Jasmyn and Mitchell Engagement Photography Session
We’ve been wanting to do more ‘urban’ pictures lately and Jasmyn and Mitchell were the perfect couple to do this with. Mitchell has a vintage ‘81 Camaro that he brought out to the shoot.
I could just imagine the two of them at a drive-in theatre in this photograph.
I just love Jasmyn’s expression in this picture. She adores Mitch.
We had a really fun time taking your pictures Jasmyn and Mitchell. We are looking forward to taking your wedding photographs.
Karen and Jon Wedding - February 23, 2008
We were absolutely touched by the story of Karen and Jon. We met them earlier this month following an email asking for a wedding photographer at very short notice. Karen and Jon had originally planned a summer wedding in Ontario, but discovered suddenly that Karen’s father had cancer with a poor prognosis. With the help of family and friends, they pulled together a wedding in a week at Karen’s parents’ house to ensure that Karen’s father would be able to see his beloved daughter married. It was a heartwarming event that truly demonstrated the importance of family in a marriage.
We are currently faced with a similar situation in our family, a very close relative suffering from cancer. We were able to empathize with Karen and Jon and donated our photography services to them as a gift for their intimate and emotional wedding. This wonderful couple gave us a gift in return, by donating to the Cross Cancer Institute the amount that their wedding photography would have cost, in the name of our relative who is currently using the services at the Cross.
We wish Karen and Jon all the best in their new life together. Their wedding embodied the love, commitment, and family values that we wish for all of our couples.
Karen wore the same Kimono that her mother wore to her own wedding. I just love the simple floral decorations. She looked truly stunning in it.
The wedding ceremony was performed by Bill Pisarchuk, Marriage Commissioner. I had met him before at a ceremony on the Edmonton River Queen. He is a wonderful man and has very good words to say to the couple. If you are looking for a wedding commissioner I highly recommend Bill. You can email him at bbpisarc@telusplanet.
Karen and Jon look very much in love.
Part of the Japanese ceremony involved drinking Sake.
After the ceremony we ate SUSHI! There was so much wonderful food. It was nice to sit and chat during the lunch.
After the ceremony I went with the couple to take wedding photographs at the Hotel MacDonald. Since they both currently live outside of Edmonton and this is Jon’s first time to Edmonton they had a honeymoon in Edmonton. Jon was excited to get to see Karen’s hometown.
Congratulations Karen and Jon, we wish you love and happiness for many years.
Nora and Jas Engagement
There aren’t usually too many days above zero in Edmonton in February. Jas is here from New York City spending some time with his bride-to-be, and we took advantage of his visit (and the warmer weather) to take some engagment photos. He seemed really sad to have missed the -46 degree windchill 
We started at sunset at Hawrelak park. The park was quiet and a perfect romantic setting.
With the sun down, the temperature dropped, so we headed to a great indoor location for some more shots, the Dentistry Pharmacy building at the University of Alberta.
Watch our blog in April for the wedding of Nora and Jas! Not too long guys - we can’t wait!
Andrew Watson - Photo Restoration Project
A little while ago Haley’s Grandmother gave me a portrait that she wanted fixed up. The picture is of Haley’s Grandfather in his Canadian Air Force uniform circa World War II. Andrew (Dick) Watson passed away recently and, of course, pictures are some of the most important memories of the family that we have. There are few formal portraits of Andrew from when he was young.
Here is the original picture.
The picture was faded and had various scratches and folds. I first converted the photograph to black and white and fixed up the imperfections.
I then felt that the picture would hold more impact if it were a colour photograph so I colourized it.
I can’t wait to present the finished portrait to Haley’s grandmother Jean.
David and Laura Engagement
Today we headed out to the skating rink at Edmonton City Hall to take engagement pictures for David and Laura. They are an extremely cute couple and it was a perfect evening for a skate.
Congratulations David and Laura, we are looking forward to your romantic wedding on Valentine’s Day next year!
