So Jeles Photography

Senja & Gard

2012-02-16T00:06:00.001-05:00

Senja is a local Brantford girl living in gorgeous Norway. Gard is a Norwegian guy who is in love with Senja. They were married in a beautiful ceremony in Norway and wanted to celebrate with family and friends in Brantford as well. Senja got in touch with me and we set everything up. They had a quick blessing ceremony at the Brantford Golf and Country Club and then dinner and dancing. They even showed a movie highlighting the ceremony in Norway.
Their day in Brantford was crazy hot and humid, no rain in sight here. Gard spent the morning golfing and swimming, yep the guys have it rough. While Senja got gorgeous. Her wedding dress was beautiful and so unique. We did some family photos at her parents and then headed to Glenhyrst Gardens for pictures with the 2 of them and their 3 bridesmaids. The groomsmen were unable to make the trip from Norway.
We even found a tree called a Norway Maple. A great combo of the two of them :)
Senja had chosen lilac shades for the girls and flowers and wine was the inspiration for the dinner setting. Corks held name cards at the tables and the tables were named for different wine regions around the world. I got to sit at the ' Sonoma' table. Senja's brother secretly had all the guests sign a soccer(football) for Gard from their favourite team. In Norway they presented them with a jersey from the team. They had a drink made up for the day called a Bubbly Lovetini which i tested and approved of ( i could use one right now). I also found out that Senja's mom was a teacher at my highschool and they had another past teacher playing the piano during cocktail hour.
A cute custom during the night was whenever Senja would get up and leave the head table, all the women guests were supposed to run up and kiss Gard. Then when Gard would leave the table, the men would run up and kiss Senja. It was cute to see the line ups that formed quickly so they could all get a smooch. Even Senja's granpa who is in his 90's got in on it.

They were able to include both families and both countries and have double the amount of love shown to them. Such a sweet couple together and I was so honoured to have them ask me to be there to celebrate with them. All the best to them, and yes I just might pop by Norway one day and visit. It looks amazing.

Contest

2012-02-07T10:36:00.002-05:00

I'm always up for a good contest. Here's one for Canadians :)
Click on the link to win $2000 of furniture.
http://sf.mu/80ojEOzl6
after 2 kids, 3 different cats and a dog.... i need something new for sure ! Have fun.

We need some heat!

2012-01-23T12:00:00.000-05:00

On probably one of the hottest days of the year Jessica & Sean got married. I had done their engagement photos months before on a cool day. Wedding day however was a scorcher. First stop, the salon where girls were getting primped and pretty and champagne and orange juice was the drink of the day! Then we headed to Jessica's Nana's who lived minutes away from their ceremony site. Her Nana was hilarious telling little jokes and trying her best to keep everyone's nerves calm.
Jessica had wanted to keep things simple. Her dress was all lace and form fitting..no pouf or crinoline. No veil, just a pretty hair piece. She also had her bouquet made from vintage brooches alongside some flowers. It was so original. The girls wore short black dresses and whatever shoes they wanted.
Did i mention it was hot?? So off to the ceremony. Mohawk Chapel is a historical site and thank goodness was air conditioned. They had water to pass out and lots of trees on the site for shade. Sean looking a little nervous was waiting for Jessica and when she came down that aisle the smile came out. We did all the family photos right there under the trees in the shade. Lots of laughs and goofing around. Then headed to Mohawk park with just the wedding party. Now they all were troopers...it was 35 plus degrees out, sunny and they were in dresses and suits. We hiked down the path to the lake, then back up and around the park. I did give them a bit of a break back in their air conditioned cars. We had one more stop at a cherry orchard where literally 5 minutes later we were on our way to the reception site.

Devlin's in Mount Pleasant was a great setting. They had the entire restaurant for their wedding including the martini bar area. It was really set up nice and dinner was delicious. Jessica and Sean were even so nice to have Anthony meet me there so he could have dinner with me. They had a beautiful wedding day and so many great memories. Once again i'm happy to be a part of a brand new family.

Back to work for 2012

2012-01-10T00:57:00.000-05:00

January is keeping me busy already. I'm finishing up orders from 2011 and I've already done a few shoots this year....all babies :)
Plus today was the glorious back to school day for the kids. They wanted to go back despite Ethan's worries about everything being changed and different. Amelia only came home to report that her little friend got a hair cut. That was the big news of the day in grade one. So this marks back to normal in our house.
Today however was a bit of a sad one in that we sent our cow Flynn Ryder (yes that's his name) off to the butcher's. They came with the truck and he followed my husband right into the back. First though giving him a big slobbery kiss which just made us feel worse. Ethan had bid on him at the auction back in May and he's now around 600lbs of pure Black Angus. As I drove the kids to school this morning they both turned and waved goodbye to him. They are pretty good kids for not getting upset and realizing where food comes from. Ethan has worked all summer/fall feeding Flynn and watering him. You used to be able to go in the pen and play with him but he's got so big he doesn't realize how big he is.
I however did last week when he got out and went for a canter down our road straight into traffic. Thank goodness for a driver who got out and stopped ( i think out of shock from almost hitting a cow) and helped me get him back home!
Weather is still crazy warm for January, no snow, no tobogganing or skiing but i am so not complaining. Don't tell the husband!
This week I'm delivering 3 orders, next week I have another baby shoot and going to an awards ceremony where I just might be bringing something home. Stay tuned for more of that next week.

Mr Flynn Ryder

Welcome to 2012.

The weddings of 2011

2011-12-30T00:05:00.000-05:00

In 2011 we photographed 26 couples. All different, all fun and all full of smiles.
The first 9 are from January to May. Some of them were downright freezing!! But they all braved the weather and we got outdoor shots for all of them.

Then it started to warm up, the next 9 are from May to August. There were temperatures in there that were close to 40 degrees....crazy hot. I even got heatstroke at one of them. The last 8 are from August to December and a real mix there of weather. Lots of new locations though in this bunch.
I thought it was interesting to see that of 26 brides, 18 were brunettes and 7 were blondes. No red heads this year. Also 2 of these couples have since had a baby and 5 are currently expecting. With locations ranging from Brantford, Hamilton, Brampton, Kitchener, St Catherines, Burlington, Toronto, Waterford, Newmarket and Ancaster. It was a pretty good mix of scenery and backgrounds.
I'm still in the midst of editing the last 3 weddings as the last one just happened December 18th. Next year I have a grand total of 4 weddings. 3 brunettes and 1 blonde ;) ha ha those are the brides. I am really looking forward to my year off, but I wanted to take this moment to thank all of my clients for a wonderful and exciting year. I got to meet so many new people, get back to meeting some old friends and their friends and have a good time clicking away creating memories. Thanks to all of you.

Mr & Mrs Ross

2011-12-29T01:21:00.000-05:00

I met Sarah through her Aunt whose wedding I did awhile ago. So I met up with Sarah and Garry and we chatted, then we met in Ancaster and did engagement photos and then the big wedding day came. They live a little further away in the Innisfil area which is beautiful. I met Sarah at her parent's house and the day was gorgeous. Full of sun, gardens were blooming and she was looking beautiful. I did some shots of her and the girls and then headed out to Newmarket to the Glenway Country Club.
The ceremony and reception were both going to be held here and the wedding garden was full of colour and flowers. Garry was looking like most grooms, nervous but happy. Out in the sun they stood up and said their vows while tears were wiped from eyes from happiness and there were some laughs in there as well. One sweet detail was that Garry's dad stood up as his best man. You could see how much he loves his son.
You may kiss and They were married. Family photos after and trying to keep them in the shade as the heat was getting intense. Thank goodness for cold beer right guys ??
After some wedding party shots we headed into the reception area. They had their engagement photos displayed along with the table setting charts on a big tree like stand. It was neat to see all the pictures together. Inside local honey was their favours, Sarah's grandmother was the M.C. pink feather boa and all and pink and black were their colours. We had a great meal, I got to sit with her family right up front and enjoy their jokes. It was a great night. Congratulations to the two of you on the start of your married life together and thank you for asking me to be there.

5 years of snap, click...ooohh

2011-12-22T17:10:00.000-05:00

December 21st marked the 5th year of my official business. My husband and kids surprised me a cake . They had asked the lady at the store if she could draw a camera or something on it and she just looked at them and said 'no'. oh well, they tried ;) It was super cute of them.
In those 5 years I have shot almost 150 weddings, endless family sessions, almost 50 babies and baby bellies, 1 divorce trash the dress shoot, quite a few surprise ooh la la shoots for some beautiful ladies, real estate head shots and countless pictures of couples kissing. I am so blessed to have had that much success and been so well received by my clients. My advertising is done on word of mouth and through facebook (yep i'm cheap). The best compliment you can receive is a referral from another client who has been happy with the results.
In 2012 I have decided to take weddings off of my schedule. I am doing a few for very close friends, 1 of who i've known the bride since i was born and 1 of who i've known the groom since he was born. My kids are growing up so quickly and weddings take a large part of my summer away from them and my husband. This year we are planning on trips to the beach and wonderland, maybe out east even to Nova Scotia. I will keep the blog updated with other shoots of course and my family.
If you're looking to do family or baby or engagement shoots or anything like that I am still booking those. I am really looking forward to breathing and enjoying a more relaxed year. I"m sure i'm going to miss the excitement of a wedding shoot and the fun and energy of watching the day unfold. I will not miss the countless hours of going through pictures looking for closed eyes, deleting the ones that don't pop out at me and laughing at the ones that Anthony or I have caught of a groomsman just being himself.
Thank you to everyone who has had a part in my 5 years of fun, I appreciate it all. Thank you to my repeat clients who i have seen from engagement to the wedding, to the baby bellies to the babies and they just keep coming. I love that watching a family grow.

My surprise cake..we're not sure what the blobby things are but the kids liked them

Have a wonderful 2012.

Shannon & Mike ~ saying I do

2011-12-07T23:47:00.001-05:00

I met Mike years ago when I did some family portraits for his family. Shannon wasn't in the picture yet and I just thought what a super nice family. Fast forward to June of 2011, Mike and Shannon were getting married. I met up with Shannon in downtown Hamilton at the hotel. She had a fun room, girls laughing, doing pedicures, trying to find champagne and getting all dressed up. I had just been with all of them at the salon Madison Ave and watched all the happenings there. One neat idea was that all of them had to have a braid somewhere in their hair. It was an Irish thing. The Irish theme went on through the day (loved it). So during all this, Anthony was back in Brantford with the guys. Now guys are always easier to shoot, less hairspray, less makeup..you know, tie, socks, pants, we're good to go kind of thing.
We all met at Dundurn castle in Hamilton. It was hot, sunny and gorgeous to get married kind of day. Up into the coach house for the ceremony. During which Mike's brother, and Shannon's sister sang U2's song, All i want is you. It was amazing.
Family photos and wedding party photos afterwards on the grounds of Dundurn. These involved kissing in the green grass, running away from the bridesmaids and lots of laughs. Shannon and Mike had picked green for their bridesmaids dresses with orange flowers, and orange ties for the guys...so essentially the colours of the Irish flag. Green, orange, and white.
So obviously our next stop was to the Slainte Irish pub for dinner and dancing. This is a totally unique site. parts of the pub have been brought over from Ireland and if you don't look outside, you would swear you're sitting somewhere deep in Dublin. In fact, for dinner fish and chips and Guiness steak pie were choices we could choose from. Definitely not your typical wedding meals. It was awesome...plus any beer really you could ever want. They had neat glass mugs with a clover and their initials as wedding favours. A big clover shaped wedding cake and lots of dancing and amazing cheesecake for dessert.

looking beautiful Shannon

all the bridesmaids and shannon

Mike has his brother and sister and best friend stand up for him

the very cool mugs

a kiss for mom

the boys

Mike and Shannon have now settled into married life buying their first house and enjoying the neighbourhood. I'm sure kids will follow ;)

Quick update

2011-11-30T02:19:00.001-05:00

It's been unseasonably warm lately for November. No snow, lots of rain and sun. Very strange. But i am so not complaining. The rest of my family, yes they want snow!!

So the kids were out checking out Flynn ( the cow). I had wanted a few pictures of them with him before he took the long drive to where we will not mention and may not come back from ;) So as i'm taking a picture, Flynn decides to give Amelia a great big kiss...hence the bath afterwards. That girl loves her baths. It's like a treat to her.

She'll ask if she can have a bath, when i answer
Yes. She does the whole "yesssssss" it's too cute. People have seen this and i think may have wondered.
So right now, life is full of editing, feeding a cow, a dog and a cat. And of course filling up the bathtub for one very happy little girl. We won't mention the bribes to get her brother into a bathtub! December will be here tomorrow...believe it or not. And then it's 2012. Wow! Since i have decided not to book any weddings next except those of some very close friends of ours, it will be a quiet year. I am still doing engagement, family, babies and baby bellies of course. So please get in touch if you're looking into getting some special shots done. I am looking forward to lots of weekends spent with my family and enjoying the kids while they want to hang out with Anthony and I . Thanks for all your support this year, i really appreciate each and every one of you.

online shopping...trying

2011-11-10T20:14:00.001-05:00

So i'm trying to find the perfect tall boot...one that doesn't look like i just got off a horse, one that doesn't look like i should be standing on a dark corner somewhere...you know.
Also comfy and styling...the boot you will never find.
I did however find a ton of boots of every style imaginable at Beyond the rack. I've been shopping online there for quite awhile now and i'm always happy with what i've bought.
For instance, the boots above are $30, seriously. They are pretty cool. I do though think that everyone is buying boots because sizes are quickly disappearing. If you want to check it out click on this link and happy shopping...

It's free to join the site and the shipping is pretty quick. They ship to Canada and returns are easy. Plus they have a million other things. You can buy furniture, perfume, jewelry and clothes. Easy shopping.

