Now several years later after puppies, home ownership, and both scholastic and professional achievements they made it official. It was glorious. It was beautiful. It was incredible. With their friends and family happily by their sides this beautiful couple made the ultimate promise at Alex’s family cottage on a very hot and very sunny Saturday.

To Alex & Chelsea – thank you so much for trusting me to document your special day.

And to my good friend Chris Badanjak – thank you for coming up for the day to help out.

Until next time…

We got together a few weeks ago for engagement photos but it was a really crappy/rainy day weather-wise. We literally got in our cars and chased the sun north to Newmarket. While we did manage to shoot some photos that day, ultimately we decided to reschedule for a second day and hope for better weather…and so it was that we got together this evening at the Orangeville Badlands. Paydirt (literally…it is really dirty there) but the sun was shining as a cool breeze blew through the area.

David and Bree were troopers (A+ for effort guys!) – we all got a bit of a workout traipsing up and down the steep hills in the area, climbing over fences and sitting in trees.

Here are several quick sneak peeks from a few hours ago…

To David & Bree…thanks for coming back out today – it was fun to spend some time with you guys today. I hope you got the mud off your boots! See you soon.

Until next time friends…

My family has a farm east of Toronto. My mum and step-dad were kind enough to host a day of photo-fun. I invited five of my photography buddies to head out for a day of shooting. We also brought along a milliner, a gown designer, gowns from two other stores, two hair-stylists, two make-up artists, designer furniture, a decor company, a cake designer and six models. The idea was to feature all of the wonderful vendors, artists and models in a wedding magazine but everyone involved has decided to share images on their own now.

Each of the models is wearing fascinators, veils and jewellery by David Dunkley of KC’s Hats. Hair and make-up were done by Lisa Barclay (independent artist) and Pamella Alexandra (of P.S. I Love Your Make-Up). Gowns were provided by Helen Sweet of The Bride’s Project and Elizabeth Oliveira of Labl Stylelab. The furniture was provided by Kantelberg Antiques and decor was provided by To Suit Your Fancy.

If you don’t already know who David Dunkley is I highly recommend a trip to his studio store at 998 Bathurst Street. David has an incredible flair for design. Not only will you find breathtaking pieces in his studio but David will happily create a custom fascinator, birdcage, veil or hat for you (he did one for me that I often wear when I shoot weddings now).

Lisa Barclay and Pamella Alexandra were so much fun to work with. I think the photos speak to their talent – all of the girls looked absolutely beautiful! Marion and Chanel of Marion’s Hair Studio did more than their fair share to help out too…absolutely incredible!

And for those on the hunt for the perfect wedding gown make sure you get in touch with Helen Sweet of The Bride’s Project. Helen certainly lives up to the name “Sweet,” – she is delightful and so friendly and helpful. She does amazing work and has a gorgeous collection of gowns available for an absolute steal (plus, when you shop there you are helping save lives…win/win, my friends).

You will find contact information for each of the involved parties at the bottom of this blog post.

Here are some of my favourite shots from the day – I hope you love them as much as I do…

For the discerning fashionista you need look no further than Labl Stylelab. I can’t say enough great things about Elizabeth. Oliveira. She designed the gowns in the following photos. I have seen more than my fair share of wedding gowns in my day and I can honestly say I have never seen garments more beautifully constructed than these (seriously, the models were fighting over who got to wear them)…just amazing work!

I would be remiss without sending a HUGE thank you to both Kantelberg Antiques and To Suit Your Fancy. My dear friend Garrett of Kantelberg Antiques had a photo session with me a few weeks before the farm shoot. I was kind of joking when I asked if I could borrow a few pieces from the store for this shoot. He blew me out of the water when he not only said yes, but sent A LOT of pieces. Then To Suit Your Fancy showed up with an entire team of decore specialists. James is a visionary – really, he can make any room or venue look like your wildest dreams. We have worked together before on weddings before and it is always a pleasure to see what his team comes up with.

Finally here is specific contact info for some of the fabulous folks who helped make the shoot happen…

Milliner: David Dunkley of KC’s Hats
web: http://www.kcshats.com

Make Up Artist: Lisa Barclay
web: http://www.lisaraemua.com

Make Up Artist: Pamella Alexandra
web: http://www.psiloveyourmakeup.com/

Hair Stylists: Marion & Chanel of Marion’s Hair Studio
web: http://www.marionshairstudio.ca

Decor: To Suit Your Fancy
web: http://www.tosuityourfancy.com
Gowns:
Labl Stylelab (Elizabeth Oliveira)
web: http://labl.ca/stylelab-about.html

Bride’s Project Cancer Crusade (Helen Sweet)
web: http://www.thebridesproject.com/

Furniture: Kantelberg Antiques (Garrett Goldup)
web: http://kantelbergco.com/

Thanks to all the models and my photo-friends who came out for a great day producing some truly beautiful images.

