marlise + troy | stormy Brady Creek Ranch wedding in Invermere BC

In 2006, in between programs in college, I was trying to figure out what I wanted to do with my life and hadn’t any clue what that was. To gather my thoughts and experience something a little different, I applied to a bunch of jobs out in British Colombia and Alberta to make some money while seeing a new place (and hopefully figuring out what is next!). I told myself the first company to call me back, that’s where I will go. I did just that! I received a call about being a beverage cart girl in Radium, B.C and said “Sure!” and booked my flight the next day.

When I got to Radium, I met some amazing people and then, ended up living with them as well. Marlise is one of those people. Marlise and I got along perfectly from day one and from there until now, even though provinces apart, still have kept in touch and see other when we can (although we need to more!).

About a year ago Marlise wrote me asking if I would ever come back west and if I would want to photograph her wedding. I of course jumped at the opportunity. Marlise and Troy planned the most relaxed, beautiful day at Brady Creek Ranch in Invermere B.C. The ranch is a stunning property on the water, surrounded by mountains, has a barn for a reception space and two different houses for getting ready and celebrating in. Their day, although filled with storms and rain, was truly perfection.

Marlise + Troy (and Parker, the most adorable boy, their son), thank you for the most incredible experience. I can’t imagine not being there. You surround yourselves with my kind of people and your wedding will always be one of my favorites. Love you guys xo

dana + scott | urban Drake Commissary Wedding in Toronto

On one of the hottest days of the year, Dana + Scott said “I do” in the Toronto Music Gardens. They planned their whole day around Drake themed things because years ago, their first date was a Drake concert. From getting ready at the Drake Hotel, exploring the city for photos, having their cocktail hour at Henderson Brewery then throwing an amazing party at the Drake Commissary, this really was a dream wedding. Did I mention Dana wore Rue De Seine Dress?? or that they had a pinata for a wedding cake (made by the amazing Big Ass Pinata)?

Dana + Scott, spending the day with you and your friends was one of my favorite days and we all just clicked so well. Can’t wait to hang with you all again, and thank you so much for having me to document your freaking PERFECT day!!

  • Megan

Vendor love:

Florist: @thornfloral

Caterer: @drakecommissary

Hair + Make up : @lilyhobeauty

Dress Maker: @ruedeseinebridal

Venues: The Drake Hotel - @thedrake - The Drake Commissary - @drakecommissary

Band: The Test Icicles - www.thetesticicles.com - Olivia Borkosky (ukulele) - @livebork

Grooms suit: Surmesur - @surmesur

Invitations: Paper and poste - @paperandposte

Wedding cake pinata: Big ass Pinatas - @bigasspinata

The Candy Bar Toronto - @thecandybartoronto

Alex Rajak (officiant)www.weddingheaven.ca

alannah + christian | farm wedding at Belcroft Estates

lindsey + niall | intimate winter wedding in Durham

Lindsey and Niall unfortunately had a bit of a tough time when it came to planning their wedding. Sadly, someone very dear to them had become sick and for that reason, they pushed their wedding date forward in hopes that that person could be present.

They planned an intimate day which included those dearest to them as well as locations that meant something special. From the church Nialls family attends to photos in front of Nialls childhood home with the Lovers Lane street sign to a gazebo they love finished with a cozy dinner at KB Food in Whitby surrounded by everyone they love.

Such a special wedding in Durham region and so happy that Jennifer See Studios passed our name along to these two.

Thank you so much Lindsey and Niall xo

amanda + zack | urban Toronto wedding at the Burroughes Building

Amanda and Zack reside in Buffalo, NY and when it came to planning their wedding from South of the border, they absolutely nailed every single detail. From the most amazing food by The Food Dudes to Amanda’s dream Truvelle dress to the most gorgeous flowers by Fiori in Oakville. Not to mention the warm, unique and low light of the Burroughes building tying everything together. Other key things about their day that made it a dream, not one but two rooftop photo locations. Like come on!

I am the luckiest photographer for these two finding me online and I hope you enjoy looking at their love story.