Lindsay & Dan ~getting married

2011-11-09T00:19:00.000-05:00

The day started out a little scary actually. There were storm clouds that turned the entire sky black...seriously black. Lightning, rain, thunder, the whole deal. And this was a Saturday in June and the wedding of Lindsay and Dan. Then just before noon the sun started streaming through and it was beautiful. I met at Lindsay's parents as she was just getting dressed. Gorgeous.
I had an assistant, Leslie who had gone over to Dan's parents earlier to catch the guys in action...literally. Jumping hoops and everything. Their houses were minutes apart.
Off to the church after a few tears at Lindsay's...only happy tears. Her Dad is an amazing softie. I love when father of the brides have such emotions for their little girls. The ceremony was over and just as they were announced as husband and wife, they turned to face the crowd and threw their hands up in the air and did a little cheer. It was sweet and Leslie caught it perfectly from up in the balcony. Again, another reason why a second shooter is a great addition to your day. She caught so many great shots that i would have missed while doing the more formal shots.
Their reception was at Liuna Station in Hamilton and it was stunning to say the least. We got first looks at the room and what a beautiful set up they have. Family shots and wedding party pictures soon followed. It was full of laughs and fun and a super cute flower girl and ring bearer. Then everyone but Lindsay and Dan left as I got some romantic and fun of course, shots of these two cuties. It still makes me laugh as Dan told me at their engagement shoot that they were not good at pictures, super un-photogenic....whatever Dan. They came out looking like super models that day...smiles galore for each other and only love in their eyes.
After a huge anti pasta bar Lindsay and Dan and the wedding party were announced and they had their first dance. We sat down for dinner..or should i say rolled out for dinner. Tons of delicious food. Leslie and I sat with the videographer Ryan and we laughed all through dinner. Speeches included a home made book for Dan from Lindsay's brother on how to deal with her. A new twist on the fresh prince song wrote about Dan from his sisters and rapped !
I stayed till midnight on this one and there was so much dancing by the bride and groom who throughly enjoyed their wedding. They partied it up! A great pleasure to meet their families and friends and I'm sure i'll be seeing these two soon.

Venue : Liuna Station, Hamilton, ON

Mr. Graeson

2011-11-01T22:30:00.004-04:00

I love when past clients of mine email me with exciting news that they're having a baby :) Stefani and Kyle were married not too long ago and have now welcomed sweet Graeson into their house. I met up with them on a super rainy and grey day. Just watching how intently Graeson stared at the rain falling was so entertaining. He is a handsome little guy for sure. We did get some smiles out of him, even after figuring out he must be teething. We also figured out that he likes to be in the rain, wrapped only in a blanket. He's a nature guy !
His dad obviously loves him to pieces, but it's so nice to see that during a shoot. They are such sweet parents to him. It always makes me smile to think that last time I saw this person they were a gorgeous bride in pristine white. Now they are making baby talk with a little mini me of themselves. How amazing life is.
For Kyle and Stefani's engagement pictures we went out with the horses that Stefani rides. Hopefully in the future, Graeson will get some shots on horses too! Thank you for sharing your beautiful boy and asking me to grab a few seconds of his life in print for you.

Baby Eden

2011-10-27T00:57:00.000-04:00

Laura contacted me to do baby pictures of Eden. She did have a fun idea though. She is a lover of horses and rides as much as she can. We met at the barn where she rides and used saddles and horses and baskets and even a puppy. Eden was so perfectly behaved. A few little squeaks here and there, but she is a doll. I was so happy to hear that Laura was pregnant and especially the news about a beautiful little girl.
I can't wait to get some photos in the future of Eden which i'm sure will involve horse riding ;)

Andrea & Mike

2011-10-13T00:42:00.001-04:00

Mike was in his cousin's wedding a few months ago so i got to meet him and his lovely fiance, Andrea. They live quite a few hours away up north so all of our chats were emails. All Andrea wanted was every bride's wish for her wedding day, no rain. She got it. It was overcast, but still warm out, just right.
I headed over to Mike's sister's house where they were all getting ready and got some shots. Then to Andrea's sister's house where she was getting ready. Their ceremony was in Brantford at St Mary's and it went perfectly. We were all soon headed to Lorne Park for family photos and wedding party pictures. The girls wore a blue that just popped against the green grass.
After Lorne Park, we made a quick stop in Paris at the cobblestone common overlooking the Grand River. Just Mike and Andrea got out here for a few shots by themselves. We still had lots of time to head back to the Paris Grand for some shots on the green with the guys and more extended family pictures.
For dinner they sat me with Mike's relatives who had I done their son's wedding last year. So nice to see them all again and have some laughs. Mike and Andrea are just kind hearted people. You could tell from the speeches how highly people regard them and love them. Their families mean so much to them. Most of their wedding party was family. It was good to get to know them better and see their wonderful day take place.

You got to use the graffiti to your advantage

ring shots are my favourites

Scrubbing Bubbles

2011-10-11T12:01:00.002-04:00

Nope, this is not a post about photography whatsoever. But I'm sharing a neat product though. I'm a Bzzagent and they sent me a great new thing called Scrubbing Bubbles One step toilet bowl cleaner. It came in the mail along with a booklet of coupons and instructions. First of all you have to start with a clean toilet (darn it, thought i could get away with that one ). Then you just attach this little spray thing with a tube to the step/can that sits on the floor. It comes with a white sleeve that just blends with the bathroom. Maybe twice a day you step on the pedal, you get a fresh smell and it keeps the toilet clean. How hard is that :) And it actually worked. We have strong mineral water and our water goes grey sometimes...lots of bathroom cleaning. But this probably added another 4 or 5 days before i really had to do any cleaning of the toilet. The only problem i had is my daughter would sneak in and step on that pedal when i wasn't looking...little did she know she was cleaning!
Right now there is a contest on facebook as well where you can win $5000 and instant prizes as well. Follow this link and enter, then head to the store to check out this great product. If you live by me I have some great coupons as well. There is a $3 coupon on the facebook page too.
Happy cleaning :)

A little Tyler love

2011-09-19T12:28:00.000-04:00

I have seen a lot of babies lately. It seems everyone who I photographed saying I do has decided to start a family. :) Which is always amazing. This little guy Tyler is the son of our friends Shana & Mike. We went to Jamaica with them to photograph their wedding a few years ago and now they have 3 in their family. Tyler was so excited to join the family he didn't even wait to get to the hospital. He was born at home with help from Dad and the midwife. Lots of excitement to start your little life. He has now settled in quite nicely at home. I just saw him on Friday and oh my goodness is he ever a sweetheart. Smiling his little heart out. Can't wait to get more shots of this little man.

Heather & Luis

2011-09-13T00:26:00.002-04:00

Luis went to high school with Mary whose wedding I did last September. She gave him and Heather my name and that was it...next thing you know I couldn't get rid of Luis and all his engaged friends. Thank goodness they're all crazy fun people.
Originally Luis and Heather had their wedding date set for October. I got a phone asking if I had another date free for them which was only months away. I did, then found out they were expecting a little bundle in September. So October wedding, probably not a good idea.
Anthony wasn't available to be my second shooter, so I asked Leslie from "Fabules photography" to come along. She did awesome. Leslie met up with Luis at his best man's house to catch the guys and all their crazy acts. I went to the golf course where Heather and her girls were getting ready. There had been a chance of rain all day and their ceremony was set up for outside. During the ceremony, the sun came out shining and beautiful. It was perfect. Luis had tears in his eyes when Heather walked down to meet him.
After family photos, we did some wedding party shots with quite a few familiar faces! Then some of just Luis and Heather. It was so good to watch them just look at each other and talk. They have so much love for each other.
The reception was at the Knollwood golf course in Ancaster as well in a converted barn. It was really pretty inside with a view of the course outside and peonies on all the tables and big wood beams.
I usually grab the couples wedding rings just before dinner to get some detail shots of them. Also had to get a cupcake too ;)
Through the speeches, we laughed, through the dinner, we laughed, through the dances, we laughed. We had such a fun day with these two and their families. And only a few months later I found myself sitting at a table with all of them again. That's a future blog.

Right now Heather and Luis are only days away from welcoming a little baby to their new family. I wish them all the happiness.

Saying I do in Kitchener

2011-09-11T01:56:00.005-04:00

Monika & Jesse were given my name from a mutual sweet friend of ours. When Anthony and I met them they definitely felt like old friends. I dropped Anthony off with Jesse and his brother as they got ready, then I was off to meet Monika as she got ready. Back in Kitchener for the ceremony these two got to see each other for the first time. I love watching them both as they first catch each other's eyes. So cute. Then Jesse's dad actually performed the ceremony and gave the wedding talk. It was so touching for a father to send his son off like that. My own grandfather performed Anthony and I's wedding so i know how special it is to have a family member be such a huge part of your lives.
Family pictures after, then we handed our keys to Jesse's mom and she was in charge of our car and we took off in the limo...yes sweet deal there. Now the bride and groom had the munchies, it was a long day full of nerves and not eating much. So by the time the nerve wracking i do's were done, they were hungry. Maid of honour and Best man agreed we had to go to A&W. Pulling in we realized it was a good decision. Two very awesome classic cars were showing off in the parking lot. We asked, they said yes, and pictures were snapped. So cool.
Next off to Rockway gardens for some more formal, less hamburger shots. The sky had been kind of grey, kind of threatening rain. We got a few drops, but got our pictures and we were all back in the limo and heading over to the antique train station in Waterloo. Just enough time there to grab a few neat ones with the train behind them and then off to Bingeman's. We had never been there before, so it was a nice change from the regular venues and definitely an awesome meal. We sat with family, heard great stories and laughed. Watched the married couple dance up a storm and even met a couple whose wedding we'll be shooting in November.

Monika & Jesse and their families looked after us and our car (not a scratch on it).... and we had a great time with them. It was so hard going through the hundreds of pictures we took to narrow them down.

working hard on new equipment!

2011-08-08T02:05:00.004-04:00

A little preview of wedding photos to come... i love ring shots....and olives!

Get this one??? 'Olive you' (i love you) hee hee

Last week was definitely not good. My computer started to hate me. I would be editing away and all of a sudden blank screen, sometimes weird design screen, sometimes nothing. I was so frustrated with it since just having the hard drive replaced only months ago. So my good and wonderful husband being the awesome man he is suggested I go out and buy a Mac. We had only heard good things about them despite the much bigger price tag. Saturday as he hung out with the kids, I was on my way to Oshweken. The only mac store in a log cabin is their slogan. I swear I was in and out within 20 minutes. Ryan carried the box to my car, they gave me the info i needed and my credit card added another scratch to it. However my points are the plus here. Anthony will benefit from those points for what he wants. So Saturday night we plugged the baby in and whoosh after a few minutes of instruction from the mac man talking to us..we were off and running. I am loving this thing. The only thing i don't like is the mouse..it's supposed to be wonderful, however it's all over the place and I just want my bamboo tablet back. Mine of course won't work with the new computer, so that's my purchase tomorrow. It's amazing i have so much more room in my office without a bulky computer and wires everywhere. I have definitely switched to the other side. Those darn Mac/PC commercials. Of course i'm still figuring out buttons and programs and whatever. If anyone has suggestions or great ideas with their own Mac, please share. I would love to learn from anyone of you pros. For now though i'm loving a huge screen, a computer that doesn't sound like it's ready for takeoff and a quite impressive sound system. However now i must get back to my editing...stay tuned for more weddings and lots of baby posts coming up soon. Enjoy the 2nd week of August everyone, only mere weeks till my house is quiet again from back to school. I can't even believe that it's so close!!

Erin & John at the Old Mill

2011-08-01T22:38:00.015-04:00

The happy couple...newly married

Erin, the gorgeous bride

The ceremony at the Old Mill, later the reception was in this room as well.

Their rings on top of the wedding invite. They all had a really pretty pearl pin on them.

Just relaxing

Now they're getting the party started...love when the bride and groom dance too!

A little smooching after dinner

The view from the walkway of the reception room

Erin had got in touch with me about doing a July 1 wedding outside at the Old Mill in Ancaster. Then a few months after we had met up, she called a little bit stressed asking if i had a date in March available instead. They were expecting and needed to put their date up a bit. Their little baby girl is due very soon as I type this.

So the ceremony would be inside now, not out in the snowy gardens and pictures outside would be quick...but beautiful.

When I got to the Old Mill, Erin looked amazing, she was happy and laughing and making jokes. Her and her mom were beaming as Erin got dressed in the bridal suite. John waiting nervously at the ceremony site facing guests. I've never seen a bride laugh so much during a ceremony, it was wonderful! Then when the first kiss happened, she wiped all her sticky lip gloss off John's face. We headed outside to get some family shots and with John and Erin. They didn't have a wedding party, it was just the two of them. Mom and Dad pictures and siblings and bride and groom pictures, that makes for very quick photo sessions! More time to party, Erin told me ;)

Since it was originally going to be in july on Canada day, there were lots of touches of red, which looked great with the snowy weather in March instead. There were super yummy caramilk bars from a local spot near Erin and John's home. I was even a good mom and saved mine till I got home to give it to Ethan and Amelia to share.

Another thing after so many weddings at the old mill that i've never seen do before is putting votive candles outside on the stone walls. During dinner they lit up the outside just in spots and looked so pretty.

They danced, they laughed and it was beautiful. Now they're just sitting back waiting for that little girl to arrive soon. Ok, Erin's sitting back enjoying the pool ;) Congratulations on a beautiful wedding and your soon to be family of 3.

The Wood's

2011-07-25T19:27:00.007-04:00

The men of the bunch

the beautiful ladies of the family

One last shot saying goodbye, in a few seconds the kids got flipped upside down!

Love this one with their parents kissing behind them.

the little poser of the group

I had a chance to photograph some of this family when their little girl was just a baby. Now to see her and her brother again all grown up was adorable! They were also in a wedding for their uncle not too long ago either. I met them at their house and we used their backyard. Grampa and Gramma showed up and their Aunt and maybe soon to be uncle ;)

The kids were hillarious, cracking faces and posing. They helped to keep the adults comfortable. We missed most of the raindrops...yep it did rain in Ontario a few times this summer!!

It's always fun to watch the little kids growing up. I love having clients who call me back years later for more photos. That can only mean they liked the first ones :)

Thanks Wood family.

An Irish themed I do- Erin and Tom

2011-07-22T01:13:00.007-04:00

Erin's pin she wore on her dress
The ceremony

Erin, Tom, her sister, bro in law and nephew and Tom's good friend his wife and their daughter

Erin & Tom

beautiful and yummy, together

Erin cut and made these for all the tables

Yep this guy got the trivia question wrong...

