Archive for the ‘Chinese’ Category

I sat down with Catherine & Todd last night to show them their wedding album design – we ended up sitting and chatting for almost 2 hours, and I think we made plans to go for dinner soon… It’s so fantastic when we click with our couples, and Catherine & Todd are definitely one of those couples for me.

The morning games were hilarious – I could have dedicated most of the post to just that part of the day. Chinese weddings are so much fun!

Connor: thanks for being such a good sport – sorry I have to put this on the blog, but it’s too hilarious.

A little bit of rain could not stop Catherine from having her dream outdoor wedding reception at the Chateau Louis.

And then, the sunshine came out. Catherine & Todd got married during that little slice of summer where the canola is at its peak around Edmonton. We didn’t have to drive very far to find this amazing field.

This is the aftermath of the canola field on Catherine’s gorgeous shoes.

Michael was totally jealous of me because I got to go to Beijing Beijing for this reception (although he had his own amazing reception at the Westin with Leanne & Brody – coming soon). The food and decor was amazing, and I can’t wait to go back!

This was the first time that I saw the parents get in on the action in the shoe game. Catherine told me last night that for the first question, “who is the biggest flirt” her mom asked her what a flirt was. Super cute.

Catherine’s sister gave a beautiful toast.

The speeches and 10 courses of the dinner (yum!) were interspersed with a few games. In this one, all of the groomsmen had their mouths filled with whipped cream, and had to say ‘I love you’ to a blindfolded Catherine. She had to guess which one was Todd. Well, she needed them to repeat it a few times before making her decision, and Todd got a bit fed up….he made the decision for her.

What a wedding – such an amazing party and wonderful families on both sides. Can’t wait to hang out again guys!

Before the snow fell last week, I found some beautiful light with Catherine & Todd in the St. Albert river valley.

I want to say a special thanks to Todd for bearing with me – I know that getting your photo taken isn’t your ideal way to spend an evening, but I think we managed to have quite a bit of fun together. It probably helped that we’re both incredibly sarcastic… And Catherine – well, you’re just beautiful which makes my job super easy.

See you two in July!

We’re no strangers to different cultures, and visitors to our blog know how much we love East Indian weddings. Esther & Nathan gave us the opportunity to experience a Chinese wedding and we couldn’t have been more excited!

We had our first experience of the fun games played on the wedding morning. Nathan had to bargain with the bridesmaids to gain entry to the house and join Esther. Luckily, his groomsmen did some of the dirty work for him (Simon took the brunt of the punishment – we could see why Nathan chose him as best man!). Tasks included bringing coffee and snacks for the bridesmaids, jumping jacks, burpees, sharing an intimate moment with another groomsman (we’re not putting that one on the blog!), and wearing a lacy pink bra.

Once inside, Nathan had to guess which lip imprint on a piece of paper was his bride’s…

…and write her a rap song, professing his love. It was pretty good… “My name is Nathan and I’m here to say, I’m here to get Esther and take her away”!

A tea ceremony followed with Esther’s family.

Esther spent a lot of time on the U of A campus, and chose that as their portrait location.

The ceremony was at the Knox Metropolitan Church in Old Strathcona/Garneau.  It was really cool for Michael, because his parents got married in that church!  We had never been inside.  He could imagine his parents, decades ago, making the same commitment to each other that Esther and Nathan were making.  Michael’s parents are happily married with a growing family, and we wish Esther and Nathan such joy and longevity in their marriage.

 

The reception at the Sutton Place Hotel was incredible.  Easily the best food and service we have experienced all year.

These little dolls are so adorable!

Esther and Nathan did something really cool – they walked around to each and every table with their bridal party and parents to toast with all of the guests.  It was a special way for them to thank everyone for coming.

 

Another wedding with two dresses! Both of Esther’s were fantastic – I’m jealous again!

In celebration of the end of her diet, that she has faithfully followed in order to look her best at the wedding (which she did, wow!), Esther requested McDonald’s cheeseburgers for the midnight lunch at the wedding.  Every time I see this photo, I can hear Esther sighing in satisfaction – you made it, girl!

 

Thank you both so much for the incredible experience.  We can’t wait for our next Chinese wedding!

Katy and Jon were married on a beautiful Friday afternoon. They are very active in their church, and had a large number of guests come to celebrate with them.

Jon and Katy were so happy to make their marriage vows to each other, and from the vows they wrote to each other you could tell they were devoting themselves completely to God and to each other, and the beauty of their marriage will extend far beyond their wedding day.

The University of Alberta is such an incredible place to shoot, we challenge ourselves at every wedding to do something new and different, and the U of A makes it easy. No matter how many times we go there, we always create unique images. These ones of Katy and Jon are easily some of my favourites.

It was free smoothie day at Orange Julius! Katy and Jon had coupons for the whole bridal party (and us!)

To celebrate Jon’s Chinese heritage, a small tea ceremony was held with his closest family members.

The reception was at Blue Meadows, a gorgeous venue available to police officers and their relatives.

We met Dan and Kat from Stone Photo in Vancouver at the wedding! They had left their gear behind (just guests at this one), but Dan couldn’t help but snag our camera for a few shots – he got a great one of us partying (as you may gather from previous blog posts, Michael is a mad dancer!).  Great to meet you two!

One last one. As I mentioned, we love to do different things, and try different shots. This is definitely not a typical wedding photo, but we absolutely love it. There’s something a bit mysterious about it.

Congratulations Katy and Jon!

Bad Behavior has blocked 69 access attempts in the last 7 days.