I had the enormous pleasure of photographing Karie and Lutz’s wedding. Everything about their wedding was beautiful. Lutz is not a big fan of having his picture taken so I had to be sneaky about it and I think I pulled it off because he still seems to like me. I hid around the corner and snapped a few of Lutz while he was getting ready.

Lutz is from Germany and Karie decided to recite her personal vows to Lutz in German. She practiced here in front of her bridesmaids just before the ceremony.

Hilary snapped one of Dad getting ready just before he got to see Karie for the first time in her gown.

The way Lutz and Karie look at each other is….indescribable. Words can’t substitute a photo in cases like this.

There was thought in every detail and it created an amazing atmosphere for the guests to enjoy. LOVE

Karie and Lutz’s son Mr C is pure perfection. I am head over heels in love with this little mans face.

Sigh….

More of Natalia’s amazing clothing…

This spring I had the opportunity to photograph a local high school prom. It was there that I met Natalia. She walked in and I noticed her right away. She is beautiful and confident AND she was wearing such a unique dress I had to tell her how much I loved it! Turns out Natalia designed and made the dress herself. I was so impressed I gave her my card and offered to take some photos of some of her designs to help promote her talent. She is an amazing artist and I am so pleased to have been a part of her path to success.

I contacted a friend of mine who is an amazing make up artist and asked if she would like to be involved. She jumped at the opportunity and she did an amazing job with the girls. If you are in need of a professional make up artist Sarah Veenstra is the best! You can contact her at sarah.veenstra@rogers.com.

Natalia not only posed herself she also brought 4 models with her. I am working through the 600 photos we took that night and will post them over the next few weeks. If you are interested in any of Natalia’s designs and would like to reach her let me know and I will get you in touch. ENJOY!

Ok! This was an interesting shoot to say the least! I am the walking cliche….”things happen for a reason”. Hailey and Derek were winners of one of my engagement shoot give aways. Hailey told me she wanted to do her shoot at Doon Mills. I showed up about 15 minutes early to get organized and as I am unpacking my gear my partner Hilary pulls up in her truck….I was shocked as I knew  she also had a shoot but I didn’t realize we would be shooting at the same place! FUN right? So we get to chatting while waiting for our clients and I asked her where the gas station was that Hailey wanted to shoot at. Hilary informed me I was at the wrong Doon Mills!! Ooops….anyone else know there are 2 of those? Hilary gave me directions and I made it just in time to the actual location we were supposed to meet. I fell in love with this place. I had never heard of it before but it was fabulous!

Hailey wanted to get a few photos with their dog Jiggs. He is one…that is all I have to say about that.

Hailey and Derek were both so willing to do whatever it took to get the fun playful shots we got here. As I was shooting this series my sandal broke and suddenly I was shoeless. Sad, because they are my favourite shoes and also because we were walking along a gravel road. OUCH! 

Derek has this B E A utiful Mustang so I asked him to bring it along to the shoot. This is my husbands favourite photo….he would prefer if the couple sitting on the hood would move about 5 feet to the right….then it would be perfect. BOYS!

We get back to the car and head to our next location and as I am loading my gear into the back seat I notice my old rubber boots on the floor. SCORE! I now have shoes again. That was handy!

My rubber boots came in really handy for these shots since I had to stand in the water with them. I guess that is why my sandals broke!!

I will be shooting Hailey and Derek’s photobooth at their upcoming wedding in September. I can only imagine how much fun they and their families will be. I am so looking forward to working with you guys again! xo

Danika and I went to highschool together. It has literally been 15 years since I have seen her. This is one of those “Gotta LOVE facebook” moments. We reconnected sometime ago via FB and chatted a bit about what we have been up to. Then a few months ago Danika asked if I was available to shoot some photos on her wedding day. I was supposed to be in Newfoundland with my family the weekend of her wedding so I had not booked anything for that day AND our trip was cancelled so I happened to be free. We met up and it was so amazing to see her again. Turns out one of her bridesmaids, Fiona,  married my first “boyfriend” (that is in quotes because I think we “went out” for 2 days….went out is in quotes because I don’t think we actually went anywhere). It also turns out that Fiona at one time worked at our restaurant years ago. Small world. LOVE. Since Danika and Eric only hired me for a few hours they opted to have me photograph the two of them and their bridal party only. Here are a few of my favourites from the big day.

The lovely ladies! I can usually count on one of the wedding party to be my “Squeaky Toy” to get everyone laughing on que. Jessie did not disappoint!! Best squeaky toy I have had to date!

The boys looking “Bad@#$” in front of the graffiti wall we found on the side of the road. LOVE.

This is my absolute favourite photo from the day. It is real, genuine laughter and I remember in that moment feeling their happiness. MUSH, I know! I can’t help it from time to time.

A special thank you to Bill and his wife who so kindly let me use their property for our photo session. Your home and land are amazing and I hope it stays in your family for 120 more years. xo

Michelle is the kind of bride every photographer dreams of. Gorgeous, laid back, fun and trusting. She and Ryan were so supportive of my creative vision and I hope they are as thrilled with their photos as I am. We met up at the Super 8 in downtown TO to get some photos of them getting ready before we headed over to The Cryptic Canvas for the ceremony.

Ryan looks so sweet looking at his neices for the first time in their sweet little flower girl gowns.

After we got Michelle in her gown and veil (and her studded Pumas) it was time to call Dad over to see his beautiful girl for the first time. I choked up as usual. LOVE

I think seeing her Mom and Dad helped Michelle to feel a little less nervous and she showed her amazing smile. It was time to head to The Cryptic Canvas for the ceremony.

