Mike & Nelia get married at Taboo Resort

This  fall I had the pleasure of photographing Mike & Nelia’s wedding up at the beautiful Taboo Resort in Gravenhurst. Mike & Nelia are from Montreal, and so we were able to  meet up a few times just prior to their wedding to plan the photography schedule for the day, as they arrived in the area to prepare for their wedding day. I love photographing at Taboo Resort…it’s absolutely gorgeous there! Nicole, the on-site wedding planner and her staff are also the truly some of the best in the industry to work with! They are very professional, and the service is top notch!

The girls got ready in one of Taboo’s premier suites…these suites are unbelievably gorgeous…and it was so great for Nelia to have everyone together getting ready and the excitement of it all. The ceremony was at a church in town, and then we headed back to Taboo for the portraits and reception in the fabulous Boathouse overlooking Lake Muskoka.We had a cold but gorgeous fall day, so we were able to still do our portraits outside! My assistant and I moved quickly to ensure that noone was getting too cold…you can never really count on the fall weather in Muskoka…but the colours were gorgeous, and we caught a beautiful sunset over the lake.

I just love documenting weddings! I truly feel honoured to be chosen as a couple’s wedding photographer, and I love getting to know them prior to the wedding, and finding out a bit more about them, their day, the special people that will be celebrating with them as well. Mike & Nelia’s wedding was a nice intimate wedding with about 50 or so guests. The great thing about documenting a smaller wedding is that you can really see moments unfolding, and capture them because you can pretty much see everything that’s happening in the room. It’s definitely nice to be able to blend in and capture those wonderful moments throughout the day.

Also, as a documentary photographer, I pretty much photograph with natural light throughout the day…perhaps a bit of on-camera flash (bounced of course) during the reception. I love to shoot receptions with my 50mm f1.4 Canon EF lens..this lense is light, sharp and fast! Much of my personal fine art street photography is shot with a 50mm lens, and I love the quality of the photographs that you produce when you compose with this lens…It’s a short lens, so you have to move around the room to get the shots, but I also have my Canon EF 70-200mm f/2.8  lens..which is also great in larger wedding receptions to be able to discreetly capture moments that are happening at a distance…this is a great lens to work with as well! Anyway, enough about the lenses that I prefer to document receptions with…it all comes down to being able to anticipate the moment…so the lens choice is only part of the equation of great documentary shots…it’s the eye of the photographer, and the ability to recognize in a fraction of a second the significance of a moment…

Here’s a quote from one of my all-time favourite photographers, Henri Cartier-Bresson:

“To photograph is to hold one’s breath, when all faculties converge to capture fleeting reality. It’s at that precise moment that mastering and image becomes a great physical and intellectual joy.”

Thank you Mike & Nelia for putting your trust in me to honestly capture the moments of your wedding day!  I really had a fabulous time, and I hope you enjoy this sneak peek of some of the images from your day!

Cheers,

Jen

Kristi & Kevin’s gorgeous fall wedding

no words today….just some beautiful photos! Thanks again Kristi and Kevin! I truly enjoyed being part of your wedding day!

Hey guys, thanks again! It truly was an honour for me to be your photographer! I hope you enjoyed this sneak peek of your day…

Pat & Ange’s Muskoka wedding

In late September, I had the pleasure of photographing Ange & Pat’s fabulous wedding in Muskoka on Lake of Bays…just in time for some beautiful fall weather and colours. They had an entire resort to themselves & their guests to enjoy…Such a sweet & rustic place! The entire day was so much fun…from Ange & the girls getting ready in one of the rustic cabins listening to some great music while enjoying the moment, to ending the night under the clear top tent dancing to an amazing band! I love people who love music! My husband, Casey and I, are very into music as well…I always find that music provides us with a soundtrack to living…the perfect music to compliment the perfect day!

Thanks Ange & Pat for including me in your wedding day! I had a fabulous time working with you, and I am so happy for the two of you!

Cynthia Martyn did a fabulous job of coordinating and designing Pat & Ange’s wedding day. Cynthia is an amazing event planner and designer, and all of her events have her signature style! She designed a ‘rustic chic’ event, right down to the small details of hangover survival kits, pom poms to throw at the recessional, a cake made of logs, amazing custom designed stationary…and the list goes on. I just love Cynthia’s style! And the best part is that she handles everything with complete professionalism, while maintaining a down to earth approachability….which is so important when hiring the right planner to take care of your wedding day!

Here are a few images from the day to enjoy! Congratulations again!
Take care,

Jen

Cynthia had hay bales with colourful saris out for the ceremony overlooking Lake of Bays

the girls

so relaxed, happy and in love...and I just love the socks!

listening to speeches...

dancing under the night sky...

the clear top tent and lighting provided an amazing atmosphere for the party

hanging...

