Team Sarrie!

Recently I had the extremely awesome opportunity to travel to Edinburgh, Scotland to shoot the Wedding/Civil Union of two incredible people. I first met Carrie & Sarah in San Francisco almost two years ago. I was struck then by their warmth & tenderness towards each other, but I would have never thought that 21 months later I would be half-way across the world shooting their Wedding!

When I received an email from Carrie in January of this year asking if I would be open to the idea of photographing their big day, I almost pee’d my pants. I know that’s not very professional to admit, but it’s true! I was THRILLED. Not just because it would mean that I would get to go to Scotland, but because I would get to work with this amazing couple once more. Lucky me!

Their big day was packed full of personalized, ‘DIY’ touches. From the newspaper buttoniers, to their converted-children’s books menus, the whole event just oozed ‘Carrie & Sarah’ (known collectively now by the moniker of ‘Sarrie‘) charm. It was fabulous.

There are a few things that I will never forget about Sarrie’s wedding:

* The Ceilidh Dancing! While a norm at Scottish Weddings & Events, this traditional Gaelic group folk dance has yet to take North America by storm… And that is a cryin’ shame because it was easily some of the most fun I have ever had at a Wedding! So fun, in fact, that I think I will make it a point to mention it to all my future Wedding Clients in an attempt to convince THEM to have a Ceilidh of their very own. They’ll thank me later!

* The Venue. ‘The Caves’ on Niddry Street hosted both the Ceremony & the Reception and they did an absolutely stand-up job of it. While tricky to photograph in, the brick, the lights, the secret little nooks & crannies were so incredibly atmospheric and beautiful! The venue really took on an identity all it’s own… Which, I think, is the sign of a truly special venue.

* The LOVE! Look, every wedding is packed full of love. That’s sort of the nature of the event, y’know? However, every so often you get to attend a wedding where the LOVE, the serenity, the happiness practically drips from the walls. It oozes out of not just the Bride & Groom (or, in this case- the Bride & the Bride) but out of every single person in attendance as well. There is so much love and endorphins just floating around that it’s intoxicating. I will always remember Carrie & Sarah’s wedding as one of the most loving, tender & genuine nuptials that I have ever had the pleasure of attending.

Big thank you to Carrie & Sarah for having me out there and for trusting me and my camera to capture their magical day. You were such gracious hosts! I wish you two a lifetime of laughter and happiness (though, I have a feeling that your lives are not lacking in that department in the slightest!). Much love!

Frances & Chilo

Goodness! I can’t believe that I didn’t blog about Frances’ and Chilo’s Wedding yet! I guess I got so wrapped up in the Holidays and The New Year, and it just completely slipped my mind. Well, better late than never!

I first met Frances when she contacted me for photos of her then-4 month old baby girl. The shoot was fabulous and I went on to work with Frances & her daughter Charlotte many more times. Each time was an absolute joy. Charlotte was a natural in front of the camera from that very first shoot!

In mid-2011 Frances contacted me yet again. Only this time it wasn’t for photos of Charlotte… Frances and her long-time boyfriend were now ENGAGED and planning a intimate wedding at San Francisco’s City Hall. I could not have been more thrilled for this little family! Even more exciting was that Frances wanted to know when I would next be in San Francisco. She wanted to plan her wedding for a date that I would be in town because she was determined that I had to be their photographer. I was beyond flattered that she was so set on me photographing her big day. “We’ll wait for you! We’re not in any rush!“ She said. ::ultimate photographer flattery::

And so, on November 18th I was honoured to once again work with this amazing family. Only this time I was being trusted to photograph one of the biggest days of their lives– Their Wedding Day. As always, City Hall was an absolutely perfect backdrop for a short, sweet & tender ceremony. Congratulations Frances & Chilo (and of course, precious little Charlotte, too)!! I am so glad that I could have been there.

Denver Sneak Peek

I was in Denver this past weekend shooting Victoria & Will’s absolutely beautiful wedding. I have a lot to say about the trip & the wedding, but I will save it for the full blog post. For now, please enjoy these little ‘sneak peek’ images!

Benjamin turns 1!

I am so glad that I was able to do this shoot!! Just over a year ago, I met the ‘B’ family when they were expecting their first child. We did a beautiful maternity shoot in their amazing San Francisco home. A month or two later, their baby boy Benjamin entered this world and I returned to do his newborn shoot. Well, since then I have moved back to Vancouver Canada so I wasn’t sure that  I would be able to make back to capture his 1st birthday.

However, in July I had planned a short visit to San Francisco, so I emailed a few previous clients to get in touch. As it turns out, the timing could not have been better for the B Family! Benjamin’s 1st birthday was just around the corner and it was the perfect time for me to come! We immediately planned another session in their home, and it was a wild success. Ben has grown up into such a vivacious, brave & charismatic little man. As always it is a joy to have been able to watch him grow up and capture the priceless memories that he & his family will cherish for many, many year to come.

getting established in vancouver

Getting settled in Vancouver has been quite the whirlwind. The first few weeks were spent apartment hunting, followed by moving, followed by unpacking and assembling more IKEA furniture than I care to mention. I am happy to announce that our endless hard work has paid off, and we are now 98% unpacked and settled into our new place.

