Descendants Beer & Beverage Co. is a brewery and beer hall in Downtown Kitchener. They've got a bunch of taps, tables and space for events. When you get the place decorated, it shows like a gem. Ainsley and her team at Fresh Look Design handled coordination and design for this shoot. I've worked with them a lot and their work is spot on, every time. If you're planning a wedding in the Kitchener-Waterloo area, check out Descendants and check out Fresh Look Design.

Venue: Descendants Beer & Beverage Co
Decor: Fresh Look Design
Hair+Makeup: Amy Sorenson
Dress: Jennie Ross Bridal

A few weeks ago I spent some time with Robin + Jaron and their family. This shoot was a special one... I`ve photographed R+J four times now - their engagement and wedding and their family after the arrival of each of their two beautiful kids. I met them at their home in Kitchener and spent some time in the back yard... playing without any shoes on, enjoying the summer air, getting a little bit of life with wee ones into pictures:)

Hacienda Sarria is one of the iconic wedding venues in Kitchener-Waterloo Region. It's a very unique venue - beautiful architecture and decor and lots of interesting lighting situations. I was happy to join A + C for their wedding photos there:)

Amanda + Cary
May 3, 2019 at Hacienda Sarria
Hair: Holly Wasser
Makeup: Sarah Overholt

Eitan and Carly are getting married in June in an intimate park wedding in Toronto. Eitan is one of the brightest and most genuine people I know and has been a good friend of mine since we attended University of Guelph together. He and Carly seem perfectly suited for each other:) I feel so privileged to be part of their wedding celebration... photos from the wedding will be out mid-summer. For their engagement photos, I met Carly and Eitan in Guelph, the city where they first met, where everything began:)

Celia + Jon got married at the historic Walper Hotel in downtown Kitchener. We took photos at The Walper and at nearby Goudie's Lane. It was a real joy to get to spend the day with Jon and Celia, their adorable daughter and their friends and family. It was day full of love and laughter:)

Jon + Celia
Jan 2019
Walper Hotel Wedding
Photos at The Walper and Goudie's Lane (Downtown Kitchener)

Hair - Styled By Paige
Makeup - Erin Moreau
Floral - From The Potting Shed

Wedding Styling isn't magic, though when it works it looks that way. Styling is a culmination of efforts. It's the combined work of florists, hair + makeup stylists, designers, models and creators of beautiful paper. The cool thing is... it all comes together in a photo. This shoot at Revival House in Stratford was one of the highlights of 2018 for me. The venue is a converted church and there's lots of very cool features to work with - stained glass, big lights, balconies. We photographed outside as well and it snowed during the shoot... big white snow flakes for a Black Swan shoot.

​The photos start behind the scenes, then show the tablescape put together by Fresh Look Design (they're the masterminds behind this shoot). Then come the portraits:)

The ruby ring in the first photo is real. Ainsley Poirier is the lead designer/genius at Fresh Look... the ring is her grandma's:)

This shoot is currently featured in The Wedding Ring magazine - @theweddingring.ca 

Photos: @zacjolliffephoto 
Venue: @revivalhouse_on 
Design + Floral: @freshlookdesigninc
Model: @jessiecrossing 
Dress: @jennierossbridal 
Hair: @hollywasser 
Makeup: @beautybysarahd 
Paper: @redbicyclepaperco

Cara + Brian
Sept 22 2018
Venue: The Slit Barn (Fresh Look Design handles booking + decor)
Floral: From the Potting Shed
​
I knew that this wedding was going to be one of my favourites of 2018. Brian and Cara and I took a trip to the beach for their engagement photos and I knew then that we'd get along just fine on wedding day. On wedding day, the skies were friendly and Slit Barn was looking gorgeous, as usual. Brian and Cara were beaming and I was happy to be in the mix.

Krystyna + Colin got married in Guelph at the historic Basilica of Our Lady Immaculate. The church is a special place for Krystyna's family (and a gorgeous place for photos). After the ceremony, we headed to The Ancaster Mill for wedding photos and the reception. The Mill is another historic venue with lots of great views. I'm pretty pumped with how the photos came out:)

Hayley + Dan got married at Steckle Heritage Farm on a breezy day in September. The wedding ceremony was in Steckle's historic orchard. Portraits were taken on the grounds at the farm (and at the hotel before the ceremony). This was a fun one to be part of... H+D were beaming all day and I love being around to catch that kind of love in pictures:)

Tim + Kathleen got married at The Walper Hotel  in Downtown Kitchener. It was a real joy to spend the day with them :) We took photos at the hotel and at nearby Victoria Park.

