Even though it may be tempting to cull out the ‘imperfect’ photos, I love keeping a few of the kids when they aren’t looking perfectly into the camera – that’s when you catch that mischievous glint! Even baby Ethan joined in with some of his own ‘blue steel’. Here’s a peek at a few favourites for now. Enjoy!

I should mention that Shazeen does a great job each year picking out the family wardrobe and I should really compile a retrospective of this and a couple other families who could help with the frequently asked question of “what should we wear for our family photo shoot?”.

When I get there today I am greeted by my contact Leah in a black dress and introduced to her sister Kim, dressed elegantly in a white suit. It took me few seconds to realize that Kim wasn’t upstaging Leah, but that she was the one getting married today! (Hence the hazards of communicating via text messaging).

Tall, and effortlessly stylish, Kim married her handsome groom Paul in an intimate ceremony in the private chambers of Justice Kelley, a friend of the best lady. There were only a handful of people present, the vows were simple and ceremony short but it was equally moving as any other ceremony I’ve witnessed. Little three-year-old Madeline learned that there was such thing as happy tears (don’t worry nobody’s hurt!) and was a terrific ring bearer.

Here are just a couple from the day. More for the wedding guests later.

Kim and Paul on their wedding day at the courthouse.

Rebecca and Jeff celebrated their love for each other at an elegant winter wedding at the Palais Royale. The day started with preparations at her parent’s home in Burlington before we headed back into Toronto along the lakeshore for the wedding and reception.

On a personal note it was great to photograph this wedding. Rebecca and I were classmates from grades 5 through 8 and thanks of course to Facebook, reunited with our classmates about three years ago. Before that point, the last time we saw each other was in 1990! Bianca, another classmate was Rebecca’s best lady and between the three of us we must’ve looked at each other, shook our heads and said ‘wow’ many times over. It’s a real trip (there is no other way to describe it) to see each other again as responsible grown-ups, each with successful careers and in loving relationships.

And yet, so much remains the same. Rebecca is the same outgoing, vivacious leader with a larger than life personality. In Jeff she has found a sincere and kind soul. When I met at their home to discuss wedding plans I was struck over and over again by the respect and caring that Rebecca and Jeff share for each other. It was a sentiment echoed in all the wedding speeches — not only are they a great couple, but they are first and foremost great friends.

Here are just a few images from their wedding day. With the upcoming holidays I will be slowing down the Imajing train to enjoy the company of family and friends. I hope that you are able to do the same! Have a safe and happy holiday season!

Wedding guests please check back here in January for a link to the wedding gallery.

Rebecca with her parents Ann and Jim.

Rebecca and Jeff wrote individual thank you notes to each of their guests and wrapped these sentiments around the hand-made chocolates.

Beautiful centre pieces made by the bride and best lady’s moms complete the festive look of the Palais Royale dining room.

Rebecca and Jeff brave the December cold for a few moments alone before the ceremony.

Not only were Katherine and Beth beautiful in their festive dresses, but they were also radiant as they shared their love with the congregation at St. Matthew’s United Church.

The Reverend Michael Blair spoke about celebrating love, joy and imagination – and that by being a part of today’s wedding we were making a political statement about the possibilities of love.  There’s a campaign called, “It Gets Better” targeted at LGBT youth that has been making the rounds online recently.  I have no idea how far afield this website gets read, but I hope that this is just one small voice that can chime in with the others to say that yes, it gets better, and I have photographic proof.  I suppose by photographing and writing about this and Charlotte and Jeanette’s wedding that it could be construed as a political statement.  But that is far too complicated because what I see and what I hope that you see in my photographs, is quite simply, love.

This is the last wedding of the 2010 season for Imajing and it was fitting that as with the first wedding of this season, I was assisted by my husband Fred.  I often wish Fred could hear some of the great vows, sermons and speeches that I get to witness at the many weddings I shoot and I was so glad that he didn’t have to rely on my terribly tangential oratory skills to recount what happened today.  I’m better when I get the chance to edit what I write and better yet with photos so enjoy a few snippets from today.

Wedding guests, please check back in a couple weeks for a link to the rest of the photos from today.

My daughter Amira is babbling up a storm now at 16 months old, but one of her first recognizable words was ‘go-go’ which means doggy in Mandarin.  So in tribute to my pups, my baby and my peeps, Go Go Doggy Photo is the official name and website to something I have been doing for fun all along.  Please sit, stay and have a visit on the new site and let me know what you think!

It was also fun to hear it confirmed in all the wedding speeches what I had suspected about Gaby after our engagement shoot – that she is indeed the most organized person you might ever meet!  The wedding ceremony and reception was held at Le Jardin in Woodbridge, Ontario and offered a great place from start to finish.  A personal highlight was photographing the mariachi band that played during dinner.  Not only was the band great, but they sang what I can only assume are some old favourites, which encouraged some of the wedding guests to join right in the singing!

Wedding guests and friends, you are invited to view the rest of the wedding photos. Please click here.

So when Katherine met Beth about a year and a half ago we were really happy for her because we saw instantly how our always cheerful minister gained an extra depth to her happiness.  Needless to say I was thrilled when I was asked to be the photographer for their upcoming November wedding.

Here are a few of our favourites from our recent engagement shoot.  All the photos below were taken in the beautiful enclave of Wychwood Park.

The celebration, on the coveted 10-10-10 wedding date was an intimate affair set entirely in the University room of the Park Hyatt.  I was among the sixteen other people in the room witnessing the love as Charlotte and Jeanette sealed their lifelong commitment to each other with their vows.  It doesn’t matter how many times I’ve heard it or how the wording may vary, but I am moved each time I hear wedding vows – especially after I have been married myself.  It was special to see Katherine, the same minister who married me and Fred, preside over today’s ceremony.

Thank you for choosing me to document the details of your wedding day.

Wedding guests, you are invited to view the photos from today by clicking here.

Michele and Maizy also brought their dog Taz to the session and he was a great addition to the session.  He also served as an ice breaker.  I had a feeling that Maizy was a bit dubious about the whole process of a photo shoot when she first arrived, but after I asked her to tell me about Taz and to pose with him, she completely warmed up.  Soon after she was showing her creative side and was up the task of coming up with some fun setups with me.

It was a treat for me to have such a small group to work with and I had a hard time culling the photos to a reasonable number for them to review.  It was obvious in each photo what a strong bond they had and I look forward to being able to hang out the same way with my own daughter as she gets older.  Enjoy!