Saturday was an epic day! It was the day where 2 people became husband and wife and where I gained two fabulous new friends!

We drove out to the Fraser River Fishing Lodge at Agassiz for an amazing wedding – Tanya & Dave officially became Mr. & Mrs. Smith (que the movie soundtrack!).  We got there a little early & decided to go for a little tour around the area and found our portrait locations for the day – we were super excited about all the sweet spots we found! The lodge is an amazing venue & the people there are fabulous – so incredibly friendly, organized & helpful. And the food…OH.MY.GOD. It definitely wins best food of the year award in my books. My second shooter, Darko, even found a fellow countryman in the kitchen as our chef! The lodge totally complimented Tanya & Dave’s personalities & I couldn’t of thought of a better location for them. Another pretty awesome part of the lodge…they have Bison there…so crazy and apparently the male is overly aggressive so we didn’t get too close.

The guys arrived a bit later than the ladies & they got ready in the house on the property while the ladies got ready in the spa room inside the lodge, after completing the decorating of the reception hall. I spent sometime with the ladies getting ready & Darko spent sometime with the guys.

Their ceremony happened out on the balcony of the lodge with the most amazing view behind them. We had a great view of the mountains & Fraser River and the weather was fabulous – not too hot & a nice breeze to keep it tolerable The ceremony was performed by the husband of one of Tanya’s co-workers and he did a great job. Dave even added a little something something to the ceremony by giving the first kiss a large dip! Well done Dave!

The portraits were the most fun I’ve had with a bridal party – everyone was such a trooper. We found a corn field, a pile of logs, a perfectly symmetrical forest, Adirondack chairs in a field in long grass & so much more! We found all this within 2 minutes of the Lodge – even better. When we finished the portraits we had to get back to lodge to freshen up before the reception & so we piled 10 people into my car (shhh) and drove down the dirt road with the doors open – hilarious. We drove up to a pedestrian who looked rather confused at first but then quickly realized we were the bridal party & quickly congratulated the Bride & Groom. One piece of advice, when driving down a dirt road, don’t hang your feet out the trunk if you’re wearing a black suit – oops! So we all dusted off, literally, and got washed up and made an epic entrance to the reception hall.

Tanya & the bridesmaids wanted to make a memorable entrance – dance their way into the reception! They had to convince the guys this was a fabulous idea & with a little finessing everyone was on-board. We set up the camera to record this & also shot stills – the video to come in a few weeks! The reception hall is absolutely beautiful, lots of natural light with a view of the mountains, amazing carpentry throughout the room (even the ceiling). Darko & I were absolutely loving the ceiling and the warmth it gave the room – stunning!

My favorite part of the reception – CANDY TABLE!! We joked that all their photographs would be snapped from the same angle all night, the candy table, because they had my favorite candy – sour keys! Surprisingly, I barely touched that table all night. My eyes were larger than my stomach at dinner and so I didn’t have room for sour keys.

The entire day was such an amazing wedding & I’m so incredibly happy to have been included in it. The best part – I have 2 new totally awesome friends & their Canucks fans like myself!

Tanya & Dave – you guys are so in love & I wish you many many years of happiness. I hope to share in some more memories with you guys when the time comes!

Enjoy your Sneak Peek!

Friday was a wonderful day for a wedding! We were threatened with the possibility of showers but Lorraine & Jeremy were blessed with perfect weather on their special day!

From the moment I arrived at Lorraine’s prep she was calm, cool & collected and so were all her bridesmaids. It was so refreshing to see everyone just enjoying the moment and going with the flow! Lorraine knew that no matter what happened she was still marrying her one, her only, her love – Jeremy.

The ladies started out their day at the apartment, getting all beautified by the Makeup artist & a friend helping out on hair, while Lorraine’s dad waited in the parking garage for mom to finish up for fear that we may subject him to the feminine happenings going on in the apartment. The ladies all looked beautiful & Lorraine was beaming as soon as she put on her dress. As amazingly gorgeous as she looked, I think the flower girl stole the show though – man was she ever adorable!! The bridesmaids dresses were amazing as well – a great color &…wait for it…THEY HAD POCKETS!!!GENIUS! I love love love dresses that have pockets!

