I have known Danielle for years, and had the pleasure of photographing her with her niece years ago and then I also photographed her sister as well, so I was more than thrilled when she contacted me and asked me to photograph her wedding in June.

Besides being beautiful inside and out, Danielle is a cute and sweet and funny girl and her and David are so adorable together and we had so much fun during their e-session. We had to postpone it a couple of times due to wether and then when we finally met, it wasn’t the best weather as it was wet snow that kept falling, but eventually it stopped and the sun even came out at the end.

We drove around downtown Toronto and stopped at a few spots and we had so much fun. At the end we went to a new skating rink with the skyline as the background and it was beautiful, even though the ice rink wasn’t skatable it was still pretty and we made the best of it and Danielle even wore heels on the ice.

These two are so wonderful and I can’t wait for their big day in June, I know it will be an amazing wedding.

Thanks again Danielle and David, we had such a wonderful time with you and are so looking forward to your wedding day, but for now we hope you enjoy the sneak peek from your e-session.

p.s.  I may have to add some more images soon as there were just so many that I loved…

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

We have so many reasons to celebrate and this is my post to do it in and I just want to share our good news with everyone, and we are just so blessed and feel so grateful and so happy and I just feel like bursting,lol.

Where do I start, first I was going to write this post eventually but then I read a fellow photographer’s Jasmine Star’s blog (like I usually do) and was inspired even more.  She posted a pic of her and JD at his prom, and then it reminded me that my highschool sweetheart and I not only went to the prom together like Jasmine and JD did, but then we got married (about a gazillion years later) like Jasmine and JD did as well,lol. So I thought, posting  a picture of dh and I at prom when we were still wet behind the ears would be a great way to start this post, especially because we just celebrated our 12th wedding anniversary this past Sunday, September 18.

 

We met at the tender age of 12 at Flemmingdon park Pentecostal church and although we didn’t really start officially dating til we were 17, he was the first one I held hands with and went to a party with and snuck around with (don’t tell my mom). My mom didn’t want me dating til I was 30 (another thing I have in common with Jasmine) and she wasn’t thrilled when dh and I started dating and she forbid me to see him at one point and tried to bribe me not to see him, or threaten me, she did everything she could as I was only 17. It took her about 10 years for her to accept and actually like him and then when we finally told her we were getting married, she was one of the happiest woman on this earth, and she helped me plan every last detail of our wedding.  Here is a picture of us at our wedding.

Then we had our precious boys, George born in 2003 and Nik born in 2006 and our lives were complete. I turned 40 on September the 9th  and a few days before that we found out the wonderful news that we are pregnant with our 3rd, so as you can see we have so many reasons to celebrate and be grateful for. We are due on  May 2nd, and our 2nd was born on May 3rd, so he gets a baby brother or sister for his birthday present,lol. We had the boys do a little scavenger hunt to find out that their is a baby on the way, and boy were they excited when they found out the news. Nik wants a girl, and George wants a boy (because dh’s brother and sil have 3 girls, so if we have 3 boys it would be a perfect balance,lol) and I’m happy with whichever God wants to bless us with, as long as this little one is healthy, that’s all I care about.

What does this mean for my business, well, I can’t let myself be as crazy busy as I have been, this past summer was packed solid with sessions, and I’m still pretty much fully booked until November and I know when baby gets here, I may just have to take a little time off and may have to limit my sessions as well. So……..  if you want to book a session with me next year, book it now as I will only be scheduling a few sessions next summer, and will not be able to fit everyone in, so book now, to avoid any disappointment.  I know its early, but I can’t tell you how many people have called this summer and have been disappointed that there was nothing available to them to book, so don’t wait. Book now!!!!!

 

 

 

I have a long history with this bride to be. Her mother was one of my very first clients and the session was held at Dundurn Castle in Hamilton and it was and always will be one of my most favourite sessions ever. I met 4 lovely ladies that day, the youngest one Lily, stole my heart. Her older sister Mel was a cute and funny girl and I just fell in love with all of them.

I have done several sessions for them and this one was very special as Melissa is now older and engaged to her love and I was honoured and thrilled that they asked me to capture this special time in their lives.

It’s a funny story though as Aaron was planning a surprise proposal for Mel and had enlisted my help and I was all too excited to lend a helping hand. I was planning a photo shoot and Mel had emailed me with interest in being the model for this shoot and that’s when Aaron thought that this would be the perfect opportunity to propose to her, so he met me earlier that day to give me the 2 cards that he had lovingly made for Mel asking her to marry him with the plan that he was to drive her to the shoot happening that evening and as she was modelling for me, he would come up through the fountains and propose while we held up the cards. Well it started to rain as we got to the fountains in downtown Toronto at Dundas square, but there was still lots of people around and as I was waiting for everyone to show up, I kept thinking they wouldn’t see me. It kept getting later and later and the rain started coming down more when all of a sudden I got a text that Melissa wasn’t coming, she got cold feet and didn’t want to model in front of everyone around. I was crushed!!! If I could only see her, I would convince her to stay but she was in the car and there was no way for me to get a hold of her and convince her to do the shoot. Needless to say I was devastated and was so looking forward to this.  I found out later that he did propose to Mel, and she said yes and both were very happy so that’s all that mattered.

