Romance and Adventure :)

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

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

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...

Inspired by Colour at the Spring One of a Kind in Toronto

Last week was a crazy busy week, so I didn't get a chance yet to share my experience of the Spring One of a Kind show - anyways, here we go...

I love the Spring show, no matter what the weather is outside you know that sunny days and warm breezes are just around the corner :) The designers always seem to be inspired by this energy and so many of the booths are full of bright colours, pretty patterns, and a hopeful *something* in the air - and this year was no exception.

As Norman and I walked around the show visiting with friends, clients, and some potential new clients, I was giddy with delight over the rainbows of colour that we saw. If you know me, you know I love colour (pretty much all the colours, with the sometimes exception of red)...lots of colour and many colours together :)

{Once again, I owe a big thank you to my fantastic boyfriend Norman, for pointing out things I would have missed, for being charming and conversational, and for walking around the show for over 5 hours with me without ever complaining..}

Here is a sample of what we saw...

SO pretty! ruffled lilac scarves at Leah Bazian's booth..

the CUTEST tiny dresses and hats from Red Thread (Devorah asked if we had a little girl - we said we'd have to work on finding one!)

I also loved their awesome display :)

Fantastic feathery hair pieces in all colours imaginable by Oh Dina! - perfect if you have a wedding coming up this summer...or just want to look fancy wherever you're going!

I loved how fiber artist Nancy Yule magically included every colour in the world into her pieces, without it ever seeming like too many colours :)

Check out these light ribbony scarves..

tiny drawers for tiny treasures :)

and magnets - which you can never have too many of!

These addorable little dresses were from design team Barb and Jackie of Keiko - they are so new that they don't have a website yet, but keep your eyes open because I think they'll be growing fast with such pretty little prints..

and awesomely cute embroidery!

I loved this dress - the dandelion grows as you move from left to right, and on the other side of the dress the wind comes along and blows the fluff all over the place - fantastic concept beautifully executed :)

These scarves by Marie Pierre Daigle were like sculptures made of yarn, silk, and felt - and all in yummy  colours!

I have long been fascinated by glass bead-making, and these pieces by Lunacy Glass were some of the most amazing examples I've ever seen - everything cute and woodland-y you could possibly desire in a necklace!

Glass artist Lucie and I also share a love of Mexican themes and images..

these floral beads had such amazing depth to them!

If these next pieces look familiar, maybe it's because you saw some images from my recent shoot with Jenny Greco - it was great to see her at the show! I love how she carries her love of natural materials into her design of her booth display...

And I know I might be a *bit* biased since I photographed these images for her ;) but I also love these big banners at Erin Tracy's booth - even on a busy day like this, everyone can still see these!

So - Spring inspiration accomplished, I'm really excited about maybe starting a pretty creative project of my own (once our kitchen is done..almost there!) and definitely excited about upcoming shoots with these and other talented local designers :) If you design or make something pretty and you're looking for an awesome photographer in Toronto, I would love to hear from you! Check out my website, or send me an email :)

Happy Spring Everyone!

Toronto Bakes for Japan Fundraiser

Remember bake sales? When your class at school needed to raise money for a field trip or something, and everyone went home and asked their moms to make cookies or cupcakes so they could bring them in for the bake sale..? 

This is that, only on a grand global scale. The very simple and lovely concept of lots of regular busy people pitching in what they can and coming together to help people who need it. I love a good bake sale, and I really love this idea. There's something fantastically grassroots-y about bake sales in general and this event in particular - it started as just someone who wanted to make a difference, asking other people if they would help. And now there are 6 venues across Toronto who are hosting this fundraising event, and every time I check the website the list of people involved has grown. 


I've never been to Japan, although I'd love to go. Japan has held a strong place in my imagination and for almost 20 years now I've been enjoying Japanese films and animation, as well as novels and travel memoirs. The book that started it all of was called "Ghosts" by Morio Kita - I read it in high school and loved it. Then came "Kitchen" by Banana Yoshimoto. Both were a bit morbid, but so incredibly beautiful. Nature was a strong theme, as was history. These and other pieces have left me with an image of a country simultaneously so full of tradition and so modern it's practically the future. In love with nature and technology at the same time. Maybe it's because I'm a Libra, but there's something really compelling about that kind of balance of extreme opposites.


Anyways, one day I plan to visit Japan. And when I do, I want to have a little feeling of pride that when they needed help in a way we can't even begin to imagine, I did something. Maybe something small, but something.


Since I think it's been roughly half a decade since I baked anything, and I'm better at making a pretty picture than I am at making a cupcake, I thought that perhaps I could be helpful by capturing the event at the various venues...some fun candid shots, some yummy details - that kind of thing. I originally found out about it from an awesome event planner named Kristina Chau (Not Your Average Party), who will also be donating her expert services to the weekend. Plenty of people who aren't bakers have decided they still want to be helpers by donating their time, skills, or something for the auction. 


I'm proud of our city for doing this, and I'm proud to be part of a community who is taking simple steps for a good cause. If you know how to bake anything, or if you have time April 9th or 10th to help out in any way (even if it's just by coming out and buying cupcakes!), check out the website or email them to get involved.


Hope to see you there!

Erin Tracy Designs - Custom Jewellery and Gorgeous Collections

I've been working with Erin Tracy for many years now, and I think her work is fantastic... what first attracted me to her booth at the One of a Kind show was her combination of silver and gold with natural materials such as delicate little pebbles and pieces of wood (I bought a necklace from her "Garden-Path" Collection almost 10 years ago and I still love it!). Over the years, I have seen many of Erin's other collections grow from inspirations as diverse as nature  (such as Reef and Fira), unique materials like concrete (in Pave), and a love of travel and other cultures (East, Luxe, Plume).


Erin also does a lot of custom work for clients, mostly engagement and wedding rings, where she sits down and gets to know the ideas and tastes of her clients and then designs something specific to their desires. Almost anything is possible from what I've seen :)


Here are a few of my favourite pieces from our most recent shoot..

Also, Erin has recently moved into a great new studio space in Liberty Village:

A cosy spot for meeting with clients..

technical tools..

and a nice, clean display area..

So - you can find Erin and her lovely work at the One of a Kind Show (starting tomorrow!) in booth G-07, or you can contact her directly to inquire about custom work or to schedule an appointment to see her at her studio. Check out her website for lots more of her work. Support local talent!

I've said it before, but I'll say it again - for more examples of work I've done with local designers, please see this page of my website. If you are a designer of something beautiful and you are looking for a photographer - I'd love to talk to you! Email me for more information :)