Jessica Lin Photography

Tanya Kirouac at The Artist Project show in Toronto March 1-4

2012-03-01T10:03:00.000-05:00

February is normally a very slow time of year for us, but this year seems to have been non-stop! I've already had the good fortune to work with three amazing new clients - all very talented and inspiring women - one of whom will be exhibiting at The Artist Project show this weekend at the Queen Elizabeth Building at Exhibition Place. Tanya Kirouac is an amazing artist :) Over the years, she has built her technique of using encaustic wax painting to incorporate many layers (both physical layers and layers of meaning) into her pieces. I spent a day and a half staring at her work, and still kept finding new things! I loved talking to her about art and her process while we were shooting her work.. I think it's really awesome when you find out that the reason she's got so much bird imagery in her pieces is that she's enamoured with all the birds she's seen on her property in Prince Edward County. And that the pieces of sheet music embedded in her designs are chosen specifically because the songs are about gardens and flowers (as well as being visually lovely). I LOVE that kind of stuff - the added depth that a painting takes on as you speak to it's creator and learn where it all came from :)
If you're in Toronto this weekend you should definitely stop by the show to check out Tanya's work in real life. You may just find (like I did) that you need to bring one of these beautiful little gardens home with you!

Here's a sneak peek:

up close you can see the amazing detail and all the layers...

(this one is mine now - so you'll have to come to my place to see it!)

If you can't make it to the show, be sure to visit Tanya in her studio space in the Distillery District!

And if you also happen to be a visual artist and would like your work shot for your portfolio, please email me now for more information :)

Sarah & Jonathan - Gorgeous Wedding at the Pillar and Post, Niagara-on-the-Lake

2012-02-25T18:50:00.003-05:00

We first met Sarah & Jonathan in October, at Sarah's sister's wedding. What none of us knew that sunny day in Muskoka was that Sarah & Jonathan had a secret - they were newly engaged :) When they contacted us about photographing their own wedding at the Pillar and Post in Niagara-on-the-Lake we were thrilled and couldn't wait for their big day!

Norman and I drove down the afternoon before and met up with Sarah & Jonathan to scout all our photo locations for the following day. They were both super-relaxed and excited, and the venue almost had too many possible locations - perfect. I have to admit that even though I loved both the Secord Room where the ceremony was to be held and the Old Library where Sarah & Jonathan would be having their brunch reception with their intimate group of guests, I was still sort of in awe with how beautifully the day turned out. This is a prime example - one of my all-time favourite images EVER:

But let's start at the beginning..

We spotted this horse and buggy cruising past while we were scouting the evening before

I loved Sarah's dress - it reminded me so much of what one of Jane Austen's leading ladies would wear to get married :)

I'm a fan of lists, so I totally understood why Jonathan carried this little notebook with him everywhere to keep track of plans and ideas..

This was fantastic - when the boutonnieres arrived we found out that Jonathan's Mum had also had orchids for her wedding day, which neither Sarah or Jonathan realized when they picked them for their own wedding!

For someone with a reputation of not smiling in pictures, Sarah's Dad sure smiled a lot :)

This wedding had a lot of two of my favourite things: laughing and kissing :)

(the kissing part is coming up..)

I thought it was lovely how both sets of parent held hands throughout the ceremony..

telling secrets during the signing of the registry..

Jonathan and his new Father-in-law discussing that "new wedding ring" feeling..

"Looking Forward"

Sarah's Mom made the cake (I love that!) and the pink orchids were grown by another family member

LOVE :)

Norman and I went out for Chinese the night before, and this was my fortune :) It seemed so perfect to be able to give it to Sarah & Jonathan on their wedding day!

watching people listen to speeches is always one of my favourite parts of a wedding..

I loved the story Jonathan told in his speech - about how they knew it was Meant To Be when his key openned the door to her apartment :)

touching up make-up before heading out for photos :)

brothers :)

sisters :)

Next, we headed into town to capture the quaintness of Niagara-on-the-Lake - which must be one of the most picturesque places on earth!

We had such a fantastic time photographing Sarah & Jonathan celebrating their marriage with their close family members! Everyone was really lovely.. you guys have great families and you were all such a joy to spend time with :) We wish you all the happiness in the world :)

Jessica + Norman

{we are available for destinations of all sorts! Email us now with your details to set up a consultation}

Norman & Jessica's Destination Wedding + Photography Adventure (Part 6)

2012-01-27T19:01:00.001-05:00

First of all, my deepest apologies for being so delinquent over the past couple of months - life sometimes gets in the way of blogging ;) So - without further ado - the much anticipated continuation of our adventure around Ireland with a wedding dress and a camera! (Need to catch up? Here's Part 1 - The Proposal, Part 2 - The Wardrobe, Part 3 - The Adventure Begins, Part 4 - The Ceremony, Part 5 - The Awesome Place We Went for Lunch After the Ceremony)

I know it's been a while, so I'll refresh your memory - in a nutshell, Norman proposed to me a month before we were to be married at Belfast City Hall, we decided it would be a great idea to do our own wedding photography - and to do it all around Ireland on our honeymoon road trip and in Spain while we were there for a week. Crazy? Yes. Awesome? Double yes :)

We arrived in Northern Ireland the evening of May 3rd (after very little sleep in the previous 24 hours), spent the following day running around taking care of last-minute details, and then got married May 5th at 11am (for those of you who love jet lag as much as I do, that's 6am to our Toronto-adjusted selves). In spite of the fact that I think we were running on pure adrenaline (and Love!), it was an awesome and perfect day :) Our plan was to leave the next morning to start our 8-day road trip around Ireland...

Part 6 - Dublin - The Honeymoon Begins

Of course, by the time we went for a walk with Elaine and Yogi in the morning, took a few pictures of my beautiful bouquet - made by Norman's lovely cousin Joanne -

finished packing, went to Tesco (again!) for groceries, had a lovely cup of tea with Elaine in her sunny back garden, and loaded up the car, it was 3pm (!) so it was almost 7pm by the time we found our hostel in Dublin. This experience of trying to navigate a new town while sleep deprived reminded me of all my attempts to get through Montreal in less than two hours.

The highlight of our arrival in Dublin was this sign (which is totally real):

The hostel we stayed in was a converted church, and the dining hall looked like it was straight out of Hogwarts :) Notice the backpacker stained glass window..

While checking out the map of our neighbourhood, I found this awesomely appropriate little street nearby:

This is the famous Ha' Penny Bridge in Dublin - getting this shot involved parking illegally and sprinting down the street to do a few quick shots on the bridge while people stood behind Norman looking at me like I was crazy..

... and then sprinting back up the street to the car before it could get towed (not the way to start a road trip!), pausing briefly to get a shot of us together with the bridge in the background. "Ha' Penny" is a quick-talking way of saying "Half Penny", which is what the toll used to be on this bridge many moons ago.

After much meandering, we made our way up to Phoenix Park which is a massive and beautiful park in Dublin. Norman took me to see this field where the deer hang out (we joked that it looked like they were at deer-church). There were tons of them, and they were pretty used to having people around, so we were able to get pretty close before they scampered off.

In case you are looking at this picture below and thinking - as I am - "Jessica, you look very awkward and like you've never had your picture taken before" haha - THIS is why I strongly encourage all my couples to have engagement photos done, so that they don't look this uncomfortable in their wedding photos ;)

Whereas my lovely husband is totally used to having someone point a camera at him all the time :) Pictures like these next two are exactly why I wanted to do our own wedding photos (apart from the awesomeness of being able to choose our locations as we went and spend the better part of two weeks doing them!) These are two of my favourite pictures that I've ever taken of Norman..

What we don't have pictures of (thankfully!) is the part where we changed back into our driving clothes at the side of the road the runs through the park - of course as soon as you think the coast is clear, random cyclists appear from out of nowhere LOL.. there was of course comfort in knowing that we'd never see them again ;)

It took us another couple of hours to find our way out of Dublin and on our way to Cork - stay tuned for the most hilarious road sign I've ever seen!