St Patricks day happened to fall very close to Tom and Erin's wedding day, so Erin figured hey why not have fun with it. Tom's family has Irish roots so it worked well. They had decided to have a sweet very intimate ceremony with just over a dozen invited at the Old Mill Ancaster on Friday. Then they had a dinner afterwards. Saturday was the big party day, back at the Old Mill. This time though just over 100 partied with them. Erin handcrafted candle holders, little pots of gold and lots of unique special touches to her day. She had a green shawl considering it was march and cold out but sunny. A special pin on her dress to honour her Dad who had passed away, a four leaf clover and a horseshoe. Erin's very pregnant sister and Tom's good friend stood up for them as they said their vows. Then after some family pictures, dinner was ready for them. Erin even changed into a simple black dress for the dinner.

Saturday, Tom and Erin arrived early and back in their wedding clothes to greet their guests. Anthony and I were assigned the task of catching a shot of each couple as they came. We had our list and tracked them all down. Anthony is great at grabbing people and dragging them over, i have now learned. The room looked fantastic with a green light washing one of the walls. Not overdone, just a great effect. All the tables were glowing with candles and dinner was awesome. Anthony and I even got our own private table...what a life i lead on the weekends!

If you wanted Tom and Erin to kiss there were trivia questions with quite surprising answers. If you were right, they kissed, if not you wore fabulous leprachan hats!

They had m&m's with shamrocks and in green and orange and the cupcakes had fabulous flavours like skor and cherry bomb.

It was obvious to hear how respected and loved these two are and how they are made for each other. It was really a beautiful wedding weekend that I'm glad we had a share in.

Congratulations Tom and Erin.

Cindy & Dave, saying we do

2011-07-17T14:05:00.008-04:00

Cindy & Dave's ceremony was in Waterford

Cindy all ready to go get married looking gorgeous

In the house they did their pictures in was a room with hundreds of signatures dating back to the 1800's. They added their own names.

In the mansion we borrowed for the afternoon.

cindy and her girls

The train station in Brantford, we got there just in time for a train coming in

Off to Paris for a stop at Cobblestone Pub and a kiss ;)

I found out red hot gobstopper candies make lovely 'heads' for wedding bands.

Dave and Cindy were married on a very snowy day. While I was driving out to her parents in Waterford, i couldn't see the road ahead of me sometimes. That was not a good sign for the day to come. However by the time we were off to the church, it had pretty much disappeared. Much better for pictures, than a snowstorm you can see a bride in all white in!!

With the legal ceremony done and a new mr and mrs, we headed off to an incredible house (mansion) in Waterford. A friend of Cindy's parents lives there and offered it to them for pictures. It was perfect. Lots of room for group photos and a really neat room on the top floor. There was a spot with the original wallpaper where guests and homeowners had signed the walls. There were signatures from 1890's and the early 1900's. Now the wall also have Dave and Cindy's name on them. So neat to be a part of a house's history like that. After the family pictures, we were off to the train station in Brantford for a few, quick, cold shots!! Paris was the next stop at the Cobblestone Pub. One of my weddings I shot has their photo up on the wall there and now they'll be adding Dave and Cindy's as well. We all had a drink to warm up and some spicy fries! Then it was off to the Paris fairgrounds for dinner and the reception. They had a carnival theme since Dave's family supplies carnivals with food. Candy apples and red hot candies, and awesome candles shaped like caramel apples were the favours. It was nice to be part of a wedding where family is so important. The dancing started up and they got the party going. Congratulations Dave and Cindy on your sweet start to your married life.

Jones Soda Labels

2011-07-13T14:34:00.004-04:00

If you have a second, take a trip over to Jones Soda. I've posted up a picture that might just find itself on a bottle of Jones :) Please vote for my little horsey picture..thanks everyone....

Kirsty & Jorge ~ Married

2011-07-06T12:30:00.010-04:00

the guys strutting in the snow

Kirsty and her girls

We had to get this sweetie Charlie in there!

the rose petals

Kirsty found this dish on etsy to hold their rings

The cake pop cake and some dancing behind it

Jorge and Kirsty are cute, they were really into planning their wedding and excited about it. I love that. They're friends of another couple whose wedding I shot recently. Little did I know I would see this group of friends for months still...more of them in October too! Anthony was along with me for this and went to where Jorge was getting ready with the wild and crazy groomsmen. I went to the salon with the girls. After hairspray, makeup, laughs and power drinks we were off to get Kirsty dressed. Kirsty had been on Etsy.com for months before the wedding. Getting inspired , buying different elements for her wedding, it was pretty cool what she found. So she had red as a major theme and black, also feathers!! The girls wore black and looked great against the snow. We were soon off to the church in Waterdown. It was huge inside and so bright, which I loved. The flower girl and ring bearer may have got a few too many oohs and awwss from being way too cute together. After the ceremony we did family pictures at the church and Kirsty and her son and daughter and their new dad Jorge hammed it up for them. Off to the Ancaster Old Mill for the dinner and reception and pictures of the wedding party and the special couple. Now it was pretty cold out and it was snowing here and there, so we were pretty quick outside. The wedding coordinator Stephanie had brought along extra red rose petals and we used them in a great shot with all the group throwing them in the air while Jorge and Kirsty kissed. Soon dinner was ready and it was delicious! Plus Anthony and I got to sit with Stephanie and her husband and 'talk shop' at our own little table. Speeches were said, some tears shed and even a skype with Kirsty's brother who couldn't make it from New Zealand or Austrailia (i forget which one...oops). Neat to see him and watch the room's reaction..he even had a little party of people there to celebrate. So many amazing little details for this wedding, from a wishing tree (with wishes of the leafs winning the cup on it ) to a cake pop cake and cookies with our names and table numbers. They put such work into it and it went wonderfully. So glad we got to know these two and keep an eye out for another wedding soon with Jorge as a groomsmen this time. Congratulations Kirsty and Jorge.

Cynthia & Jeff, because you're mine, i walk the line

2011-07-03T22:31:00.007-04:00

seriously, brides are just picking awesome shoes lately!!!

Cindy, waiting to marry her man

getting the giggles at church

the chilly wedding party

'the woodpile'

love these stairs

sweethearts

hot shoes, flasks and flowers...what a combo

first dance

I have to say that the day of Cynthia and Jeff's wedding Burford was a happening place! Despite the jokes of one stoplight...and all, they kept the party going all day in this town. Their wedding invitation said on it, " Because you're mine, I walk the line ". I knew whoever would put Johnny cash lines on their invite must be awesome! I met up with the girls at Cindy's (cynthia) parents house while they were getting hair and makeup done. Cindy has 3 sisters, plus she had 3 other bridesmaids and 2 little flower girls...so it was a busy house! But we even snuck in a quick trip literally across the road to where Jeff was getting ready with the guys. Not so much hairspray over there ;) One really cute thing I thought was neat was that Cindy's mom pinned in a pink diaper pin that was Cindy's when she was a baby inside of her dress. Had some good memories for mom i'm sure.

After slipping into her amazing shoes!!! we all headed for Faringdon Church in Brantford. Oh yeah, did i mention it was crazy windy and cold!! Ceremony went well, Jeff even got a big hug and smooch from Cindy's dad as he walked her down the aisle to him! Then there was a bit of a ring issue...which brought out the giggles. The vows were said, the kiss sealed the deal and it was off to the party bus. Chocolate donuts for the little ones and champagne for the 'big kids'. I got to ride along with them and join in the fun. We headed to the Via train station first just to grab a few shots because the wind was intense! Seriously the girls were being lifted away. Then off to Burford to a friends house. They are in the midst of selling the house and had already moved out so it was empty. What more do you need for indoor pictures?? a big empty space, hardwood floors and windows. Perfect! Then at Jeff's request, the guys left the girls at Cindy's parents and we went to 'the woodpile'. Now i had no idea what this meant. I soon found out it's a huge pile of wood that Jeff spends a lot of time chopping away at. They climbed up, some fell and we took pictures. I'm sure the limo driver wondered... ha ha. The reception was at Blessed Sacrament in Burford where songs were sung, baseball caps came out in full force as a joke for Cindy and the party went on. I definitely had fun with this group.

Stacey & John say " I Do"

2011-06-26T23:02:00.008-04:00

I love Stacey's smile

Beautiful couple

The wedding party

The flower girls threw 'snowflakes'

Where the ceremony was...love the balcony here

The trapeze act

Their first dance

February was cold...very cold. Stacey and John picked that month to get married in. They did get pictures outside and fluffy gorgeous snowflakes too. Plus a great theme for their wedding. I headed to Stacey's to catch all the girls getting ready. She had given them all UGG boots as a gift too..which was so cute. Lots of laughing and smiling and not many nerves for them. We then all headed up to the Courtyard Marriott in Hamilton. They have a great location for inside photos and outside as well. There we met up with the guys and did some outside and then before freezing the girls...we headed in. About 20 minutes before we were leaving for the ceremony, it started to snow these beautiful big snowflakes. John and Stacey ran out to kiss some more in them. The off to Carmen's for the ceremony and dinner. They have such a great spot to get married in at Carmen's. It's softly lit with candles and chandeliers...really pretty. After a few family photos, dinner was served. After speeches, we were all entertained by an amazing performer. I've never seen anything like it at a wedding before. If you watched one of the music awards awhile ago(i have no idea which one), Pink hung from the ceiling on ribbons and did trapeze work. This is what we watched at Stacey and John's wedding. This girl hung, and swung and it was awesome.

Stacey and John followed that with their first dance and then the party got started. From Stacey's amazing unique dress, to her blue roses in honour of her father and the smiles that her and John shared through the day, it was beautiful

Sweet Baby Tyler (almost)

2011-06-22T23:00:00.007-04:00

I thought it was appropiate to post Shana and Mike's baby bump session as their adorable baby boy Tyler was born this Wednesday. Shana messaged me that they were heading to the hospital...however they didn't make it. Tyler was a bit eager and born at home. So excited to go and meet him..she has posted a picture on facebook and he looks chunky and healthy and gorgeous. We met up last month and did pictures at their house.

Anthony and I went to Jamaica with them when they were married there. We spent an awesome week in Ocho Rios at the Riu and got to know them and their family and friends really well. Anthony worked with Shana at the Vet clinic for awhile before that.

Congratulations to the new mommy and daddy. Tyler is beyond perfection.

Little Katherine

2011-06-13T20:33:00.008-04:00

She was quite happy to have a little nap here ;)

Katherine looks gorgeous in purple

Almost asleep...so sleepy

Mom and Dad sneak a kiss

Yep, this says it all

I photographed Vince and Margaret's wedding a few years ago. They are super sweet together. We did pictures at McDonalds and the bowling alley even!! Not this time though. I met them at their house and got to meet their little sweetheart Katherine. Dark eyes, spiky hair and an incredibly good natured baby. Sleepy, not really. But she let us move her all around and pose her without hardly a peep. This is one loved little girl. So glad I got to meet her and get some beautiful shots for them to remember these early days. Congratulations.

Samantha & Sean

2011-06-06T09:39:00.008-04:00

I had the great experience of being at Samantha and Sean's ceremony. They had only their family there in their living room. 11 guests in total watched them exchange vows. Before the ceremony we went to Mohawk park which was blanketed in fresh white snow...deep snow I might add! Sam brought her boots and they ran right into it. We stayed out just long enough to get some gorgeous pictures of these two and went back to the house.

After a very sweet ceremony with a few tears, lots of smiles and love they were husband and wife! We did family photos after and even a few with the cat. They all then went out for dinner at a special restaurant nearby.

A few weeks later Sam and Sean's friends and family joined them in Dominican Republic for a much warmer ceremony on the beach. They got the best of both worlds, hot and cold...with some extra love.

nature at it's finest

2011-05-16T00:49:00.008-04:00

No, not the rain, because we are definitely getting enough of that lately. We had a nice dry day and I rode along with Anthony when he was cutting down some firewood. I brought my camera along as our woods are full of trilliums and other beautiful little spring flowers. While his chainsaw buzzed away through elms that had fallen victim to disease, i clicked at tiny bright flowers hiding on the trails. The dog quickly lost interest in what i was doing and went to hunt turkeys. Just getting out in the sunshine, feeling some warmth and seeing that yes life was starting up again after such a long winter was wonderful. I felt like we can finally pack away mittens and hats and not wear a jacket outside. We were quickly fooled however with todays weather. But for one afternoon it was spring....enjoy the pictures. Hope it's warm and sunny where you are and i'm hoping it will soon be warm and sunny here too.

If anyone is interested in buying prints or canvas's ever, please get in touch with me. Nature shots look gorgeous in bathrooms and offices to inspire you.

Melanie & Ryan

2011-05-12T11:37:00.000-04:00

I am trying to get all the weddings I've done on here...so some of these might have been awhile ago..But i don't want to forget anyone :)

Melanie and Ryan were married in Brantford. Melanie works at the home building centre that we frequent since we started working on this house of ours. She called me up and booked me after hearing from co-workers and customers about me. I met her and her girls at Galuppi's Hair and followed her around for the day. Melanie is beyond sweet, always smiling and laughing. One of her bridemaids Melissa was my boss when I worked at the mall ages ago. We got pictures of the dog, the adorable flower girl, trains and butterfly cakes. They chose the train station for their pictures and although we had a kind of grey day, there was no shortage of high wattage smiles! We even played around with some neat shots with perspective that Ryan liked. Off to the Hellenic Hall for the reception ( we had our reception there years ago !)

Melanie was surprised by the butterfly cake and even her favours were butterfly jellies and extra special hot lip candies that were her "kiss" from her Opa...so sweet to do that. Melanie's boss presented Ryan with a 'staff'' t-shirt from the home building centre, since he was practically family now. And to Melanie a tiny little baby bib and hat with the home centre logo on it..so cute. Deep purple was their colour theme and Ryan and Melanie were definitely royalty that day. Congratulations to two wonderful and kind people. I was so glad to be a part of your day.