The ceremony happened in Burnaby, actually only a few blocks from my highschool, in a church tucked away in a residential area & you would never think there was a church there unless you lived on that block! The church had a beautiful organ up above the alter – I love the way they photograph & I was able to get a great vantage point from up on the choir level I love it when churches have the upper level – makes for great atmosphere photographs that include the attendees as well.

We did a few quick family portraits just outside the church on the lawn & then the bridal party & myself all carpooled to Burnaby Village Museum for the fun portraits! Lorraine has a friend that works at the museum so we got in for free – shh don’t tell anyone! hehe Gotta love havin’ connections and seriously, who says no to a bride on her wedding day?!

We wandered around the museum grounds for about 2 hours and just enjoying ourselves, goofing around & sharing in the joy and laughter of their special day. Before we had gotten to the museum, I mentioned to the guys that there was ice cream at the museum and some of them seemed less than interested at the time but once we got there & about half way through the portraits they were persistent about getting some ice cream! The shop even made hot dogs for everyone, even though they weren’t on the menu – great service. While at the museum, you can’t leave the premises without a visit to the carousel & even though Lorraine and Jeremy opted out of riding it, we still did some romantic shots of them in the building. And while we were there, we just had to let the amazing flower girl go for a spin – you can’t deny a child that experience – and she had so much fun!

We had some spare time (or so we thought), so we made plans to all carpool to the reception and then go across the street to have a drink before the party started…while it’s a good thing we had that spare time because the traffic was a nightmare! We ended up getting to Heritage Hall just in time to make their grand entrance.

The reception was so amazing. I’ve never photographed at Heritage Hall and I was super excited for this wedding and was I ever happy to be there. I’m a sucker for old architecture and I seriously was just in awe of how wonderful & grand this building was! They added a modern touch by having a cute monogram lighting logo projected onto the dance floor as well.

It was a wonderful day, full of fun & laughter & love between two people who are very much in love with each other. I was so happy to be able to capture these moments for them on a very special day in their lives! Thanks so very much Lorraine & Jeremy for including me in your day.

Enjoy my perspective on your special day

A couple weekends ago I spent the day at Whonnock Lake for the wedding of C&J James. It’s a beautiful place – great backdrop for portraits off the rowing dock behind the hall.

While I spent the morning with the ladies at the house, Darko spent the morning with the guys at the best man’s house & getting his perspective on the preparations.

C&J had a beautiful wedding with their bridal party dressed in classy black with touches of fuchsia accents in the tuxes & dresses. The colors carried right through the entire day at the reception – everything looked very sharp with the splashes of fuchsia throughout the hall.

Here’s our perspective on the day – enjoy your sneak peek!

A few weekends ago Lea & Viktor were married at the lovely grounds of Barkley Brook in Langley.

Barkley Brook is a great spot to get married – everything is in one spot & it’s a fabulous photo location as well. With a man made pond, a garden, old fashioned swing, an old western village set up & the super romantic island and bridge. And to make it better – the pond is surrounded by white LED lights at night!

We had a blast photographing their wedding! Lea made such a beautiful bride & Viktor was beaming with love and excitement all day!

You two truly are madly in love and it shows in all your photographs. You both deserve the best in life & already have a great family started!

I had a hard time selecting only a few so I went a little picture heavy on this sneak peek but I’m pretty sure you won’t mind

Enjoy!

Last Saturday Rachel & Ryan tied the knot!

It was an amazing wedding – there was so much detail in the decor & I loved it! Rachel sure has style From the dress, the shoes, the purse right to the monogram on the cake, the photobooth, the flowers & more I couldn’t get enough of it all – it looked AMAZING!!

To top off all the amazing details, the bridal party were an exceptionally good lucking bunch!

We started our day in White Rock for the prep, then ventured down to St. Michael’s Anglican for the ceremony, over to Campbell Valley Park for portraits, then ended the night at the Cascades Casino in Langley – all were such great locations to shoot at.

Even though the day had it’s hiccups, everything still went on as scheduled & without any problems. Rachel was such a trooper through the hiccups – I think she may have been the calmest of everyone!

Rachel & the bridesmaids – I can’t say enough how beautiful you all looked that day!! And Ryan & the groomsmen – you all looked pretty sharp as well

Rachel & Ryan, I am so happy to have been able to share your special day with and to be able to capture it all. You are both such amazing people – warm, loving, generous, calm, and of course totally awesome!