Vendors:

Blog Curated by: Tallie Garey

Florist: @fiorioakville - www.fiorioakville.com

Caterer: @fooddudes -thefooddudes.com

Hair + Make up : @Fancyfaceinc - www.fancyface.ca

Dress Maker: @truvellebridal -truvelle.com

Dress from: @sashandbustle - www.sashandbustle.com


kayla + brandon | autumn wedding at Elora Mill

Elora Mill is a building that’s over 175 years old and is part of a quite a unique and picturesque community. In 2010 Pearle Events decided to purchase the building and convert the beautiful area into their next venue and spa, and am I ever glad they did!. Elora Mill has very quickly become almost every photographers favorite spot to photograph and now I really understand why.

Kayla + Brandon contacted me back in September 2017 about not only documenting their wedding, but some engagement photos at their home too. From then until the wedding, K + B were so amazing (and easy) to work with. Kayla was so organized and together they planned such a perfect day.

From the old buildings to the incredible florals by WR Designs - The Flower Co. to the hike down into the gorge (thank you again K + B for being troopers and doing that!!), the whole day was amazing.

Here is a small little peek at Kayla + Brandons day, thank you so much you two and cant wait to see you again soon!

Vendor information:

Second shot by: Tami Klein

Curated by: Tallie Garrey

Flowers by: WR Designs - The Flower Co

Hair + Make up : @bbbeautybtq

Dress Maker: @amandalinasoffical

lina + alex | toronto island wedding at algonquin island association

Lina + Alex got married on October 12, 2018 on Toronto Island at the Algonquin Island Association. Leading up to their wedding day, Lina and Alex were so incredibly laid back, relaxed and so lovely to work with. Corrigan and I met them for a beer one weeknight in our neighbourhood (they live a few blocks over from us in Bloor West Village) to discuss wedding details and we hit it off right away. We knew it would be an amazing day!

After years of being Toronto Wedding Photographers, we still hadn’t shot a wedding on Toronto Island. We are so fortunate that Lina + Alex found us, it was the perfect day, even with some rain.

We started with a first look getting off the ferry at Ward’s Island, wandered the island together for couple photos, celebrated their love with a traditional Russian ceremony, organized a sparkler exit and organized a group photo at sunset with the CN Tower as a back drop.

Thank you so much Lina + Alex, we had so much fun with you both, your family and your friends.

cristina + derek | contemporary Toronto wedding at la maquette - berkeley events

Last year I photographed a beautiful wedding at Bark Lake Leadership Centre for an amazing couple, Andrea + Shane. A + S surrounded themselves with such kind and fun people and I was sat at a table with all of Andrea’s work friends, a group of nurses from Sick Kids Hospital. Well, within that group there were some amazing ladies and one of them being Cristina and about a year later she contacted me about her upcoming wedding.

Cristina + Derek had asked to meet downtown and talk wedding photography and as soon we sat down, I knew we would be a great match. They are kind, positive, laid back people who I am so happy and honoured to of met. Weeks later, they moved to my neighbourhood and we went on a sunrise adventure for their engagement photos, it was beautiful.

Cristina + Derek planned a pretty low-key day filled with so much laughter and time with their loved ones. La Maquette was the perfect venue for them and their group and it created such an intimate atmosphere even when the guest list was well over 100 ppl. We had the perfect day weather wise and were able to explore the area for photos and stopped at both Copetin + St James Cathedral . A highlight of the day and something that I think more people need to do, is all the time they planned relaxing and having a drink with their parents and bridal party. We all went to Copetin and were able to enjoy some time together before heading to the ceremony.

C + D, thank you so much for everything and I am so so happy to of met you both. Can’t wait to hang out again!

-Megan

vanessa + robert | intimate city hall wedding in Toronto

katie + alex | rustic Parry Sound wedding at camp tapawingo

As a couple planning a wedding it is so important to find a wedding photographer who’s work you love but also that you love them as a person too.

As a wedding photographer, I make sure to meet my couples beforehand, even if its just a call, to make sure everyone is on the same page and that the couple are my kind of people.

Alex + Katie couldn’t be more my kind of people and their day/cottage weekend was so my jam.