Jesse and Monika engaged

2011-05-11T13:25:00.007-04:00

I met up with Jesse and Monika at the city hall in Kitchener. We weren't sure of the weather and thought we'd meet there. They took advantage of that and pick up their marriage license application :) We decided though to head to victoria park. The sun was shining and there was still quite a nip in the air. That just meant these two cuddled more and giggled through the whole shoot. They are getting married on the 21st of May and their wedding is going to be at Bingemans. I've never been there so I'm looking forward to a new venue. Just hoping their wedding day is a bit warmer than their engagement picture day.

Thanks for choosing me to capture all your giggles you two.

4 little ones under 7

2011-05-04T22:51:00.003-04:00

Tim and Janne have been friends of ours forever. They have recently added a new baby boy to their gorgeous family. That brings their total to 2 daughters and 2 sons all under age 7. Yes they're busy, but oh so happy. I got to see them for a belly shoot about 1 month before Caleb was born. Janne looked amazing for being on her 4th baby. She needed her even numbered family ;)

The session went pretty quick with the kids despite having a sudden upset tummy for her little guy. We all soon recovered, changed a shirt and we got the smiles out.

Her oldest daughter and my daughter are only 9 days apart..however she will always have 2 more children than i ever will...LOL 2 is my limit, thank you.

Congratulations to a beautiful family who is full of love and smiles.

Christine & Alan- I do at Elm hurst

2011-04-21T17:11:00.011-04:00

the whole group

First dance

Taking a break at the end of the night

The beautiful Elm hurst in Ingersoll was the setting for Christine and Alan's wedding. Their plans were an outdoor wedding at the gazebo by overlooking the pond. The weather kept changing it's mind, but we won out and the I do's were said outside in front of their guests. I met the girls in one of the rooms of the Inn getting ready. Christine's dress was gorgeous. It was a silvery grey colour that changed colours depending on how you looked at it. She added hot red shoes to that and it was amazing. Over at the guys room, it was a bit different. Alan is Scottish, so they were wearing kilts, however some of the groomsmen were struggling with all the different aspects of the kilts/socks and accessories. And yes most of them wore something under their kilt, i won't say who.

For the ceremony, they were piped in by the bagpipes and Alan had the biggest smile as he watched Christine walk down the long hill to the site. One of my past grooms played the guitar during the license signing and he also was the MC for the night.

Pictures, cocktails and kissing frogs soon followed. We also got a great entire group photo on the back lawn.

These two were so photogenic together and lots of fun. We were soon off to the dinner and dancing. The room was set up perfectly in black and white with shots of red. They gave out Scottish shortbread along with Canadian maple syrup...yummy!

Guests sang out songs of love throughout the night. With a mix of Guests from Canada and Scotland it was definitely a good show. All the best to you two and thanks for asking me to be there.

A funny thing happened tonight

2011-03-31T00:52:00.004-04:00

Grandpa Dave, Dad, Grandpa Bill, Mom and Grandma, both Grandpa's are gone now

Grandma and Mom

My sister in Law, Mom, Grandma, Sister and Me.

I called up my Dad tonight to see how he was feeling. He has had this same destroying strain of flu that i had. I've had it like 2 weeks now, hardly eating, feeling so drained. Today was the first day i felt human. It also happened to be the day my Dad would be 71. That doesn't even sound possible. How could he be that age?? When i sit and think about it, i have brothers that are getting closer to the big 50 in a few years. That just makes me old. So back to Daddy. I call, the machine picks up...odd since yesterday I talked to my mom and she said how awful he felt and was just lying on the couch. I figured she had stepped out and he was asleep and ignoring the phone. About an hour later mom calls me back. They had been on a Grandma adventure ;) My Grandma needed to renew her health card (she will be hitting 91 in April, still living on her own and no plans to give that up). So Dad says he'll drive mom and Grandma to the offices to renew. It turned into quite a fiasco apparently involving a huge pile of snow blocking the entire block in front of the government building, Grandma falling to her knees and not being able to get up. 3 strangers finally getting her up and into the building. Yes my mom is filing a complaint to the city about removing snow in front of major traffic spots. But after all that they got home. Grandma got her card renewed and was really only worried that the picture would be horrendous (her words). Mom called me to ask for advice. She wanted my opinion and my experiences. That is when you realize you're old. Since i had the same flu she wanted to know if Dad was ok..should she be worried..take him to the walk in clinic?? And yes of course in addition to being a photographer I'm also a general practioner of medicine... ha ha..no. But we chatted, she felt better, i felt older, but strange in a way knowing that roles do change. She had gone out to help her mom, she had came home to ask my help. Yes that's what families do, it's just usually it's my younger sister who gets the phone call. She's the practical one who knows the in's and out's of the medical system, has the advice on treating ailments of every kind. It was just a good feeling to know that I could do a small part tonight and be there for my mom. We live only 10 minutes from each other, a quick phone call away. They don't have internet, much less a computer made after 1995. I'm sure she thinks nothing of calling tonight and chatting with me, but she made me smile tonight, i was needed tonight. She talked to Ethan and Amelia and i could hear their sides of the conversation about what they had for dinner and that they just got out of the bath and Amelia telling her about watching Pinnochio turn into a donkey. My children are so fortunate to have their grandparents so close. 4 of them live within 10 minutes and a great grandma another city away. Anthony grew up with grandparents in Europe who didn't speak English and he only saw them a few times every few years. His favourite memory of Grandpa Dave was when he introduced Anthony as his Grandson. Anthony's heart swelled. We all miss Grandpa Dave. If you have a Grandparent, make sure you call them, or visit them if they're close. Ask them to tell you a story from when they were young. Love them, appreciate them and do the same for your parents. I'm sure there's something you don't know about them. You'll probably find out as I did tonight, they need you.

sickness no more

2011-03-29T23:25:00.003-04:00

I received a great product in the mail and just in time! After having the worst flu ever in years...although i did lose 10lbs from not eating for over a week ;)

I was sent Multibionta Vitamins from Bzzagent.

Here's some great facts about vitamins and our immune system

"stress, poor eating habits and physical strain, antibiotics or other drugs can disturb the good bacteria in the gut. Multibionta probiotic vitamins support a healthy level of good bacteria."They have a great challenge here. Sign up, receive a $10 coupon and be entered to win an IPad. It's a great deal for you to just give it a try. Spring is here, make a new healthier you. I'm definitely giving it a try. If you live by me, I have coupons from Bzzagent to try out this great product for free, shoot me a message. You can sign up to be a Bzzagent as well and get lots of campaigns to try for yourself. I was sent a bottle of the Multibionta Vitamins to try and then spread the word. If it's going to improve your health, go for it.

Happy spring everyone.

Blah

2011-03-22T21:58:00.004-04:00

a cozy picture of Ethan with Fiona

This week was supposed to be a week where I got tons of stuff done... orders printed and delivered, my office organized and pretty, trim in the living room painted..that kind of stuff. Instead, here it is late Tuesday night and I'm still in jammies from yesterday coughing and sneezing and feeling yucko. I cannot shake this cold/flu bug for anything. I think i had the worst possible non sleep night ever on sunday night. Last night I took 2 gravols thinking i would make up for it. I sure did...slept till noon. Got out of bed and thought 'hey i feel pretty good'. 10 minutes later i was right back where I started. I'm taking vitamins and drinking liquids all those usual cold fighting heroes...nothing is zapping it. On top of that it doesn't help my partner in germ fighting is at a hotel for a workshop :( I just hung the phone talking to anthony and he couldn't believe i'm still feeling like this. ahhhhh

I was putting away some of Ethan's clothes and started into a coughing fest and he suddenly got up and hugged me tight. Later he came downstairs and apologized for me doing stuff for him when i was sick. Seriously my heart burst. This little man of only 8 looked at me with all honesty and told me he was sorry. That's when I feel like Anthony and I must be doing something right with these kids of ours. So when I see reports of more snow falling, my heart drops. I want spring, i need spring, i'm craving spring with every infected cell in my body.

I just drank a hot chocolate because on the package it said "Like a warm hug on a cold day". That is what i need. I have a fire going in the woodstove, an empty mug and from the looks of it another long night ahead of me. Don't worry I will not be posting any pictures of myself at this time ;)

Hope everyone out there is healthy and successfully fighting off the cold germs. Hope you all had a great March Break (which we did enjoy ours at the hotel with the husband). Let's hope my next post finds me full of energy and bursting with health...not shovelling out the car from under snow!! Happy almost Wednesday everyone.

Skating and other lovely snow activities !!

2011-03-09T23:43:00.005-05:00

For being out in the country you would think our kids know how to do 'things'. Like ride a bike...actually quite hard when all there is around is gravel and grass. We have to go into town to teach them on paved surfaces. Ice skating, again no really close by rinks. Anthony started to take Ethan to learn on his Dad's pond. They spent awhile shovelling it off and then the fun began. Now of course with the weather getting above freezing, all pond skating is off. Ethan was catching on and starting to like it. He was using the shovel as his helper as he went around in circles. Amelia was beyond determined like most things she does. Skating however will never be her strong point. She fell more times then she stayed up. But that little sweetheart never complained once, just kept asking to try again. She made my heart swell with love. I caught Ethan's eyes when he went around once, concentrating hard on staying up. He had that shy smile, that he was proud of himself, but didn't want to let on. He's so much like Anthony that way. I'm so blessed to have my loving family. Despite the winter, which is something i can't stand. Ethan has declared it his favourite season!!! Anthony has also been using the 4x4 to pull them around in their toboggan. You should hear Amelia laughing. The dog chases them all through the fields and comes back looking like a snowman. My favourite though is their slide. We have a playground plastic slide that is on the side of a hill. You get in the top of the hill and come on further down the side of it. With the snow, it shoots them out quite a few feet. It's hillarious to watch them do this for honestly an hour...i need to take pictures of it.

But i will definitely be happier when spring arrives, with the exceptions of muddy boots of course.

Stefani and Kyle

2011-02-21T23:49:00.005-05:00

Their invite and Stefani's gorgeous ring

Stefani got her picture with her horse, and stayed clean.

The wedding party

Love the huge diamond on top of the cake

First dance

From the minute i saw their invitation I knew i would love their wedding. They had a cute little poem and Stefani's favourite colour was green! She's my kind of girl.

So the day was kind of grey and rainy but a favourite horse, an old church a tiny ring bearer and tulips and diamonds made it all sparkle. Stefani rides and shows horses so she really wanted a picture with her horse. We made it happen. I think her mom was in panic mode the whole time Stefani was in the barn!

After the ceremony we headed downtown Paris for some shots, quick since it was crazy cold and had started to snow! Seriously. Kyle was beyond thrilled with the snow...Stefani, not so much :)

Her best friend and his twin brother were their wedding party which i think is perfect. Just their bestest there up with them. We headed back to the Paris Grand for family shots and some of the beautiful set up in the room. The speeches were really good, the food was great and the families of these two are wonderful. I had done the wedding photos for Kyle's brother a few years ago and it was so good to see them again too (and their handsome ring bearer son ). Despite the cold and snow the whole wedding day seemed warm and cosy. From the cute church to the candles to the warm smiles of the guests it was just a great wedding day for these two. They are now expecting another little smile in their lives soon. Congratulations Kyle and Stefani.

Natalie and Fabricio

2011-02-16T23:23:00.006-05:00

I'm going to do some catching up with my wedding blogging...so bear with me here.

Natalie and Fabricio are friends of a couple who were married in 2009 and I did their photos. After a very sweet engagement session in Port Credit I knew they would have a fabulous wedding. Starting at Fab's the guys hammed it up for photos and I watched as 6 guys squeezed into a tiny bathroom to get their hair just right. Heading over to Natalie's the gorgeous girls just kept showing up! What a stunning wedding party. Their families are very close and it was so good to see all the smiles and love.

After a beautiful ceremony we headed to the Chinguacousy Park Indoor Greenhouses for pictures. With a wedding party of 16 including the bride and groom we got some fun shots and they ventured outside as well since the weather was nice to us.

The reception venue was absolutely gorgeous. Paramount Conference centre was amazing. Natalie and Fab were introduced from a balcony that looked out over the guests. Natalie had centrepieces with huge white feathers and glass vases. It was really beautiful. For their first dance they even had a video of it behind them on the wall. It looked like a scene in a movie. These families have spanish and armenian roots and they were fun!! There was singing and jokes and the food was awesome. Natalie and Fab are the sweetest. They kept asking me if I was all right and did I need anything? On their wedding day they were concerned with everyone else. Truly a generous and kind hearted couple. I was so touched they asked me to be a part of their day. All the very best to them and their wonderful families.

A little help for my mom and dad :)

2011-02-02T13:29:00.002-05:00

My mom and dad are entered in a contest for the cutest couple on a radio station :)

They just celebrated their 50th wedding anniversary and I so think they deserve to win this.

If you could do me a huge favour and just take a second to go and click on them, rate them a big 10 !!!! That would be amazing.

Snow is a coming.....let's think of summer instead

2011-02-01T13:29:00.006-05:00

summer bouquet tossing, this was a hot day

tomatoes, as much as I hate them, they look beautiful

summer turkeys

Engagement kisses in the sun

My Amelia in the setting summer sun, hairclips complements of Pretty Pretty hairclips

The news is saying tonight we're going to start getting a whopper of a storm laid on us. School has already sent home an email saying it might be cancelled on Wednesday. That's on top of the PD day on Thursday. Let's add to that the fact i've been home with the kids since last Tuesday thanks to a run with the chicken pox. Ethan brought them home from school on tuesday and is looking spectacular! Amelia was vacinated and hasn't got them, but i kept her home as well, just in case. So I am totally due for some warmth and getting out of the house right now!

Wouldn't you love to fling open your back door and throw your windows up and let warm sunny air inside right now???? Oh definitely.

I guess living in Ontario we have to take the bad with the good. I seriously hate winter. I detest being cold. Anthony loves all things covered with snow and ice and Ethan is now saying winter is his favourite season....yikes!

So i thought to help us along and cope with the wonderland we're in, i'd post a medley of warm and sunny pictures. Just to remind us that spring is on it's way.