Until next time – happy shooting…

I am out east this week shooting two weddings in New Brunswick. The first one was in St. Andrews (my third trip there) and took place on a tall ship in the Bay of Fundy two days ago. The next wedding is this coming Saturday in Sussex. I will be posting photos from both of the weddings over the next few weeks. With a week off in between weddings it didn’t make a whole lot of sense to head home only to turn around and come back east so instead I find myself on a road trip for fun (YEAH!).

When I first found out I was coming back out this way I immediately booked a charter off Grand Manan Island to go see puffins and seals on Machias Seal Island (my trip to do that last year was cancelled due to inclement weather). Wouldn’t you know it…I was foiled again but this time by rain. So on Sunday afternoon while leaving St. Andrews I consulted my Garmin Nuvi to see what possible destinations were within a reasonable distance. After a coin toss (it was either going to be north or south) I decided to head north and finally check Percé Quebec off my travel hitlist.

The town of Percé is a very small village near the tip of the Gaspé Peninsula in Québec. Historically this was a very prolific fishing community but today the town is mainly a tourist location due to Percé Rock (or “the rock” as the locals refer to it) and Bonaventure Island. One of my photog-friends Ethan Meleg is an amazing nature and wildlife photographer. I found out about a colony of Northern Gannets on Bonaventure Island (a quick boat ride from Percé) from a blog post Ethan did a couple of years ago and since then it has been on the backburner of my travel hitlist (thanks for that Ethan).

I was hoping to make it here Sunday night but because of all the rain I had to pull over to sleep about half way here. I finally arrived late this afternoon and had just enough time to check in to my hotel before heading off in search of a good vantage point for some photos. I got lucky this evening when the sun finally came out for about 15 seconds.

Without further ado…Percé Rock:

A little bit later this evening I found a new spot and I may go back here for sunrise:

As it turns out I may also have opportunities to see puffins, seals and whales tomorrow…I am crossing my fingers for some good photo-ops.

Until next time, happy shooting…

For this particular celebration I asked my dear friend Anita Hadjur to come along for both the engagement shoot and the fabulous wedding. We always have fun shooting together and I knew she would make a wonderful contribution to these events. You can find out more about Anita here.

Erica & Chris decided to get married at the Palais Royale…why you ask? Well, because one of Erica’s favourite bands recorded an album there and Chris went to a few awesome concerts there too. You will see from a few of these photos the gifts they gave one another were musical, the reception tables were named after favourite albums and each guest needed a backstage pass to attend…ingenuity…I love it!

And without further ado, some photos:

To Chris & Erica…thank you! All your hard work and planning certainly paid off. What a wonderful wedding celebration. It truly was an honour to document your special day. I wish you much joy and happiness as you begin this new chapter of your lives together.

I shall leave you with an excerpt from a lovely email I got from Erica & Chris about a week ago:

Hi Amelia,
After a whirlwind post-wedding of visiting family and then running
off on our honeymoon, we’re finally back in Toronto (got in last
night) and I wanted to take a minute to send you a note and say a VERY
big thank you to you and Anita for all of your help and hard work on
our wedding day. You were both truly amazing – and somehow
everywhere at once! So many of our family commented on how great you
both were and everyone is just so excited to see how the pictures
turned out. My mom can’t stop raving about the few that she saw on
the screen of your camera, so I just know we got some seriously good
photos!
Anyways, I just wanted to say thanks again for being so great.
Please send our thanks to Anita as well. Can’t wait to see the photos!
Thanks,
Erica (& Chris)

(Now you guys see even more why I love my job sooooooo much?)

I am kind of beside myself that I get to travel out to one of my favourite places and do it all again (twice) this summer…that’s right…TWO weddings in New Brunswick in August (I’m so excited!). Anyhow, Patty & Mark’s wedding is one of them and I am really looking forward to watching and documenting these two take the official plunge.

Mark & Patty have something special. You don’t see it often but you know when you do see it. They kind of light up when they look at each other. Let’s see here…Merriam Webster defines TORCH as follows:
1. a burning stick of resinous wood or twist of tow used to give light and usually carried in the hand : flambeau
2. something (as tradition, wisdom, or knowledge) likened to a torch as giving light or guidance 3. any of various portable devices for emitting an unusually hot flame
Yep…that about sums these two up.

And so I introduce you to this lovely couple.

We started down at Cherry Beach…

Then it was off to BCE place – we actually got kicked out but it was worth it!

Next we found ourselves outside Union Station – these bikes are for rent (what fun!)

Our final stop was Polson Pier…

See you soon guys!

I first met Ariana when she was a couple of weeks old. I shot some photos of her on Father’s Day last June and you can see those here.