Katie’s family has a cottage on Georgian Bay and a lot of her life and now their time together as a couple, has been spent up in the Parry Sound area so when it came to choosing a location, it was pretty easy and Camp Tapawingo was perfect!

They planned a weekend with their family and friends where everyone stayed in the kids camp bunks/cottages, swam lots, had campfires and was able to spend more then just an evening together which is pretty special.

My favorite party of the day? (other then hanging out with all of these amazing people) their dog Rory was a huge part of the day and has so much personality from greeting her momma in the “aisle” (the dock), to sleeping/snoring through the ceremony and to crashing the reception and jumping into her parents lap. She was just the best!


Here is a peek at their day! Thank you so so much Alex + Katie for having me xo

Venue: Camp Tapawingo

Florist: Pardon My Garden, @pardonmygarden

Caterer: Glenn Burney Lodge

MU: @beautybydaniellejones

Hair: kaileedixonn

Blog Curated by: Tallie Garey

laura + scott | laid-back Owen Sound wedding at Serenity Cottage

I have been dying to share this Serenity Cottage wedding since Corrie and I documented it. Not only is the venue perfect, intimate and unique but these lovebirds are some of my closest friends AND I introduced them! I will take credit for their relationship forever :)

Laura + Scott planned the best weekend get away turned wedding filled with relaxation, water sports, dancing and more.

I asked Laura a little about their love, their wedding and what they would recommend to future couples planning either a cottage wedding or an intimate one.

Have a read and enjoy these beauties!

Tell everyone a little bit about your love story…

Scott and I heard about each other in December 2010, when he saw my picture on Megan’s Facebook. After he asked her who I was and what I was all about, she thought it would be great if we met. Megan organized a night out downtown where a bunch of us just hung out, drank and danced. We instantly became the best of friends and hung out basically every day from that day on. Throughout our year as "just friends" we continuously heard many of our friends say "you two will be married one day". Those comments quickly started to feel like that could become true when we evolved from the just friends status to boyfriend and girlfriend. We have a bond that is so special and rare and has been since day one. My dad once told me that in order to have a successful and happy marriage you need to be best friends before lovers, and that quote rings true about us. After 6 years together, right before Christmas, Scott came home with a journal (which I had asked for for Christmas) for me to open, Swiss Chalet take out, and wine. I opened the first page of the journal and began reading a beautiful letter Scott wrote me and looked up to find him on one knee. The answer was obviously yes (followed by a few 'holy effs'), I couldn't wait to marry my best friend.

At what point in the planning process did you guys decide to keep it small and intimate? and then a wedding weekend?

Scott and I are the most laid back people so wedding planning just kept getting put on the back burner. We instantly knew we both wanted something small and intimate, that was never a question or thought for us. We went back and forth with the idea of just having a ceremony in a field, and a cool dinner out. But after talking we kept saying we didn't want dinner to be done than the night was over. So we looked into a few places where our guests were able to stay over night. We stumbled upon Serenity Cottage which would sleep the perfect amount of people for our immediate family and wedding party. We thought this would be the perfect way for us to celebrate our wedding, with our best friends and family. We are so so happy we followed through with our wants because the whole weekend was so perfect and just completely us.

What were 3-5 things that were of most importance to you both?

The most important things for us were: 1. It was done our way. 2. it was laid back and easy 3. the food was good. 4. the whole environment was pretty and chill 5. everyone would have fun.

For anyone planning a small intimate wedding, do you have any advice for them? 

My advice for anyone planning a small intimate wedding would be to only think of the two of you, what it is that you two want to do, what will make it 'you guys'. Pick five things that you feel are the most important to you and focus on those and do not worry about the little details. Our five things were 1. Great photographer (nailed it x1000 - we couldn't have asked for better) 2. Food is delish (it was unreal.. major shout out to Justins Oven) 3. good tunes 4. good wine 5. an environment that everyone will feel themselves and relaxed. Another piece of advice my sister gave me, was to take a minute during your big day and just look around and appreciate everything that's going on around you. While all of our guests were having a drink on the downstairs patio before heading down to the ceremony, I sat on the back porch in my dress with my dad and just talked about how awesome this moment was and looked around at everything and everyone. It is a moment I will always cherish.