Happy February 1st :)

Blue Mountain Bliss

2011-01-23T23:04:00.006-05:00

The tent at night

Beautiful wedding ceremony site

Gorgeous dresses, flowers and hot girls :)

Nicole, the beautiful bride

The guys, with the little guy hiding off to the left

Slowly my summer/fall weddings are being added to this and yes i'm behind...give me a break ;)

August found Anthony and I visiting the gorgeous city of Collingwood. We left our hotel on the day of the wedding and drove around town to get breakfast and some other things. People were shopping at cute little stores downtown. Riding their bikes around and smiling...it was strange. This is a crazy happy town and Anthony immediately wanted to move there. We parked in the Mountain Springs Lodge lot and found Jamie and his guys first in their chalet. We could tell right away after meeting them all it was going to be fun. They all had a great sense of humour and were laughing. This was despite the ever growing humidity and heat of this summer day. After finding some locations around the lodge for photos, I sent Anthony and the guys on their way in the limo up the mountain to the ceremony site. I then went to find Nicole and her lovely ladies. First of all i loved the bridesmaids dresses, black and white print with the shot of yellow flowers looked amazing on them all. Nicole was itching to get into her dress and feel like a bride! I sat and enjoyed the local made butter tarts that Nicole and Jamie had for their guests. Did i mention how hard my job is...seriously. So Nicole was dressed and ready to walk the aisle. First photos of her and her family and then her girls. Bridges and fields were the perfect spot right at the lodge. Then the school buses came along and took the guests on the journey to Jamie's Mom's house up in the mountains. I hitched a ride with the girls in the limo. My one memory of that is when the Ricky martin song came on "baby i like it"...these girls came alive..singing, dancing...totally pumped for a wedding...loved it!!! We take the winding roads to the "Le Farm" and there was a gorgeous spot for a wedding. Admist flowers and fields and a tent and hits of yellow and black..it was perfect. Their ceremony took place in front of the memorial garden of Jamie's stepfather. There were tears and laughter and kissing!! After the ceremony and that legal stuff, we all grabbed their signature drink "bee sting"...it was like lemondade but with a bite (alcohol) and just what we needed on this super hot day. Anthony however did not realize it had alcohol and downed a few before we left for pictures ;) cramming into the limo and one of the groomsmens car we left for some scouted out spots. Can i just say this part of the province is beautiful.

Fields and roadways and all the Blue Mountains in the backdrop followed. Back to the farm for the dinner and reception. The tent was perfect sitting in the front field with the sun setting behind the wedding party. Anthony and I were sat with a great table full of Nicole and Jamie's friends and partners of the wedding party. We definitely had some good laughs.

Onto speeches where a handmade lamp with the couples photo and a very large gorilla showed up??? Dances followed along with a sausage cart for a late night snack. That's the way to party. Thank you Jamie and Nicole for a truly memorable wedding. We wish you all the best.

Sometimes we wish this could happen

2011-01-19T23:04:00.003-05:00

I know this video is 2 years old...but amazing. I'm sure some of you have seen it before. Lately though I feel this would be a wonderful thing to be able to do. Please enjoy.

Click here and prepare to cry if you have lost someone dear to you. Then go and hug whoever it is that you have close to you now.

My future is looking quiet and I like that

2011-01-11T22:56:00.005-05:00

One of our hikes last summer

My decision has been made. 2012 will be a wedding free year for me. I need some time to just chill for a year. I'll still do family/baby/engagement and trashing dresses...just the 1 hour here and there shoots. Wedding though fun and exciting and I love them to death will be put on hold. I've had a dozen brides already contact me and I hated saying no to them. I'm trying to explain why and people understand. I have 2 little kids who soon will not want to hang out with their mom. That day might come when they say 'really mom i'm going out with my friends, sorry'. I need to scoop up every chance i can get to show them how much I love them and how much they mean to me. And the man, i think he feels left behind as well. Most of my weekends i'm outta here. I leave a note and a mess behind as I run out the door to another all day wedding event. I would like to wake up on a Saturday in August without an alarm. I would like a breakfast out somewhere, followed by a hike past waterfalls and then maybe a movie at a drive-in. Too much to ask?? No, not in 2012!! So for this year, my 25 weddings will be gung ho, no holds barred, giving it my all. Then in October when my last roast beef dinner is eaten and I watch the bride dance with her new husband. I'll pack up my wedding emergency kit for an entire year and then I'll go home with a pizza (not wedding food at all) and a huge hug for the family who is waiting there. So it's a good decision I've decided. It's a chance to revive i think and recharge. I'm looking forward to it.

Friday

2011-01-07T16:53:00.003-05:00

Sarah and Isaac

You know those days where your head is pounding, there's tons of work to do, a little sick girl to look after and smile at ??? That's my friday. I've been going to get accupuncture for my headaches/migraines for awhile now. I haven't been though in over a month since my car situation (lack of one right now ) . So today it hit me....yuck. I honestly thought that it would all be hype the whole accupuncture thing. Totally is working though. I did not have a headache for 3 months. I kid you not. I just need to find someone who is closer to home. Right now a 1.5 hr drive to Georgetown is fun and all, but closer would be better. I did take the back roads which is quiet and windy roads and scenic. It was great in the fall. Maybe not now with snow and ice.

So i'm hoping since i should be getting back my car next week i'll be headache free again :) Oh i hope so. On the upside Amelia is feeling better. Just a bit of a cough now. So back to school with her next week as well.

I have 2 baby shoots scheduled for next week. One includes Sarah and her little girl. Sarah's wedding was the second wedding i booked when i started my business. She has her honeymoon baby, Isaac and now Kaitlyn was just born. I'm off next week to get some shots of her two precious babes. Excited to meet her little girl.

Monday is a PD day for the kids, yes i know they just finished 2 weeks holidays. Hello school system??? wouldn't the end of the month be a better idea for this PD day??

Oh well, i'll take a sleep in day whenever I can get one.

Hope you all have a fabulous weekend.

A new Baby!!!

2011-01-02T23:38:00.002-05:00

Congratulations to Tabitha and Dallas on their 3rd little one.

Dara arrived on December 31st and I can't wait to see her. My kids go to school with Tabitha's and Tabitha cuts my kids hair. Also i had the priviledge of taking some family belly shots as well as some more beautiful ones of just Tabitha. This is her last baby ;) so she wanted to capture that last feeling. We are all so happy for a little girl in our circle of friends. She was a bit overdue and Mom wanted her out....she wasn't waiting for a new year's baby no matter how much free stuff she got!!

Glad all went well and there are so many excited people to meet her.

Ethan

2010-12-30T14:53:00.004-05:00

Ethan and his serious face ;)

Yesterday was a trying day. I was feeling like i was coming down with something. Kids were both home. Anthony was at work and Ethan was just not cooperating. He had some serious attitude yesterday. It seemed like everything was making him mad and he was ticked off. Him and I did not hit it off yesterday. He is usually a pretty good little kid.

So after a tuck into bed and telling him i loved him, i went back downstairs. About one hour later i heard the stairs creaking....yep he was making his way down. From what had happened all day I had expected whining or a made up story of something. Instead he came over to me at my desk and hugged me. He said he was sorry for what he was acting like all day and he loved me. You could have knocked me over! Just because they're little people doesn't mean they're not big inside. Somedays they have off days. I think they just can't explain it very well. I said to myself right there do not break this little guy's spirit. From now on I'm going to talk things out with him (he is a talker) and never will i assume what he's going to do.

That one hug that came from his beautiful heart meant the world to me. I went back upstairs with him tucked him back in and his little smile was the last thing i saw when I turned off his light. Oh i love you Ethan :)

Finally !

2010-12-24T00:12:00.002-05:00

So i finally sat here and tried my attempt at a blog header instead of the basic ho hum kind of thing that comes with blogger.
It's not bad..but i need some resizing. Let's remind everyone i am so not a technical genius here. It took me forever to figure out to rearrange things and add in extras... be patient. One day the blog will look fabulous. For now it's fun trying.
What do you think?? do you like the new look??

Four years later

2010-12-22T23:39:00.004-05:00

Me and the man

One of the recent weddings during the slideshow

December of 2006 I was at the local Enterprise business office typing in the words, "So Jeles Photography" in the spot where they ask your business name. I was registering a company that was all mine. It was strange. I handed over $60, they showed me a computer that looked strangely like the one I took computer class on in 1992 and I typed. Then you wait. They see if that name is taken. Considering all the Jeles' in Ontario are related to me and within a 30 minute drive and none are photographers, the name was up for grabs.

Our last name is actually Hungarian and if you pronounced it how it supposed to be, my business would be confusing. You say it as Yell-ish..see what i mean. That's ok, 'jealous' is better ;)

In 4 years I have shot 150 weddings, countless engagement and family sessions and little bitty babies everywhere. I've trashed wedding dresses for fun and for divorce. Watched women go from timid and nervous to crazy sexy bombshells within an hour. I've seen families grow from photographing a young girl with her mom and dad and siblings, then getting a call that she's engaged and they need pictures! Oh yeah and am I free for their wedding next year? Then watch as they add children to their growing family tree. It is truly an awesome job.

This year I did 29 weddings with my last being only last week. I've shot from Brantford, Hamilton, Toronto, Peterborough, Haliburton and Barrie to Jamaica and Niagara on the Lake and lots of other towns in between. Next year I have 25 booked and that is my limit. I'm looking forward to new locations, new people, old clients and great dinners ;) Seriously, who can say almost every Saturday in the summer/fall they're stuck eating prime rib or stuffed chicken?? It's a great perk.

In 4 years I have learned the value of a picture. In that time I lost my Grandpa Dave at the age of 92. The pictures we have of him are priceless. There are ones in Nova Scotia in a house he built. On the side of a road beside a car with the same smile he had in his 80's. A picture of him performing my wedding ceremony and marrying Anthony and I.

We just celebrated my parents 50th anniversary and my sister made a slideshow for them at our dinner party. 30 full minutes of their life comprised of songs and pictures full of memories. When I attend weddings now as a photographer many times there is a slideshow of the couple. Put together from the birth of the bride and groom to their engagement pictures. Lots of these include pictures I have taken of the couple. It truly makes my heart happy to see them. To know that I was a part of their lives and I made the 'cut'. I want grandchildren to pull out wedding albums of the grandparents and see what their day was like. The smiles, the laughing and the tears. That is pretty much what I want to freeze in time for you. I started this business because of love. Love for photography, love for weddings and families. Love of grabbing that second where the groom pretends he's forgotten the ring, or the bride wipes her lipstick off the groom after their first kiss. The belly of that same bride holding their first baby.

In a world where photographers seem to be popping up everywhere it seems. I want to continue what I do and keep that love. I'm not in it to make millions and have my pictures in all the latest magazines. What i do want is for a new mom to call me excited to have received her pictures in the mail and telling me how much she loves them. Or to sit back one day at a 50th wedding anniversary and see my pictures from a wedding 50 years ago shine.

So thank you to all of my wonderful clients past and present and future. You've made my 4 years a success and full of fun. Thank you to my family who i know i drive crazy holed away in my office all hours of the night (and sometimes day). My Anthony is beyond a good husband, he's started joining me at weddings and I gotta say he's making me proud. He's grabbed shots I'm in love with and I'm in love with him too ;)

Starting the 5th year of business as of right now. Hope you're enjoying the show.

The last I do of 2010

2010-12-17T00:17:00.004-05:00

The ring

Melanie & Will's engagement photos

Inside of the barn

Friday the 17th is my last wedding of 2010. That will bring my total of weddings this year to 29. 29 happy couples who i've shared a big part of their life with. 29 couples who will one day(hopefully) call me and ask for baby belly pictures, then baby pictures. There are a few couples now that are on their second babies and i've seen them from their engagement pictures. I love that. My business will be 4 years old on the 21st. In those 4 years I've met so many wonderful people. The awful thing about is my memory. I'll be at a restaurant and I'm staring at some girl wondering what wedding she was in and who she knows. Or someone will come up to me and ask me how things are and that they loved their friends pictures. It's hard to keep all those bridesmaids and groomsmen straight in my head. Thank goodness for facebook ;) I'll be surfing through updates and recognize that girl from the restaurant and think of course she was in that wedding! So if by chance you see me somewhere and I have a dazed look, i'm just trying to place you. If you were wearing some flashy red dress and killer heels..i'd know right away.

So tomorrow Melanie & Will are getting married. I did photos of Will's sister Michelle's wedding right when i was starting out the business. They are now expecting their 2nd baby.

Will is a goat farmer and we're hoping to grab some pictures with some of his goats. I do hope we get some...it would be awesome shots. The weather is looking like it will cooperate. And from their engagement pictures, I know that Melanie will be the shy one and Will wants more kissing shots! I will enjoy my last banquet hall dinner (i'm going to miss that big time) until February of 2011. I will sit back and enjoy speeches, grabbing shots of tears and laughter and the stories I know will come from this group! Then I'll pack up my bag and head home to my family who has missed me on weekends for months now. Don't worry i won't be relaxing as I have quite a bit of editing to do this week. I don't think i'll do much sleeping till around the 24th at midnight by the looks of it.
I'll let you know how it goes.

Amelia my sweetheart

2010-12-08T23:57:00.006-05:00

Seeing papa as she gets off the bus

She's the 'kitten' in the Love shirt

Walking her down the hallway

Last week my little heart went walking out of my body and off to real school. We decided it was time for Amelia to try out 'real' kindergarten. She has been in preschool since September and we just felt she was wanting to learn but was being kept back.

I emailed the principal at my son's school and he had her signed up and ready to go for the very next week. My heart jumped. Could she handle this, how would she do on her own in a real class room..what about the bus, would they understand her? Could i just let her go??

Thursday I drove her and Ethan to school (we were late, only by 2 minutes). They walked down the hall, the same that Anthony walked down from kindergarten to grade 8 when he was a little shy kid. They held hands. Ethan told her to have fun and he would see her at recess. I am so proud of him it hurts. He has taken her under his control and watches her whenever he can. At recess him and his friends in his class play with her. The grade 3 girls think she's adorable.