Jessica + Norman

Planning a destination wedding? We'd love to come along to capture your adventure too! Email us to tell us about your plans :)

A Fuzzy Little Life Remembered

2012-01-04T07:49:00.003-05:00

I brought Baby Gertie home to my first apartment the October that I turned 20. She was three months old, and fit easily in one of my hands. I hadn't put much thought into the decision to adopt a kitten (or any other decision I made at that age), but it wasn't long before I couldn't imagine my life without her.
For such a little thing, she could really make her presence known.

She was always very chatty - like her mama - and had a purr you could hear from across the room. She used to sleep on the pillow next to my head, and lick my eyebrows when she thought it was time for me to get up and feed her. Although she looked like a little angle, she had her share of devilish little kitten habits - the ones I remember best are that she would dig all the dirt out of my potted plants every day while I was at school, dart out the door every time I went in or out (so that I had to chase her up and down the hallways and stairs of the building I lived in), and use her sharp little claws to climb up the window screens. If she thought I wasn't paying enough attention to her, she'd hop up on my bookshelf and start knocking things off while looking at me to see my reaction. But man, was she cute.

Gertie was there when I realized photography was what I wanted to do with my life. She was there when I first moved in with a boy, when he and I got married 7 years later, and when he and I got divorced 5 years after that. She was my only office mate when I quit my job and started freelancing, working from home most days. She understood - I think ;) - when I had to leave her with close friends while I went to Northern Ireland to follow my heart. And when Norman moved here from Belfast and we bought a little bungalow, she was very patient (as were Dave and Julie) while she stayed with these same friends during our renovations.

When we were finally all under one roof, she settled in quite quickly - found her favourite chair, figured out the sunniest times to lie in the front window, taught us her favourite game. Almost every day, she and Norman would play "string" which looked a lot like fly fishing and which she was very entertained by until she'd had enough and walked away.
For years, Gertie had been quite shy - hiding under the bed whenever company came over. She never hesitated to let anyone know if she didn't feel like socializing, and taught more than one cat the precise art of hissing. But whenever I picked her up, she purred. She purred like it was possible to be completely content and fulfilled in life just by being picked up by one certain person. In case that wasn't convincing enough, she would start with the little sandpapery kisses that tickled like crazy. I've been very fortunate with having amazing people in my life, but I'm not sure that anyone has ever made me feel as important, unique, and necessary as my Princess Gertie did.

In her "old age" (15 1/2 people years = about 84 years old for a cat), she mellowed a bit with other people, and started coming to check everyone out when they came to visit. She had a croaky old lady voice, and still had plenty to say. If you met her this past year, there's a good chance she even let you touch her before she hissed at you ;) She always knew where the treats were kept, and trained my sister to fetch them every time she walked in the door. She hated car trips, and wouldn't waste any time in telling you how much she hated it - the whole way there.
There was never a time that I unrolled my yoga mat that she didn't take it as an invitation to flop down right in the middle of it. There was never a tin of tuna opened that she didn't think was opened just for her. There was never a cardboard box that she didn't love like it was the best thing ever invented.

If you've made it this far, I assume that you knew Little Gertie. I'm sorry to say that her fantastic little cat life ended the morning of December 29th, 2011. Her death was sudden and quite a shock, but happily the vet told us she didn't suffer. Always very proud of her pretty fur and tail, I'm sure she would also have been happy that she went out looking as if she was in the prime of her life. She stuck around for the party that Norman and I had this past fall to celebrate our recent wedding. She got to visit with my Moms and my sister and her husband over Christmas, and got spoiled with treats and catnip. The last two things she ever ate were her favourite two things - yogurt and tuna juice.
I've had to deal with my share of sadness and loss, but nothing quite compares to the last few days. I keep hearing little noises or seeing things out of the corner of my eye and it takes a second before I realize it's not Gertie. That it will never again be Gertie. It's a strange type of sadness though - the kind of sadness that just makes me so grateful that I was ever lucky enough to be owned by such an amazing little creature. I just keep thinking of things I'm so glad she was here for, and the top of all those things is that I'm so glad she and Norman got to know each other. She was the first pet Norman ever lived with, and they both changed each others' lives in a way that was beautiful to watch.

My heart is full of thanks for many people and the part they played in Gertie's little life - my first husband Peter, for teaching her some much-needed rules and manners and for many hours of playing; my Moms Kezia and Joanne who babysat many times in spite of Gertie trying to trip them at the top of the stairs and other murder attempts; my dear friends Dave and Julie for long-term babysitting (of both me and Gertie); and Kym and Adam for more recent babysitting. My sister Amanda lived with me and Gertie for 4 years with her little cat Benzo who was very patient with Gertie's bossy behaviour, and I thank her for being such a great Auntie.

Most of all, I would like to thank my husband Norman - the self-proclaimed "non-cat" person that he is - for letting Gertie into his heart and for all the hours of playing and learning that she enjoyed with him. He made a video of Gertie and I doing yoga together that seemed a bit crazy to me at the time, and which is absolutely priceless to me now.

And of course, thank you from the bottom of my heart to Whoever it is that matches people up with exactly the perfect kitten, and who made sure that Gertie found me.

Gertie loved life. Most of her days were pretty simple - eat, sleep in about ten different locations, lie in the sun, purr, eat more, play, hiss, sleep more - but she seemed to enjoy it all like it was one big vacation. She was my little shadow, and I hope that even though I've lost her I might keep the lesson of enjoying the simple everyday things. I'm not sure that "regret" is a concept known to cats, but I'm sure that Gertie wouldn't have regretted anything. She got exactly what she wanted out of each day, which is an example I hope to follow as much as possible.

A friend once told me his theory that the more nicknames a pet had, the more loved he or she was. If that's any indication, "Miss Gertie" aka "Go-Go", "Fuzzy Bum", "Pretty Girl", "Princess Gertie Pants", "Little Gertie", "Boadie", "Baby Gertie", "Gertle", "Gert", "Mama's Girl", "Kitty Kitten", "Gertroot" and "Wee Rascal" was very loved indeed :)

If you have any memories of "wee Gertie" to share, we'd love to hear them below in the comments section...

xo Jessica

Beautiful Wall Art Canvas by Jessica Lin Photography

2011-11-09T16:17:00.002-05:00

A couple of weeks ago, I gave you a little teaser of a creative project I'd been working on.. well - here's the finished result:

I combined a couple of images of us from our wedding trip with some collage-style detail shots from places we stayed and from our wedding party, and I'm totally in love with the final result :) It's 36"x48" and the impact in real life is incredible.. it's hard to show on a blog, so you'll just have to drop by to check it out!

Here are some of the details included:

These birds (which is actually just one bird, included twice to make a little pair) are part of an origami mobile that I made for our internationally-themed wedding party for the family and friends back in Toronto. The purple flower petals are from a shot I took under a tree while we were in Spain - there were these tiny little purple flowers all over the ground and I love how they look scattered across the image :)

One of my favourite parts - Norman wrote our initials in the condensation of the window in our room where we stayed in Cork while driving around the south of Ireland

I made this little postcard out of one of our shots from Spain (believe it or not, we had not only a camera on a tripod on self-timer, but also a light on a stand with an umbrella for this one..) and "tucked" it into the corner of the big frame

We took about five different pictures of our rings in various places on our trip - this was on some rocks on a beach in Clonakilty at the southern tip of Ireland in County Cork (that's a little barnacle in the front).

The orange fan was an awesome find for 2 euros just down the street from where we stayed in Alicante, on the Mediterranean coast of Spain.

This is my lovely husband's handiwork again - this time on a beach in Sligo on the western coast of Ireland (just down the road a bit from where they filmed the Point Break surfing scenes!)