What made you decide on serenity cottage?

We chose Serenity Cottage because it was beautiful, rustic, and on Georgian bay (we both LOVE that body of water). Serenity had so much to offer for everyone attending. It had a kids play ground, horse shoe pit, a seadoo, stand up paddle boards, darts, and so much more! It allowed our guests to do whatever they felt like when ever they felt like it. Everyone enjoyed all that Serenity had to offer throughout the weekend. It allowed for our environment to be chill, relaxed, and so much fun. The cottage also had enough rooms to sleep all of our guests, and enough space for everyone to comfortably get ready for the wedding. I would definitely recommend Serenity Cottage to anyone who wishes to have an intimate (perfect) wedding.

Looking back on your wedding weekend, would you do anything differently?

The only thing we would do differently was make it a tad longer!!! I know everyone says their wedding was perfect... and I could totally say the same thing... but ours was just completely "us" and that is the most important thing!!

Curated by: Tallie Garey

Second Shot by: Corrigan, Megan Michelle Photography

Venue: Serenity Cottage

Skirt: Breeyn McCarney, @breeynmccarney

Florals: The Flower Place, Barrie, @theflowerplacebarrie

Caterer: Justins Oven

emily + josh | beautiful Orangeville wedding at Hockley Valley Resort

As a gal who grew up “North of 9” I always love heading back up there to document in the small towns I once explored when I was younger. As someone who often went to Orangeville + Hockley Valley for many friend hang outs or school trips, the area quickly became a favorite of mine. Now, the area is booming and much larger then it was but still holds on to such beautiful hidden gems like Hockley Valley Resort.

Emily + Josh live in the area and when it came to choosing a location, Hockley checked all the boxes. A girl I grew up with, Michelle, passed my name along to Emily for photography and I am so so happy she did.

Their day was filled with laughter, rain, love, the most beautiful dress and one of the best dance floors I have ever seen.

I asked Emily a few questions about their day, their love and advice for future brides. Have a read and take a look at their incredible day below!

- Megan Michelle xo

Can you tell us a little about your love story, then and now?

 Josh and I met at a highschool grade 9 dance (14yrs old). We started dating in second year university (20 yrs old) and have been together ever since! We got engaged (25yrs old) and are now married (27 yrs old) so we've known each other for 13 years and have been together for 7.5 years!!! We own a house and 2 dogs together and our favourite things to do are going to the cottage, going to hikes with the dogs and spending time with our family and friends. Since we've known each other for so long our friends are almost all the same which makes get togethers a blast ... and a really big party. 

What sort of personal elements did you include in your wedding? 

I like to think that i added personal touches to almost everything in the wedding! my favourites are: Garter Toss ("Iced Groom" when we went under dress to get garter), Our wedding favours (we made homemade wine with customer labels and boxes to give away), Polaroid Guest Book & Keep sake frames (had custom frames make to hold the Polaroids that guests could keep)

When it came to planning your wedding, what were the 3 most important things to you 

Alcohol, photographer and food

You guys did a proper dance routine for your 1st dance, how did this come about? 

One request that I had from Josh for our wedding was that I wanted our dance to be amazing and not just public school dance

Do you have any advice for anyone planning their wedding right now? 

To keep your sanity and to make sure that you get everything you want without tears!! First: by booking all things that have a date restriction: venue, flowers, photographer, officiant, etc. (the worst thing you can do is fall in love with something and than they are booked and you cant have it :( ).  Second: move to all things that take a while to order or have lots of people involved (bridesmaids dresses or suits) and finally: do all the fun little things that can be done as small tasks throughout  :) . I would also say so definitely use helpful wedding apps!!! i used wedding wire - they are so great for keeping you on track and you can customize it to include additional tasks that you need to remember to do. 

Blog curated by Tallie Garey

Second shot by Lindsay Nemeth

Florist: https://seasonsfloralstudio.com/

Caterer: http://www.hockley.com/

Hair + Make up : http://www.hockley.com/ , Racheal Ellery

Dress Maker: http://www.sherrysbridal.net/

briar + clayton | charming Grimsby wedding at Beamer Falls Manor

Briar + Clayton planned the most beautiful, relaxed and colourful wedding filled with so much emotion, incredible people, personal elements and one of the best dance floors ever.