Bridal Fantasy 2008
On Sunday Haley and I braved the tidal wave of brides at Bridal Fantasy. We brought along Stacey, a bride of ours from the summer of 2007. She talked about her gorgeous mountain wedding. Thanks Stacey!
We are so happy for all of you who are recently engaged. Congratulations! If you met us at the show you can drop us a line by using the form on our contact page. We are currently taking bookings for 2009 and we are filling up the few spots that we have left for 2008.
Below are a couple of pictures of our booth. Soon we will post pictures of the new albums that we debuted at the show.
Tony and Theresa - January 12, 2008
Today Tony and Theresa were married in an intimate ceremony at Mount Zion Lutheran Church. Pastor Darryl is a great man and he had wonderful words of advice.
Tony had a surprise for Theresa. He presented her with wedding rings from his Great Grandmother. The rings were over 100 years old!
Next we went to Edmonton City Hall for the pictures.
Here’s a picture of Tony and Theresa getting a little too close to the ice on the frozen pool.
Tony and Theresa put on the attitude…
…then had some fun!
Congratulations Tony and Theresa!
Ashu and Garry - Winter Engagement Session
In continuing with their theme of portrait sessions through the seasons, Ashu and Garry went to the Legislature to capture pictures in the beautiful winter lights. It was very chilly but they braved the cold in evening wear. We were able to get some very stylish pictures of the two of them.
Melissa and Shaun - January 5th, 2008
We started the 2008 wedding season off with the very romantic wedding of two spirited people. Melissa and Shaun’s wedding at the Wiesenthal Baptist Church just south of Leduc was a beautiful winter event. We started off taking pictures of the couples getting ready. Here are a couple of Melissa at Shear Sensations salon in Leduc.
Melissa’s dress is beautiful.
Shaun and the guys got ready at the Crowne Plaza Chateau Lacombe in Edmonton. In this first picture Shaun is careful to not shave off his signature soul patch. He told me the story of how after was at Mount Everest his beard was very long. He returned to base camp and when he was in one of the villages he shaved off his beard but he was either exhausted or did not have enough oxygen in his brain and he even shaved off the soul patch. It was the first time in many years that he had no facial hair and he has been careful to leave a little patch of it ever since.
Here is a picture of Shaun right before we left for the church.
Melissa’s family church, the Wiesenthal Baptist Church, is a really cute chapel just south of Leduc. Inside it has gorgeous red carpets and a nice high wooden ceiling.
After the couple had this kiss that minister said, “Not bad for a first time.”
We went to the Leduc Civic Centre to take the family pictures. The Civic Centre in Leduc is a beautiful location with plenty of greenery inside. It looks like the atrium area of the Citadel Theatre. When it came time for the father and son picture they came up with this pose themselves. How debonair!
Shaun just purchased a new Nikon D300 Camera which he plans on using for the couple’s trip to Mexico, Belize, and Guatamala. He started taking a few shots of Melissa with it and I gave him my Pocket Wizard remote lighting trigger so that he could take pictures of her with some flare! Here is Shaun trying his hand at being a wedding photographer.
We then went to Telford Lake Park to take a few pictures of the couple with the beautiful blue sky behind them.
The next stop was the Legislature. On the way there the bridal party picked up McDonald’s cheeseburgers. Here is our cheesy cheeseburger shot.
Melissa and Shaun you were a lot of fun to work with. Who knew that Shaun was such a fashion photographer? We wish you all the best on your voyage and in your life and we look forward to seeing you again in the spring.
Sukaina and Ali Wedding - December 27th to 30th, 2007
We ended the year with a blast; the marriage of Sukaina and Ali. This was our first Muslim wedding ceremony. It was performed in the Persian style at Sukaina’s parents’ house. It was one of the most intimate wedding ceremonies that we have attended. We were present for four days of the multi-day event. We were able to witness many beautiful moments.
Thursday - Mendhi and Trashing
The first day started with us going to Sukaina’s house where she was getting her mendhi (henna) applied. It is a very delicate procedure and the artist from Toronto was amazing. She wants to study to be a surgeon and with those fingers and attention to detail she will surely succeed.
