Norman & Jessica's Destination Wedding + Photography Adventure (Part 9)

Part 9 - Galway to Sligo, by way of Knock and Westport


{If right now you're thinking: "Part 9?! Where the heck is the rest of the story?", don't panic! Here's where we started, and here's where Part 8 left off in case that's all you've missed..}

After leaving Galway, our first stop was Knock. If you've never been there, Knock is to Ireland sort of what Lourdes is to France. I wanted to go because I'm fascinated by how cultures celebrate and practice their religions and beliefs - one of the best pieces of television I ever saw was a British show called "Around the World in 80 Faiths" which I highly recommend if you ever have a chance to see it. I have loved all the various Virgin representations I've seen in places like Mexico, France, and even a few days before this in Cork, and have actually sort of collected her from various countries to decorate the walls of our house, although I'm not Catholic.

But somehow Knock didn't feel "spiritual" to me, it actually felt kind of weird. I don't mean to offend anybody of course, and I'm sure there are lots of people who would say it's not spiritual to me because those aren't my beliefs, but of all the religious sites and churches and cathedrals I've been to in my life, only the one in Seville compares to Knock in the way it unsettled me (in the case of Seville, I couldn't quite get over how someone at some point had spent about a jillion dollars on 5-foot tall gold statues adorning one wall about 10 statues wide and stacked 6 or 7 high..). Knock seemed like a really big parking lot surrounding a few small buildings with a couple of plaques and statues, and then a street full of very touristy shops selling plastic containers (to fill up with Holy Water), clocks with Jesus on the cross, beads for every Saint known to man, and a million other things. I have to admit to bringing home a small card showing Saint Lucy - who is the patron Saint of our street, and so seemed fitting.

Anyways, I'm still glad we went to see Knock. It was an interesting contrast from Brigid's Garden (which had much more Celtic origins), especially since we visited the two very different locations within two days.

Back on the road, we continued north along the western part of Ireland until we came to Westport. Norman had said ahead of time that it was a picturesque town, and it lived up to all expectations :) After a quick scouting trip through the very hilly core of the town, we found a place to park the car and a place to change (that's right, we didn't actually drive around wearing these clothes all day!)

Sitting in my sunporch on this very sunny Saturday, I am reminded not at all of the weather we had when we were in Ireland ;) As my lovely husband pointed out to me - you can't expect a place to have 50 shades of green without a lot of rain.. The upside to a country that sees more cloud than clear sky is that the light is great for shooting almost all the time - as long as you can miss the rain! We picked a few of our favourite locations in Westport and managed to get some pretty great images before the rain started :)

 If my house could be made from these gorgeous blue-grey and pale rust-coloured stones, that would be perfect! (who do I talk to about that..?)

 I love colour - as you may have noticed ;)  - and I especially love it when great colour combinations come together. The town of Westport will always hold a special place in my heart, for the simple reason that it seemed to me as though the people there had been kind enough to paint some of their buildings in the perfect colours to go with what we were wearing :)

Just after these last shots were taken, it started to pour rain - we didn't even have time to change back into our "normal" clothes before scurrying back to the car and continuing our trip to our final destination - Sligo. The best part about that is that when we tried to check in to our hostel by the beach in Sligo, the man there took one look at our fancy attire and upgraded us (at no extra charge!) to the classier B&B owned by the same people nextdoor :)

After settling in to our room (which I LOVED and will show you why in the next part..) we went for a quick walk to the beach and then to the pub :) To scout it out for our photos the next day, of course ;)

Sligo is so beautiful - I can't wait to show you the pictures we took in the pub, and on our much longer walk down the beach the next day... stay tuned!!

xo
Jessica + Norman

p.s. as much as we'd love to shoot every wedding in Westport, we're actually very happy to shoot weddings pretty much wherever they happen! Email us now for more information if you're looking for a team of passionate wedding photographers (and lovers of life!)

Dress: Cabaret Vintage
Headband: Oh Dina!
Photography: Jessica Lin Photography

Gabriel Turns One!

I'd only met Gabe once before being invited to photograph his first birthday party - he was a very smiley and active baby, bouncing away in his jolly-jumper while his Mom and I discussed business and art. Since she's a designer, I had high hopes for how "pretty" this party was going to be - and my expectations were surpassed! For starters, check out this amazing cake display.. the beautiful (and yummy!) cake was made by Savera of Pretty Sweet Cakes..

