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

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

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

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

…Mike

This was a great shoot for me, because I was able to play around in an area that I’ve been eyeballing for years, waiting for the right circumstances: a willing couple, a bit of time, and a cloudy day. It all came together and we played around in the trees together, creating some cool stuff!

Congrats guys

…Mike

Congratulations guys!

…Mike

Taken from Krista and Steve’s wedding, it is one of my favourite images ever It didn’t place as well as I thought it would…but then humour is so subjective, so I’m happy with how well it did.

From the same wedding, this image place 20th:

Earlier in the summer I went to Alaska to help my good friend Melissa shoot a wedding, and I convinced the security guard to let us out onto the catwalk of the Alyeska tramway pavilion at the top of the mountain:

Fourth place, not too shabby

…Mike

…Mike