Claire and Nicholas’ wedding took place on a warm and sunny July day…and what better way to start than with a swim!  I  joined Claire and Nicholas at Nicholas’ secret childhood swimming hole, where they enjoyed some peaceful alone time before the activ­ities of the day took over.

While Nicholas returned to his family home to get ready…

…Claire joined her family and brides­maids at her suite in the Weston. Once ready, she was off to the Notre Dame Basilica for their ceremony in an English-style cab.

The ceremony at the Notre Dame Basilica was beautiful.

A bagpiper lead them and their guests from the Notre Dame Basilica to the National Arts Centre, where cock­tails were waiting.

Dinner and dancing followed, including a speech by the best man that was one of the greatest I have heard in all the years I have been photographing weddings.

Once the formal parts of the reception were over, we snuck outside for some nightime portraits before heading back in to party with their guests.

I had a ton of fun with you both, and wish you all the best!
…Mike

Ladies, the shoes you choose to wear on your wedding day are an important part of the dress. Besides being a great way to acces­sorize and express your personal style, they effect every­thing from the shape of your calf to the hemline of your dress. All of which you probably know already.

The right shoe completes any outfit.

If you’re like most brides, the shoes you’ll wear on your wedding day are purchased just for that occasion.  And as we all know, even the most comfortable shoes need a little breaking in before they are ready for extended wearing. We’ve all purchased new shoes, and we’ve all had the sore feet and blisters that can result from wearing them the first time for too long.

You might feel strange just hanging out in these, but your feet will thank you in the long run.

So today’s tip is this: break them in before the big day. All it takes is wearing them for an hour or two, once a week, at home. Do this maybe 4–5 times, and your feet will thank you when it comes time to walk down the aisle. The trick is to break them in without wearing them out. Every shoe is different of course so use your judgment as to the exact schedule. And try to stay on indoor surfaces to avoid scuffs and such. All you want to do is get that first time pain over with.

The ideal shoe for Vaccuming?

With every­thing else happening on your wedding day, looking for band aids or blister tape shouldn’t be one of them.

…Mike

Cynthia and James’ wedding started off with a rain­storm, but all that meant was it was over by the time the good stuff started! They were married in sunshine at the Strathmere Garden House, and a good time was had by all.

This wedding was extra-special for me, because Cynthia’s parents live right across the road from me. What a treat to photo­graph the wedding for the daughter of friends!

We even snuck outside for some nighttime magic!

…Mike

I had the pleasure of meeting Isabelle and Jérôme two years ago at the wedding of Isabelle’s Sister Nathalie. At their wedding I took a great photo of Isabelle and Jérôme, and it’s still one of my favourites (can you tell why I nick­named her “Demi”? :

Fast forward to this weekend, and I had the great pleasure of photographing them as they cele­brate their marriage in old Quebec City. Their reception was held at the Auberge St-Antoine, an elegant hotel over­looking the St Lawrence river.

Their ceremony was held at the Notre-Dame-des-Victoires, a church whose construction began in 1687. As soon as I walked into the church and saw the model ship hanging from the ceiling (you can see it in the third image below), I was hit with a flood of memories from way back when…when I was in grade 7, I took a school trip to Quebec City, and part of that trip was a walking tour of Old Quebec.

Then we played around in Old Quebec, despite the rain and very strong winds (Isabelle, you are a trooper!)

Then it was back to the Auberge St-Antoine. This hotel is actually made up of a series of historic buildings linked together, yet main­taining their inde­pendent person­al­ities. You’ll see the variety of rooms below.

A fabulous wedding for a fabulous couple!

…Mike

For today’s Tuesday Tip, let’s talk about the weather. Specifically, crappy weather.

Like most couples, Christine and I worried about the weather for our wedding. We did so even knowing what I’m about to tell you (we had great weather ftr).

Me and Christine! Photo courtesy of Susan Stripling. Thanks Susan!

As rational humans we know that weather can’t be controlled. We also know that worrying about it only adds to the stress of your wedding. Yet we worry. Weird right?

Over the years I have seen plenty of fore­casts for doom and gloom, even on the morning of the actual wedding day, and all we got was a cloudy day…sometimes even sunshine. After all, does “40% chance of rain” mean “40% of the area has a 100% chance of rain” or “100% of the area has a 40% chance of rain”? Hell if I know. Weather fore­casting is a black art at the best of times. And have you ever noticed that no matter how badly the forecast is screwed up, we keep going back to it? But I digress.

Even on days where it does rain, it rarely rains for the entire day. In fact, in the eight years I’ve been doing this, I’ve only had constant rain for an entire day once. Usually it looks like it’s about to rain for a while, then it rains, then it stops an hour or so later.

Ten minutes after this was taken, the sun was shining in a blue sky. From Kerri and Kurtis’s wedding

Now, I’m not saying that you should ignore a dire forecast.  Always have plans for crap weather, espe­cially if you are going for an outdoor wedding or if any critical part of your day depends on clear weather (a boat ride to the ceremony for example).

You’ll want a raincoat if you’re planning this. From Stef and Nick’s wedding

All I’m suggesting is that once you’ve made those plans, don’t sweat over it. Embrace the uncer­tainty. Ultimately you’ll be happier if you spend your time working on the things you have influence over.

From a photographer’s perspective, wet roads look cool in photos. See?

See how nice the sky looks? And how the streets reflect the lights? It basi­cally rained all day, but IMHO was worth it for this one panorama. From Cathy and Dave’s wedding

Cloudy looks cool, too, if it’s done right.

Clouds in IR…nothing tops the look. From Helen and Bihn’s wedding

As do umbrellas:

Rushing in to the Yangtse Restaurant. This is why I always carry two white umbrellas From Helen and Bihn’s wedding

Hiding under a golf umbrella. Meaghan came prepared From Meaghan and Pete’s wedding

Any photog­rapher that knows what s/he is doing will have a game plan for weather contin­gencies that involves more than just running to the Bank of Canada building. This expe­rience is part of what you are paying for when you hire a pro. So don’t sweat it. Unless it’s hot, in which case…enjoy the heat!

…Mike