 Is this (below) not the most creative invitation you've ever seen?! It helps when your Mommy is Naushin of Love, Paper & Ink - designer of custom stationary :)

Gabe was very busy at his big party - getting some birthday tickles from a friend, being picked up by everyone over the age of 5, and still finding time to fit in some walking practice!

These are by far the classiest loot bags I've ever seen! I really loved how all the details came together, and also loved how many smiles we saw at this party - everyone really seemed to have a great time :)

We had so much fun with Gabe and his family and friends, and hope to see some of them again soon for their own family portraits ;)

Thanks so much to Naushin and Andrew for a fantastic afternoon :)

xo

Jessica + Norman

Norman & Jessica's Destination Wedding + Photography Adventure (Part 8)

Alright - I'm slightly embarrassed at how long it's taken me to blog the story of our overseas wedding + honeymoon that happened a year ago (!) SO I'm going to step it up a bit and aim to complete the story by the end of July. It's been so nice re-living all of the amazing memories and there's a big part of me that never wants it to end, but I realize that you, the reader, may eventually want to get to the end ;) If you are new to the story and would like to start at the beginning, here it is :) If you just want to refresh your memory of what happened last, here's Part 7 - Cork to Killarney.

So without further ado..

Part 8 - Killarney to Galway


Taking the advice of the Lonely Planet guide book, we decided we need to see Eyeries as it's meant to be one of the most picturesque little towns ever in the world. It was, as this quicky little video shows..

We drove the north side of the Ring of Beara, and the whole drive was really beautiful. The biggest problem is that you want to stop every 5 minutes to take pictures (which is why we didn't actually make it all the way around the Ring!)

This is just right around the corner from Eyeries - more beautiful scenery, more beautiful light (I love Ireland!) Norman took this one of me (below, left) while I was setting up for the one of the two of us (immediately below).. there was a fair amount of chaos running back and forth and taking that jumper off and on between shots (it was freezing!), so I was always really excited to end up with an image like this one that we were both really happy with :)

Hopped out at the side of the road for this one - seemed only fair since I had my "New Bride Street" photo back in Dublin..

 And this - drumroll please - was I think my favourite view in all of Ireland :) It was called Ladies View lookout and it was simply magical..

 After such an amazing day and with my mind full of all the sights we'd seen, I had trouble sleeping that night at Paddy's Palace.. I had this panicky feeling that somehow we were going to "miss" great shooting opportunities, and that we couldn't possibly have time to really get the most of our trip. The problem is that I think once you start thinking of your trip (and especially your honeymoon!) as a list of goals of places to see and photos to take, you run the risk of not enjoying any of it. Norman and I have very different styles of approaching projects and lists (as we learned with our renovations..), so there was the added problem that we were disagreeing and that caused a lot of stress and tension on top of it all! So while I was sitting up in the middle of the night having a slight freak-out about all this, I started to do what came naturally - I made a shot list. It's funny because with other couples' weddings I make up the shot list weeks in advance, and with our own pictures here I was a few days into shooting before I actually started to sketch some ideas and list specific things I wanted to make sure we got. And even though this sounds like maybe going the wrong way about getting more relaxed, it soothed me to have a "big picture" that I could refer to. I'm so used to doing it for other people, and I think I've underestimated all this time how comforting it is to have someone take charge. So in a way I had to learn to separate myself in my mind into "the Bride" and "the Photographer" so that the professional side of me could be prepared and organized, and the personal side of me could be happy and smiling and in love. And still speaking to her Groom ;)

The next day we drove to Brigid's Garden which was fantastic. The garden is divided into four "seasons" and planted to represent the annual cycles of nature as well as the overall cycle of life - I love that they had such a beautiful concept and they did a really great job of it. This pond was full of tiny newts, which I'd never seen before, so we watched them swim around for a while before heading over to write a wish for the wish tree..

It was a really lovely day and felt a lot more like a trip and honeymoon than like a crazy assignment we'd given ourselves, which I think was exactly what we needed :)

That night after checking in to our B&B in Galway, we drove out through Salthill to Spiddal to see the coral beach (instead of sand, it's literally all tiny broken up pieces of coral!). The light was stunning for the entire drive, and disappeared just before we got there. In my new-found state of photo-zen, I tried to just appreciate the beauty we'd seen and not be disappointed in the fact that we had "nothing to show for it". I think this was the only part of our trip that was specifically a Gaeltacht area, which means they don't speak English. Other than stopping for directions once at a shop, we didn't see anyone else while we were there. 