We sat down with Briar and Clayton to talk about their wedding and how they went about planning the most epic day.

Enjoy!

1. tell us a little bit about how you met

Clayton and I both grew up in Grimsby, which is the kind of town where everyone knows everyone. Our families lived down the street from each other, we went to the same high school, my grandfather and his dad knew each other from the gym... but our paths didn't cross until about 7 years ago when we met at a party hosted by a mutual friend of ours. We officially met then, but for the first couple of years we were just acquaintances that would occasionally see each other at social gatherings. I recall a couple of Halloween parties; Clayton insists we were at the same New Year's Eve party one year but neither of us can be sure. We even went on a big group camping trip one summer (during which I might have taken a motorcycle ride with a complete stranger, but that's another story). This was all in the first two years we knew each other, and during that time the most in-depth conversation we had was probably something like "hey, nice to see you" / "yeah, you too".

In April 2014, two days before my birthday, we both found ourselves in Grimsby hanging out with our friends Wes and Brennen, which was completely unplanned but wonderful. The four of us went out for a pint, and it was really the first time we ever had a conversation that was more than exchanging pleasantries. Pints at the pub turned into a backyard bonfire at Wes's, which eventually led to Clayton asking for my number. As I was giving him my number, he realized that it was already in his phone. Small towns, I tell ya. Anyway, he texted me the next day and we went on our first date about a week later, and have been inseparable ever since. 


2. when it came to planning your wedding, what were three of the most important things to you

I'd say that the big three for me were the venue, the dress and atmosphere. We wanted an outdoor venue in Grimsby, and we fell in love with BFM right away. I knew exactly what I wanted my dress to look like and the lovely Caroline Yoon of Champagne and Cupcakes made it happen (I didn't go to a single bridal store and I have zero regrets). We both knew what we wanted the day tofeellike and the kind of atmosphere we wanted to create for our guests - welcoming, laid back, fun - and I think we accomplished that. 


Clayton's were the venue, ceremony and food. Making our ceremony feel like "us" was really important to both of us, as was choosing a humanist officiant. We met Katherine Dimou of Lifetime Ceremonies and immediately knew she was our person. The food was one of the first things we decided on and we were both so excited about it. Chef Brad Rempel and his team are absolutely phenomenal - they took care of all of our rentals for the day including the tent, tables, chairs, linens, etc. as well as our bar, staff, set up and take down... seriously, wedding dream team. 

3. What made you choose Beamer Falls? did you look at other venues?

In my early twenties, a friend of mine did catering and they needed an extra bartender for a wedding at Beamer Falls Manor. Even though I grew up in Grimsby and had been to Beamer Memorial Conservation Area countless times, I had no idea that BFM existed until then. Shortly after Clayton and I got engaged, I remembered BFM and we decided to look into it. We went for a tour with our families and met Brian, who was so lovely. He and his wife Nancy had just taken ownership of the manor earlier that year and had done extensive renovations that made it even more magical than I remembered. We loved it so much that we booked it right away - we didn't look at any other venues. 

We loved that we had the venue for the weekend and that it included accommodations for some of our wedding party and their partners. We arrived on Friday afternoon and got our guests settled into their rooms before doing some decor set up and having drinks by the pool, followed by our rehearsal dinner. (We were going to have a bonfire but the weather had different plans.) Our hair and makeup team arrived on Saturday morning and met us in the parlour, where we had coffee and muffins... along with leftover and pizza and caesars. After the last limo left on Saturday night, those that were still standing who were staying at the manor gathered under the patio lights to drink the last remnants of wine and take literal bites out of our wedding cake as it got passed around to everyone, which was hilarious. It was all hands on deck on Sunday morning while we tidied up and got ready to head out, all the while exchanging stories of the day and night before. Having a venue for a weekend made all of those moments possible, and they're some of our favourite memories. 

