Mike and Trish

I have been going through my wedding images from this summer to update my website with my favourites
and came across the images from Trish and Mike's July wedding at Emerald Lake. When I originally blogged
about their wedding I shared their slideshow, this time around I thought it would nice to pull a few of my favourites
from their day and talk about their wedding a tiny bit. I have a funny story about how we met if you click here.
From the moment I saw Mike and Trish I knew I wanted to be able to photograph their wedding and through some
fortunate chance meetings I came to be their photographer. We first worked together when I photographed their
engagement photographs which were so much fun to work on and made me even more excited about shooting their
wedding. Trish and Mike are so in love and so romantic and they make it fun to be around them. Their wedding
day was as beautiful and heartfelt as I knew it would be. The morning was so relaxed and fun and filled with emotion.
Guests were busy canoeing on the lake while the bridal party got ready. Trish had special cufflinks made for Mike that
featured their initials for him to wear on their wedding day. The cake topper was the same one that Trish's parents had
at their wedding.

ceremony

I absolutely adore outdoor ceremonies because I get to take advantage of the beautiful natural
light. I loved the ring "box" that Trish's florist created for them. The rings were tied inside with
ribbons and then the whole thing closed up into a beautiful floral ball with a ribbon for the flowergirls
girls to carry.

intimate wedding

I love intimate weddings. I think each guest is excited to be there to celebrate with the couple.
Emerald Lake is the best location for an intimate wedding for people who love nature.
I loved how Trish's choices of bright colours stood out beautifully against the scenery.

Trish and Mike

I had the above heart sign made with Trish and Mike's wedding date on it specifically so I could use
it for the cover of their wedding album. I loved the pictures from their wedding so much that I made
a sample album for myself, if you come to my office you can see their wedding album for yourself.
The colours are real, I didn't do anything to alter them. Emerald Lake is a stunning colour and on their
wedding day it just seemed to glow. I learned quickly from our engagement session together that Trish
and Mike are a joy to photograph. They are so at ease with each other and so in love. They laugh easily
in each other's presence and just being around them makes you want to capture them in photographs.
I have to send out kisses to my husband Kevin for tirelessly paddling me around in a canoe parallel
to Trish and Mike so I could take pictures as they moved throughout the lake.

Emerald Lake

The late summer evening light at Emerald Lake was stunning. The colour of the water with Trish's
choices for vibrant reds and oranges worked beautifully together. I loved the easiness of Trish and
Mike's wedding reception. Trish spent time dancing with the little girls who were in awe of her dress,
her shoes, her flowers. Everyone was out enjoying the beautiful location and each other. Nothing was
rushed, every moment was enjoyed. I loved the huge teddy bear that Trish and Mike gave to Trish's
niece, it was obvious she loved it too. Trish's father brought back the beautiful parasols from Thailand
for the wedding.

toasts

I'll end my post here of Mike and Trish's wedding with perhaps my favourite part of the day
the wedding toasts. Their wedding could easily be my favourite evening of toasts to date.
The toasts were funny and tear inspiring. I ended up with my most favourite toast photographs from
this wedding in large part because of the way Trish and Mike responded to the toasts.
I loved the way Trish and Mike cuddled in close to each other to listen to the toasts and I caught
them laughing and crying together in reaction to the sweet words spoken about them. Even grandma
couldn't hide her tears, nor could I. At the end of the toasts when Mike and Trish stood up to toast
each other and express their love and gratitude to the family and friends that joined them in celebrating
I caught a moment that flashed for a brief second of both of them reaching for a kleenex at the same
time. And in true Mike and Trish fashion even while brushing aside their tears they shared a laugh together.

Trish and Mike words cannot express the gratitude that I have for finding you and in return you finding
me so that I could be there to photograph your wedding. The love that you both have for each other is
wonderful to be around. Your wedding day was a perfect reflection of the both of you, your beauty, your
creativity, your vibrancy and the love you have for your families and each other.

Love, Saskatchewan

I was so excited when I received Joni and Kent's elegant invitation in the mail.
I immediately noticed the postmark that read "Love, Saskatchewan" and I had to find out first if there
really is a town named Love in Saskatchewan and how Joni and Kent got their postmark on their wedding
invitations. I found out from Joni that Kent and Joni made the 3 1/2 hour drive there and back to the tiny
post office in Love, Saskatchewan together to drop off their wedding invitations. I found this really romantic.
As proof Joni sent along the above photo of her in front of the Love, Saskatchewan tiny post office ready
to send off their wedding invitations. I found it really romantic that they came up with idea and then took
the time to take a road trip together to send off their invitations with love. When I flipped the envelope over
I discovered the beautiful wax seal that features the initials of their last names. Even though they are not married yet
they currently share the same initial in both their last names. Upon opening their invitation I discovered the beautiful
wedding logo. I used to ask couples to send me their invitations to give me a better sense of the style of their
upcoming wedding. Seeing the beautiful logo that Joni and Kent used for their invitation immediately made
me think about ways that I can incorporate that in their wedding album design.