Connie & Joseph’s Wedding

Wow…check out some of the images from this beautiful wedding back in early June…It’s been a bit too busy this summer to keep up with my blogging, but I simply had to post some images from Connie & Joseph’s wedding… a gorgeous couple,an amazing group of family and friends, a beautiful ceremony in one of the most stunning churches and a simply gorgeous event!…Thanks guys for choosing me as your photographer for your special day. I truly enjoyed working with you!

Congratulations again,

Jennifer

St. Ann's Church in Penetang

speeches at the wedding reception

a beautiful reception

the head table...listening to speeches

I love capturing people's expressions and great moments throughout the reception

father of the bride's speech

the bride and groom giving their speech

wedding details

Event design by Panache Design Works in Collingwood, and planning by Fresh Occasion Coordination of Barrie www.freshoccasion.com

L’Amour…je t’aime pour toujours

Andrea & James are a great couple whose wedding I photographed in early May this year. They are a fabulously sweet couple…and in my former life as a High School French Teacher, Andrea was actually one of my students…so this was truly great to be able to document her wedding day! Andrea is now a French teacher herself…and I know that she will inspire her students to develop a love of the language and culture…while of course having way too much fun in class!

Andrea and James are so in love, and it’s always amazing to capture those moments throughout the day that truly express their love for each other, and the absolute joy and happiness of the day. This is why I love to photograph weddings! Every wedding is so unique, and what an honour to be chosen to document such an important day and event in my client’s lives.

As I have a very documentary approach to photographing weddings..it’s always the captured moments throughout the day that are my favourites! My approach is to capture the moment without interference and mainly using available light…producing informal images that tell a story. It is always my goal to honestly capture the beauty, emotion and moments of the day…so when you look through your album over the years to come, you will have honest images that reflect your wedding day…the family and friends in attendance, the details, the moments and of course some casual and relaxed family and bridal party portraits.

Many people ask me what ‘documentary’ means as a photographic style…the best way that I can describe it is a ‘photojournalistic’ approach. This style is all about anticipation, about capturing the ‘decisive moment’…this term has been used to describe this style of photography, and was initially used to describe the master of documentary photography, the legendary French photographer, Henri Cartier-Bresson. The work of Cartier-Bresson has always been a major source of inspiration for me. Cartier-Bresson helped develop what is known as ’street photography’ or ‘real life reportage’. Perhaps a quote that describes this ‘decisive moment’ is “I suddenly understood that a photograph could fix eternity in an instant” …Cartier-Bresson.

In any case, I first fell in love with street photography while living in France in 1994-1995 when I studied literature at L’Universite de Savoie…preparing to become a French teacher…it’s amazing that life’s journeys will bring you to where you were always meant to be…for me that’s where I am now…working as a photographer..my true passion and love! 

Thanks Andrea and James for choosing me to photograph your wonderful day!

Cheers,

Jennifer

Mike & Heidi’s Wedding

Mike and Heidi are a fabulous couple that were married here in Barrie in August this past summer. Heidi was truly a stunning bride! I absolutely love photographing the ‘getting ready’ part of the day…It’s always fun to capture the moments of joy, excitement, nervousness, laughter and anticipation as the bride gets ready with her girls and her mother and sisters. 

This wedding was so much fun to photograph….and also it was the largest bridal party that we have ever worked with! What a blast! They hired this amazing bus to transport the bridal party and family for the day…and it was totally decked out. Anyway, congrats again guys!

Adam & Michelle’s Wedding

Adam & Michelle had a beautiful wedding at The McMichael (Canadian Art Collection Gallery) in Kleinberg, Ontario. The site of course is absolutely beautiful, and was wonderfully decorated by Hayley Verlyn Events. This was one crazy dark day full of rain from the hurricane that was showing us it’s last remnants through Ontario with rain all day long. This didn’t put a damper on the day, and all were truly enjoying the festivities…the rain of course limited our choices for photos…but I think we really captured their wedding beautifully.

Thanks guys! I truly enjoyed photographing your wedding!
Cheers,

Jennifer

Jeff & Janine’s Wedding

Anderson & Andrea’s Wedding

John & Aimee’s Lakefront Wedding

John and Aimee were married this summer at their beautiful home on Lake Simcoe. It was truly a special wedding to photograph for me, because I had known Aimee since she was a teenager and was one of my camp counsellors at a daycamp that I supervised for a few summers in my University years. Anyway, I was so happy for the two of them, and you can really see how happy they are in these images, and what a fun day it was. We were lucky that the rain broke long enough for the bride and her bridesmaids to make their entrance via boat, coming from one of the neighbours down the lake. Actually, it was pretty interesting during the ‘getting ready’ part of the day, as another neighbour was helping us track the weather via internet satellite so that we could plan the boat trip…which was about 20 minutes, and arrive for the ceremony with the sun shining! Anyway, the music was playing as the boat arrived, and you could feel the excitement in the air. It truly was one of those beautiful and timeless moments…

Anyway, here are a few images from the day. I’ll be scanning some of the Black & Whites as well, and will post as soon as possible.

Cheers, and best wishes to you both!!
Jen