While looking through your photographs, I couldn’t stop picking favorites – you photograph so well Rachel – you’re model material!

I hope to photograph your family again soon.

Enjoy your Sneak Peek

As this years wedding season gets rolling, I’ve been thinking about all the different shoes I’ve had fun photographing at all the weddings! I know you’re probably thinking “Why is she thinking about the shoes & not the couple?!” well I have a slight obsession with shoes and since I won’t let myself buy anymore shoes (I have waaaay too many) I live vicariously through my brides wicked taste for shoes!

Sure the traditional white heel is pretty but it’s traditional…Brides these past few years have taken their shoe selection to the fashionable side. This is one spot in your wedding where you can go a little off the hook & no one will really notice (I know I will though!! haha) A sexy pair of heels on your wedding day will keep you feeling sexy & when you get to your hotel room later & take off that dress BOOM! sexy outfit! LOL

From the moment I laid my eyes on these shoes I LOVED them!! I have a similar pair myself but the color this bride chose was totally awesome – it added that extra bit of pow to the bridal party ensemble!

So without further a due – the fabulously sexy shoes!!!

Last Friday I was privileged to photograph S&B as they became “The Coulsons”!

The day was spent on the grounds of the Redwoods Golf Course in Fort Langley – what a great location, we really enjoyed the outdoor venue!

The weather was questionable leading upto the ceremony but we managed to get through the ceremony without any rain. As soon as they were Mrs. & Mr. Coulson, the skies opened up! They say it’s good luck…if that’s the case then their marriage will flourish tremendously! We spent the remainder of the day in the rain.

We had a great time doing the portraits in the rain…although something tells me the bridesmaids really wished they were somewhere warm & dry. The guys played it cool with their matching aviators! Although it was raining we toughed it out for nearly 2 hours then we ducked back inside to warm up before they made their entrance into the reception.

What an entrance they made too! They had a huge surprise for everyone – even the Bridal party – they rode in on a tricked out Golf Cart ( there’s a photograph below)!! That was super cool & very unique.

The reception was a blast, the food was delicious & the desserts were even better!

It was a great day with The Coulson’s & all their friends and family….I am very happy to have shared this with them. I wish you both the best in the future & I sure hope we get to work together again soon

Here are some of my favorites…I could have picked nearly all the photographs but then it wouldn’t be a sneak peek! LOL

Enjoy!!

Last weekend was Mrs. & Mr. Carbonetto’s wedding – and it was a great wedding!
We started our day in Maple Ridge to get glamorous & then moved to the Chapel & finally ended up in Fort Langley to share laughter, memories & well wishes for the future…
The Bride had thought of everything for the wedding & she also hand made  A LOT of the decor & small extras that most people don’t bother with! She made little cheer sticks for the guests to wave whenever they felt like cheering for the couple during the ceremony – how cool is that?!
The wedding colors were such a great combination – teal & lime green! Talk about popping colors!! Everything was teal or lime green – even her nails!!
And my personal favorite of the evening – the caricaturist that sat at the reception all night doing free caricatures of all the guests – even I got one!! The caricaturist was Cory of Corycatures. His work can be seen at www.corycatures.com – I seriously recommend this to every bride!

The day was full of so many great moments & the Bride and Groom made it our jobs so easy!

Congratulations Mrs. & Mr. Carbonetto!!
Here are a few of my favs from the day – it was hard to pick them

Enjoy!

A few weekends ago I photographed the Stelpstra wedding & they did some really traditional games at the reception but Brian made sure he added his own twist & humor to them. It was hard to take photographs while watching these games because I was laughing hysterically!! My favorite was the “Guess Which Guy is Your Husband” game. The groom, groomsmen & dads all sat in chairs in a row & Jess was blindfolded, she had to then pick out Brian from the group by going down the line of men and feeling their faces & hair. Now the part that isn’t in the rules is where the Groom switches seats…yes that’s right Jess, Brian switched seats on you several times!

Jess – here are the photos to prove it!!Pay close attention to where Brian is in the photographs & the expressions on his face. Also very hilarious is how most of the guys made their cheeks puffy to try to fool you! hehe My favorite is #14 – Brian’s expression is priceless!!!