Joni and Kent's gorgeous wedding invitation was designed and created by Dione and her team at Plush Invitations in Calgary.

Joni and Kent thank you for thoughtfully sending your invitation on to me and sharing your story about Love, Saskatchewan.
I think it's so romantic. Receiving your invitation in the mail makes me even more excited about your upcoming wedding!

Catherine and Fred

Catherine and Fred's wedding was full of excitement. I was struck by how close all the families
involved were. They are perhaps the only wedding party I know of to have been exactly on time
getting ready and to have been excited and stress free the whole time. It made for a really fun
morning. I loved Catherine and Fred's exit from the church which was met by cheers and lots
of smiles. Despite being one of the coldest windiest days everyone was really tough and willing
to withstand outdoor photographs.

Spanish Hallway

The Banff Springs always looks stunning when they decorate for Christmas.
We had to take advantage of the lights in the Spanish Hallway for a quick shot.

Mt.Stephen Hall

Catherine and Fred had their reception in the Mount Stephen Hall at the Banff Springs.
It is one of my favourite locations as it is so majestic and elegant. I loved their chocolate
brown linens which suited the hall beautifully.

Dancing

It was obvious immediately that Catherine and Fred had taken dance lessons,
they looked gorgeous and graceful on the dance floor. There are always a few
moments that get me weepy at weddings and the father daughter dance usually
does that for me. I loved the moment I caught between Catherine and her Dad where
he was holding her close and gave her a kiss on the cheek, so sweet.

Mattea lives here

One of the things that I love about my job is getting to be witness to monumental moments in people's lives. I feel privileged to be asked to be there to photograph my clients at transitional moments. I photographed
Lynn and Troy's wedding in March so I was honoured for them to ask me to photograph Lynn's pregnancy. Pregnancy suits Lynn beautifully,
she has a perfect belly. Lynn and Troy are expecting a Christmas baby so they worked hard to finish the nursery complete with
a tiny pink Christmas tree for baby's first Christmas. I loved the hand made striped nursery wall that featured sweet sayings written throughout. Lynn came up with the idea to write "Mattea lives here" on her belly and her Mum did a beautiful job with
the handwriting, especially considering she had to work with lip liner as her pen! I am excited to meet Mattea, it is obvious she
is already immensely loved.

a perfect day

I've finished my last wedding of this year and what I am looking forward to the most is spending some time away from the computer and with my husband. Even though Kevin works with me which means I get to see him often, it is pretty rare that we get to spend a day together that doesn't involve working. When we woke up Kevin said to me "wanna go cut some ice?". I laughed out loud. We bought ice skates when we first moved to Canada but have only skated a few times. Despite the fact that I grew up across the street from a skating rink and went every week-end to skate I am not a good skater. What I love about skating is that despite the fact I am not good at it I still think it's fun. We went to Cascade ponds because we heard the ice was ready and it's always better to hit it before the snow comes. Though I can't do much more than shakily move forward I absolutely loved it. The sun was shining the air was crisp and the surrounding mountains were stunning. We had the place to our selves. After a couple of hours of playing around on Cascade we got in the car. Still excited about skating Kevin said he heard the ice at Vermillion Lakes was good so we decided to head over there. It was purely magical. The ice was so clear you could see to the bottom of the lake. It felt like you were floating above everything. You can see in the last photograph the really beautiful frozen air bubbles that were all around, their patterns were stunning. The sun was setting over the mountains and the wind was strong enough that if you pointed your skates with the wind at your back it would carry you all the way across the lake. It felt good to be out with my husband enjoying the beautiful place we live. I even saw a fish swimming right underneath me on the ice. After the sun had set we headed into town to share a piece of chocolate cheesecake and sip hot chocolates. Any day that ends with me enjoying hot chocolate with my husband is a perfect day.

Kyla and Clay are getting married!

It was really difficult for me to edit down my photographs with my engagement session with Kyla and Clay to a select few.
You know a day is going to start out just lovely when your clients show up with hot chocolate for you and your husband,
how sweet is that? Kyla and Clay not only won me over with hot chocolate but with their witty sense of humour. They are both hilarious. The way that they joke and laugh with each other is really fun to be around. I wish I had a video camera with me to
truly capture our photo session. What you can't see in the photographs is that the wind must of been about -40C, it was a bitter powerful freezing cold wind and yet Kyla and Clay made no complaints. They laid down in the grasses for me and took
off their jackets, gotta love clients like that. It is inspiring to be around two people who are in love, it is a huge part of why I love the work I get to do, Kyla and Clay are inspiring in that way. They are perfect for each other. I had a great time photographing them. My only disappointment is that I won't be photographing their intimate upcoming wedding in Mexico,
after the freezing cold temperatures they endured here during their photo shoot Mexico will be dreamy for them.