The rose-coloured wallpaper and the gold frame were from our bedroom wall at the B&B we stayed in while in Sligo, and the little vine grows across our tool shed in our backyard in Toronto (it was photographed at the party as well)

Ta-Da! This is the finished file, before I sent it off to be printed on canvas. I love the way this allowed me to include all sorts of pretty and sentimental details, and I really love the whimsical feeling of the end result :) I can't wait to start creating these for the couples we work with, so that they have a totally unique and stunning piece of art that they will love from the images we have created for them!

Actually - I'm so excited about this that this coming Sunday at the Dash Weddings Bridal Show, we will be giving a FREE custom 16x20" piece of wall art to all couples that book a package of 8 or more hours for their wedding photography! You have to come to the show to take advantage of this amazing offer, so mark your calendar and tell your friends!

If we have already photographed your wedding (or your baby!) and you would love something really beautiful and unique created for you, we have a special offer for you too :) Place your order by the end of the year to receive 50% OFF any size custom wall art piece! What a fantastic gift to give each other - an original work of art to celebrate the beauty and love in your lives together :)

Email us today for details and to order!

See you at the Dash Bridal Show this weekend...

xo Jessica

Baby Noah's Debut

2011-11-06T12:04:00.001-05:00

I swear that Baby Noah already has career aspirations - he's either going to be a model or a photographer. He studied me constantly, and followed intently everything that was going on. He also made some of the most fantastic faces I've ever seen (examples to follow..). We spent a lovely afternoon getting to know him, and here are some of my favourite images from our session.. :)

Check out these expressions! I especially love the third one :)

showing off his exercise routine..

the sweetest little lips...

sweet little baby dreams :)

I really love this shot of Tamara that Norman took.. She totally glowed in her maternity photos, and I feel like this captures the calm and serenity that she exudes in motherhood :)

We felt honoured to be a part of this amazing new chapter in Tamara & Edward's love story, and can't wait to see the whole family again soon!

xox Jessica + Norman

Jessica Lin Photography at the Dash Weddings Bridal Show November 13th!

2011-10-28T07:19:00.000-04:00

After many years of relying heavily on word-of-mouth referals (which are fantastic), I have finally decided to add bridal shows to my list of ways to meet newly engaged (and looking-for-wedding-photographer) couples. My main reason for avoiding such shows in the past is those huge overwhelming shows where hundreds of vendors and thousands of brides share the same physical space for a weekend, but don't actually leave that space with anything but sore feet and bags full of price lists. Luckily, someone came up with the great idea of fewer vendors in a more intimate space - the "boutique" bridal show concept - which is right up my alley.

So this fall we will be taking part in the Dash Weddings Bridal Show at the Park Hyatt in Toronto. I've been to many shows (wedding and otherwise) as a browser, and even a dozen or so non-wedding shows as a vendor - so it's not a completely foreign concept to me. What sort of caught me off guard is the amount of time it's taken me to assemble all the pieces.. new album supplier = new sample albums need to be made. And since it's a booth at a show, there are things I don't normally have for consultations (such as a big banner and 1.000 postcards) that need to be designed and sent off to various printers. I am actually currently working with 4 different printers (this week) for all the different elements, and trying to keep track of turnaround times and what's already been sent has been exciting to say the least. It's a lot like being a kid at Christmas waiting for all my printed pieces to be finished - except that I already know what I'm getting!

Anyways, we are so excited for our first wedding show :) and would love to see you there if you are planning your wedding or have a sister/friend/cousin/daughter who is planning her wedding - please spread the word! Hope to see you there :)

Sneak Peek of the Most Beautiful Thing I've Ever Made

2011-10-26T20:04:00.000-04:00

First of all, my apologies for being too busy to blog lately - I have a backlog of stuff I want to share, but it's just a matter of finding the time..

Anyways, today my mission was to create something totally awesome using images from our wedding trip - because it seemed like a great idea, and because I would love to start offering something similar to my wedding clients - and it was one of the most creatively satisfying days in the history of my life :)

Norman doesn't get to see it until I get it back from the printers, so neither do you ;) but I thought I'd share a little sneak peek of the final image....

I can't wait to see the final printed version! I promise to share as soon as I pick it up :)

xo Jessica

Andrea + Dave - Lakeview Restaurant Engagement Session

2011-10-13T10:20:00.001-04:00

Andrea + Dave are an awesome couple - really creative (she designs jewellery and he does web design and branding) and so easy to get along with :) So it was no surprise that we had so much fun shooting their engagement photos at the Lakeview Restaurant near Dundas and Ossington. What a fantastic location! Check it out..

This fantastic 24-hour diner is usually busy at most hours of the day - we took manager John's advice and came in at 8am the Monday after Nuit Blanche weekend and had the place to ourselves :)

I loved Andrea's shoes :)

Now we can't wait for their wedding at the Enoch Turner Schoolhouse next spring! Thanks for a great morning Andrea + Dave :)

xo Jessica + Norman

Newly engaged? Contact us to book a consultation!

Natalie + Chris - Beautiful Muskoka Wedding

2011-10-11T16:58:00.001-04:00

Thanksgiving weekend brings to mind all sorts of cozy fall thoughts.. family getting together, turkey dinners, pumpkin pies, crunchy leaves on the ground, crisp fall air. This Thanksgiving weekend we went up to Muskoka to photograph Natalie & Chris' wedding, and although the air wasn't exactly crisp (at 30 degrees!) the colours were beautiful and the family enjoyed a spectacular lakeside view. This time I'm going to start you with one of my favourites and then take you back to the beginning.. enjoy :)

(I am so in love with this one!)

Anyways - here's where we began..

Natalie + Chris got married at the Red Leaves Resort on Lake Rosseau, which was not only beautiful but full of friendly and helpful staff (especially important on your wedding day!)

ready to start getting ready..

I loved Chris' chocolate brown tie and shoes :)

Natalie's veil was made from part of her Mom's veil, which I thought was so awesome..

Baby Jack! (yes, somehow Natalie + Chris managed to plan their wedding during their son's first year - he is now 13 months old and sooo cute!)

get ready for a seriously beautiful ceremony...

They had a very intimate affair, with about 30 family members gathered to help them celebrate this confirmation of their love for each other..

Blue Steel - I love a couple with a sense of humour!

Natalie: "We're married!!"

love this one!

These two could be professionals at smiling and kissing in front of stunning scenery (imagine that on a business card!)

relaxing Muskoka-style with Maid of Honour Sarah (can you tell she's Natalie's sister..?) and Best Man Stu (who has known Chris since they were 5 years old)

something blue :)

Baby Jack just learned to walk last week, and he couldn't be stopped!

Natalie + Chris are such a lovely couple and we had such a great time capturing their wedding for them! The weather could not have been better, and we wish them just as much sunshine and joy in their marriage as we had for their wedding day :)

Thank you guys so much for inviting us to be part of your day! And special thanks to Sarah's fiancé Jonathan, who was super-helpful while we trekked around the grounds doing photos :)

xo Jessica + Norman

Need an awesome photographer to capture your big day? Contact us now for a free consultation!

Jodie & Jeremy - October Lakeside Wedding

2011-10-03T17:46:00.001-04:00

We loved photographing Jodie & Jeremy's engagement session because they were both so easy-going and enthusiastic, so we were really looking forward to their wedding. They had such a perfect day :) and a huge part of that was how happy they both were to be getting married to each other, and to have all their close family and friends there to share it with them...

I'll start you off with some super-pretty details!

this bowl belonged to Jodie's Grandmother - I love personal details like this :)

Because we were doing the photos of the bridal party before the ceremony, we arranged a special

"First Look" moment for the bride and groom.. here's Jodie waiting patiently for Jeremy..