Without further ado…baby Ariana’s first birthday…

To Michelle & Frank: congratulations on a wonderful first year and I hope you continue to marvel in Ariana’s milestones. With love…

After about three weeks of what seemed like near constant rain it was a welcome blessing to wake up to the most beautiful day of the year so far. The sun was shining, the clouds were fluffy and white, and it was absolutely a perfect day for a wedding.

My day started off at the historic and stunning King Eddy Hotel in downtown Toronto where I joined Caitlin with some of her friends and family as she finished getting ready for the big day.

And here I asked Caitlin to think of Greg – she burst into a great big smile:

My good friend Kristina Laukkanen of Michael Raimi Studios came along to help out for the day and she had the pleasure of spending the early part of the day with Greg and his side of the wedding party.

Next we were off to the Timothy Eaton Memorial Church (c. 1914). Caitlin was radiant as she pulled up in a Rolls Royce with her father.

The ceremony was lovely and the happy couple was applauded by friends and family…

After some formal family photos at the church the wedding party and photographers headed down to the Distillery District for some fun photos.

Next it was back to the King Eddy for a black tie ball complete with a big band.

Near the end of the evening I managed to convince a hotel employee to allow us into the Crystal Ballroom for some fun with Caitlin & Greg. The Crystal Ballroom is magnificent. If you ask some employees at The King Eddy they may try denying it even exists (and this baffles me). Although the hotel was built in 1903, the Crystal Ballroom was added in 1921. It was used as the epicentre of elite social gatherings in Toronto until it was abandoned in the late 1950s (and I have yet to get a plausible answer to the question of why). The room now stands largely unused. Surely an investor will someday jump on the opportunity to renovate and re-open this jewel of Toronto (fingers crossed).

For any of you who would like to see additional photographs you may watch a slideshow here: www.flirtphotography.ca/Slideshow/Evans

To Caitlin, Greg and their families and friends…thank you so much for choosing me to document your special day. It truly was a pleasure to get to know everyone involved. I wish you much happiness in this new chapter of your lives together and I really do hope you will stay in touch. With love…

The featured couple today was just like that. I didn’t actually shoot their wedding but I was asked to come help out on a first-anniversary shoot in Spencer Gorge. This was quite an adventure as my good friend Anita Hadjur and I set out with our gear to hike down and then – yikes! – back up the gorge…and all the while our gorgeous bride was traipsing over rocks, brush, bushes and fallen trees in her wedding gown (what a great sport!).

Ladies and gentlemen…meet Reham and Mike

Isn’t she stunning?

As a general rule digital photography equipment and water don’t play well together. The spray from the waterfall was refreshing but posed quite a challenge to keeping the lens clear. I think the effort was worth it…

and finally after climbing all the way back up we had time for a few shots on a hill in the dark…

Thanks to Anita for asking me to come hang out and have so much fun together.

Reham and Mike…congratulations on your anniversary and may you have continued happiness as the years go by.

Until next time…

I should clarify for those who do not spend time around horses that the four-week wait was the time AFTER the first foal was due to arrive and had mother nature (or rather the mares) cooperated we should have had five foals on the ground by March 31st. As I sit and type this blogpost I am sitting in a chair in a second floor loft periodically gazing over a field checking on the remaining four overdue mares to watch for signs of labour.

I don’t live at the farm but I do come to visit regularly and this past week included no less than three trips out here for a “guaranteed” delivery only to be disappointed. Yesterday I drove out after dinner and arrived around 9:15 p.m. The normal course of action is to turn the lights out in the barn at 10:00 p.m. and commence foal watch (most mares delivery between 10:00 p.m. and 4:00 a.m. – not very convenient for those of us who enjoy sleeping). Everyone here (friends and family) was pleasantly surprised when Jewel went into labour at 9:25 p.m. and VERY QUICKLY delivered a beautiful little filly we have named OK Gemma.

Here she is five minutes after she was born (she is still attached to her mum via the umbilical cord in this photo):

And here our barn manager Rick is drying OK Gemma off with a towel – she is also sitting under a heat lamp.

Very quickly after birth a foal will attempt (usually unsuccessfully) to stand and nurse…

And here you see the result…whoops! (It took OK Gemma about 90 minutes to stand on her own and during that time the mare was milked and the foal was bottle-fed colostrum.)

This morning we took the adorable foal out to be weighed. Despite her very late arrival she weighed a very healthy 114 pounds (I thought she would weigh more because she was so late but it turned out she was tiny and probably just needed some extra time to grow). She is approximately 12 hours old in the rest of these photos.

After the move she seemed exhausted and had a little nap while we cleaned out her regular box.

She looks thin but don’t worry everyone…she is perfectly healthy and quite strong.

I love the tiny hooves…

Then it was time to get up for some more food – so alert and full of beans. It is a little bit too cold for OK Gemma to go outside but I will take some photos of her running around outdoors tomorrow morning.

Here she is coming out to be moved back to her regular box.

Until next time…