Kyla and Clay thank you for your trust, your kindness, your humour and your amazing attitudes. You made my time with you
really fun and I wish you all the best on your upcoming wedding!

Orange Girl Office!

It has been really hard to keep quiet on this until I had everything painted and in place. I finally have my own office! I am so giddy about it!! I can remember as early as high school having dreams of having a photography space that I could hang a few pictures in and now that dream has come true and I feel very lucky. I really wanted to find a small private space just big enough to invite clients over to so they could see my work and meet me in person and I found just that. My office is right downtown and boasts a gorgeous view and lots of sunlight throughout the day.

When the graphic designer came to install the vinyl signage on my door I found myself standing and staring at it grinning from ear to ear. I finally have a place that I can have all my albums in and hang some pictures on the wall so people can see for themselves how they look framed. This is how my office started out. I was not a fan of the dingy carpet or the purple blinds they were the first to go.


I have to thank my dear friends and supporters Dylan and Danelle who gave up a Sunday to drive out with a truck full of tools and a 1 year old to help install baseboards. Dylan and my husband Kevin did the baseboards for me, thank you dearly guys,
I could not of done it without you!! They are a huge improvement over the black rubber ones that my office came with.
Here is my office today.



One of my earliest memories of being interested in photography is of watching my grandad take photographs with his beautiful cameras. His actions were so deliberate and thoughtful. He would pull his camera out of the brown leather case and step toward his subject to take a meter reading and then make the adjustments necessary to his camera. I was fascinated.
I now have a little corner that I can have two of my grandad's cameras with me at the office. I smile every time I look over at them.

My space is too tiny to hold any kind of grand opening so I invite you to call me up and invite yourselves over.
You can take in my great view.

milkbone

Whenever I return home and find a package from UPS waiting for me
I am sure to step inside and find new scratches that run the length of
our front door, the blinds all askew and the front mat full of claw marks
and tossed aside. It looks like our dog Edith has raged some kind of
war against the UPS man. I can only imagine the horror of delivering
a package to our front door. When I am home and the UPS man arrives
Edith lets out some vicious barks and growls, again I can't imagine what
she sounds like when I'm not here. The UPS man has never seen our
dog I would love to know what he thinks she looks like.

Recently despite my dog's rude manners whenever I come home to
find a package at my door there is a single milkbone biscuit carefully
placed on top of the package. The first time I saw it I laughed out loud.
And now every time a package arrives Edith is sure to get a milkbone
from the UPS man. I absolutely love it, it makes me smile every time.
I wish Edith could understand who it is that brings her the tasty treats
and make peace with the poor man but tonight when the door bell
rang Edith was quick to run to the front door and let out the rudest
barks. I was embarrassed for her.

The Perfect Christmas Gifts!! Order by December 5th!

I am so excited to be able to offer custom sterling silver jewelry to my existing clients this year
just in time for Christmas. I've been ordering a few of these myself to give to friends and I fell in
love with them and decided that I had to offer them in my studio. I've just ordered my first big set
of samples which are on the way. You'll be able to come by and see them for yourself by the end
of the year. In the meantime I wanted to be able to offer these to you in time for Christmas.
I've already done my Christmas shopping.

The above pieces are my favourites. At this point I can only use photographs that I have taken.

Did I photograph your engagement photos? The men's cufflinks are a fun idea to give your groom for the wedding day.

Want to celebrate your first Christmas as husband and wife? The above pewter ornament is a great keepsake.

Did I photograph your baby? The charm bracelets are gorgeous and a perfect way to showcase all the little details.
I'd do a charm for the little feet, one for the hands, one of their face etc. My friend gave one to her Mum with her
grandchild featured and it was a hit.

Want to give your bridesmaid a personalized gift? I'd suggest a necklace with a picture of the two of you.

I ordered a necklace for myself with my husband and I so who says you have to give them away for Christmas.
There are so many possibilities. You only have until December 5th for Christmas delivery.
Call me up and I'll discuss all the options and prices with you in person.

meet Carmen and Dylan

Dylan and Carmen are hilarious together. One of my favourite moments of photographing them was when they
were reading a book together. Out of nowhere they both started making this crazy dolphin sound at the same
time, I've never heard anything like it and was fantastic. Dylan has gorgeous eyes and was fun to photograph.
Of course I had to request a few pictures of Carmen in her diaper, she is adorable. Thank you Jody and Dave
for asking me to come photograph your beautiful family!