It’s weddings like Olivia and Richard’s that make me feel blessed to be a Vancouver Wedding photographer.  I met with them almost a year and a half ago they were referred to me by one of my past wedding couples Patricia and Bentley. As we chatted about their day at the studio I knew their day was going to be unique. Finally July 3rd rolled around and this 13 hour jam packed day didn’t disappoint. Two tea ceremonies, three dress changes, games, lion dancers and an unbelievable amount of laughter I could not have asked for a more perfect day or couple. It was a dream to have almost three hours to do portraits after the ceremony, which was held at the Celebrations Pavilion in Queen Elizabeth park. We hiked through Queen Elizabeth getting Olivia and Richard to climb into bamboo forests and over rocks, I should have mentioned to them that it was going to be a workout! We then headed down into Yaletown, the sky and the light was spectacular and we were able to capture some stunning dramatic images. Finally it was off to the reception at Sun Su Wai in Richmond. Thank you so much for allowing me to have free reign to capture your love and thank you to Mikc Wachniak for second shooting with me.

Amazing Jewelry by Elsa Corsi, Jeweliette Jewelry http://www.jeweliette.com/

We had so much fun shooting the day of the wedding that Corey and Sarah got dressed up the next morning so we could do just a few more portraits, thank you both for rocking it out you are both beautiful inside and out!

xo

They both have the most stunning blue eyes.

To say that I was excited to document this wedding would have been an understatement, what could be better then photographing a beautiful couple in an amazing location?  It was back in January when I received a phone call from Austin Texas where Sarah and Corey live asking if I would be interested in coming to Playa del Carmen to be their wedding photographer, after a few emails and phone calls the details were set and I would be Mexico bound just ten days after coming back from my amazing European wedding adventure. I arrived at the Barcelo Maya Palace at around 10pm on Tuesday and was greeted by my good friend and second shooter Fran Chelico, as she filled me in about how amazing the resort was my anticipation grew. The next morning when I woke up in paradise and explored a bit I realized there would be no shortage of spectacular locations to photograph the wedding. Corey and Sarah had a large wedding by destination standards an impressive 37 people, which is a true testament to how much they are loved by all their family and friends. Thank you to all your friends and family for making us feel so welcome!  Sarah you are the most easygoing person I think I’ve ever met and Corey you are hysterical, together you make an amazing couple who’s love is clear just by the way you interact with each other. Im truly blessed to have the most amazing job in the world.

Stunning

Corey's dad performed the heartfelt ceremony that was written by Corey.

Quick drink with the wedding party.

I can't quite remember what led us to this point... it may have been that quick drink.

One of my favorites of the day.

This is the sweetest mother son dance i've ever seen it left me in tears.

Luckily this storm held off, the next day wasn't so pretty.

With the entire globe caught up in World Cup FIFA madness it’s the perfect time to write about Zelita and Nigel. They met two years ago while working at Electronic Arts in Vancouver where they were both working on the 2010 FIFA World Cup Game, how cool is that! There were a few tense moments throughout the reception with banter over who was the better team England or Portugal (personally I think it’s Italy) but in the end Nigel lost out and was handed a Portugal Jersey. We were so lucky that the sun was shining in Vancouver on this particular day as we covered a lot of ground photographing  the wedding, we started in Burnaby then headed off to east Vancouver to Our Lady of Fatima Portuguese Parish for the ceremony and finally Gastown, Deer Lake and the beautiful Nekkei centre for the reception. A special thanks to Kari from Fractured Light for helping me out on this one we had an excellent day with an amazing group of people.

amazing flowers were done by Lynn at From the Heart Florals and Decor http://www.fromtheheartflorals.com

The talented bride put together these gorgeous invites.

The lively wedding party!

