In case you missed their engagement images, Greg and Vanessa first met in elementary school – where Greg had a serious crush on her. Their lives went on however and it was until three years ago when Alex, Vanessa’s maid of honour, reunited them.  Needless to say things blossomed from there. Talk about a love story!

I thoroughly enjoyed hanging out with Vanessa and Greg and their rocking bridal party and I can not be more happy for this marvelous couple. You can tell just how much Greg adores Vanessa by how he looks at her  - my heart almost popped when I took some of the images below and this was so apparent.  Vanessa vibrant smile whenever he is in the room is unmistakable.

Needless to say I had a hard time cutting down on the number of images. So enjoy!

This is Vanessa through and through. Turns out she has had this expression for the camera since a very, very young age. Gotta love a girl with character!

Okay grandma’s are typically awesome to start with but Vanessa’s grandma was something special. When she was putting the heirloom necklace on the bride it accidently slipped and she declared, “Well look at that dear, it fits perfectly in there!” – I just adore her grin.

Oh I just have to include an outtake here and there.

This is what happens when one talks before thinking. Perhaps saying “Vanessa, you should be a bride more often” should translate into “Vanessa, you should marry Greg every year”

Huge thanks to Terence for helping me out that and photographing some of the images below!

Congratulations you two! I cannot thank you enough for allowing me to be part of your wedding day!

Honestly, 2009 has been such an amazing year and I had the absolute pleasure of sharing it with amazing and unique couples such as Natalie and Eric.

Now they aren’t your average couple. They are photographers. Oh yes. That strikes a chord in all photographers’ hearts. I am sure we are all familiar with the statement that ‘doctors are the worst patients’, right?  Well the same is likely to apply to photographers.  We know what we like, we know how we work, and we aren’t afraid of telling people.  Not only was I completely flattered that they chose me to be their photographer and document their splendid outdoor ceremony at the Juniper Hotel and Bistro, but also mildly terrified. I admit it.  Thankfully, I had absolutely no reason to be concerned.  They gave me complete creative license and I am so glad they did. I thoroughly enjoyed their unique day full of humour, collapsing cakes, and rockin’ first dances.

Enough of this chit chat… go look at the rock star couple!

As this image was being set up two ladies came to dispose of their trash (yes, this was photographed in a shed lined with garbages) they looked in, jaws dropped, one looked at me and said “Is this for real?” in the most disbelieving manner. When I replied to the affirmative she hustled away with her lady-friend and could be overheard saying “This cannot be happening.”

She’s just jealous ;)

I have to give a HUGE shout out to Drew for helping me out that day and for taking rad shots like the couple below. Drew is lighting extraordinaire and genius.  You really really really should check out his site.

This image makes me smile.

When getting ready I kept asking Natalie how she was feeling. There is typically this ‘tipping’ point for brides when they go from being nervous to over-the-moon excited. Natalie was just ‘nervous’.  Then the makeup was applied, the dress went on, and the jewelry added as the final touch.

This was that moment.

Yes you are seeing this correctly. It was -4°C and Natalie was brave enough to walk down the aisle barefoot. Canadian brides are awesome!

Miss Maggie was the ringbearer; Maggie being Natalie and Eric’s absolutely heart-melting Westie.

As you can see, the wedding party was a bore. Complete and utter bore.

Best first dance of all time. Hands down. Natalie and Eric danced a marvelously choreographed foxtrot (I was told this by the way, my knowledge on the subject is ridiculously limited) to Michael Buble’s ‘Feeling Good’. (Seriously, click here and listen to the live version while looking at these images. I was literally jiving in my seat when I was processing these)

What I truly adored about Natalie and Eric is that they really embraced the whole point of weddings – making it about them! Not only did an uncle bake this cake (um.. delicious!) but the cake topper was to die for.

I love this shot. I actually adore it. During the speeches it emerged that Eric signed a document in his youth stating that his mother (written by her of course) would always be the #1 woman in his life. Now at first it was assumed he was the naive age of say 3. Well, turns out he was 17. I think she has some pretty stiff competition now but I don’t think she minds with someone as sweet as Natalie stealing his heart.