After the beach we headed back to Spiddal town to go to Tigh Hughes pub which is famous for having Irish music and a great atmosphere. We were two of six people there that night, and were somewhat confused by the lack of liveliness until one of the men came over to talk to us. He explained that a young man in the town had been killed on the road a few days back, and out of respect for him there would be no music. We ended up talking to this man for over an hour, and he told us stories of building a hospital in the Black Forest with three guys from Belfast who showed up to work with a banjo and a guitar - it was an unexpectedly great evening. In my journal, I noted that we "managed to get back to B&B in spite of drunk navigator" ;)

Stay tuned for next time, when we visit Knock and the gorgeous seaside town of Westport!

xo

Jessica + Norman


Dress: Cabaret Vintage
Headband: Oh Dina!

Andrea + Dave's Beautifully Detailed Wedding at the Enoch Turner Schoolhouse

While I was preparing the images for Andrea + Dave's blog post I was trying to think why it was that I loved their wedding so much.. was it all the thoughtfully designed details? Or that they had used two of my favourite colours for all those details? Or was it the long list of talented and generous friends who made those details happen, and made the day incredibly personal? Or, maybe it was that Dave proposed to Andrea while they were staying in Nice, France, at the exact same hostel where I met my lovely husband Norman a few years back (how's that for a coincidence??)? Maybe all of the above? The fact remains: I loved Andrea + Dave's wedding, and I know they did too :) Here are some of my favourite images from their fantastic day..

Dave is a graphic designer (here's his website), and did all the designs for the invitations and labels (coming later..) The great argyle theme was carried throughout the day :)

 Andrea is a jewellery designer (check out Apa Design here), and made not only their wedding rings but also the jewellery for the bridesmaids (below, left) and argyle cuff links for the Groom! Also, her taste in shoes is amazing :)

Andrea's make-up was done by her friend Sonia, and all the girls' hair was done by Jamie (above) who's boyfriend also happens to be Josh, the Best Man. 

Dave's sister Heather sewed a tiny silver disk reading A+D into Andrea's dress, and one into Dave's jacket.

 The Beautiful Bride, ready to go :)

Andrea with her Mom, and with her sister "Best MoH Ever!" Daniella..

 And the Handsome Groom, also ready :)

 The wedding took place at the lovely Enoch Turner Schoolhouse in downtown Toronto - what a fabulous venue inside and out!

Bridesmaid Kirsten did a beautiful job making the girls' bouquets, and also made the centerpieces (coming up later..)

 Dave + Andrea wrote their own vows, and they were awesome. Yes, I cried. And for the record, so did Norman ;)

 I love this shot of "The Guys" (and Tara) gushing over Dave's new ring!

 More argyle! I loved Andrea's shoes, which were a vintage find :) I also adored her birdcage veil by the lovely and talented Nicole of Oh Dina!

 Definitely the most original invitations I've ever seen - I especially loved the thermometer where guests could fill in their "excitement level" when they RSVPed!

 Each table was named after a place that Andrea + Dave have travelled to together - and if that's not great enough, check out the amazing postcard table markers designed by Groomswoman Tara Phillips (below). And here are some of those labels I was telling you about, which Dave's Mom did the assembly for. She was also the one who planted all the pretty little herbs in the pots :)

 We made a fantastic guest book using images from Andrea + Dave's engagement photo session. The card box was made by Best Man Josh out of purple heart and chewy maple wood, which sounds as cool as it looks!

 The speeches were great, and included telling the story of how the car with all the girls' dresses got towed the night before the wedding, a showing of one of Dave's earliest portfolios, and Andrea's Dad thanking the "village" that helped the whole day come together :)

 This is one of my favourite things about weddings - how it brings out the romance in all the couples in the room :) These two (below, right) were Jenn and Connor Green - Andrea + Dave's lovely pre-wedding personal trainers..

I also loved that nearly every guest in the room joined in for the Bride's dance with her Dad, and the dance floor filled up again during the Groom's dance with his Mom :)

 Many friends and even the happy couple themselves contributed to all the goodness on the late-night baking table - yum! Dave's sister (and Bridesmaid) Heather made the feature dessert, which was a chocolate coffee mousse (yes, it was so good that I ate mine before it occurred to me to photograph it!)