As Jeremy's close friend Darryl guided him down to the dock with his eyes closed, he gave him good practical advice such as "watch out for the pit of snakes on your left" and "jump over the hot lava" - it was awesome :)

waiting...

almost....

and then we added the bridal party...

I love the side detail on Jodie's ring :)

Enough waiting (11 years apparently!) - time to get married!

(did I mention how excited Jodie was?)

snuggles with Auntie Jodie :)

I completely fell in love with the colours in the girls' bouquets!

One of my favourite things about weddings is the way it reminds all the other couples how special and totally amazing they are to each other.. I love how you can almost see the stars in their eyes when they look at each other :) (..sigh...)

they sang their first dance song to each other :)

I loved how the layers of Jodie's dress floated in the breeze. I loved that in spite of a consistent forecast for rain, they had not a cloud in the sky. I loved that Jeremy cried during his speech. I loved how close these two families were, and how much fun they all had together. Most of all, I loved how much Jodie & Jeremy love each other, and how amazing it felt for Norman and I to have the honour of capturing their day for them :)

Thanks to everyone for a beautiful day!

xox Jessica + Norman

Need an awesome photographer to capture your big day? Contact us now for a free consultation!

Natalia + Tyler are having a baby!

2011-09-29T17:52:00.001-04:00

Natalia + Tyler have got to be one of the cutest couples ever :)

They are both very sweet and instantly easy to get along with. They have a gorgeous cat named Misha who was very camera shy (much like my own cat) but also very sweet.

I had the pleasure last weekend of visiting them at their home to photograph a very special time in their lives - the count-down to their first baby's arrival. While I was there, we talked about travel, families, and our mutual love of furniture and things handed down from grandparents (Natalia has a fantastic pair of suitcases - among other things - that used to belong to her grandmother). We debated hyphenated last names for babies, and traded stories about our cats' mischievous habits. It was a lovely way to spend a couple of hours on a Sunday :)

Here are some of my favourite images from our session..

I love this fabric, which matches the wallpaper that will be going up in the nursery..

I had such a great time photographing these two, and can't wait to come back and meet little Baby Sullivan when he arrives!

xo Jessica

Want beautiful images to celebrate your pregnancy or newborn? Contact us now to book your session!

Something Different

2011-09-10T10:19:00.002-04:00

As you may have noticed, we've been photographing a lot of weddings, newborns, and baby bumps this summer - which is awesome. But when someone contacted me last week and wanted to see some new work that involved shooting food on a tabletop, I was really excited to try something different. After almost a day searching for props at Value Village, shopping at 5 different grocery stores, and borrowing a great little roasting pan from a neighbour, I was ready to spend the rest of my long weekend shooting every stage of the food I was making. This was a bit tricky (trying to chop leeks with a tripod over one shoulder) and I thank my lovely husband very much for his patience when dinner was very late and needed to be re-heated after sitting on set. In the end, it was pretty fun - here are a few of my favourites from the shoot...

This was my first time cooking a whole fish, and it actually turned out really well (thanks Jamie Oliver!). Hopefully there will be more food shots to come...

Norman & Jessica's Destination Wedding + Photography Adventure (Part 5)

2011-09-08T09:26:00.002-04:00

First time visiting? Here's what's happened so far: Part 1 - The Proposal, Part 2 - The Wardrobe, Part 3 - The Adventure Begins, Part 4 - The Ceremony

This week...

Part 5 - The Awesome Place We Went for Lunch After the Ceremony

I can see your eyes squinting up with doubt, I can hear you saying "why on earth would I care where you went for lunch after you got married?", but that's only because you've never seen this place:

Recommended by Norman's cousin Cathy, it's called AM:PM and was right around the corner from Belfast City Hall. It reminded me of if my dreams turned into walls :) Big gold frames, fake flowers, and purses everywhere. Chandeliers, candles, and every colour in the known universe finished off the look.

Joe & Elaine, considering their options..

Norman with his best friend Ian, who was fantastic enough to do our pictures at City Hall

This was the best lunch I've ever had :) Duck and hoisin were involved..

the first picture Norman took of his new wife :)

So - as if that restaurant hadn't been perfect enough (and of course the ceremony was perfect!) - when we headed over to Tesco to pick up some roadtrip groceries there were cupcakes! These cupcake people had never been there before, and it was like magic how they showed up for us on our wedding day :)

My violet cupcake won the beauty contest, but Norman's raspberry cupcake was by far the yummier one

(I had changed out of my dress to go grocery shopping, but thought it best to leave my veil on haha..)

In case you're wondering why we were at Tesco on our wedding day, it's because I think we went to Tesco or Asda (the other big grocery chain) - or both - every single day we were there. Elaine can probably verify this. My lovely husband enjoys a good grocery shopping trip like nobody else I know, so much that it's actually fun to go with him :)

Plus, we had to pick up some groceries because the next day we were heading out on our honeymoon roadtrip around Ireland! This is where it gets kind of exciting - Norman had this idea for us to bring our wedding outfits and all the camera gear with us while we travelled, so that we could take our own wedding pictures in many beautiful Irishy places :) It was sometimes stressful, always windy, and a bit crazy - but the pictures are awesome!

Here's one of my favourites...

Stay tuned for our first stop... Dublin!

xox Jessica + Norman

Tamara & Edward are Having a Baby!

2011-09-06T08:15:00.002-04:00

Tamara and I have worked together quite a few times over the past 5 years - I've photographed projects with her for Ikea and Style at Home magazine, and most memorably I photographed the day she married Edward. They are an awesome couple, one of those couples where you can clearly see how each compliments and balances the other. They are fun to be around, and we had a great time visiting their new home to photograph them while Tamara is radiantly pregnant :)

I love this next one - Tamara referred to it as "classic Ed" :)

love. love. LOVE this image below...

It will be a busy couple of months for Tamara & Edward I'm sure, but we can't wait to meet their baby boy (and see the nursery finished - I think it's going to be super-cute!)..

Jessica + Norman

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Newborn Baby Ben at 7 Days

2011-09-03T12:38:00.001-04:00

We had the pleasure of photographing Jane & Ned's lovely wedding last summer, so we were SO excited to find out they were expecting an addition to their family :) And when he arrived, we felt honoured to be on the list of people who got an email at 4:40am announcing him to the world. When we finally met the little guy 7 days later, he was very alert and quite calm - ready for his close-up. Some of my favourite images ended up being of the three of them together.. Jane & Ned are such sweet people and seem very happy and natural as first-time parents. Anyways, enough chit-chat, here's the star of the show...

Baby Ben!

I love how Baby Ben's name floats in the background of many of these images..

This is one of my favourites :)

perfect tiny toes..

(Ned admitted that what at first appeared to be a "J" turned out to be a "T" - in his defense, how many husbands do you know who would have bought his and hers monogrammed pillows in the first place? We thought it was very sweet..)

I love Ned's home office, and I think this is a really cute one..

We had a really great time photographing the newest member of Jane & Ned's family. It was so nice to visit and catch up, and Ned was kind enough to make us really yummy sandwiches :) We really look forward to watching little Benjamin grow up!

Thanks so much Jane & Ned!

Jessica & Norman

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Jodie & Jeremy - Engagement Session East Side Style

2011-08-25T08:35:00.002-04:00

One of the things I love best about engagement photos is that they can be pretty much anywhere.. it gives the couple a chance to do something fun or casual, or just go to a location that is totally different from their wedding venue. Even though we've lived in the east end of Toronto for over a year and a half now, we haven't really explored any further east than our street. We've been meaning to go check out the bluffs, but just haven't gotten around to it yet. So when Jodie & Jeremy told us they were thinking of doing their engagement photos at the Rosetta McClain Gardens (near the bluffs), we were totally excited to check it out!

And what a fantastic location it was :) So many different background options in a short walking distance, all of them really beautiful.. and hardly anyone else was there! We also managed to dodge the rain in the forecast, and get some really pretty evening light..

we all really loved this gazebo :)

and I thought this was pretty much the perfect tree for an engagement shoot..