Thank you SO much you two and enjoy your month-long road trip to California! I hope your car-part and shoe-shopping expeditions are ridiculously successful!

That’s a wrap of 2009 weddings. Watch for 2010!

Every single detail was orchestrated just marvelously on November 21. The very smallest details were carefully arranged and the venues could not have suited the day better.  Alyssa’s dress was absolutely divine – I am pretty certain Vogue would be more then obliging to feature her on the front cover. Luke’s ridiculously talented mother not only altered Alyssa’s dress to make it uniquely her own but she also handmade all of the bridesmaids’ dresses and the flower girls’ dresses!  To make this even more amazing, three of the four bridesmaids were not available for fittings or measurements until the week before.

I could hardly wait to blog these. As I edited each and every one I wanted to do an individual post like the sneak peek. Alas, I restrained myself. Well, if restraint is staying up until 4am to continue editing then yes, I did restrain myself.  So, here they are!

Enjoy and feel free to leave a comment!

Alyssa and Marlene first met while at school in New Zealand and Marlene made the trip all the way from Germany to be part of Alyssa’s wedding.

The highlight of every bride’s morning while getting ready for her wedding day just has to be that moment of putting the dress on –  it’s a moment where excitement and reality collide. Alyssa’s bridesmaids of course added a dash of humour.

Here is Alyssa’s oldest brother seeing her for the very first time.

Little people are awesome. I just adore how grown up they look in their suits and dresses and I can’t help but just hear the the adult conversation in the classic Peanut comic strips “wawawawa” tone from their perspective.

A huge ‘thank-you’ to Drew for helping me out that day. He took this absolutely fan-tabulous shot from the balcony!

Alyssa chose her friends well! Her bridesmaids were absolutely marvelous and were doting on her the entire day

I am so pumped to share this wedding tid-bit that really put Luke and Alyssa’s bridal party in a whole new level of awesomeness – Luke’s father was also his best man. How amazing is that? To me that just speaks volumes about his character :)

These two were stopping traffic. Literally. Whoops! What I absolutely adored (well, one of many things) about photographing Alyssa and Luke is that they are so flipping natural. Without cue they would just cuddle in. They just enjoyed themselves! This moment was so no cued and look at how adorable they are!

The bridal party were troopers! Absolutely amazing. It was balmy for November but still a somewhat frigid 2°C. After being outside for a bit, the lovely ladies working at Roots invited everyone in to thaw. Thanks!

boys…

Who doesn’t love a good dosage of car headlight-age eh?

You can just sense how close father and daughter are from the way he looks at her – I do not think he could be more proud of her.

Congratulations Alyssa and Luke! I am so thankful I was able to be a small part of your day!

‘Where fashion reigns’ indeed!  Alyssa and Luke took style to a whole new level – especially with the China-made suits that arrived all of two weeks ago. *wink*

Check back in a day. I have a HUGE announcement to make regarding Brittany Esther Photography – inspired by Katie and Tim’s wedding :)

Enjoy!

All you ladies who are swooning over Katie’s necklace (because I sure am) – there is a bit of a story behind it. This past summer she bought this piece of jewelry from a lady who collects old bracelets, necklaces, and earrings, and from this ‘junk’ makes a work of art. All the proceeds are then donated to a homeless shelter. How amazing is that?!

Good genes I tell ya.

Is Katie not a gorgeous bride? The most unfair part of it all? She looks this pretty every day.  Even her seven year old students were commenting on how pretty of a dress she had on and how pretty “Miss R” looked. You know they love her a ton by the number of feet swinging in mid-air during the ceremony. Following the ceremony we did a class photo and upon completing it Katie turned to her students and told them she would be back on Wednesday – to which some witty little lad replied ‘why?” – needless to say we were all in stitches and I am pretty certain the position of class clown has now been decided.

