sean + patrick | provincial Os Agostos wedding in Portugal

pearl + howard | film noir toronto wedding at the Eglington Grand

I started doing work with a foundation called JDRF a few years ago. Each year I document a few events to help raise awareness and funds for Juvenile Diabetes research, a disease that holds a place in my heart and families. 

Through documenting these events I have met some incredible people, one being a lovely human named Stephanie (who's wedding I am photographing next week!). Stephanie introduced me to her equally awesome sister, Pearl, and I am so fortunate she did. Not only did I get to document Pearl and Howard's wedding at the Eglinton Grand, but I get to photograph Stephanie's at The Great Hall too! Love these gals, their hubbies, and their families. 

I asked Pearl + Howard to talk a little bit about their wedding day, how it came about and more. Have a read! 

What are 1-2 favorite memories/moments of your wedding day?

Pearl: I have been so blessed to have found such great friends whom I got to share my special day with as my bridesmaids. We are all "grown up" now and live pretty far away from each other, but the wedding was an opportunity to bring my besties all together in one place, for one big party! Getting all dolled up with them and taking our RBF pics along with the remake of "Bridesmaids" photo was absolutely hilarious moments. I will also never forget the pure joy that was felt after Howard and I were named husband and wife.. and then when we turned to the crowd and walked back down the aisle to see everyone there for us was such an overwhelmingly happy moment.

Howard: Seeing Pearl for the first time, seeing all of our friends from different times in our lives joining together and having such a great time and creating new friendships

When you were planning the wedding, what things were most important?

Pearl: When planning the wedding, we really wanted to keep things simple. Looking at bridal magazines and pictures on the internet can be overwhelming with the amount of "things" one could have at a wedding. Being our thrifty selves, we found ourselves with the opportunity, tools, and desire to do some DIY projects for the wedding and I think that it gave us a feeling of fulfillment that we had our own special touches to our day (and were able to save a few bucks!). Also, our dogs are very important to us and we hated that they could not make it. We tried to figure out a way to incorporate them into our big day and decided to name our signature drinks after our sweet pooches. Hopefully they didn't give too many people headaches!

  ** Sidenote: when we were looking for photographers, really early in our search, I made it very clear to Howard that as much as we were trying to "penny pinch", I wanted him to know that the photography was really important for me and I wanted someone that was worth the price. Photography captures more than just an image, but rather a feeling that has the ability to take a person back to a special moment, and relish in it. That's powerful stuff, and I wanted to thank you for being able to capture these memories that we will be able to look back on for years to come and share for the generations that come next. You were an amazingly positive energy, and that shows in your work.... Again, THANK YOU! **

Howard: Getting the big things in place before sweating the details, having an organized and creative fiancé!

Why did you choose Eglinton Grand?

Pearl: We wanted to find a place that held its own charisma where we didn't feel pressured to fill any voids that some venues may have. We somewhere where we could do our reception and ceremony at the same place, so people could relax and enjoy themselves without facing the city traffic. The venue felt special even without any decor. It's history of being a movie theater immediately drew my attention because I know how much Howard loves a good film. I'm pretty sure we hit a home run with having our big day at The Eglinton Grand! We have nothing but amazing reviews for the Eglinton Grand, from it's own natural beauty, to the food, and then to its wonderfully helpful staff!

Howard: We felt that it was a grand enough venue for our special day but not over the top or too lavish, I like movies and old movie theatres so respect that they have retained elements of the buildings past in its current use.

 If you could go back in time, would you do anything differently?? if yes, what and why?

Pearl: Having an unplugged ceremony. It really wasn't a main thought until after when we realized some moments may have been missed or ruined due to people having their phones up and over their faces.  (I will be sure to clarify this to my family before Steph's wedding!!)... I would also go back and eat more than the one bite of cake I had! 

Howard: Stood closer to Pearl at the Alter (!!!) 2. Remind family and friends ahead of time that they would all be getting lovely photos from our brilliant photographer after the wedding so that they could focus just on enjoying the day vs. taking pictures!

Curated By: Tallie Garey

Caterer: IG: @eglintongrand

Hair + Make up : Make Up IG: @judylim.makeup

Dress Maker: IG: @casablancabridal

Other Vendors you are using:: cake/desserts IG: @cakecreationsbym

deanna + josh | picturesque wedding at black creek pioneer village

Where to begin with Deanna + Josh's beautiful, perfect, fun and emotional wedding at Black Creek Pioneer Village in Toronto. From start to finish I was laughing, crying, laughing again and we are so darn happy to of met Deanna and Josh. 

This was our first time shooting at Black Creek Pioneer Village and I really hope we get back there, it is a dream to photograph at and also, the guests just love it too! 

"As soon as we saw Black Creek, we knew it was the right place. We loved the simplicity of it. We have some guests with limited mobility, and the ease of our ceremony/cocktail hour/reception being on the same lawn and area was super helpful. We loved the backdrop too. The juxtaposition of this old, rustic village with our guests all dressed up and fancy just made it more unique. It was exactly the type of comfortable we wanted, where there were lots of places for people to talk, chat with guests they haven't met before, dance if they chose to, or walk around the village to check things out." - Deanna

Deanna and Josh made sure to have so many personal touches throughout the day that made their day so special and all about them and not only what they want for their day, but for their guests too. 

"Before we had a venue or any concrete plans, we knew small details. Like, our baby pictures at each table and the memory table honouring loved ones who had passed away. The three things we kept in mind were concepts - we wanted comfort, warmth, and an intimacy. We wanted the guest list to be limited to people who knew us well and loved us. We wanted the venue to be comfortable with a lot of places to hang out so people could move around as they wanted. And we wanted the night to be celebrating us and our families, with small details (like the baby pictures/memory table) to warm the heart." - Deanna

"This is easy...the OPEN BAR.  Our families love to drink and have fun and they did just that! Some maybe a bit too much but they were having a blast." - Josh 

When we first met with Deanna and Josh, their main want for photography and what attracted them to our style was the candidness, moments and emotion we document. We asked them both what their favorite images were after seeing their whole gallery:

"The image of Deanna and myself with my Grandfather was something really special. He has Alzheimers but that day he knew exactly what was going on and even asked if he can walk down the isle with us! (cue tears) . He also said "thank you so much for letting me be here with you guys" which I just don't have the words to describe how special that really was." - Josh

"I will pick two because our pictures were so gorgeous I cannot possibly choose one. The first is the image of Josh and I hugging/dancing at sunset. We sort of went away and I remember feeling awkward, but Josh and I do awkward best and the picture is totally us. It's so beautiful and honest and I love the balance of our outfits against the natural trees and leaves. The other picture (or many of them) are the dancing photos right at the end - it was a real moment of pride to see our family join in the dancing and hold each others hands or watch each other for support. Macedonian dancing is quite intimate, so you're super close with people who you may not know, either holding hands or hugging shoulder to shoulder. There's no room for shyness or questioning who is who, and our guests totally ran with it. You can see the joy in everybody's faces. It's exactly the vibe we wanted. "

D + J, THANK YOU! We could not of had a more fun day and we are so thankful to of met you both. Such a perfect wedding that will be a favorite for years to come

Blog curation by: Tallie Garey

Second shot by: Tami Klein

Florist: @rootsandwildflowers

Hair : @jodi77 (hair)

Make up : @maquillagebypriya (bridal party), @catmaikeup (bride)

Dress Maker: @mikaellabridal

DJ - @djintrinity

Furniture Rental: Marvelle Events