Jodie & Jeremy were so much fun to work with - they were both really relaxed and enthusiastic, which made our job a pleasure :) We're really looking forward to photographing their wedding in just over a month!

see you soon!

xo Jessica + Norman

Newly engaged and looking for an awesome photographer to capture your day? Contact us now to set up your free consultation!

Norman & Jessica's Destination Wedding + Photography Adventure (Part 4)

2011-08-22T15:58:00.003-04:00

(my apologies to my sister and anyone else who was impatiently waiting so long for this next post, but we have been really busy the last few weeks with what those of us in the business call "work" haha..)

Missed the beginning? Here's where it all started: Part 1 - The Proposal, Part 2 - The Wardrobe, Part 3 - The Adventure Begins

And now...

Part 4 - The Ceremony

May 5th, 2011 - the day we got married :)
We woke up at 6am. This (as any of you who know me probably already know) would be painful enough for me in Toronto. But in Belfast, two days after arriving, 6am still felt a lot like 1am. So if we look a bit tired, that's why ;)

Luckily for me, Elaine is a professional make-up consultant and had very kindly offered to do my hair and make-up the morning of the wedding. Unluckily for her, that meant she was also up at 6am.. (nobody was awake enough at this point to operate a camera, so there are no pictures of the getting ready chaos!) Joe & Elaine organized a lovely and simple breakfast of croissants and OJ which I ate mainly because I had bullied my sister into eating on her wedding day back in February so I thought I'd better follow my own advice!

Ready at last, we piled into the car and headed to Belfast City Center, picking up Norman's best friend Ian (and our photographer for the day) on our way. We parked close to the City Hall at Norman's cousin Keith's place of business, and Keith was good enough to give the five of us a lift to the front gates of City Hall (after teasing me about trying to get into the driver's seat - I was half awake and still not adjusted yet to the fact that they drive on the opposite side of the road haha..)

The funny thing is, even after almost 10 years of shooting other people's weddings, I still had the nervous butterfly stomach heading to our own.. I sort of loved that :)

Speaking of shooting other people's weddings, I would like to take a moment to appreciate what Ian did for us. I've shot photographers' weddings before, and it's about 5 times the pressure of shooting anyone else's. And Ian, although he has been photographing for many years, does not normally photograph weddings. So I know what a huge favour we were asking of him by handing him the camera for our special day, and I think he did such a fantastic job :)

Anyways, here we are: the incredibly impressive Belfast City Hall..

Norman and Joe waiting in the Wedding Chamber - I must say, they look pretty relaxed about the whole thing.. (at this point, I was down the hall with Elaine in the ladies room getting into my dress. Even though Norman had already seen me in the dress when we first found it at Cabaret, the girly part of me didn't want him to see me in it on this day until I was walking down the aisle)

I'm so glad Ian got a shot of this fantastic map they had out in the hall - the "Chart of Betrothal Bay" shows such important landmarks as "Introduction Cliffs" and "Big Brother Isle" on the "Male Route to Churchdoor".. they also have a spot marked "Kissmequick" ;)

Ready!

from here on in, the next bit was a bit of a blur...

Elaine helping me put on my grandmother's pearls... When she gave them to me just before we left, my mom told me that my grandfather had brought these back for my grandmother from Paris when he came home after the war. I loved the idea of bringing them back across the same ocean over half a century later to wear for my wedding day :) (I also love that my sister wore them on her wedding day too!)

I walked down the aisle to Blue Rodeo's "Lost Together". My first choice had been Journey, but Norman urged me to reconsider (haha) - in the end, this song was perfect :)

My cheeks hurt from smiling :) especially when I saw Norman wipe a tear from his eye..

first kiss :) with many more to follow..

How can you not dance to Billy Joel on your wedding day??

My awesome veil and fascinator are courtesy of Oh Dina! in Toronto (thanks Nicole!)

The four of us, plus Norman's cousin Cathy who surprised us by coming to the ceremony (Norman's mummy and Cathy's mummy were in the hospital at the same time to give birth to the two of them, so they are practically twins ;) )

We went back to the stunning lobby to take some photos - we were the only wedding that day so we didn't have to worry about rushing, which was so nice..

I think this last image is my favourite :)

On Cathy's recommendation, we then went to the most fantastic restaurant I've ever seen - which I will show you in the next post! I promise it won't take as long as this one did ;)

xoxo Jessica & Norman

Photography: Ian Ritchie (a HUGE thank you to Ian!)

Dress: Cabaret Vintage, Toronto

Veil & Fascinator: Oh Dina!, Toronto

Shoes: Response Clothing, Toronto

Girls' Night Out

2011-08-17T14:13:00.000-04:00

Not too long ago, I received an email from my friend Carolyn's boyfriend John. It was an invitation, sent to seven of Carolyn's closest friends, to spend an evening celebrating Carolyn's upcoming 40th birthday party. John's idea was to have a limo pick us all up in front of the Royal York, drive us to Niagara on the Lake to enjoy dinner overlooking a vineyard, and then bring us back to the Royal York for a drink at the Library Bar. His treat. I read it a couple of times before it sank in that this was real, and then quickly checked my calendar to make sure I was available.

I decided to bring my camera with me because even though I have a million pictures of other people having fun with their friends and family, it never seems to occur to me to take pictures when it's my fun and friends and family. I'm so glad I did - it ended up being such an amazing evening and I'm happy to be able to share some of my favourite images...

We all met up in front of Union Station around 4:30 on a lovely sunny Saturday. There were some introductions and lots of happy birthday wishes. Apart from Carolyn, I already knew Janine and Laura from working with them years ago (we also shot Janine's wedding in May and her sweet little nephew just last month - I'm almost her personal photographer now ;) ) but hadn't yet met Stephanie, Mary, or Vicki. Vicki and Carolyn have been friends for pretty much forever, and all the other ladies (including Carolyn) are stylists who work in photo studios making things look awesome for photographers.

John had very kindly made sure to stock the limo with a selection of white wines and champagnes - the only thing we were missing was cups, so we did what any resourceful ladies would have done, and asked the driver to pull over at Party Market..

the Birthday Girl :)

What every 40th birthday party needs - martini glasses with a big sparkly "40" on them..

back to the limo..

these glasses look fantastic, but were a bit to "spilly" in a moving vehicle - thankfully we also had flutes!

the fun is just getting started...

Laura did a fantastic job of pouring in spite of the bumps :)

Having never gone to prom or had one at our wedding, this was actually my first time in a limo that wasn't work-related (ie. shooting other peoples' weddings) It was pretty awesome :) I especially love the purply light coming through the tinted windows..

I should mention that Carolyn's son Aidan had made two mixed CDs of wicked awesome 80's tunes, which set a fantastic mood in our Party Limo (I think we all want copies Carolyn!)

I loved Stephanie's enthusiasm!

The soundtrack inspired memories of concerts, high school crushes, and fashion trends that seem hard to believe now (ie. the pinning of the lower half of the inside of your jean legs - what was that about??)

And..here we are - at the Riverbend Inn

All the ladies - I swear there was no advanced planning of what we were going to wear, we're just that good ;)

checking out the wine list

The original plan had been to sit by a window, but when we showed up they had this stunning patio overlooking the vineyard - the light was so beautiful and the temperature was perfect :)

Since I had been sitting right next to Carolyn in the limo, I ended up not getting any pictures of her on the way down. To make up for it, I got some really beautiful shots of her at dinner :)

Dinner conversation ran from discussing Love and Children to rating 80's movies (everyone loved Goonies and Footloose, but two of us weren't sure what the fuss was about Dirty Dancing. More than one of us had practiced perfecting routines from Flashdance...) This is how great friendships are forged :)

Yum - peach ginger cold soup

Janine's salad looked good too..