My ‘To Do’ list is nowhere near complete, however. Now that we’re unpacked I have to tackle the ever-growing list of Photography related items… Order new business cards, establish a new client base, find a new printing company, revamp website to reflect my new location… I also plan on revamping my Price List & Portrait Sessions to stay competitive in this new market.

I have had several people approach me asking for an ‘all inclusive’ Portrait Session that includes the Disc of Images. In response I am pleased to be offering a new, All Inclusive Portrait Package. It’s called the ‘Fully Loaded’ Portrait Package and it includes, once & for all, your session fee and your disc of edited, beautiful high resolution images with a print release. For information on that package & my other services– please check out my website.

I am sure that there will be other changes to come, and I look forward to the months ahead! I hope that they bring lots of sunshine, adventure & fabulous new clients! Happy June to all of you!

Sarah & Paul!

Several months ago I did a very mini photo shoot for my darling friend Sarah and her (then) boyfriend Paul. The pair stopped over in San Francisco  while on a road trip to Arizona. We snapped a few photos of the pair while I showed them around my fair city a little bit… Little did I (or Sarah!) know, Paul was planning a proposal in just a few short weeks! The couple is now engaged and planning a Spring 2011 wedding, which yours truly has been tasked with covering! I am so excited for this adorable couple!

Stacey and Cale

Stacey & Cale. August 08/2010.

‘The Prestige‘ Resort, Salmon Arm British Columbia Canada

♥

Imagine your bestfriend in highschool. You meet on the first day of the 8th grade, and form an immediate friendship that goes on to last years, a decade, and longer. You have dozens of mutual friends, thousands of amazing fond memories, and endless hopes for the future. Now, imagine that that precious, cherished friend is getting married. And you are trusted with the task of photographing the big event. It is an honor, a privilege and SO MUCH FUN.

Stacey & Cale tied the knot in a large (yet, amazingly intimate feeling) wedding on a sunny afternoon in ‘Salmon Arm, British Columbia’. Their 250 guests nearly filled the entire resort, so for days following the big day it felt almost like summer camp. With countless familiar faces all dining together, relaxing together, laughing together and anticipating the Wedding Day.

Their day was full of personalized touches– Yellow & Orange were the colours (the Groom & Brides favorite colours, respectively), tables named after their favorite movies and ‘movie trivia’ in order to have your table called for dinner. It was a great day, and a very special shoot for me. It’s not every day that one of your very favorite people on the entire planet gets married, after all!

Thank you Stacey & Cale for letting me share in such intimate and special moments with you guys (I still tear up thinking about how Cale cried when he first saw Stacey in her dress… and I truly feel blessed that I was the only one in the room with them to see it happen) and thank you for trusting me to capture your big day with style and pizazz. I love you guys so much!

 

 

 

stacey & cale

This weekend I had the huge honor of photographing two of my longest & best friends get married. I met both Stacey & Cale in highschool (where they also met) more than a decade ago. Who would have thought then that in 2010 they would be tying the knot at an beautiful ceremony in Salmon Arm, British Columbia? It was an amazing experience, and one that I will never forget.

I am still in British Columbia, and as such cannot fully edit all the photographs just yet. But I thought it would be nice to share just a few images with you all. Keep an eye on their full blog post in the weeks to come. There are SO many more images– I know I am going to have such a hard time choosing just 10-15 to share with you later.

Jeremy & Erica

While in New York, I did a quick photoshoot for my (future) Brother in Law and his Darling girlfriend. The pair of them are currently in Haiti with the UN helping with relief efforts… Jeremy is helping to set up a Communication Command Centre, and Erica (being Bi-Lingual) is helping with translation. What has happened in Haiti is truly heart wrenching and earth shattering, but I sleep better at night knowing that there are people like Jeremy & Erica out there lending a hand. The world is richer thanks to people like them.

Thinking of all of those poor souls in Haiti, and of all the many volunteers and relief workers who are doing their best to save lives and lend a hand. May they all find hope, peace and strength.

Los Angeles with the new 24mm lens

I am home from a particularly crazy Christmas & New Years adventure. New York to Los Angeles in the span of just 10 days! As mentioned below in my earlier post, we stayed with our lovely friends Patrick & Emily (for whom I did some portrait work). Justin and I also did some sightseeing, shopping and our fair share of eating. It was a great trip!

I was happy to put my relatively-new 24mm lens to use for the first time. It was such a change from my normal 50mm focal length, and was very fun to play around with. Here are a few shots from the trip!