Sukaina’s bridesmaids got to relax with her while she had her mendhi applied. We listened to Indian music videos during the evening. This is the first time that two of the girls had tried on Indian clothes.
The Mendhi looks the best when it is freshly applied.
The ceremony cannot start until the groom finds his name on the bride. Can you find Ali’s name in the mendhi?
At Ali’s Auntie’s house they were performing ceremonies.
Then we witnessed a ritual like none that we had ever seen before. The ‘trashing’ is when the bridesmaids and the groom’s family get a chance to mess up the groom before he gets married. They covered him in syrup, silly-string, cotton balls, and a mess of other things. Of course the groom gets to fight back and we got to see some pretty fun and sticky wrestling.
Friday - Ladies’ Mendhi Party
Friday night was Sukaina’s Mendhi Party at the Meridian Banquet & Conference Centre where the ladies attending the wedding had mendhi applied. There were ceremonies and dancing.
Sukaina was fed Smarties throughout the ceremonies. Traditionally the bride and groom are fed nuts and desserts by family members, however, Sukaina has a sensitivity to nuts so the Smarties were a safe (and tasty) alternative.
Saturday - Wedding Ceremony and Dinner
We started our Saturday out at Sukaina’s house where she had her makeup applied and gems attached to her mendhi. Her amazing wedding outfir was from Dubai and was very heavily laden with jewels and beads.
Ali arrived and the ceremony began.
A gorgeous veiled Sukaina came down the stairs.
Sukaina was veiled throughout the ceremony, and the veil was removed after they became husband and wife. The first time that Ali saw Sukaina’s face at the ceremony was through a mirror opposite to them when the veil was removed.
This is a picture of Sukaina through the mirror. She looks stunning. Like a movie star.
Family members ground sugar over the couple’s head to ’sweeten the relationship’.
Sukaina leaving her family’s house as a newly married woman. A very emotional time, especially since she is leaving her family in Edmonton to begin a new family of her own in Houston.
We headed to City Hall for formals since it was freezing outside!
Sukaina and Ali stayed at the Hotel MacDonald and we were able to take some beautiful portraits of them there.
Saturday night was an intimate dinner at Ziveli’s restaurant where family and friends relaxed and enjoyed good food and good company. It was the first time we’d seen a groom feed wedding cake to one of the kids at the wedding - it sure made him happy!
Sunday Morning - Breakfast
The newly married couple arrived at Ali’s aunt’s house for breakfast and gifts.
A ceremony is held when the couple enters the family home where they jump on to small pots. Whoever breaks their pot first will rule the household. A similar ceremony was held at Sukaina’s house on Saturday and Sukaina broke hers first, therefore officially wearing the pants in the relationship. On Sunday, Ali got a head start….before Sukaina even had her shoes on! Judges rule: it’s a tie!
We couldn’t help but join in the gift giving. Over the last 4 days we’ve felt like members of the family, and wanted to express our joy at being part of this wedding. We presented Ali and Sukaina an album of some highlights over the days of the wedding, something they can take with them back to Houston while we work on their wedding album. I’m happy to say that they loved it!
Sunday Evening - Reception
Now here’s where our couple really showed their true love and passion for one another. They braved chilly temperatures at the Royal Alberta Museum for some amazing nightime portraits. Keep in mind that Ali is here for the wedding from Houston! With love to keep them warm, you can’t even tell how cold it was out there. We are constantly amazed by what our couples will do to ensure the best photos.
Sukaina and Ali held their reception at the Meridian Banquet and Conference Centre (http://www.meridianbanquets.ca/). It was a great party! The couple had a unique second cake made of several mini cakes. Yum!
The bridesmaids presented Ali with some rules for taking care of Sukaina
Congratulations, Sukaina and Ali! You are a beautiful couple, and we wish you a blessed future together in Houston. Come back and visit often!