So Amelia heads to her class, walks right in, hangs up her jacket and sits down. Now Amelia is a bit delayed in speech and just learning in general. She's also a little smaller than most kids her age. Which is to her advantage..it just makes her cuter. So the teacher announces they have a new kitten in their class and everyone had to help make her feel welcome. Amelia is looking around the room for a kitten, probably thinking this is awesome they have a cat! No, the kindergarten classes are either kittens or puppies. I of course brought my camera with me and got a few shots and watched what she did. First of all she is a non stop talker! She was sitting there talking about the weather, "wow it's cold out"..this is a nice desk...i'm a kitten (she liked that one). So i whisper to her to be quiet and listen..she smiles and gives me a look and then just says, Bye Mom. She's done with me, just like that. I left with a smile and a little tear in my heart. I waited at home for a phone call to come get her or that something wasn't working right. It didn't happen.

Anthony got home from work and at bus time we headed out to the driveway to wait. I saw the bus pulling up and I could see a bright pink hat sitting against the window. She was home. Ethan was holding on her tight as they crossed the road. You could see she was pulling to run to us, but no the ever protective brother was doing his job. She saw Anthony first and yelled "papa the bus is awesome". Ethan said every kid that got off she would say to them 'see you later aligator' and then laugh as she thought she was now a cool kid. They would all smile at her.

School was a success and she was so disappointed she couldn't go back the next day. She has informed that she is going to be a doctor who makes kids feel better. My Dr. Amelia just might do that and show us all. But for now let's just get to grade 1.

I love you my little sweetheart.

Fabulous commercial for Cat and Ikea lovers combined.

2010-12-07T00:15:00.003-05:00

My Fiona

Just thought this was such a neat idea for a commercial. Lovely music and if you do a little clicking around youtube you can find how they made the commercial with actually 100 cats let loose into an Ikea store. I'm not sure why here in Canada we seem to get the boring ho hum commercials...why can't we have fun and something imaginative once??

My little Fiona is nestled in amongst my office boxes and my feet right now. I'm sure she would love the chance to be let wild in any store with 99 other felines. Enjoy the commercial.

Skyler

2010-11-30T10:21:00.008-05:00

Skyler was the tiniest baby I've photographed...he was only days old and had surprised his family with an early arrival. We were able to get so many cute shots of him all curled up and asleep...and quite a few awake too. It's always best if you want pictures where the babies are curled up and sleeping to do these in the first week of their little life.

We even pulled off a shot in his dad's hellicopter helmet....Don't worry, he wore a diaper..Dad didn't want a surprise in that one !

Mom had a bench that was made for her when she was born so naturally we used that for a prop too. Even their dog got in to a shot with the family. It was such a fun shoot and I loved that he was so tiny and so well behaved. His dad already has plans for pictures out on the tractors for when he's older! Congratulations on a sweet little boy for such a great family.

Fun idea for your groom or just your guy

2010-11-25T11:44:00.005-05:00

Beyond the Rack has some great deals on really unique cufflinks right now. Pricing starts at $29 for them. I was looking through their sales today and saw these. I just photographed a wedding where the groom wore transformer cufflinks !
When the groom has some cufflinks that really show something he's passionate about it adds some more meaning. Plus it could be a great groomsmen's gift too. Then there's ones that are just for fun like these Yoda ones !

Check out the other options, some say it's a boy/girl and there are airplane ones, dogs and so many other choices. Sign up here, it's free and you can look at the other great deals they have right now. I just received some Mudd winter boots in the mail. So comfy and thankfully no snow yet to wear them out in ;)

Happy Shopping !

Teaser

2010-11-23T14:36:00.003-05:00

Marcia & Mike have been waiting so patiently for their photos...here is a teaser from their day. So many fun things that day. We went to Woodbine Fantasy Fair and rode the merry go round and a train and ferris wheel. They got married downtown Toronto with the harbour beside them and the CN tower looming in the background. Stay tuned for more shots of this beautiful couple.

Happy 50th Mom and Dad

2010-11-13T23:56:00.004-05:00

November 12 was my parents 50th wedding anniversary ! We had a little party for them tonight, our family and closest friends that have always been there for them. It went so well too..they were really happy. My sister and brother in law made an amazing slideshow of their life that lasted 30 mins ! It was perfect. We saw their life from when they started dating to recent pictures of them with some of their 11 grandchildren. My mom and dad loved it. There were so many tears from everyone.

I did up some labels for Aero chocolate bars that had their wedding picture on them and their date. Do you have any idea how hard it is to find chocolate bars that have removable labels and foil wrapped!!! crazy. I think it was pure torture for all the kids. They had a whole chocolate bar sitting on their plate when they came in and couldn't eat it until after dinner. I also tackled the cake. I will never be a cake decorator that's for sure. It tasted great. It was a butter pecan cake with vanilla pudding in between the layers and then buttercream icing. It was however lopsided and not so smooth on top. I just blamed it on my kids ;)

It seems like we just had a party for their 40th. Anthony and I had only just been married a few months when we did that one. I think that means we're old now :(

So happy though to have the party go so perfectly. Dinner was awesome. I could eat chicken schnitzel all week (thanks Jamie and Rachel ).

Mom and Dad have always been generous. Even tonight they came with presents for all the little kids that were there. A gift bag for all of them with crowns and jewelery for the girls and bubbles. Planes and cars and more bubbles for the boys. You've never seen happier kids or kids that ate dinner so fast so they could open presents and eat chocolate!

My parents are truly an inspiration to us. They have 4 kids, 11 grandchildren and defied the odds when so many said it wouldn't last. I'm so very glad they did. Thank you mom and dad. We love you so much

A trashing in Ancaster

2010-11-07T23:58:00.005-05:00

Lynn had her beautiful fall wedding last October. This year she called me and said " I want to trash my dress, I have a few ideas." We were headed to a bookstore, an alley and a waterfall. Loved all the spots..we even threw in some church doors, just because we liked the colour.

She loves Jane Austen novels, so in the bookstore (after some strange stares) she sat in the aisle and picked up Mansfield Park. We then spent a few minutes behind the store at their delivery doors and steps.

Next stop was the church doors and a construction site on an old building in Ancaster. We've since decided if you're looking for a grimy, seedy spot to do some trashing of your dress, Ancaster is not the place. It's just way too clean and the buildings are just too pretty...sigh.

Anyhow Lynn climbed some scaffolds, sat down in some dirt and then we decided the waterfall was calling our name. Sherman Falls is super easy to get to with a quick 5 minute walk to the falls. Even in heels it was easy....right Lynn ;) Now this was still August, but it was late August. In Canada that can go either way, warm or cold. The water was COLD !! Lynn said she couldn't even feel her feet while she was standing in the one pool of water. So she didn't any lying down in the waterfall, I don't blame her. We did get fabulous shots in front of it and in the leaves. She was such a great sport and would just go wherever I thought looked interesting. Lynn even said now some of her bridesmaids want to trash their dresses ! My mind is already thinking of ideas for that one. Thanks Lynn for a great afternoon rocking your dress again. Thank your hubby too for lacing that dress up for you too!!! That's a real man.

Marissa & John

2010-10-24T22:42:00.009-04:00

Love their cake topper ;)

Check out the little guy's face beside the minister....so cute

John and his men

The perfect mom moment, so proud of her little girl

Mom doing up Marissa's dress

It's always nice to just have some time alone with the bride and groom, they can just be in love

I'll just start by saying Marissa was organized. She had me booked years in advance ! Loved that. So she knew what she wanted and we got things done. I met up with the girls at Davinci's hair which is my hairstylist! We had lots of laughs, calmed nerves and choked on hairspray ;)

I then drove over to where John and his guys were suiting up. A few quick shots with them and John's parents and I was back to Marissa's. One of my favourite pictures of the day was with Marissa and her mom. I wanted a nice portrait of them, but when they looked at each, the tears started. The hug and smiles were genuine and made my eyes tear up too. I loved it.

The girls were nervous about the long aisle at the church they had to walk down. I have to admit, it's a really long aisle..but they did it. No one fell or tripped and Marissa made it down to meet John. She is only the 3rd bride that I've done a wedding for that has wore a veil over her face.

We were off to Lorne Park on a hot sunny day for family photos. Next stop was the Brantford Golf & Country Club. They always have such a beautiful setup inside, a great view off the back balcony and yummy dinner. I got to sit with Chrissie from Too nice to slice. She did NOT make the cake for Marissa and John's wedding. Marissa wanted her to sit back and enjoy the wedding, her husband was the MC though. I have never been to a wedding in the past 8 years where i have not been the photographer ! I would love to , just to watch it from the other side, maybe sneak tips... ;)

I got Marissa and John outside after speeches for a few quick almost gone sunset pictures and more kissing. Something John never complained about all day, all the kissing.
These two had spent the months leading up to their wedding building a house and working on it themselves. They were looking forward to moving in and starting their family together. They are a super sweet couple and I really enjoyed the whole day with them. They even mentioned when I delivered their photos they might just call me someday with a baby session in mind ;)

I'm looking forward to it.

Michelle & Kevin

2010-10-11T23:04:00.004-04:00

The Grand Olympia

Michelle's gorgeous dress

4 very excited little girls to be in a real LIMO

Kevin and Michelle and their 6 kids !!

Classic gorgeous bride

When I met Kevin and Michelle I felt like family. However with 6 kids between the two of them, they didn't need another ;) They are the sweetest people. This was their second marriage for both of them and they had all of their kids as their wedding party. The day was somewhat sunny, somewhat cloudy, then hot, then cold. But they had fun. I headed over to see Michelle with the girls and get some shots of them. It was a very relaxed house for sure. The beautiful bouquets were sitting in plastic Turtle Jack's cups. Michelle has one of those faces that is always smiling and she smiles with her eyes. So easy to take pictures of. Her dress was simple with a dark champagne colour bow which suited her perfectly. Her girls wore chocolate brown.Off to the ceremony where Kevin broke into the biggest grin when he saw Michelle coming down the aisle on the arms of her 2 daughters. After a ceremony with tears, laughter and jokes, they were married. We then headed to the beaches area in Hamilton for some pictures by the water and up on the rocks. Kevin's son even coached a game from his cell phone(his team won). After some family pictures we headed to the reception hall at the Grand Olympia in stoney creek. The room looked gorgeous and the food was excellent. I judge many weddings on dinner ;)
I also learned how to make a chicken from a table napkin and how to balance a spoon on your nose. This was all from my table mates. You learn a lot of interesting skills while waiting for dinner. 4 of the littlest guests treated us to dances and singing. These little girls requested some Taylor Swift and had routines made up and everything. Later on they could be found in their sleeping bags tucked away from the excitement! So now this family of 6 is all joined together. Enjoy the photos.

Burt's Bees Natural Anti-Blemish Review

2010-10-04T08:14:00.006-04:00

Since I am a Bzz Agent I was invited to a campaign recently for Burt's Bees Natural Anti-Blemish Solutions. I was sent an awesome set of products to try out and see what i thought.

I received the Purifying Gel Cleanser and the Targeted Spot Treatment. I never really had a problem with acne while i was younger. But along came pregnancy and kids and the 30's (yikes) and all of sudden spots were popping up. I have to say I really like the Gel cleanser. It has a great scent to it, not medicated but definitely more natural and it works too. What i really liked is that my skin wasn't tight after, it still felt soft unlike many acne washes out there. The spot treatment has a bit of a stronger smell but I would say it works.
Without chemicals but using the natural Willow Bark Extract, Burt's Bees does the job well. I was really happy with the products and would definitely recommend them for sure. I was also sent some amazing coupons for this product line I will be sharing with my friends and family.
If you're interested in becoming a BZZagent click on the banner link below to join up.

Music and Models

2010-09-28T08:49:00.009-04:00

I met up with Dan and Caitlin at a Chapters to discuss their wedding !! They were the couple I was dying to photograph. She has the best red hair and is gorgeous, He is an artist/musician and is just too cool. They had ideas, they had plans and I was waiting for May 15 to get my camera on them. My husband Anthony was coming along as well as a second shooter for the guys. I was off to St Catherines to meet Caitlin and her girls at the salon (which she modeled for in the past) and Anthony was off to Hamilton with the guys for a great photo shoot. I got to Valvano and watched the hair and makeup magic unfold. If you click on their website, you'll see Caitlin on the right side by the gift certificate link. I am always amazed at how these stylists twist and turn and curl and tuck and come up with such great styles.

We then headed to Caitlin's parent's house and the girls got into their purple dresses. As I was inhaling hairspray and laughing with the girls, little did I know Anthony was inhaling pizza and hanging out at bars with the guys! Dan had ideas for their shoot for sure, it's the artist in him which was awesome. Anthony said he didn't have to come up with any ideas, Dan was full of them. They did a jam with drums, guitars, singing, a scooter and then off to Locke street for some Beatles inspiration shots. Graffiti walls came next then a music store, a bar and finally a stop for pizza. They had a fun full morning, since guys only take about 15 minutes to get ready !

We all were off for Rockway Glen Golf Course and Winery for an outdoor ceremony. Skies were a bit grey and threatened rain, but they got married outside in a ceremony full of smiles. A gazebo on site had actually blown down just days before their wedding. It was a crazy week of weather.

Caitlin's father and brother and sister sang and played guitar during the ceremony, Dan's sister did a reading. It was very special for them to have family a big part of it. The guests went on a winery tour and we kept the family busy with pictures. After family pictures and fun shots with the wedding party we heading in for dinner. Anthony and I got to sit in the restaurant area seperate from the guests which we thought was fabulous. We had it all to ourselves, our personal waitress..it was great. It was like we were on a little date :)

They had lots of great details, purple cupcakes, bottles of wine for the guests as favours, personalized chocolate bars for the smaller guests and they had pictures of their parents and grandparents displayed from their own wedding days. It was a very sweet touch. All too soon their first dance was over and they were dancing with their parents. Anthony and I headed home. Congratulations Dan and Caitlin, you are a wonderful couple and we had a whole lot of fun with you !

Giggles and Diapers

2010-09-16T23:00:00.006-04:00

Ok, so i got an email about doing a maternity session, pretty regular stuff i'm used to. However, this momma to be already had 3 little ones, ages 5, 3 and just over 1 !! She was due in one month with her 4th baby (and she looked hot ). I headed over to their gorgeous house which just happens to be the site of her in home business as well. Jennifer runs a spa from their century home and you can check it out here.