Shannon + Dylan got married in Downtown Guelph, at the Basilica of Our Lady, a venue that is just magic. The art and the windows are really something else. After the ceremony we took photos at the church and at the covered bridge. Stellar parking maneuvers by the limo driver to get us to the bridge. Seriously stellar. Shannon + Dylan were beaming all day. These two really have it:)

Tim + Kathleen are downtown Kitchener people. They live downtown, work downtown, run downtown... (well... that last one is more a Kathleen thing!) They're getting married at The Walper Hotel and wanted to keep the downtown vibe going for engagement photos. We hit up Victoria Park on a perfect summer evening. The bench is where the went for one of their first ever dates:)

David and Maria got married at The Slit Barn in Cambridge. The ceremony was planned for outdoors, but was moved into the barn due to rain. Then the rain let up. Everyone pitched in to help move the chairs back outside and everything went off as planned. It was exciting to see it all come together:) Fresh Look Design handled decor and was amazing at handling all the last minute changes. The photos are on site at Slit Barn and on the nearby trails.

Dylan & Shannon are getting married this summer at The Church or Our Lady in Guelph. We headed out to the Arboretum for their engagement photos. It was a cool day... perfect for blankets, a bit of wine and a sunset :)

Natalie + Jeff
January 2018
Venue: Eastwood Fellowship Church and Waterloo Region Museum

Natalie and Jeff's wedding was a special one for me to photograph. Natalie's parents and my parents were good friends years ago when my family lived in Cambridge, so there were some familiar faces in the crowd on wedding day. I was happy to have the chance to say hello to some quality people that I hadn't seen in a very long time :)
But this day wasn't about the good old times, it was about the coming together of an amazing couple. Natalie and Jeff were ready to start on their own adventure and I was thrilled to be part of the celebration.

This shoot was so fun. I got to work with some fantastic people to showcase one of my favourite places in Waterloo Region - Steckle Heritage Farm. Steckle is a non-profit organization that does a lot of good in the community. And they have this amazing old barn. So amazing. And an apple orchard for outdoor ceremonies. And so many great places to take photos.

Melanie and Chad modeled for the shoot. They're a real life couple who got married a few months before the shoot. The smiles are real :)

This shoot features the talents of a number of good people.

tablescape + centerpiece: Fresh Look Design - www.freshlookdesign.ca
bride's bouquet + boutonniere: Blume Flower Delivery -  www.blumeflowerdelivery.com
makeup: Elizabeth Allen Makeup Artistry - Beth.aloette@gmail.com
bride's hair: Sarah Jane Godfrey - IG @braidsandbouquets
bride's dress: Sophie's Gown Shoppe - www.sophiesgownshoppe.com
groom's attire: his own and Collin's Formal Wear - www.collinsformalwear.com
venue: Steckle Heritage Farm - www.stecklehomestead.ca

So... here they are. Some of my favourites from the session. Enjoy :)

Steph and Higy love food, beer and downtown Kitchener. They've been frequenting B@Museum since it before it was B. It's one of their favourite spots and not much has changed since Elliott came along. He's just past 8 months old now and he too loves going out downtown for beers. Here are some of my favourites from a very fun session (how can it not be when there's craft pints involved!)

Brian and Cara got engaged at Pinery Provincial Park, on the beach. We decided to go back there for photos. We started off walking through the woods where they hiked on the day they got engaged, then we went down to the beach and revisited the place where Brian proposed. It was a warm fall evening, just barely warm enough to dip your toes in the waters of Lake Huron.

Shawn & Rebecca met at a horse farm. The farm is Shawn's mom's... he worked there through university and Rebecca boarded her horse there. They met and hit it off and are getting married next summer at Steckle Heritage Farm in Kitchener. We walked the property on a beautiful evening in early fall. Here are some of the best shots :)

Jeremy and Sara Jane invited me to their home in Kitchener for photos on a beautiful fall morning that felt a lot more like summer than it did fall. Their daughter Annalina was just over a week old at the time. Her older brother Adam is 2 and full of love for his little sis. We took photos in and around the home, doing lots of normal things, trying to get the story of a normal day with family into photos. I love how they came out :)

Terri and Steve got married in Guelph and then headed to Steckle Heritage Farm in Kitchener for wedding photos and the reception. We had time to walk the property slowly and enjoy a beautiful summer day. I am so so pleased with how these came out - you can feel the spark between these two :)

and then the antlers came out... i love this (especially the 'deer in the headlights') :)