Janine & Jon - A Foresty Fairytale Wedding

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 :)

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!