In the end though, it actually worked out as we set up another session with just the two of them at one of their favourite spots and it ended up being such an awesome session.

We met at Webster falls in Hamilton and I was not prepared for the terrain and I thought I had brought my running shoes but they weren’t in the trunk when I checked and I was forced to wear my sandals and let me just say that I’m so thankful that I did not slip or fall once. It was pretty treacherous but beautiful and well worth the steep climb down and then back up again. The waterfalls are gorgeous and it was a great place for a session, we had so much fun there and we really captured some beautiful shots of these two kids. You could see the love between them and it was so sweet and touching and I know their wedding day is going to be a really amazing day.

Thanks so much guys for hiring us to capture this momentous time in your lives and we absolutely can’t wait for your special day. Love you guys!!

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

It took months of planning and it all came together last weekend in Toronto, where a bunch of us photographers got together from different parts of the country and in the states and we set up 4 shoots in 2 days and so it began.

It was exciting to see everyone and we got a bit of a chance to chit chat while our models were getting ready in the hotel room. The girls stayed at the Delta Chelsea hotel in downtown Toronto and we planned all the shoots in and around this hotel and the downtown area. We had the amazing Cherry of Surekha Artistry doing our hair and makeup and she did a fantastic job and can’t wait to work with her again. Once the models were ready we headed over to graffiti alley. It was a warm day thankfully and leading up to it the weather reports said nothing but rain, so we were grateful they were wrong. It was an amazing shoot and with our gorgeous models, Krystal, Brittney, Nathalia and our card playing model Jack.

We had a nightime session set up at Dundas square, across the Eaton centre and located at Yonge and Dundas but as we started walking there it began to rain a little. We managed to take a few shots but not as many as we wanted too and I’m hoping to go back there again soon. Our models Jacklyne and Danielle were both beautiful and fun girls. We also had another model Melissa who couldn’t make it at the last minute which was unfortunate as her boyfriend had planned to propose to her at the session. He ended up proposing later on that night and we wish them all the happiness in the world.

The following day we shot a bridal and we had gorgeous models again, and I can’t thank everyone enough for coming out, everyone was on time and the whole weekend went off without a hitch except for the rain. Our models Marta and Diana and Isha and Jen and Collin were all wonderful and although I managed to get  a few shots outdoors with Marta the rain started to come down and we ended up finishing off the session in the hotel.

That night we did a short boudoir shoot as well and we had all kinds of props from shoes to pearls to feathers to choose from. It was definitely a memorable weekend, and so much fun.

Thank you to my girls for coming out and spending a couple of days in T.O. and hope you enjoyed our city and hope you had a fun weekend. Let’s do it again soon,lol. Special thanks to the models and to Cherry our makeup artist/ hairstylist extraordinaire who make all our models look so gorgeous.

Here are TONS of images and I may have to post some more because there are so many more that I love as well.

 

 

 

 

 

 

DUNDAS SQUARE

 

 

BRIDAL

 

 

BOUDOIR

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

I was so honoured when Silvana from http://www.impulsephotographyblog.com/ contacted me and asked me if I could assist her with her creme de la creme workshop, I nearly hit the ceiling from my excitement. I was so excited and nervous as well but it was definitely a wonderful opportunity and I’m thankful that I was asked.

I met some wonderful photographers and we all got along great and we all learned so much in those 2 days and I know I wrote well over 10 pages of info and watching Silvana do her thing and learning from one of the best in the industry was definitely a dream come true. I missed her when she was asked to speak at WPPI last year and I kept kicking myself over it until the phone rang and I heard her voice on the other end asking me to be her assistant for the workshop.

I’ve known Sil for years and was even her 3rd assistant at a wedding she shot years ago, I learned alot from her then and continue to learn from her every year. She’s not only an awesome photographer but has such a sweet soul, she’s such a blessing and I’m so proud to call her my friend. She not only teaches me about photography but also how to be a better person, to love more, to give more and to put God first in your life. I often look up to her both for photography and for how God is using her and her talents to serve Him. She’s an inspiration in all that she does and I thank God for placing her in my life.

Silvana held her workshop at one of the most beautiful venue’s in Toronto, The McLean House http://www.estatesofsunnybrook.com/ and besides the gorgeous grounds and the fabulous mansion that we got to shoot in, they also have great service and take such good care of you. The staff were so helpful, especially Veronica, she looked after us as if we were her own, and I must commend them for hiring such top notch employees.

Silvana also spoiled us by giving everyone a scrumptious cupcake by Lavish Cupcakes  http://www.lavishcupcakes.com/ and Oh my goodness, these cupcakes tasted like heaven, and I had to make my husband drive us from the east end to go pick up a box of these delectable treats a week later,lol. I’m now hooked and while at Lavish the people there are so sweet and so caring , they even loved watching my little munchkin run around even though I was afraid he’d break something they just smiled and gave him a cupcake (which I ended up eating by accident and they were sweet enough to give him another one), which made him and me very happy. They now have a new fan for life.

Silvana, thanks so much for such an amazing workshop, not only did we all learn tons but we also got to meet one of God’s awesome creations, you are a blessing to all that meet you and I know you planted a seed in all of us and I know these seeds will grow and flourish and I only hope in years to come that we make you proud.

Below are shots from the day and I can’t thank Silvana enough for allowing us to shoot the poses that she set up.