Erin & Jörg

Canadian/Venezuelan, Canadian/Thai-Cambodian, Canadian/Swiss...one of the things I love most about Canada is our multiculturalism. The last few weddings are a real testament to our country's great diversity.

A nice candid while the girls were helping Erin with her dress:


This is a new treatment for me and I'd like everyone's feedback on this Aged Photo look. Click here to see the original colour version.


So elegant! I love when we have time in the morning to break out the video light and get some more dramatic portraits:




My assistant Amberlea snapped this great Infrared image while I was getting the girls set up for some pre-formals:


Most of the wedding took place at The Sir William Mackenzie Inn in Kirkfield and they had plenty of great spots on the property for photos:






Another funky Infrared image - I'm not sure if you all like the effect but I think it's awesome for the scenic shots:


A couple more with the video light. I love it when we have some great indoor locations to add to the mix:




Probably the coolest cake setup I've seen to-date:


An elegant first dance:


Let me know when you're back from Guatemala!

Michael

Doug & Jasmeena in Italy!

Wow, I'm still a bit in shock from the incredible beauty of the Lago di Como region of Northern Italy. Doug and Jasmeena picked an amazing location for "phase 1" of their wedding celebrations!

Here's a quick overview of the region and the beautiful scenery we woke up to every morning:

This is Salita Serbelloni in the gorgeous little town of Bellagio (considered by some to be one of the most beautiful towns in Europe):


The view from our hotel balcony (did I mention the weather was just perfect?):


The Grand Hotel Menaggio:


This is the incredible panoramic view from the northern point of Bellagio. On the left you can make out the town of Menaggio and on the right the village of Varenna with the lower Swiss Alps in the middle. This is comprised of 5 horizontal images stitched together for an amazingly detailed 40 megapixel panorama. Click here to view a larger version:


A closeup view of Varenna. I just loved the colours and textures of the buildings. Truly a photographer's paradise:


Another view of Varenna:


Here's another multi-image stitch of Lake Como (60 megapixels in case you're interested). It was taken from Piazza Garibaldi in Menaggio just before sunset. You can click on this one too for a larger version:


The impressive Villa del Balbianello near Sala Comacina. It's been used in a number of big Hollywood movies such as Star Wars Episode 2, Oceans 12 and the upcoming James Bond flick.


You may recognize this spot as the location for those cheesy love scenes in Star Wars Episode 2. Too bad George didn't pick his dialogue as well as he picked his locations!


I snapped this funky self-portrait while the girls were getting ready on the big day (oh yeah, I was actually here for a wedding...)


Before we packed up to go home, we did a little tour of Milan and this is the imposing Galleria Vittorio Emanuele II:


Ok...now for some wedding and engagement photos!

The bouquets were flawless!


A nice relaxed portrait infront of Bellagio at sunset:


Goofing around during the engagement session:


The gorgeous gardens of Villa Carlotta on the wedding day (sorry, the timeline jumps around a bit here):


The beautiful bride!:


A few of the happy couple at Villa del Balbianello:






I loved this old door along one of the busy yet very narrow roads in Bellagio. I captured some great expressions while I quickly snapped some shots in the few seconds when pedestrians or cars weren't zooming past:


A great one of Doug in Bellagio:


There's this beautiful garden path lined with flowering trees in Bellagio with the lake to the right and mountains all around:


Just about to head out to the church:


...and here's the incredibly ornate altar...


...and another shot showing more of the interior:



No words needed...




View from the threshold of Villa Carlotta's main entrance:


I liked the warmth and great light in this image:


I like to think this one sums up the emotions of the day(s). Everyone had such a great time, including Iveta and myself and we look forward to going back someday!


P.S. I want to give a shot out to Jason Hendriks from Ambient Photography for referring Doug and Jasmeena to me. Check out his site here: Ambient Photography

Laura & Raul

One of my favourite aspects of weddings is seeing two families brought together to celebrate the joining of the bride and groom. It's even more special when one of the families travels a great distance to join in on the celebration and it was wonderful to see Raul's family come all the way from Venezuela. The mixture of culture and language during the ceremony and reception was very touching.

There was so much emotion in the room during the preparation but here's a serene moment that I captured of Laura in between the laughing and crying:


Here are a few posed images from the pre-formal session...she looked so radiant!:






It was one of the most touching and emotional processionals I've ever photographed:






Sometimes the best images are totally unscripted and unstaged:


A fun little walk on the pier. They were such good sports and were having a great time.


There were some nice gardens in bloom at Erchless Estate, but I could have photographed these two anywhere and they still would have looked great:


These guys were awesome!:


Here are a couple of nice detail shots:




The first dance:


I hope you two are having a great time at your secret honeymoon location!

Michael