4. when it came to your colours and florals, you went outside the box (which I LOVE), how and when did you decide you were going to do it your own way

For followers of The Bridechilla Podcast, you'll be familiar with the concept of the FIB (fuck-it-bucket). Flowers were in mine. It's not that I didn't care about flowers at all, it's that they weren't a huge priority for me because most bridal bouquets aren't really my style. I set a modest budget and took on the attitude of "we'll figure something out". 

Originally, I was going to go the wholesale-from-Costco route (which I still think is a great option) but then my mother-in-law expressed interest in growing the flowers for us at their home (I know, how sweet is that?). She suggested that we head down to the Grimsby Farmer's Market and inquire with the floral vendor, Jen from Wendalane Farms, to see if they had any recommendations before we dove into the project.

I hadn't been to the market in years, but when I lived in Grimsby I used to buy a bouquet from Jen every week. They'd most often be filled with colourful zinnias which I absolutely loved. So while my mother-in-law and I were down there asking Jen whether she thought we could take on the task of growing our own flowers, which unsurprisingly was starting to sound like quite a lot of work, I asked Jen if she ever did weddings. Thankfully she said yes, and that was that! I didn't provide her with a ton of instructions or specific requests - I just said that I liked what she does at the market and told her that we wanted everything to be bright, colourful and local. She did my bouquet, the bridesmaids bouquets, our centerpieces, our aisle flowers, the flowers for the arbour and all the boutonnieres and corsages. We were so happy with how it all turned out!


5. do you have any advice for anyone planning their own wedding right now

  • One of the best decisions we made in planning our wedding was having a 2 year engagement. This gave us our first pick of vendors and plenty of time, so nothing felt rushed and we actually got to just enjoy being engaged.

  • Use technology to help you plan - we used Wunderlist to stay on top of our to-do list, and had spreadsheets for our budget, weekend timeline, etc.

  • Don't be afraid to delegate. That was difficult for me but when it came to the week-of, the moms were on duty. Thank you, moms! 

  • If you're in Toronto, I'd also highly recommend joining Bunz Wedding Zone. I scored some great trades including #thejustmarriedjacket and some bunting that we forgot to set up (lol) but more than that, I found a community of people who were so incredibly supportive every step of the way. Love you, bunz <3 

  • I highly recommend booking a month-of coordinator. Jane of Jane Suh Weddings was absolutely phenomenal to work with and was worth her weight in gold. It was so reassuring to know that she was there to pull all the pieces together. We'll never be able to thank you enough, Jane!

Clayton said "Take everything step by step and don't panic, everything works out in the end. Also, marry someone who is type A because they'll be super organized." So there's that, haha. 


6. looking back, would you do anything differently?

There really isn't anything either of us can think of! 

Second shot by: @ashleamacaulayphoto

Blog curated by: @talliegareyphoto

Planner: @janesuhweddings

Florist: @wendalanefarms

Caterer: @chefbradrempel

Hair + Make up : @prettyinpinkmobile

Dress Maker: @champagne.and.cupcakes

steph + peter | playful Toronto wedding at The Great Hall

Stephanie and I met back when I was documenting events for the JDRF foundation. After a few events and Stephanie and I working side by side on a few occasions, she emailed me about her wedding. Within a week of her contacting me about her wedding, her sister Pearl did as well. I love working with families numerous times and getting to know them along the way, it always makes me feel like part of the family!

The Great Hall has become many photographers favorite venue to shoot at in Toronto and now I know why. All the clean white walls, the natural light in every room and the old theatre style reception space. Stephanie and Peter planned an amazing wedding filled with so much genuine laughter, love and puppy cuteness.

Thanks so much Stephanie and Peter xo

brayden + mackenzie | elegant Ancaster wedding at Earth to Table Farm

I have been absolutely dying to share this wedding for so many reasons and I am happy I finally can! 

I go way back with these two who have now been together nine years. But I have known Brayden for 15-17ish years which is pretty crazy to think and say. To have been asked to photograph their wedding was quite the honour and what a fun and perfect day it was with such amazing people. 

Brayden + Mackenzie planned the dream wedding to not only be at but also to photograph. They thought of every little detail from a custom painting of the venue for people to sign to the simple + elegant decor of the reception to the live music to the best style (Braydens burgandy suit + Mackenzie's dress...like come on!).

