Kristin and Curtis' Wedding

I don't think I've ever cried joyfully so much in my life. I'm actually kind of embarrassed at how emotional I was during my best friend's wedding. it's a double curse/blessing when your friends ask you to shoot for them. Any photographer will tell you how much work goes into a wedding, and that you're so busy working you never have time to just chill. But then, when someone you love is in love it's a once in a lifetime chance to capture those moments, and it means twice as much. it wasn't easy to shoot my friend's wedding, but I wouldn't have changed it for the world. Although if Penny wasn't there doing the majority of the work while I cried between shots, I don't know if the pictures would've turned out as well as they did....

kristin and Curtis' engagement

When my best friend told me she was engaged I finally realized what the fuss was about. Our friendship has a long span, we actually met at a wedding about thirteen years ago. Over the years we've been close and not so close, but we bonded again when she was my support in a silk dress as I walked down the aisle last year. I whole-heartedly rejoiced at the chance to shoot for them and even though they were shy, their love for one another radiates when you're in their presence. Here's some of my favorites from their engagement shoot.

 I'm guilty of a lot of things in these photos.... soft focus, blur effects, lens flare... sunsets....reflections...cross processing.... wow even I'm ashamed of myself, but they look so pretty!

Bon Jovi for Metro Edmonton

I ran into my friend Tony while shooting Bon Jovi who gave me floor seats. I was front row centre when I had to leave to go shoot Bon Jovi. Afterwards I learned there was nowhere to file my shots so I had to book it home to edit and send my files before 10pm. I left the concert at 9:55pm... talk about pressure! They were a few minutes late, but they made it in. After the stress of such a deadline, I didn't feel like going back so I drank a cold one on my patio with a neighbor, talking about music of the past and how he used to be in a band. All in all, a magical night.

Rich and Linda's Wedding!

Rich and Linda found us through our good friends Dan and Mandy, and we instantly fell in love with their warm hearts and goofy expressions. I learned really quickly that Linda makes a cute, funny face which is then followed by a relaxed, genuinely happy smile. It gave me tons of great shots and many laughs when the girls were getting ready. My husband summed them up when he said Rich's smile made him want to be his friend. It didn't even feel like fifteen hours when we wrapped up the evening dancing our way into some great shots, because you have to move on the dance floor, even if you're the photographer. Here's a couple from the hundreds of gooders.

What do guys do before their wedding? They play streetfighter! And then they put on their suits and play some more! 

Penny thought this would be funny. I think it was.

One of Linda's many funny expressions. No stress here!

 

I had to hunt down the priest after the ceremony to borrow this book for this shot. I had to go around to the back of the sanctuary and knock on giant wooden doors into the private quarters.... very scary. He was super nice though.

I love the smiles and the cuddles in this family!

 These guys were up for anything, jumping off hills, running in 3 inch heels. Awesome.

Penny set up this great series of shots on the hill and I snapped a couple candids since it looked like the guys were doing the shooting... so sweet

I love her cute expression in this one.

The guys made Rich shoot a mock rap video rewriting the words to "Gangster's Paradise" while walking through WEM with an 80's boom box on his shoulder. I almost died laughing!!

As soon as the music started everyone hit the dance floor and stayed there! We had smiles plastered to our faces the whole night, between the dance offs, random break dancing and limbo contests, we were constantly entertained by these hilarious guests!

Had to take advantage of a beautiful sunset. It was a lovely way to end a spectacular day!!

Broc and Gina's Wedding

The first time I met Broc he scaled a punching bag attached to sixteen foot rafters, monkey-climbed across them to a climbing rope also hanging from the ceiling and shimmied down the rope, all in about one minute. Needless to say he made a first impression. Especially since this was their living room.
Gina and Broc met on the beaches of Honduras and it was love at first.... float? There's a backstory to that you should ask them about if you ever get the chance. Gina and my husband are fast friends and I was delighted to be able to shoot for them on their not so traditional wedding day. A backyard wedding with a pirate theme... might be one of my favorites. Here's some shots from the day!

 The shot above is hands down my favorite shot of the year. I don't even quite know why, except I love the sweetness of the kiss, and how the sword is framed by the stars on the back wall. It's messy and in-the-moment and I just love it.

 Her dad was especially dapper in his leather pirate get-up.

 Right at this moment Gina's Grandma from Italy is serenading them with Danny Boy and she's in her late eighties. Very talented and charismatic Grandma. My favorite memory is catching her drinking with a group of pirates...

 Some unusual and crafty wedding bands.

If you're going to have a pirate wedding, you should look like pirates, right?