I was watching Ryan when Michelle started down the aisle. It was pure sweetness…Ryan had to look away when he saw her and I love the emotion on his face in this shot.

Hilary caught them coming back down the aisle, married at last!

We headed for the limo bus with the wedding party to grab some photos at a nearby park.

Some fun with the wedding party. What a gorgeous lot of friends Michelle and Ryan have. I loved meeting each and every one of them. Turns out it is a small world and one of Michelle’s bridesmaids and I worked together a few years ago. LOVE

The girls look gorgeous!!! Even with moustaches and silly faces

We were heading back into the reception when this police car pulled up and we had to stop to grab a quick pic.

I heart sparklers!

Michelle and Ryan. You two are the absolute best. I wish you both much LOVE and happiness in your futures. xo

Venue : The Cryptic Canvas

Flowers: King West Florist

Dress: David’s Bridal

Tuxes: Moores

I say it everytime….I LOOOOOOOURVE photo booth!! Hilary kept the booth rockin’ and here are some of my favourites.

I had the most incredible opportunity to second shoot a wedding with an amazing photographer based in North Carolina. I first met Millie at a workshop I attended in the summer of last year. Millie also did our family photos in January. Not only is she an extraordinarily gifted photographer but she is also an inspiring business woman. She has taught me so much and I am truly grateful. Here are some of the photos I took with her in June.

Amy and Dan were such warm and friendly people. I loved every minute of my time with them and Millie.

I love those optomistic sayings that people use to help you through tough times. ”There is always a silver lining! You just have to look for it.” or “Things happen for a reason.” or my personal favourite “You aren’t given more than you can handle.” Serioulsy, I am one of those people who says these things and who truly believes in fate, karma, purpose and the strength of the human spirit. I can only count two times in my life that I have lost the ability to view life with optimism and verve. Both periods occured within this past year. One period I will keep for myself and the other I would like to share with you. It’s hard to say if it was a slow process of breaking me down through a series of terrible events or if it was that one thing that I never fathomed possible.

Many of you know that my husband and I owned a little restaurant in Waterloo called “Mel’s Diner”. Many of you also know that on April 21st the nightclub in the same building caught on fire and took Mel’s with it along with four other business’. All that is left of Mel’s today are the black and white tiles that lined the floor of the dining area. I drive by now and then and every time, as I am about to drive past, I am shocked by the void that is supposed to be our restaurant. I wonder if it is a bit like a phantom limb…you can always feel it even though it isn’t there. Before any of you start thinking I am being a little dramatic about this “place” let me try and explain to you exactly what Mel’s has meant to my husband and I.

Jerry, my boyfriend at the time  (now husband) and I both started working there in the summer of 1995.You would find us there 6 days a week, myself from 6am to 4pm and Jerry from 5pm – 6am. Every holiday, we were at Mel’s. This is a photo of us on New Years Eve 1996. Jerry was working the night shift and I had to come in for a quick midnight kiss since I had to be back in to relieve him at 6am.

By April of 1999 we had bought full shares of the restaurant from Jerry’s brother and wife. We were 7 months married and expecting our first child. We were so full of energy and passion about life. We loved Mel’s and the steady income it provided for us to purchase our first home and set up a savings account for the little one. Here is a photo of us the day we signed the papers and Mel’s was all ours.

It wasn’t unusual in the first years to see me waitressing or in the office juggling my son and Jerry working 36 hours in the kitchen because 2 people didn’t show up for their shifts and Waterloo had three conventions on that weekend! It was hard work and Mel’s required so much of our time but we were happy to give it. We have always had employees who have been as devoted and for that we are truly grateful. Since the fire department arrived before Mel’s caught fire and nothing inside actually burned we were able to retrieve many things including some of our photographs. They were sopping wet and reeked of smoke but Jerry and I cleaned them up as best we could.

We found photographs of the sign going up at Mel’s…

…and sadly we now have one of the sign coming down…

On the day of the fire I knew I would want pictures but I was not able to take them myself so I called my dear friend Hilary and she provided me with exactly what I needed. Thanks ss for always being there when I need you, my personal cheerleader. Many of my friends came to see me that day and I love you all to pieces for being there.

I brought my camera with me the day the insurance company let us in to try to recover what we could. Insurance companies have all sorts of ways to measure the value of other peoples things. For them it is all about Math. If it is worth money for them to use their resources to recover your items they will but photos and momentos and old posters don’t even register on their measurement scales. We stood in front of the diner and looked around at everything completely in tact. Not a thing was burnt. The salt and pepper shakers sat neatly beside the napkin dispensers on each table only the roof was lying on top of them and made it impossible to get to everything without picking the roof off piece by piece. It was Friday afternoon, it was blistering hot and we only had a certain amount of time to get out what we could. We had to make a decision about where the most important things were so we headed for the office and the kitchen. I am happy to report we got the original American Graffitti movie poster, the jukebox, all of the chrome stools that lined the bar and most of our industrial kitchen equipment. We were also able to recover a good number of the Godfather Burger photos….if you don’t know what those are I will leave it with you to come in and find out what they are when we reopen! Click the play button below to see the photos Hilary and I took of the fire and the recovery.

I wanted to end on a happy note because Mel’s was a happy place. The fire may have taken the stuff inside but it didn’t take the spirit of the place. The community support we have received has been an enormous gift. It is impossible for my husband and I and our families to express our gratitude. There it lies…that silver lining. The knowledge that Mel’s was to many, many people more than just a restaurant. Here is a slideshow of Mel’s as it was and will be again.

We will be rebuilding in the same plaza. If you would like to contribute to the rebuild of the new Mel’s and maybe leave your own personal mark on the place click the link below and check out our fundraiser.

http://groupvestor.com/mels