This was my first time photographing at Earth to Table: The Farm and boy I cannot wait to go back. It really is the dream venue and everything from the grounds to the barn to the lighting is absolute perfection. 

Take a peek and enjoy looking at these gorgeous humans and their amazing friends and family!

eva + alan | dreamy Ireland wedding at Lough Rynn Castle

In January of this year, my dear friend Tami Klein introduced me to Eva and Alan. Eva and Alan we're planning their wedding in Ireland, where Alan is from, for July of this year and Tami was not able to document it and passed my name along. Not long after the initial introduction did the three of us meet for a Guinness and it was love at first sight haha 

My family reigns from Ireland and it has been an ultimate goal for me to document a wedding or even couple session there and to now have done so, I feel so incredibly thankful and honoured. 

The location Eva + Alan chose is what dreams are made of. Lough Rynn Castle was stunning from the old building to the walled gardens to the lake, it couldn't be a more perfect venue. I spoke with Eva about their planning, their love story and their wedding. Have a read! 

How did you two meet? Tell us a little about your love story

E: "Alan and I were both working in financial services at the time, and "met" initially through email when we were working on the same client. Slowly our work emails started including more and more personal updates, and we had to start a separate email chain just for chats. Eventually Alan got up the nerve to ask me out on a date and it was the best first date I had ever been on - we both laughed SO hard the whole evening, and neither of us had anything to drink. We went to a board game cafe and found out after arriving that they didn't have a liquor license."

A: "One day Eva called me on an issue (we still hadn't met yet) but she was really sick at the time. We joked that she was going to get me sick over the phone. Eva thought it would be funny to send me a Strepsil through interoffice mail just incase. Unfortunately for me the Strepsil arrived at my desk when my supervisor and manager were standing there and they both asked me - "Why is Eva Curtis sending you mail? What is it?". I reluctantly opened the envelope and out dropped the Strepsil, my co-workers were super confused, but I thought to myself, I think I might marry this girl."

With you being from Canada and Alan from Ireland, how did you decide where you would have your wedding?

E: "After travelling to Santorini a couple years ago, we both decided that was where we wanted to get married. But after doing some research realized it would be difficult for people to get there from Canada. We then started looking at other options outside of Toronto and eventually decided on Ireland. We have built a home in Toronto, but Ireland is where Alan lived most of his life, and we liked the idea of incorporating it into our story by celebrating there."

How did you guys choose Lough Rynn?

E: "We went home in July 2017 to look at wedding venues and start the legal process for us to get married in Ireland. We had a couple venue appointments setup, based on researching online, and weren't actually planning to see Lough Rynn. Alan's friend mentioned he had attended an amazing wedding at Lough Rynn recently, and highly recommended we check it out. We scheduled a last minute appointment to take a tour and it was the third venue we saw. As soon as we drove up the driveway we were pretty much sold. It is such a beautiful venue and the grounds are stunning. After taking the tour, we were so impressed by the professionalism of the staff, we knew that they'd do a great job and would be easy to deal with while planning an overseas wedding. We cancelled all our other appointments after the tour and signed a contract that day."

What was most important when it came to your wedding, what did you want to make sure was included?

E: "There were three things that were super important to us (aside from each other and our wonderful guests) - great food, good music, and a photographer who was able to capture the events of the day in a candid style."

Looking back, would you of changed anything?

E: "The whole day went perfectly - we were both shocked how smoothly everything went. Honestly neither of us would have changed a thing."

Did you find it difficult to plan a wedding from another country? How did you find your vendors?

E: "Planning a wedding in Ireland, while in Canada, was definitely challenging at times. But our vendors were all SO amazing, they made the process extremely easy and were very helpful throughout everything. It also helped having Alan's family and friends in Ireland, as they helped out as well. Special mention to our wedding coordinator, Michelle at Lough Rynn. She was so helpful and made sure the day went smoothly without any issues. We found our vendors through a mixture of family/friend suggestions and suggestions from Lough Rynn."

