It’s a treat whenever I get to visit Vancouver Island for a wedding; even better when I get to meet with another set of awesome clients the next day.

Making my way back from a pretty amazing wedding in Campbell River, I met up with Sarah and Hagen the next morning at Piper’s Lagoon Park in Nanaimo. I’ve never been to a place so isolated and remote for a photo session. It was just me, the two of them, and this beautiful stretch of the West Coast. I was happy: the park provided endless unguided opportunities to create photos, so we simply went with the currents.

Enter Fate – born and raised by the hands of time and responsible for unions like the Beatles and peanut butter and jelly, she has fallen on hard times. She needs a hit. And so, one dark night, at the loneliest of hospitals, she arranges a chance meeting between the girl from the East and the boy from the West. And as they say in the South, the rest is history. —Sarah & Hagen

Sarah and Hagen’s is a East-meets-West story. Sarah was raised in the small maritime province of PEI (Price Edward Island) and Hagen on the opposite corner of Canada in the small town of East Sooke. Both not shy of the city life, met on Vancouver Island where their hearts ran deep into the roots of the quiet coastal outdoors.

They felt at home here and I could tell while we were photographing: the connection they had with each other and the landscape, something they had cultivated over a number of years, was distilled into an amazing two hours with them. Here’s a bit of their story and I can’t wait to photograph their wedding this September.

Tomasz Wagner | Mananetwork

 High Highs – Open Season 

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Vancouver wedding photographers are an interesting mix of creative, eclectic, and enthusiastic personalities and sometimes the best of their work is created when their clients are very much the same.

I had the honour of documenting Ava and Bryan’s wedding at the Rosewood Hotel Georgia in Vancouver a few weeks ago and as I mentioned in their wedding video post, it seemed as if the space were meant for them. The Lord Stanley suite in particular offered so much light and available space that could only be described as pure class (to match the well-dressed bridesmaids and dapper groomsmen, of course). We ventured up to the rooftop to take in the city of glass from the 13th floor of the Rosewood Hotel Georgia and later took to the concrete lions and steps of the Vancouver Art Gallery, with portions of the advertising for its current exhibition making for an interesting backdrop. It felt like we were at the intersection of all the classiest spaces in Vancouver, right there for us to interact with and highlight.

I wanted to share something a tad different, so here’s the wedding day story of Ava and Bryan in black and white photography.

Tomasz Wagner | Mananetwork

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An amazing year, not just for my travels but what I would consider my best wedding photography to date.

I have to thank all of you for an eventful 2012 of travel and weddings because it wouldn’t have been possible without my readers, supporters, and wedding clients. Because of all of you, I can keep perfecting my craft and providing you with my best wedding photography as well as personal work, and when I get the opportunity to mesh travel, weddings, and photography I can’t contain my excitement. This year, I’ve been fortunate to photograph intense and vibrant Indian ceremonies, enjoy the elegance and grit of downtown Vancouver, create adventures in Peru, Bolivia, and Chile, and soak in some sunshine in Maui for a beach wedding. The year was filled with lots of soul-searching and I am fortunate to have met so many like-minded, passionate individuals, at home and abroad, during this process. The drive to create my best possible photography will never diminish.

A huge, heartfelt thanks to all those who came out to help. You know who you are.

Tomasz Wagner | Mananetwork

Travel

My travels with AJ Kwong through South America were nothing less than extraordinary! Here are just a handful of photos which don’t quite do the trip justice. To view the whole experience, please visit: Travel Photography

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If you take a quick glance at my engagement and wedding photographs, you’ll notice I take a decidedly Fine Art photography approach and style.

I had a wonderful time photographing Jessica and Mike even with the less than stellar weather we had last weekend. In fact, the weather helped convey the mood convincingly well as the two wouldn’t leave each other’s side in an effort to cure the common goosebump with body heat!

We all started our morning early at one end of Iona Beach, just around the banks of the airport. I love this location because it has this unkempt and natural feel I like in beaches. While I froze my tail off in a sweater, Jessica and Mike showed up casually dressed and had no problem bearing the cold without getting out of character. We shared our stories, uncontrollable laughs, sentimental moments, and at the end of our session we all walked away having felt the pleasure of getting to know each other on a more personal level. On their wedding day, we joked that Mike would come down from the sky in his white robe and command the ceremony with his 12 apostles. Please?!

Tomasz Wagner | Mananetwork

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A fun-filled week at this destination wedding had us fall in love with the couple and their group three times over.

Tiffany and Mandeep invited our photography and videography teams for the week to capture their 80 person wedding under the sunshine at Now Sapphire resorts. We were thrilled and excited, so much that we documented our entire journey with a time-lapse (which are always fun). I can’t repeat this enough, and it’s certainly something I have come to know throughout my adventures as a creative: traveling to a place like Mexico in order to capture a wedding is not only a great opportunity to build your portfolio, but an amazing way to expand your creative horizons. It’s such an amazing feeling when someone approaches you for your destination wedding videography (or photography) and want to include you in what is always an intimate and fun event full of the best people. A nice venue, fireworks, beaches, immaculate weather, and warm temperatures are all just bonuses to my mind.

I’m excited to post this here and share Tiffany and Mandeep’s destination wedding videography with you. This is exactly the kind of video we aim to create: personal, emotional, and all in keeping with your style (with a bit of our own style thrown in for good measure).

Tomasz Wagner | Mananetwork

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Elegant wedding videography for an elegant couple. We had the honour of documenting Ava and Bryan’s wedding at the Rosewood Hotel Georgia in Vancouver.

It’s a great feeling when the entire crew — photo, video, and Polaroid photobooth — can get together to collaborate on a wedding of this scale. It was the first time any of us had worked at the Rosewood Hotel Georgia in Vancouver and if you’ve ever been there, you know what visual treats await you (the staff are fantastic, too, and were very considerate about our team having to use their secure elevator several times). The Lord Stanley suite in particular was an amazing space to work with and never have we had a hotel room quite like that one; there was so much light and available space that could only be described as pure class. Ava and Brian were definitely in their element there and it was fantastic how they worked the space as if they had lived in it all their lives.

Thanks for the amazing time, Ava and Brian! It wasn’t just your classy style that inspired us that day — your generosity and enthusiasm for each other are really what set you apart.

Tomasz Wagner | Mananetwork

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I was honoured to receive an invite to join friends, Jayme and Corey, as their destination wedding photographer in Maui. They were married under the warm island sun, with the swaying palm trees, and by an endless ocean view.

That ecstatic feeling of receiving an initial email from a potential wedding client is still not lost on me and will probably never be. The messages always differ from couple to couple (this is one of the reasons being a wedding photographer is so interesting) and they allow me the opportunity to connect and share my visual stories. Things get a little different when I find out about an opportunity to travel for a wedding: I can’t contain my excitement. I really just can’t and it’s such a great feeling. When Jayme and Corey approached me about documenting their wedding in Maui because of things falling through in their plans, how could I not jump on the occasion? After sorting things out in a few short days, I was off to Maui.

As a wedding photographer, spending a few days with the wedding party is a way to build rapport with everyone. It then becomes more than just interacting with the couple and getting to know them better specifically; the collective experience of celebrating love is, by far, one of the best things about my job.

If you’re thinking of having your own destination wedding, or better yet, you’re staying home and “home” happens to be Bali, Iceland, or Australia, feel free to give me a shout. I would be honoured (and more than a little excited) to hear from you.

Tomasz Wagner | Mananetwork

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For more of my Destination Wedding Photography work

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