I was really looking forward to the Vancouver wedding of Jaclyn and Greg. I was really  disappointed when I woke up to dark clouds and rain as I really wanted the day to be perfect for them but the rain didn’t stop us from having an amazing time shooting. The girls got ready at the The Granville Island hotel and Jaclyn and Greg had  their first look where he proposed to her in the park next door. Thank you so much to the wedding party who kept Libby and I laughing all day and to Jaclyn’s dad who graciously held umbrellas over us! Heres a small sneak peak of the day.

One of the cutest flower girls ever

Greg was so excited to see Jaclyn for the first time

There was so many amazing moments during this epic wedding, but here are some of my favorites, if I were to post them all it would be a ten part series!

Enjoy

xo

The hungarian gypsy band was amazing!

The bridal dance, which is the best tradition ever, everyone pays to dance with the bride.

Wow it just seems like yesterday that I was boarding a flight to Hungary to photograph quite possibly the best wedding of all time! I flew into Budapest Thursday evening and spent an amazing night with the girls eating and drinking traditional Hungarian fair, then we danced the night away! Early Friday morning we set out for Szidonia Castle where the wedding took place on Sunday. The Szidonia castle looks back to a history that started in the mid-1700’s,  at that time - as a chateau - it originally served as a hunting lodge and  was turned into a castle in 1750 in a Romantic-Neoclassic style. Words can’t express how amazing this wedding was and how truly blessed I feel to have been apart of it all. Kriztina and Steven where amazing hosts with their families and it is evident how much they are loved and admired by their family and friends since almost half the guests flew in from, Vancouver, Portland, Mexico, Australia and Dubai From the Hungarian gypsy band, the non stop food and drink the emotional tearful speeches and the dancing till 5am this was an epic wedding!

There are too many photos to post in just one blog post so this will be part one of two!

xo

A quick cheers before heading out to see Kriztina.

Steven waiting to see Kriztina for the first time.

One of the hottest and nicest wedding parties I've ever had the pleasure of shooting

What a great day! I was referred to this amazing couple through the Morris family, who’s son’s wedding I photographed last year at the Vancouver Club. It was just yesterday that I had the pleasure of meeting Mark and Leila for the first time. They live in New York City and Mark originally being from Vancouver came back home to marry his stunning bride. The wedding took place at the always beautiful Beach House at Dundarave, and the amazing flowers were done by West Vancouver Florist. Here’s just a sneak peak of the day.

I met Kristine a few months back as a referral from the Vancouver Wedding of Kathleen and Rob that I photographed three years ago. Kristine came to the studio with her best friend Angela since Patrick lives in the States and we talked wedding detail and ideas, I was so happy when she emailed me to ask me to be their photographer. A few weeks before the wedding I received an email from Kristine saying that their Venue had a fire and that they were on the search for a new venue, it was such a calm email saying, ” Well I guess there is a glitch in every wedding we will find something.”  Wow I thought to myself this has to be the most laid back couple ever! Well good karma came back to them because their day went off without a hitch. Starting will beautiful hair and makeup from Pamper Me Pretty to a spectacular venue at the Shaughnessy Golf and Country Club to the fabulous cake from Sweet Thea. We couldn’t have asked for a more perfect day with an amazing couple and a awsome wedding party! Thanks to Fran Chelico for second shooting with me, you rock.

This is my favorite image from the day.

Amazing light at the church

A quick wardrobe change

If you've never had cake from Sweet Thea your life in not complete.

I met Hanna and Aaron a few months back and was really excited when I found out their wedding was going to be at some of my favorite Vancouver locations. We started the day at the always funky Opus Hotel in Yaletown, then headed to an intimate ceremony at Brix Restaurant. Following the ceremony the rain started to kick in but Hanna and Aaron really wanted some beautiful nature settings for their photos so we headed into the forest at Stanley Park and then off to the beach. The best quote of the day is “Oh well it’s just a little rain and if my dress get dirty thats ok.”  It makes my job so much easier when you have an easy going cool couple. Thanks for having us at the wedding your families were so welcoming and fun, in fact I think I want to adopt Hanna’s parents they are the cutest!

Beautiful flowers from The Flower Factory

The girls giggling in Opus Hotel Lobby