Just a shout-out for all those single men out there. Beware of engineers! They are taking all the pretty ladies out there!  No seriously. At least half of this years grooms were engineers and all their groomsmen.  So if you are needing to find yourself a lady, become an engineer.

On that note however. I think Katie scooped up the winning ticket engineer. Not only is he an engineer but as made clear during the speeches he is a hopeless romantic. That’s right. This guy reads spanish poetry and proposed in the heart of Paris.

Pretty certain Tim is the only person known to mankind who can hold a straight face while his best man says who knows what! Oh. One more great point about Tim. He has an uncanny ability to retain words. Not only at our engagement session did I learn that a ‘clock doctor’ is a horologist, but upon simply pointing my arms out to start explaining my idea regarding the shot did he just nod and say, “The Vitruvian Man”. Yes. Yes indeed.  I think Katie and Tim are a perfect match.  Teacher meets walking encyclopedia.

Totally unscripted. I warned you: awesome bridal party!

I’ll have a little bit of Napoleon with that.

The one game at the reception had Katie blindfolded needing to identify her groom (which I am glad to say she was successful in) then finding some strategically placed clips on said groom.

This summer as an elective option I took a film course and some of the sample work we were shown included a landscape photographer who used shards of glass in his work. It was stunning to say the least. When I discovered the centerpieces at the reception being packed up – I had to steal it for this!

Congratulations you two!

Check back for more! I am in editing mode as in.. I am editing morning, noon and night. Sleep is no longer an option!

Keep checking back for their ‘real’ blog post!

Can you guess who they are?

Wait for it

Wait for it

Yup. Brad and Catherine. Pretty sure it can now be confirmed Brad Pitt does not look so hawt in a dress.

Check back! :)

Below are just a few images but to see the real deal you have to check out Terence’s blog! Also, make sure to check back on his blog regularly as there will be a full day project from their wedding posted :)

Head over to TLAW Photography to see more!

Although the day ran a bit behind (maybe 1.5 hours.. minor detail right? They aren’t bound to start the ceremony without the bride and groom!) these two kept their cool and we were able to trek around a nice portion of Kensington which has so many hidden gems.  They were married by Nomi Whalen overlooking western Calgary at the Edgemont Community Association and enjoyed the rest of the evening surrounded by many family and friends :)

Enjoy!

When was the last time you saw one of the groomsmen be called up to do the corset back of a wedding dress? Well, this might be your first.  It’s mine!

Rachel’s friend and bridesmaid, Mireille Stettler, designed and made Rachel’s fashionable dress that suited her to a T and looked absolutely marvelous. I am quite certain I could have spent several hours just highlighting the dress!   If you are looking for a talented individual to make a one of a kind dress you need to check her work out!

Geordie is a lucky man, let me tell you! Rachel is not only an absolute sweetheart but she also has her own booming photography business based out of Brooks that you can see here.

Enjoy!  This is as skinnied down of a post I could possibly make!

I can honestly say I have never been so close to tears editing a bride getting ready for the day. The connection between Rachel and her mother is so apparent.

Rachel and Geordie decided to meet prior to the ceremony with their close family watching the big reveal.  Not only did this give us a couple of hours prior to the ceremony to take some awesome images but it also allowed them to have more time with their guests following the ceremony and time to just enjoy each others company.

Best car ever! The week before the wedding Rachel’s mother decided to pick this beauty up and I am quite certain that it is one of her top five decisions of the year!

The food was catered by Railway Deli and Restaurant located in Canmore. It was delicious!

Rachel’s flowers were arranged by Willow Haven Flower Shop, and as you can tell, they turned out wonderfully!

How neat is this? It was a kid-friendly wedding! One of the friends of the bride and groom put on an amazing juggling act that stupefied both kids and adults alike

The music was provided by both Geordie’s immediate family who are ridiculously talented in addition to Rachel’s cousin and friend from Holland.  The musical ability happening that day was stellar!

Rachel was kind enough to allow me to experiment a bit with my Kodak Duaflex IV, seen below as set up by Dana Pugh, and I am so glad Rachel did!  I am thinking of downgrading ;)