Your wedding was flawless and not one thing went wrong BUT is there any advice you would give to couples planning their wedding? More specifically, from another country?

E: "Planning a wedding from another country - I would suggest picking a venue which provides you with a designated wedding coordinator - someone who will help you throughout the planning process and also be there on the wedding day to make sure everything goes as planned. That really helped to alleviate some stress, and made the planning process a lot easier for us. I would also highly suggest having a first look - we were both nervous the morning of the wedding, but as soon as we saw each other the nerves melted away and we were both super excited for the day."

Is there a moment that really stands out from your wedding day? 

E: " There were a couple moments that stand out, when we look back on the day - the first look was really special and emotional. It helped to kill our nerves and allowed us to spend some alone time together before being with everyone. The second moment was our vows during the ceremony - we both wrote our own and it was an incredibly special and emotional moment to share with our guests. The third was after dinner - we decided to take a walk and found some chairs down a hallway. We sat there for about 15 minutes and reflected on the day. It was really nice to be present in the moment and appreciate what a special day we had had so far."

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

christina + zach | an intimate grand bend family cottage wedding

Now I will start this post off by saying that Christina and Zach's wedding in Grand Bend was absolute wedding goals and will forever be one of my favorites. They did everything for them and for those that mattered to them most. 

So Christina and I go back now I believe a decade and met through her brother Jason and we all played softball together (she was good, I am not haha). After years of playing together and hanging out a lot, I got to meet Zach. I don't think I could of ever imagined up a better person and best friend for Christina, they really are two peas in a pod. 

Christina rocked not one but TWO unique and beautiful dresses. The little white top over the first one was made by Christina herself. It was so fun to do a second look with the next dress, on the beach at sunset. 

The venue was their cottage growing up and then a few years ago when Christina's parents were ready to retire, what better plan then to renovate the cottage and live there forever. Their home was so perfect and as you will see, the backyard space was the BEST! To have your ceremony outside, on the water, surrounded by 50 of your nearest and dearest while boats are driving by and honking... perfection.

The night was filled with some of the best first dances, speeches and even live music (by one of my favs Kevin Foster) that I have ever seen. It was one of those weddings I did not want to leave and I am so excited and happy to share it with you all! 

C + Z, THANK YOU!! xo

matt + monika | fun archeo toronto wedding

Monika and Matt found my photography through Instagram and contacted me about five months before their wedding and I am so darn happy I was still available. We scheduled a phone chat to make sure we were on the same page and we were laughing our butts off within seconds and I knew it was going to be a great day. 

Monika and Matt got ready at the Thompson Hotel and then had a outdoor ceremony and intimate reception at Archeo Trattoria. This was my first time photographing at the Archeo (I shot a wedding a week later here too!) and I was blown away by the beautiful decor and moody lighting and the outdoor space is perfect!

It was a day full of laughs, tears and romance. Monika and Matt were so fun to hang out with and so easy to photograph as their love is so natural and it translates through all the photos. 

Since their wedding, I submitted a photo from their wedding to a show at the Gladstone Hotel, The Love Actually Exhibition, and it was accepted. I am so happy to be sharing this milestone with such a rad couple.

The Love (Actually) Exhibition is a group photo-show showcasing the power of love & happiness in real moments during weddings. It’s returning for it’s second time and will be an annual show at the Gladstone Hotel. 

Curated by Toronto photographer Scarlet O’Neill, the diverse images of a variety of Toronto Wedding Photographers will be accompanied by a description of what made this moment meaningful along with a list of the wedding vendors who contributed to making the couples day special. This show shows a deeper view into the wedding world and the vast emotions that make weddings memorable days in people’s lives.

Opening Night Reception: February 8th at 7pm-10pm
At the Gladstone Hotel, third floor.
Cash Bar.

Show run: January 30th until Feb 25th. 
Open daily 12-5

Couple: Matt + Monika

Venue: Archeo

Dress: Davids Bridal

Monika Rings: Peoples

Matt’s Rings: His Grandfathers with more modern gold added by Meg Lizabet (@meglizabet, @bespokejewellery)

Hair: @savannamunro_  from @bobandpaigesalon

Makeup: Bride @monikadarling