When the door opened 3 super cute curious kids showed up...the youngest in diapers and full of smiles. We did pictures in the backyard, the front, on the street and ended up in the parents bedroom all piled on the bed. This family was so full of fun and laughs. I was happy to hear they had their 4th child, a boy, Alexander the day after I delivered their pictures to them :)

I'm now heading back next week to get Mom and Dad and their family of 4 sweeties now. I can't wait to see the ideas we come up. Stay tuned. By the way, Jennifer is back to work with clients, if you're from the area you should definitely check out her spa.

Scheduled chaos

2010-09-08T00:38:00.008-04:00

Amelia in her new runners and I forgot to take a picture of her cute little shirt underneath

showing off her short hair

My "Baby"

Getting on the bus

My big eight year old!

Like most moms in Ontario on Tuesday I sent my two back to school. Ethan hit grade 3 this year at full force. Amelia is still at the same Montessori school as last year and loves it. We're not sure as yet where she'll be next year?? Still deciding on that one.

The bus picks up Ethan 10 minutes earlier this year than last...good for him, not so much for me as I just have to wake up earlier. I am not the mom who has everything set out the night before, lunches made and everything in order. I think it's the creative side of my brain that doesn't organize well. Anthony looks after that for us. This morning though Ethan was out on time waiting for his bus and excited. He's quite used to me and my camera watching him constantly...poor kid. The goats watched us as we waited and 'asked' what was going on. Ethan chatted back with them. He's got their sounds down pretty good now and sounds just like a goat himself.

Moses and Molly

I gave him a big hug and said i was going to step back and let him get on alone. He still doesn't mind me standing there with him, but i thought he needed a bit of a space on the first day. He hopped on the bus, waved through the window and was off down the road on the way to third grade! I also noticed as we stood there that he now comes up to under my chin..when the heck did that happen???

Next up was Miss Amelia...she was so ready to get the heck outta there and off to school. She couldn't even eat breakfast, too excited. So I got a few shots of her just before getting in the car. I was planning on taking some as she walked into the school and up the steps. She however was out of the car and in the door before i could even grab her bag and run after her!! That girl was determined. She threw off her coat, changed her shoes and ran into class. Inside she was greeted by "AMELIA!!!!!". You'd think she was Norm from Cheers or something that's what it sounded like. Anyhow, no tears or transition period needed for my kids. She gave me a big wet kiss goodbye and she was done with me. I'm getting quite used to that from her. But when we pick her up, it's like she hasn't seen us in years. It's quite nice really.

We ended the day by a quick trip to the beach. The kids and Anthony actually went in the cold water and were thrilled with it. Then as we do every year we celebrate a new school year with dinner out for them. By the time bedtime rolls around they're ready for dreamland. Unless the many boys Amelia is in love with move out of her school, I for see zero problems with this school year . And more time for editing for mommy of course.

Every bride needs a wedding like this!

2010-08-24T21:49:00.002-04:00

This is truly a 19 minute guilty pleasure to watch. Some may drool, some may groan but wow if you had a video of your wedding this would be what you would dream of. Fantastic setting, gorgeous bride and oh man that dress!!! First i would love to fit it, but just to wear it for a day would be fabulous.

Coco's and James'wedding day...enjoy.

http://vimeo.com/14245277

Bugs Alive

2010-08-23T11:37:00.004-04:00

This is what the ugly green gushy catterpillar will turn into....beautiful moth!

one of the cuter catterpillars

Amelia found a butterfly who didn't make it...lots of monarchs at our place

I think this is it's mouth

To show you actual size...much bigger than a regular key !

The coloured spikes...super hard

Check out this nasty little creature Nonna found in our driveway...she called Ethan over to take a look and they did some examining for awhile on him.

Looks just like Heimlich from 'Bug's Life' doesn't he...just not so cute ;)

The little spiky coloured things are actually super hard, they feel like steel.

He looked super squishy as well. It was a nice ending to our buggy day as we had went earlier in the day to the public library. They had a Reptile guy there showing off bugs and lizards and 10 foot long albino pythons. Amelia had no fear and volunteered to go up with some endangered lizard which was half the size of her!! I had to go up and get her to come back down to sit with us.

I guess that's what living out in the country does to kids...they love all creepy crawling things.

Let's hope this week has less of them though...as mom is not the biggest fan of them.

what summer days consist of at our house

2010-08-11T02:10:00.004-04:00

The snake...hours of fun for $14.99

Love their faces in this one

waiting for the water to fill up the sprinkler

Remember when you were happy to just run through the sprinkler...big belly laughs and giggles abounding.

My little ones love this just as much as anything. We got a neat one the other day that is a snake. It has tiny holes all along it. I think it's about 20 feet long when all rolled out. Slowly as it fills with water and looks like it's alive , the water starts to spray out. The kids are quiet as they watch it getting ready, then I hear Amelia's scream. It's enough to cool down hot heads and tired little attitudes of these super hot summer days we've been having. To be 6 again :)

Fiona Florence

2010-08-05T01:38:00.005-04:00

So we added to our ever growing farm of animals. Today we went and got a kitten. It was practically like saving her from death...so it's justified. Our friend Danielle who works at a vet clinic had someone come in with 5 kittens and wanted them put down because they didn't want them. They obviously told her no, but Danielle being the sweetheart she is said she would find them homes on their own.

Now she vacinated them, gave them dewormer and flea meds..so they're good to go. She posted them online and on facebook and people won't bite because they're not free!! Seriously if you get a free kitten who does not have all it's shots and what have you, then eventually you will have to pay for these. It's a measley $35 that she's asking and you have a sweet little purring motor to be your friend. One that is healthy, vet checked and no fleas or worms...what's the problem with that...not free enough i guess for some people. Anyhow i looked at the pictures of them and I missed my little Fifi calico cat that we had before. Fifi met with the tires of some crazy speeding car in front of our road one night. We found her in the morning. I told Danielle I was coming in to get the little runt of the litter. A brown/grey tabby with a little face like a bobcat :) Danielle had named them after the vampires in Twilight...i couldn't tell you any of their names except the main 3 people since that's all you ever hear about. So our little kitty was called Alice until someone else changed or kept it. Anthony said the name had to go.

We went in today, me and the kids to the vet clinic and got her. Of course we didn't have a name until hours after when it was decided upon. Fiona Florence. Amelia can actually pronounce Fiona which is good and Florence is my Gramma's middle name who has always loved cats her whole life. Everytime I talk with her on the phone she tells me a story of a cat she used to have and their names and all the funny stories. Gramma is 91 and lives on her own. Last year she had to put down her last cat, Woody. Woody had been in our family for almost 18 years. She belonged to my brother who decided Gramma would be the best to love her after his son was born. Woody also had brothers and sisters...Norm, Carla, Cliff, i think even Sam....obviously all named from Cheers the TV show ;)

But Gramma has decided against getting another cat, as much as she wants one. She's worried about tripping over them as they love running between feet and Gramma's not so light on her feet anymore. So we've decided we need to take a trip down to visit and take along Fiona.

For now we'll send her a picture with the kids to grace her fridge.

As i type Fiona is asleep on my camera bag and has been for over 2 hours. She's probably preparing herself for the torture when the kids wake tomorrow and come hunting for her.

Anthony of course is in love with her. From working at vet clinics and all the puppies and kittens...he misses them the most. As soon as we showed him Fiona he was hooked.

So now our animal count here at the crazy farm is 1 kitten, 1 dog, 2 goats and 8 turkeys. Plus over at Nonna's place next door, she has 1 cat and 1 fish...do they count ?? hee hee.

The wackiest cake topper yet

2010-08-03T12:48:00.003-04:00

I came across this cake topper on this great site.

I have never seen anything quite like it at all...the whole wedding looked pretty fun with awesome shots.

This is a great spot to show who you really are on your cake topper. That's if you even have a cake at all at your wedding. Lots of couples are opting out on tradition. Going instead for cupcakes..or just a big table of dessert (yummo) or a chocolate fountain with lots of fun dippers. Just have some fun with it. Your wedding guests will be at the reception hall for a long time. So whether it's a fun cake, great interactive centrepieces, a kissing game that is really unique or maybe a candy table, karoke...the list can go on and on. Just have fun and be you.

Great new website

2010-07-31T19:59:00.004-04:00

I just joined up at this great site called "totsy".

They have really neat sales on one of kind stuff at amazingly low pricing. Right now for babies they have cute little leg warmers that are great for crawling babies to protect knees for just over $4....nice!

And what's neat about it for every sale they plant a tree in your child's name in Peru.

I thought that was a really unique idea for a online sales website. Take a look and join up. If you sign up and register you don't have to buy anything or get involved in anything else. It isn't some crazy scheme. If you want to buy something you do. IF you don't want to buy anything, you don't. Simple. By registering you get to see all the stuff, just check each individual sales for their return policy. Each one is different. The sales only last from 48-72 hours so you have to check on the new stuff coming up. The ages are 0-7yrs. They are also showing maternity clothes in the future and headbands and accessories as well.

Even if you're looking for gifts for baby showers, this would be a great site too.

Classic Elegance

2010-07-29T00:35:00.009-04:00

I met up with Dayna last year and immediately loved her wedding ideas. She wanted timeless elegant and slightly retro. I couldn't wait to see how it all came together.

I met up with her and her bridesmaids and mom at the Walper Terrace Hotel in Kitchener. The room was full of hairspray, makeup brushes and champagne ( a great combo).

It was cold that day but full of sunshine which helped with the chill. Dayna's dress was fitted, gorgeous and purple shoes as acents she couldn't go wrong. She also had a vintage fur short jacket which i loved. Her girls wore black strapless gowns the same shape as Dayna's. While the girls put the final touches together, I headed over to the ceremony site. Verses in Kitchener, not far from the Walper is extremely unique as a venue. It is an old church which has been revamped into a restaurant. The ceremony and dinner were to be held there. Tall ceilings, red hot chairs, loads of natural light and Ray standing at the altar waiting for his bride. Dayna was beaming!

After saying their vows and making it official we headed outside. Let's remember it's winter and cold and the sun is going down. You know those rental shoes guys get with tuxes??? They are uncomfortable and COLD in the winter..the guys sucked it up and hiked to the photo site. The girls strapless dresses and heels...hiked right along with them. When you say yes to be in a wedding in the winter, be prepared to go outside for photos. We headed down the road to the train station and some buildings around it. We got the urban look with a retro feel and lots of chilly smiles , especially when i said the photos were over!

Back to Verses for drinks and dinner. Ray and Dayna were wonderful. They were full of smiles, not afraid to go for the shot i wanted and so kind. Even though I'm paid to be at a wedding, it makes a huge difference when i'm treated like a guest. This happens so often i think i take it for granted sometimes. These two asked if I was ok, did I need anything and it was their day. Totally a gracious couple. Thank you.

Pretty Pretty

2010-07-21T12:54:00.004-04:00

My friend Tammy has her new website up and running and it looks fabulous.

If you have a little girl in your life or maybe for you ;) you should check it out for sure here

I did some of the little girl's pictures on the site and they were so fun. I think at one point we had 6 little baby girls all in a row on Tammy's front lawn!

My little Amelia wears the clips all the time and Tammy just made up some great flower clips for me and matching ones for Amelia. She's at fairs and mom shows throughout the year as well in the Brantford and surrounding area.

Totally worth a click and pricing and info are all on the site as well. Have fun shopping :)

Shoes

2010-07-20T01:04:00.007-04:00

all the bridesmaids got to pick what black shoes they wanted

perfect for her summer wedding

an awesome shade of green

personalized silver heels, the other had the brides new initials

creamy white sky high heels

red with a purse to match on a new years wedding

classic white, but not too bridal looking

red hot of course

super comfy and matches the groom!

I am always intrigued by what shoes brides choose to wear under those fabulous dresses....will they stay safe and go with classic white pumps or flats. Maybe even flip flops for comfort or sky high stillettos for extra height and wow factor! Lots of brides are adding colour to their mostly white outfits with their shoes. Because really how many times are you going to wear white satin shoes again ;)

These are just a small sample of the many shoes i've seen. It always makes me want to head out shopping for new pumps for myself after seeing the great ideas these brides and bridesmaids have. And yes i did wear white satin platform heels to my own wedding. They are still in the closet, always meaning to dye them black or another fabulous colour.

Enjoy and maybe grab a few ideas of your own.

Keera Vegas - the before

2010-06-24T12:57:00.005-04:00

I thought the little pink stone was appropiate since they had a girl

One of our fun props...just enough feather to cover

I loved this one...very romantic

Melissa and Dan were both in a wedding I did a few years ago. They were getting married later that year, but I already booked. Well i got my chance to photograph them after all. Melissa emailed me and asked for baby belly shots. They live in Goderich and wanted pictures by the beach as well. I jumped at it of course. A new location and the opportunity to see them again, plus they're super good looking people ;) They chose not to find out the sex of the baby, but they did have names all ready. Melissa was leaning towards a boy and Dan a girl.

I drove myself over there on a Saturday morning through back roads, passing farms and loved the drive. I met them at their wonderful house they've been working on. Melissa had arranged for the shoot to take place at a dance studio they had lessons at for their wedding. We went to the Casablanca dance studio downtown. Big bright windows, open spaces, peacock feathers and a black velvet antique couch to die for!! After about 1 hour there, we headed to the beach. It was super windy, a bit chilly but we got the shots we wanted and Melissa wore her heels, perfect.

I was ready to head home, but these two sweethearts had lunch plans for the 3 of us. We spent the next hour chatting about how they met, their wedding, how they found out they were pregnant! Soon after I heard Melissa had a sweet little girl 'Keera Vegas'. Her middle name comes from when they found out they were pregnant. They were in the hotel waiting for their plane to take them to 'Vegas'. I think it's a perfect little reminder and she's a perfect little cutie.

By the way, Dan was right, it was a girl!!! congratulations to the parents.

Getting goosebumps!