Okay. I like food. I eat at weddings fairly often, and the food is usually really good. This dinner was maybe the best meal I've ever had. I'm not kidding - it was fantastic :) Those are roasted garlic mashed potatoes with these beautiful mushrooms and asparagus under my steak...

And from what I heard, the chicken was also amazing..

pictures starting to get blurry = time to put the camera away ;) (this is why I don't drink while working at weddings haha..)

The limo ride back to the Royal York - very relaxed :)

To quote Stephanie's email the following day: "Carolyn has the best taste in friends :) we all had quite a few laughs"

Thanks so much to John for a lovely evening, and thanks to all the ladies involved for making it so much fun and so memorable!

Newborn Cameron - One Week Old

2011-08-10T15:57:00.002-04:00

I first met Sarah & Mike (and their cats Chewy and Roy) in 2007, when they were planning their wedding and asked me to be their photographer. From their engagement shoot at High Park, to their beautiful lake-side wedding, to the experience of creating an album of their favourite images, they have been a lovely couple to work with. Norman & I also photographed Sarah's sister Janine and her husband Jon's wedding a few months ago, so by now we sort of feel like part of the family. We were actually at their place for dinner (along with Janine & Jon) the night before Baby Cameron arrived in the world, so when we came to photograph him a week later we felt as if we knew him already :)

And now - without further ado - we would like to introduce you to... Baby Cameron!

Sarah is a super-talented knitter, and she knit this beautiful pennant piece to hang above her Little Man's crib (love the colour combinations!) as well as the matching blanket to go in the crib

Mike - a very proud Papa :)

Cameron kept a close (tiny) eye on us most of the time we were there...

One of the perks of being a knitter is that you know other knitters, and they make you awesome baby things like this little elf hat made by Sarah's friend Jana...not only did she knit the hat, she actually dyed and spun the yarn herself!

The challenge with Baby Cameron is that he didn't seem too happy to be put down anywhere - the best part about that is that we ended up getting loads of really sweet images of him being held close by Mommy and Daddy :)

Even though Cameron is only a week old, we were both touched by how comfortable and natural both Sarah & Mike were with their Little Guy :)

This blanket below was made by a group of Sarah's friends who started a tradition when the first one of them had a baby about a year ago - each friend makes a square, and it's called the "Auntie Blanket" because it was made by all the baby's "Aunties" - I love cozy handmade traditions and I think this is one of the best ones I've ever heard of :)

This blanket (below), along with most of the sweaters below, were made by Sarah's awesome knitting friends from the Knit Café on Queen West.

(Sarah told us that Cameron has his Daddy's toes..)

What we found when we peeked in Cameron's closet.. he'll be a cosy baby this winter!

Auntie Janine, finishing off the re-covering of the Hollands' family bassinet - both Sarah & Janine, along with a few cousins, slept in this as babies. Now it's Cameron's turn..

Love this smile :)

Getting sleepy...

We were sure that Mommy, Daddy and Baby all must have slept well after such an exciting afternoon! It was such an honour to be a part of this very special week in their lives, and we look forward to watching their family grow :)

(P.S. We apologize to Sarah's parents, the proud new Grandparents of Baby Cameron, for hogging the Little Guy while they were visiting - hopefully the pictures make up for it!)

xo Jessica + Norman

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Norman & Jessica's Destination Wedding + Photography Adventure (Part 3)

2011-08-02T08:17:00.008-04:00

Just joining us? Check out what you've missed so far: Part 1 - The Proposal, Part 2 - The Wardrobe

Part 3 - The Adventure Begins

After quite a hectic month of planning our wedding and the family party that would follow, we finally had our bags packed and were ready to get going!

I like to leave my in-flight reading somewhat up to chance, so I always wait and pick out a book once I get to the airport... after trying on all the vintage dresses at Cabaret, this book about the lives lived by vintage clothing seemed totally perfect! (The main story of the book was not bad, but the stories told by the dresses were fantastic and made it worth the read)

We spent 7 hours in Gatwick airport waiting for our flight to Belfast from London, so you will notice there are no pictures here of us after our arrival in Northern Ireland ;) Our first stop after picking up the rental car was to go to Tesco (the best grocery store in the world, greatly missed by British ex-pats) and then we headed straight to Norman's sister and brother-in-law's place. Elaine and Joe had been kind enough to offer us a home base for our time in Northern Ireland, and we couldn't have felt more welcome in their beautiful home in Greyabbey :)

We got there around 9 o'clock at night, so it wasn't until the next morning that I took these pictures..

One of the best things about having a dog (which we don't, but Joe & Elaine do - his name is Yogi) is that they need to go for walks. We really enjoyed joining Elaine taking Yogi down this lovely route to the shoreline.. I think since Norman had been gone from the country for almost a year and a half, he was really noticing all the rock walls and ivy that the locals tend to take for granted - so beautiful :)

My lovely husband (-to-be, at this point) frequently claims to not be "romantically inclined", but as you can see he scratched our initials and the date into this rock wall the day before our wedding (followed by a kiss "X") Aww...

Elaine took this one of us (and Yogi in the background) outside one of the shops in their village. You may notice we are wearing many layers more than when we left Toronto two days earlier - Northern Ireland in May is not exactly warm (but is of course still lovely!)

Believe it or not, on our way walking back home through the village we passed a little fruit and flower shop. The little old man who ran the shop was out front, and came to say hello to us (as strangers tend to do in Northern Ireland - it's really lovely) and Elaine told him that we were visiting from Canada and would be getting married the next day. After congratulating us and telling us a story about his wife (to whom he had been married for many years) he starting singing - in the middle of the street - "Love is in the Air". It was totally magical. As we passed the village sweet shop, the owner also came to greet us. When she found out we were to be married the next day, she rushed back into her shop and filled a bag with chocolate hearts covered in silver foil with the words "Just Married" on the front, for which she refused payment. We were both really touched and felt like we were floating around in a little bubble of good wishes and happy thoughts, which was incredibly nice when we were so far from home :) For those of you who've never been to Northern Ireland (and especially if the word "Belfast" brings to mind only stories of terrorism and bombings), I have to say that it's full of the warmest and friendliest people I've ever met anywhere :) and I'm very happy to have such a good excuse to go back to visit often!

Now - time to get down to wedding business! I had brought a portable steamer before leaving, which did a great job. I have to say that considering how many hours she spent folded in half and squished into my suitcase, my wedding dress was in fantastic shape - just needed a bit of a touch-up with the steamer (Elaine also took this picture..)

I really love my dress, and it and Elaine & Joe's house seemed to be made for each other..

My mom and sister had found this purse for me years ago at a place called Vintage Bride in Mirvish Village in Toronto - it's made of ostrich feathers. I added the ribbon handles and trim and the little purple flower with leaves just to give it a bit of colour..

Since none of my family was going to be joining us for the Irish end of our celebrations, it was really nice to have a little bit of them with me :)

I always tell my brides that weddings bring amazing surprises and generosity from those around you, but even I was amazed and a bit overwhelmed by the kindness of Norman's cousin Joanne - she made beautiful bouquets for both Elaine and I to carry during our ceremony at city hall. I had never even met her until we picked up the bouquets from her the day before the wedding, so it was incredibly special and really made me feel welcomed into the family even more :)

Having had only one day to settle in (and try to get adjusted to the time difference!) and finalize everything, we still managed to take a quick trip into the city center to scout out City Hall. Back in April when Norman had booked our date with them, they had sent us a brochure about other locations owned by the city council where you could also get married - including Belfast Castle.

