park) is one of my favorite venues in the Durham Region. It has so many awesome places with the beautiful gardens and grounds for photos. The weather was perfect and it was a fun group to be with all day. Probably the most amount of kids I’ve ever seen at a wedding. I could have easily posted a whole blog on just the kids!

She just couldn’t handle the party