2010-06-18T08:22:00.004-04:00

So this story combines my absolute love of Disney world and a great story to tell the kids. You have to click here to read about this very cool surprise this couple found. While making a slideshow for their wedding, they were looking through old photos. The bride had one of her at Disney World posing with Mr. Smee from Peter Pan. The groom was in shock to see his dad and himself in the background. Even crazier is that the groom is from Canada and the bride from Florida, yet they still met and fell in love.

How amazing is that. They've posted the original picture on the link above and have also recreated it with their own children.

Here it is.

It's such a small world after all ;)

Ha, now you'll all be singing that song all day, you can thank me later.....ha ha.

Sweeties

2010-06-09T11:55:00.003-04:00

These two belong to a fellow mom-prenuer I know. Sullivan and Sawyer, you have to love their names and those cute little faces. Their mom has 2 great businesses, Gray Cat Studio and Sullivan & Sawyer Baby Co. You should seriously check them out. She is one busy lady for sure.

So we met in the park with her husband and raced around after Sullivan, tried to keep Sawyer sitting up (almost there!). In the end we caught some pretty cute shots and a few whole family photos too. I always enjoy playing with kids and making funny faces...it's hard to complain when you're watching babies blow bubbles and little boys discovering their shadows.

Sisters

2010-06-07T17:24:00.005-04:00

I had met up with Chandra years ago during a trash the dress/divorce session (way too much fun). Her friend was trashing her wedding dress and Chandra had come along for support, ideas and to drive the car ;) We had a great time. She got in touch with me recently about getting pictures for her parents of her and her sister Katherine.

Chandra was running a marathon in Hamilton and her sister was going to be visiting..so we picked a central spot. Gage park in Hamilton. These two girls were great together, not to mention beautiful :) I laughed at their stories and how they got along with each other. We made some great memories for their parents to keep. The session was a surprise for mothers day, so i wasn't able to post anything right away.

I got the smiling happy shots, goofing around shots and a little edgier shots at the train tracks. They were super thrilled with how they turned out, parents and the sisters! It's such a nice idea to do for family.

This is just so wrong!!

2010-05-26T00:31:00.003-04:00

This was on CHFI'S page...you have to click on this to believe it. If you have a wedding coming up and are thinking about photos by the lake...maybe rethink that one??

Thank goodness I haven't had any real disasters at any of the weddings i've shot at. What about the rest of you?? have you been in a wedding or been the photographer/vendor at a wedding that had a disaster?? Leave a comment.

Hope everyone had a great long weekend, it was sunny and hot here and supposed to be sweltering all week long :) Enjoy.

This little meerkat was at Busch Gardens in Tampa, Florida. Just standing guard all day in the heat.

Hey why not follow me!!

2010-05-25T12:41:00.004-04:00

forget me nots :)

I'm going to be a nice long post tonight about our goats that we just got yesterday...too cute ;)

But i was noticing that there are so many different visitors from so many countries...why not add yourselves as a follower??

Let me know if you have any questions or comments or just say hello! Also if you ever see a photo i've taken on here that you absolutely love and would like a copy, get in touch with me. All sizes of prints can be made. Metalic prints, canvas wrapped prints..lots of neat stuff.

Until tonight with a new post...plus i have some belly pics to post too and some sweet babies and a few weddings..i will not disappoint!

Fun movie site you should check out

2010-05-19T22:44:00.002-04:00

I have been entering daily giveaways on this site for a few weeks and so far i have won a free DVD...just waiting to get it in the mail :)
It's called iNetVideo and it's all totally legal and not some scam...i would not post it here if it were.
They are hoping to get promotions up and get out even more prizes, earlier this year they gave away blu-ray players!!
You don't have to buy anything to enter the giveaways, but they do have great deals for sure.
Be sure to check it out here.

Back to the cold, snowy weddings!

2010-05-18T12:57:00.005-04:00

One of my favourites from the day

Ready to begin their new journey together

Inside the train station

The wedding party in front of the train...very excited they were going to eat soon :)

Raggedy Ann watching the festivities

Harmony Square

Problems with flowers

Matthew and Emma were married January 30 this year. It was super cold, super snowy, but super sunny too. I had met these two at Rachel & Jon's wedding last fall where I got to sit with Emma's family and Matt during dinner. I got to meet her parents and brother and see what sweet people they are. I knew their wedding would be fun.

I met up with the guys at Matt's parents house. It was a busy house full of groomsmen struggling with pins and flowers and suspenders and shoes! They grabbed Matt for a picture in the bathtub, helped him with his tie and provided laughs for the whole day. We braved the cold for some shots, one ending in a tumble from Matt's brother. Those crazy slippery rental shoes!!! I then heading over to Emma's place to see what craziness i could find there.

The girls were dressed and ready to go, one had even thought ahead and borrowed her brother's rugby socks for the cold outside shots. She was going to stay warm. Emma's dress was hanging in her old bedroom which was full of quotes she had painted on the wall. Her special Raggedy Ann doll whom she had named after her Grandmother was always watching in the background. We made sure to take the doll along to the ceremony and reception as well. Emma made her Dad cry as she came down the stairs and her proud Mom watched. This is always such a sweet moment. Mom usually gets to help pick out the dress, then get dressed. Dad is left in the dark, only to be shocked and filled with emotion to see his little girl. This was one of those times. After lots of hugs, tears, a few shots to warm the bridal party ;) , we were ready to head out. The church aisle was huge!! It was a long walk down for these girls. Their families were in the wedding party, the grandparents were involved in the ceremony and so many friends were there to share in their joy.

Matt is a dj at our local radio station and they used this in their invitation. They bought old 45 records and put their invite on one side of the record. Trying to find songs that were appropiate was fun..some just didn't imply wedding and love! But such a neat idea and lots of work for sure.

We spent our photo session at Harmony square downtown Brantford, Williams Coffee Pub where so many dates of Emma & Matt's happened. We even made it to the VIA rail train station before the sunset for some kissing in front of trains. We all loaded back on the bus to make it back in time for dinner. The bus ride included lots of songs by mostly the groomsmen which kept us all laughing for the ride back.The dinner had fabulous music provided by Evan Champagne. Then after speeches, the dancers came out!!

This was such a fun winter wedding between two wonderful people who have now just announced a baby is on the way for Emma and Matt!! Thanks for letting me share in a day in your lives.

You have to check this out

2010-05-14T00:28:00.002-04:00

This is from their homepage, the link is on their video page as well

I know 2 posts in one day...crazy yes. But if you haven't had a chance to check out this video for this couple's save the date, you simply must!!!

It is by far the coolest i've seen yet, i want to be invited to their wedding just to see what will happen there. I hope they update it or at least post a sequel to this great creation.

If any of you are getting married late this year or early 2011, this would be an awesome idea...you must send me a link if you do a video.

Anyhow enjoy.

http://www.chrisrawlinson.com/2010/01/save-the-date-jeff-and-erins-wedding-trailer/

My trip to the happiest place on earth!

2010-05-12T12:02:00.007-04:00

Clearwater, the dock by our hotel

Clearwater Beach

Amelia and I in Disney, she's rocking her tutu

One of the best rides ever! kids loved it

The only picture you need to get at Disney, we have our anniversary pins on :)

We took our first family vacation to Florida. We were celebrating our 10th anniversary and it was a rare 2 weeks in a row where i didn't have a wedding or anything to keep us in this land of coldness. We decided on the road trip, as Anthony hates flying. Up at 5am, on the road at 5:30. Kids wide awake!! Why don't my kids sleep ever??? We drove to South Carolina the first day, stopped at a hotel, then another in Georgia after leaving the first one. Apparently we picked the weekend of the prom at the first hotel. It was crazy loud and there wasn't any sleep going to happen there. When the Florida welcome station came into view, there were cheers and smiles and free orange juice of course. We loaded up on juice, brochures(which i LOVE) and set off for Clearwater Beach.

An absolutely gorgeous beach area is in Clearwater. Miles of white sand along the Gulf. We're really hoping that this latest oil spill isn't going to ruin the waters and beach and wildlife along there. Our hotel was a block away from the beach. http://www.sandmanresort.com/ It wasn't a fancy hotel, but clean and close to the beach. The hotel in front of it however was a $500 a night one. I don't think we could afford a pillow from there!

We ate at the restaurants along the beachwalk, drank cheap beer, stayed in the shade after sunburning shoulders and played in crashing waves. We had 2 great days at Busch Gardens in Tampa. We had used our airmiles before we left to get 2 free tickets for me and Anthony and then found a deal that got the kids 20% off their tickets. With tickets running into the $75 area, any break was a deal. Plus Busch Gardens has a great deal when you go to guest services, show them your ticket for that day and they'll give you a free one to use in the next 7 days! How awesome is that. We took advantage of that and the kids loved it. It was about 32 degrees both days, but they have lots of cool areas, some inside shows and water rides.

After a few more days at Clearwater, we drove to Orlando (the land of magic ;) ).

Have you ever seen the commercial for Walt Disney world where the little kids are trying to sleep the night before disney and they can't?? Then they say 'i'm too excited to sleep'...and then the Dad says it too?? http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=b95oyhSd5ls

That was me, i adore Disney world. i'm addicted. I haven't been in 7 years and our family used to go every year since i was born. It was our annual trip.

I was lying in bed, the kids were giggling in their bed and i said "i'm too excited to sleep". Anthony got a good laugh out of that one.

Next morning we were at the gates at 9 am, waiting for our monorail. The day was super hot and sunny. There were no crowds, hardly any lines and everyone was happy. When you go in the front gates go to town hall. They have buttons for you to wear. The kids got "First visit" buttons and me and Anthony got "Happy Anniversary". All day long people, guests, and cast members wished us happy anniversary! It was so neat.

Amelia and I got minnie mouse ears with the big red bow, Ethan got a cap gun from frontierland and a Mike Woszowski from Monsters inc.

Anthony just got a burrito, a slice of pizza and a sticker from the Monsters inc laugh floor that said "i was that guy at the laugh floor". They picked on him throughout the show. Putting him on the big screen and telling a joke. It was hillarious. He really isn't a theme park kind of guy. But this trip has changed him. We got to see the kids thrilled to try new rides, meet characters from movies and enjoy themselves. We tried not to have a schedule or too many rules. Lots of late nights watching movies and sitting on the beach. It was sad to have to drive home, but once we got to Buffalo and close to the border you just wanted to get home. Home is always best of course, but second choice would be Cinderella's castle.

Holy Smokes it's May!!!

2010-05-05T01:19:00.002-04:00

From our trip to Clearwater Florida last week. A stranger offered to take a shot for us. Something that is always a problem with our family, it's usually motherless. This time i got to be in the shot!! I lost track of how many people asked me if i could take their picture for them. And Amelia usually snuck into the shot...those poor folks. They'll be wondering who this little blond kid is standing beside them ;)

I'll post more of our trip and update the blog with all the recent shoots. There has been a bunch. Wedding season starts next weekend with a wedding in St Catherines that Anthony is joining me for.
I don't know what happened to April??? It was our 10th wedding anniversary on the 15th, then we left for Florida 2 days later. The best anniversary present ever for sure! I did get a beautiful pair of earings from Anthony as well on the actual day. A wonderful surprise. I bought him a plum tree that will grow heart shaped fruit for his orchard he's starting and 10 year old whiskey. He was quite happy. Then we always buy the kids presents on our anniversary, after all they celebrate with us. This year they got a ton of stuff to use on the way to Florida and while we were there. It was a hit.
I now have to go and hit the pillow. I will update soon.

Great giveaway from the ring...enter now, time is running out!!

2010-03-31T22:51:00.002-04:00

Brides and Grooms to be-Click through to this link to win a great prize from the wedding ring.ca
A sleepover night at the Holiday Inn in Kitchener/Waterloo with breakfast.
Sounds like a great plan to get away from wedding planning stresses!!

http://www.theweddingring.ca/wedding-contests-giveaways/

Barrie in November

2010-03-30T09:30:00.008-04:00

Nicole and Jared were married in Barrie last November. My husband came along with me and we made a little weekend of it. I did their engagement pictures up in the Creemore/Collingwood area not too long before that. They are a super cute couple and pretty easy on the eyes too ;) That always helps in making beautiful pictures.

It was cold but sunny that day, so we ventured out for pictures. Our first stop was Maclaren Art Centre. They were changing around the gallery, so the walls were bare. It is a beautiful building full of huge interesting windows, old brickwork and hardwood floors. After some shots inside we had to move quick as our light was fading fast. We shot some outside, then drove to a nearby alley way Nicole had pointed out. When pictures were all done we headed for dinner and the reception at Southshore Community Centre. This is the second wedding we have done here. It is such a beautiful location right on Kempenfelt Bay in Barrie. The view is great even in November. And someone across the bay that night shot up fireworks during our dinner. I grabbed Nicole and Jared and we ran outside before we missed the opportunity.

Nicole's 2 sisters were her bridesmaids, Jared's brother and a good friend were his groomsmen. They were such a sweet group to work with. Lots of Creemore beer went around (thanks to Jared's dad working at the brewery ). Great music followed and we even got to catch up with a past wedding couple who were at the wedding. Thanks to Jared & Nicole and their families for their hospitality and the wonderful day we spent with them.

Give her a cake and let her go wild!!

2010-03-28T23:09:00.006-04:00

Jackie and Jeff have a beautiful little girl, Aubrey. This year Aubrey turned 4 and I got the call to do a cakesmash with her! This was my first one and it was a blast. We took a few clean shots first, then just plopped Aubrey down with a yummy chocolate cake and watched!

She kind of looked at us like seriously it's all mine??? Then stuck a little pudgy finger in the icing, nibbled, another finger, nibbled, then it got to big huge gobs of cake and icing in her hands. At one point she was playing that cake like a bongo drum! There was cake in my hair, on my camera, all over. Her Dad was laughing at her, Mom was encouraging her to go for big bites. It was fabulous! If you have a little one celebrating a milestone, you should go for it.

Then suddenly Aubrey had enough and just got up and walked away, after stepping and sitting in the cake ;)

Dad got that chocolately little body and got the bath going. Jackie tells me they spent quite a long time after scrubbing a fudgy chocolate ring around the tub.

I found some icing in my hair at the next shoot too ;) too funny.

Enjoy the pics.