Now ladies, especially those of you who live in countries without castles on every street corner, you will understand that it was an effort of great restraint for me upon hearing this news to be casual about asking how my lovely groom would feel about maybe getting married at the Castle instead of at City Hall. To his credit, even though he had already planned everything for City Hall, he did very calmly agree to call them and see if the Castle was available. Which it wasn't. The point is, I was fighting back the urge to feel like my fairytale wedding could possibly have been slightly more perfect...until I saw Belfast City Hall. It's a stunner. It's actually way more beautiful than the Castle is, since the Castle on the inside looks a lot more like a conference centre than a castle.

Here's a little sneak peak of the domed ceiling above the lobby..

..so you can just imagine what the rest looks like! (Actually, you won't have to imagine for long, because the next part of our story will be The Ceremony :) Stay tuned...)

xoxo Jessica & Norman

Photography: Jessica Lin, except where noted

Dress: Cabaret Vintage, Toronto

Jane & Luis - Classy Retro Wedding at the Gladstone Hotel

2011-07-22T13:56:00.006-04:00

The theme: a "Mad Men"-era feel
The location: The Gladstone Hotel in the super-cool West Queen West neighbourhood of Toronto
The couple: Jane & Luis, who we had already fallen in love with while doing their engagement photos a couple of months ago

We started the day off by meeting Jane & Luis near the Gladstone to enjoy the fabulous classic car that event planner Kristina Chau had found for them..

(We all loved this - apparently the rear window being able to go down is very rare..they only did it for two years on this model)

Classy start to the day or what?

Next, we headed inside (by now we were all in need of some air conditioning!)...

Jane & Luis were staying in the lovely Racine room, with a great stack of antique suitcases decorating the corner..

I love these two shots of Luis sitting on the bed, especially the one where Jane made him laugh :)

And now..for the main event :) The ceremony was held in the 2nd floor Gallery space, which was really beautiful - classic and modern all at once thanks to the combination of the architecture and the pieces of art hanging on the walls..

Luis: SO ready to marry Jane :)

I really loved how happy both Jane & Luis were every minute of their day, and I feel like it really shows in the next few images...

Checking out the 3-D art on display..

I loved this chaise, and I think Jane looks absolutely angelic with the early evening light shining in from behind (I'm sure Luis would agree!)

Next - we head downstairs to get the party started! This amazing elevator (originally put in a few years after the Gladstone was built in 1889) was one of Jane & Luis' favourite features about the hotel.

Luis' father provided the tasty almonds - I love personal touches like this :)

Some classic drinks provided the traditional "Something Old, Something New, Something Borrowed, Something Blue"

Cocktail hour in the Cafe - a really beautiful space with fantastic light.. I love the way the big windows and exposed brick walls make for great backgrounds to the candid shots :) The only thing I can't show you is how amazing the music was - what a great era to pick from!

Kristina had this great old jukebox brought in to set the mood for the dinner and dancing..

The tables were named after places and times that were significant to Jane & Luis' love story :)

The flowers were done by Poppies (just down the street at Queen and Dovercourt), who have long been amoung my favourite florists :)

Kristina, testing out the classic-style microphone..

The guest book was an album full of old pictures of the bride and groom, with spaces for their guests to sign around the photos..

The speeches were fantastic - Jane & Luis know a lot of funny people!

The late-night candy bar - full of old favourites like Popeye cigarettes and the pink elephant popcorn - yum :)

I thought even their first dance had an old Hollywood kind of look to it (the song was Elvis' "Only Fools Rush In - nice choice!) and I really love these next few shots :)

We're sure that Jane & Luis and all of their guests had an awesome time, and so did we :) Here's to a lifetime of happiness and laughter for a fantastic couple - congratulations Jane & Luis!

xo Jessica + Norman

Photography: Jessica + Norman - Jessica Lin Photography

Event Planner: Kristina Chau - Not Your Average Party

Venue: The Gladstone Hotel, Toronto

Flowers: Poppies

Classic Car: Simon Corton Productions

Need an awesome photographer to capture your big day? Contact us now for a free consultation!

Norman & Jessica's Destination Wedding + Photography Adventure (Part 2)

2011-07-18T10:03:00.009-04:00

Missed Part 1? Check it out here

Part 2 - The Wardrobe

We both really loved this pale pink lacy number, but it would have needed a bit of altering (on a tight schedule!). Even though I hadn't planned on something super "bridal" I completely fell in love with The Bijou as soon as I tried her on :) And then once I found out I could sit down and still breath, it was decided - this was the dress for me!

I really can't say enough good things about our experience at Cabaret - the dresses are fantastic, the shop has a really amazing feel to it, and Tao and Elizabeth were awesome!

The next stop for me was shoes. A few doors down from Cabaret, there's a great shop called Response. They always have really nice window displays, and I'd been in a few times. This time, I was at the absolute end of my faith in Queen West as a great place to buy shoes - I'd been in at least a dozen places and still hadn't found something that was pretty and comfortable enough to not kill myself walking in them. And then suddenly, there they were.

Not too high, not too plain - I loved them! I wore them around the shop for about 20 minutes while I was talking to Andrea (who was immensely helpful and very sweet) and couldn't believe how comfy they were :) Andrea suggested a soft gold polish for my toe nails to add a bit of fancy (I ended up going with Gosh #554 Gold) which was perfect.

While we were talking, I notice this fantastic five-strand bracelet that seemed destined to be paired with these shoes..and so my hunt for the perfect shoes and accessories was almost over :)

The last thing I wanted to have to complete the look was something beautiful to go in my hair. I had very fortunately met Nicole from Oh Dina! at the latest One of a Kind show in Toronto. I loved her stuff, and we had stayed in touch. She very generously offered to lend us a few pieces to go along for the adventure, so we headed out to her great studio in the west end to make the hard decision of which ones were my favourites (and which wouldn't get killed in a suitcase for a few weeks!). We ended up going with a lovely little birdcage veil, as well as a few colourful and feathery hair fascinators. The one that actually ended up being my favourite in the end though was this amazing feathery headband..

but more of that later ;)

Now, in case you're getting worried that poor Norman wasn't also having a blast choosing his outfit(s) - fear not. He already had his jeans picked out (no, I'm not kidding!) and a few trips to Value Village and to Exile in Kensington Market found him a pair of perfect shirts. One blue with french cuffs for the "Irishy" part, and a beautiful gold ruffled tuxedo shirt for the Spanish part.

How awesome is this shirt?? Just wait until you see it on!

He planned to bring a couple of his Dad's ties, which I thought was a really nice touch. The one on the left has millions of tiny elephants with their trunks in the air, which I remember being told as a little kid was supposed to be good luck for some reason (yes, I love good luck wedding superstitions!)

I got Norman the tie in the middle because he loves blue and I loved the pattern and I wanted to get him something that wouldn't take up too much room in the suitcase ;)

This was the first pair of Canadian shoes that Norman bought, after being forced to jettison all his pairs of dress shoes at the airport in Belfast when he was moving here (too much weight in the luggage)..it somehow seemed perfect to me that he would be taking this pair back across the ocean to get married in :)

Our biggest challenge in all of this would turn out to be figuring out how to fit it all (including my wedding dress, shoes, tripod, light stand and umbrella, plus everything else we would need for the 4 week trip) into two suitcases, and how to make all of my camera gear fit into what they consider carry-on luggage. It was tight, and a bit stressful at times, but it all got there in the end..

Stay tuned for Part 3, where we will actually be leaving for our destination wedding adventure!

xox Jessica + Norman

Photography: Jessica + Norman, Jessica Lin Photography

Dress: Cabaret Vintage, Toronto
Shoes and Bracelet: Response Clothing, Toronto
Feather Headband: Oh Dina!