 After all the excitement of such a great day, I snuck Andrea + Dave back outside for a few last shots :)

Even more than all the very good reasons way up at the top about why I loved this wedding, I think the main reason was that this was one truly amazing couple to photograph. Andrea + Dave - you two were so natural, so happy, so grateful, and so in LOVE that you were an absolute joy to be with and photograph on your wedding day :) We are truly honoured to have been a part of it, and wish you many years full of the kind of love and smiles that we saw so much of on your wedding day!

xo Jessica + Norman

{We absolutely *love* to photograph alternative and non-traditional weddings :) If you've got one in your future, please get in touch!}

Bride's gown: Jealous Bridesmaids
Officiant: Helen Sweet of The Brides Project did a lovely ceremony
Flowers + bouquets: Kirsten Rohloff Neiman, Sweet Splendor
Flowers from: Bloor & Kennedy Flower Shop (Bloor-West Village)
Caterer: Herrera's (dinner was amazing!)
Cake: Bunner's Bakeshop
Photography: Jessica + Norman, Jessica Lin Photography

Caroline & Graham's Graffiti Maternity Session

This is without a doubt the most colourful maternity shoot we've done yet! When Caroline mentioned that she and her husband Graham were planning on doing a graffiti walking tour of downtown Toronto I immediately thought it would be a fantastic backdrop for their upcoming maternity portrait session :)

I absolutely adore the vibrance and character of Kensington Market, and as you can see we had lots of fun checking out the graffiti and feeling the love while documenting this "expectant" stage in Caroline & Graham's life...

These two were so great - lots of laughing and kissing :) We are so looking forward to meeting the newest member of the family in a few weeks at their newborn session!

xo
Jessica + Norman

{Are you expecting your own bundle of joy in the near future? Email us now - we'd love to talk to you about maternity and newborn portraits, and we've just introduced a fantastic "Baby's First Year" package!}

Vivian + John - Amazing Spring Engagement Shoot

Last weekend we met up with Vivian and John to do their engagement portraits - not only did I love how much they smiled at each other, but they were also a really fun couple and loved to joke around together :) Here are some of my favourites from the images I'll be using to create their custom guest book..

We went to High Park, where the blossoms were fantastic! There were about a million other people there enjoying the beautiful weather on Sunday, but to look at these two you'd think they were the only ones in the world :)

Vivian + John - we had such a great time, and are so looking forward to photographing your wedding in the fall.. if your families are half as fun as you guys, it'll be a blast!

xo
Jessica + Norman

{if you are recently engaged and looking for an awesome photographer to capture your love - email us now - we'd love to chat!}

Aynslie & Mike - Fairy Tale Wedding at the Liberty Grand

Listening to Aynslie talk about her upcoming wedding day, I realized that she and I were a lot alike - we both have a glowy romantic princessy feeling about love and weddings :) From the choice of venue to the amazing colours, I knew this would be a wedding I would love!

We started the day off by visiting both the "Girls" and "Guys" camps as they were getting ready in the morning...

This is one of the most beautiful bouquets I've ever seen..

I've seen a few wedding rings in my day, but none that look like Mike's! (it's made of tungsten..)

This church was not only stunning, but happens to be the church where Aynslie's grandparents got married many years ago - how awesome is that?!

Aynslie had specifically asked me ahead of time if we could use this amazing central staircase for photos of the bridal party - what a great idea! I especially love this shot of her ascending the stairs :)

After the ceremony, we headed down to the CNE grounds for some great photo locations.. Aynslie & Mike couldn't have timed their wedding better with all those blossoms!

Yep - still at the CNE! There's this fantastic secret cabin (one of the first structures built in Toronto!) with a garden that feels like you're in the country all of a sudden :)

The Liberty Grand - a stunning venue! Totally romantic-fairy-tale-style :)

I love how weddings bring out the starry-eyed romantic looks between friends and family members who are guests! Jon & Janine (below, in colour) are coming up on the first anniversary of their wedding :)

Mike & Aynslie - you two had a perfectly magical day :) Thank you for inviting us to capture your fairy-tale wedding day and we wish you an equally magical Happily Ever After!

xo

Jessica + Norman

{If you have a magical day in your future, email us now - we'd love to meet with you to discuss how we can capture it perfectly for you!