Norman & Jessica's Destination Wedding + Photography Adventure (Part 1)

2011-07-15T13:03:00.003-04:00

Part 1 - The Proposal:

This particular adventure started (for me, anyways) one sunny day at the beginning of April. Norman came to meet me after I got my hair cut on College street, seeming almost suspiciously cheerful and smiley. He asked me if I would like to go for a drink nearby (also suspicious - we are big fans of drinks in our own backyard or on our front steps..not so much for the "going out for a drink" type of thing). We decided on Kalendar because it looked nice and neither of us had been there before. It was lovely. The drinks were lovely (Norman's was a super-yummy vanilla and vodka cocktail called "cassis me you fool", mine was an awesome orange and lime juice with vodka and grenadine called "the garnet"..mmmm..).

After we were settled into our cozy corner window seat, sipping away at our lovely cocktails, Norman finally got around to what was on his mind. He said many lovely things, but the one that stood out and made my cheeks hurt from smiling was that he wanted me to be his wife :) and had made arrangements with Belfast City Hall for us to get married on May 5th. We had been planning our trip back to Northern Ireland to visit Norman's family and travel around for the past 5 months, and as it turns out Norman had also been secretly making wedding plans for almost as long. Even though I know that I would have been completely happy with Norman even if we never got married, it really made my heart sing to hear him ask that particular question :)

So - twinkly-eyed details aside - it didn't take me long to notice that we had one month less a day to plan everything for our destination wedding and the family party that would follow. Early on, we decided it would be a great idea if we (being photographers of other people's weddings) were to do our own wedding pictures. This solved the problem of trying to find someone to trust in such a short amount of time and from such a distance, plus it seemed like a really fun project to do together. We had already planned to spend 8 days driving around Ireland, plus a week in Spain, and Norman suggested (yes - for the record - it was HIS idea!) that we could just bring the wedding dress and camera gear with us everywhere we went and do our wedding photos in all kinds of fantastic locations. This was maybe the craziest idea I'd ever heard of, and I loved it immediately :)

First thing's first though, I needed to find a dress. We headed to Cabaret Vintage on Queen because it's one of my favourite places in the city and I finally had a really great reason to get a really great dress. I had originally intended to get something vintage, but then I found out that Cabaret's Tao and Elizabeth have started designing their own line of vintage-inspired and totally glamourous wedding gowns..

Which dress would you choose..? Check out Part 2 (coming on Monday) to see the lucky dress that got to tour Ireland and Spain!

xox Jessica + Norman

Baby Camryn - Newborn Portraits

2011-06-29T17:27:00.002-04:00

We had such a great time photographing Baby Camryn when she was still in her Mommy's tummy, and could hardly wait to meet her in person! Like her parents, she was such a joy to photograph and spend time with :)

tiny toes :)

Looking at these yawning pictures kept making me yawn! And this smile certainly made me smile :)

the most perfect little belly-button..

A smile for Daddy..

All tired out after her first photo shoot..

As you can probably guess, we totally fell in love with Baby Camryn and can't wait to see her again soon!

xox Jessica + Norman

Photography: Jessica + Norman, Jessica Lin Photography

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Jane & Luis - Urban Engagement Session

2011-06-20T12:05:00.002-04:00

Not long ago, we shot an Engagement Session in Toronto with Jane & Luis. They are a lovely couple and we had a really fun afternoon photographing them..
Amazing event planner Kristina Chau had the idea of scheduling the shoot to coincide with Jane's make-up trial, which I would highly recommend to brides if there's any way you can swing it!

I loved how the wings in the pigeon graffiti worked with Jane's dress :)

And then down to The Rex, which is where Luis first proposed to his lovely Bride-to-be..

Again, Jane's dress was perfect with all of the grey concrete columns and lines in the brickwork..

We are now eagerly anticipating Jane & Luis' wedding next month at the Gladstone Hotel - can't wait!

Photography: Jessica Lin

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Janine & Jon - A Foresty Fairytale Wedding

2011-06-15T13:05:00.006-04:00

One of my nicest childhood memories is going to see Shakespeare in the Park. My parents would pack us a picnic, and we would go down to High Park and sit on a blanket on the hill and get devoured by mosquitoes, waiting impatiently for the sun to go down so the play could start. The only one I ever remember seeing is A Midsummer Night's Dream, but I'm sure they did others. I can't imagine a better venue for that particular piece, than a stage built right into the forest with a grassy hill for the audience.

"What's the point?", you ask. Other than giving my humble advice on how you could spend a lovely summer evening in the west end of Toronto, my point is that being at Janine & Jon's wedding reminded me exactly of that sort of fairytale woodland perfection (only nobody was drugging and tricking poor unassuming would-be lovers..). Norman said it was like being at Robin Hood's wedding, and I also thought that was a perfect description.

See for yourselves...

As soon as I saw the invitation, I knew this was going to be a very pretty wedding :)

Janine, who is a stylist and has a great eye for lovely details, had been collecting these antique birdcages for months to decorate the ceremony and reception

One of the best views I've ever seen from an altar..

Jon is a photographer, and avid nature-lover. They actually came upon their venue while day hiking near Ancaster - a lovely conservation site in the Dundas Valley

I loved his compass cuff links!

I've actually known Janine (and Jon) for many years, and I've always thought she had one of the most spectacular smiles I've ever seen :) This was a day for lots of smiles...

Also terrifically talented, Janine made her own (and the bridesmaids') jewellery, and her hair fascinator!

I love the combination of slightly nervous and totally ready in Jon's expression..

Sharing a rare private moment while their witnesses signed the registry..

One of my favourite things at outdoor weddings - bubbles!

Newlyweds :)

A moment of total forest magic - a baby deer curled up at the side of the path!

and then back up the hill to Maplewood Hall for the reception..

I loved this! Jon collected all these photos and made a row for his childhood snapshots, a row for Janine's, and in between is a row of more recent pictures of the two of them together :)

And then for the entertainment...bellydancers! Janine has been dancing with these women for quite a while now, so it was a really special addition to the evening

After dinner, I snuck the happy couple back outside for a couple of final shots..

We wish Janine & Jon a lifetime of fairytale happiness!

Thank you both so much for letting us be a part of your perfect day :)

xox

Photography: Jessica + Norman, Jessica Lin Photography

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Romance and Adventure :)

2011-05-24T06:21:00.001-04:00

I realise I've been totally neglecting this blog, but I have a really good excuse! Norman and I got married in Belfast May 5th, and have been doing a road trip around Ireland and a quick visit to Spain as well - the best part (from a photography point of view) is that we've brought my dress and all the camera equipment with us everywhere, and have been taking our own wedding photographs as we go on all these adventures :) I know this is a bit of a tease, since I don't actually have any images to show you yet, but I figured it was bad enough to spend half my honeymoon taking pictures, to spend the other half editing and posting them would be next to unforgivable ;)
Anyways, we are back in Canada next week, so stay tuned and we will have great things to show you from our romantic adventure...

xox

Cabaret Vintage in Toronto

2011-05-02T13:31:00.001-04:00

Just a quicky as we are on our way to the airport in a couple of hours (more about that later!).. but we wanted to share some love for our friends at Cabaret Vintage on Queen West - not only were they lovely enough to post about our review by The Wedding Ring, but they have also posted some pictures of one of our favourite couples - Jane & Ned :)

Cheryl & Jonny - April 16th, 2011

2011-04-19T15:20:00.002-04:00

This past weekend we had the pleasure of photographing Cheryl & Jonny's wedding, and we wanted to share some of our favourite images from the day. The ceremony and lunch reception took place at Jamie Kennedy at The Gardiner Museum - a seriously classy venue (and the food was amazing!)...afterwards we headed over to U of T with the newlyweds to capture some lovely architecture as a backdrop to the images of the bride and groom..

More beauty this way...

Congratulations Cheryl & Jonny! We wish you many many years of happiness together :)

Photography: Jessica & Norman - Jessica Lin Photography

Venue: Jamie Kennedy at The Gardiner

Flowers: Coriander Girl

Dress: Gown and Glory

Fascinators and Boutonnieres: Pomp & Plumage

Accordian Player: Fabrice Sicco

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