We typically head back to Canada each summer to capitalize on the great weather and to visit with friends and family for a few weeks. This summer’s annual trip was full of exciting projects including shooting two beautiful wedding’s on either end of the trip.
A day after touching down in Toronto we shot Sam & Jon’s beautiful wedding on Lake Rosseau. You can read the blog and check out the visuals. Then on the tail end of our trip we shot the wedding of two people very near and dear to our hearts. So excited to finally share the visuals we captured of their special day.
The wedding was held in Muskoka near their cottage on Lake Joseph. The guests stayed at Clevelands house, and the day of the wedding the girls started their day with a relaxing yoga class on the dock of Cleves surrounded by fog.
The class was full of deep breaths, heart openers and playful partner poses that really set the stage for a beautiful day.
At the same time the girls did yoga, the boys golfed at the wedding venue, Muskoka Lakes, and the groom floated around to golf with various foursomes so he could connect and spend some quality time with everyone.
The foggy morning added some extra mood to the images, and we hoped it might stay a little overcast throughout the day for some consistent lighting, given that the majority of the portraits would be shot with the sun pretty high in the sky.
While the boys were wrapping it up on the course, the girls got ready at Clevelands house in the brides Cabin. They had their hair and make-up done, and the vibe remained super laid back throughout.
Like the wedding we had shot 2 weeks earlier, the attitude of the bride makes such a difference. We’ve seen the odd stressed out bride, and it really ends up setting the stage for the day.
Melissa was the exact opposite. Relaxed, easy going and really took the time to enjoy the moment with all the ladies getting ready.
The lighting was stunning in the cabin. We had a nice amount of natural diffused light streaming in from the window and it made for some really flattering studio looking shots without using supplementary light.
After getting the images and video we needed, we left for the cottage where the boys would be getting ready. The guys were shot in the boathouse with plenty of nice natural light from the big open windows.
We took a few shots of the guys, then the bride arrived with her mom to get into her dress for the first look. The lighting was very orange in the room the bride got ready, so we had to use a lot of love in post to bring the skin tones back into a more natural place. Usually we put the bride in front of the window, but there were cars parked out front, so we had to get creative.
Finally, it was time for the first look. A lot of couples nowadays are choosing to shoot the first look prior to the ceremony. They also tend to shoot their portraits prior as well when they are looking fresh and their absolute best. It works really well for both the bride and groom and gets them really nice looking shots, so for any bride and grooms considering this, I would highly recommend it.
The first look was beautiful. Melissa came down from the cottage looking absolutely stunning in her dress. She choose a beautiful high necked lace top and skirt which was unique and really suited her.
As she walked down the large granite steps, John was giddy waiting for her on the dock. We shot images and video of her walking down and John’s excitement at she approached, then had to make a quick sprint over a granite wall and up the hill to get John’s reaction as he turned around and saw her for the first time.
It was beautiful, and I absolutely love seeing that raw unfiltered first moment. Each couple is unique in their reaction and it always makes for a pretty special capture.
After the first look we shot a couple natural in the moment portraits at the cottage, then headed off with the bride and groom to Muskoka Lakes for their portraits.
By this time, the sun had burned off the layer of fog and we had full sun out on the course. Everyone was happy it lifted, and was going to be a beautiful day for the wedding, but it did add some challenges shooting portraits at 2pm in harsh sun.
We found a couple beautiful locations to shoot some intimate shots of Melissa and John prior to the ceremony. We took a couple carts out on the course and headed to a few locations we had pre-scouted the week prior.
First was the willow tree, which Melissa loved, and was nice for some wide portraits. The grass was really intensely vibrant green, so had to work with the colors a lot in post and went with a more artistic, muted palette for those shots.
Then we headed to a beautiful wooded area on the course where the light sparkled through the trees. It looked stunning and we put them in the middle of the long grass for a really immersive look.
Finally we headed to the lake to shoot some portraits on the dock. The bride and groom had seen wedding photography on docks and loved the look, so we tried to capture their vision, and do something similar to the shots that had inspired them.
For some of the shots the sun popped behind the clouds and we got some nice even looks, but for the majority of the dock session we were battling harsh overhead light which created some not so flattering racoon eyes.
Since we were on a tight timeline and shooting photography and video at the same time, unfortunately we didn’t have time to set up a softbox to add a little flash to fill out the shadows. However, we did get some moments of more even lighting which allowed for some nice dock portraits.
The last session prior to the ceremony was the family portraits which we shot on the stairs out front of the club to add some dimension. We decided on this location because the light was harsh overhead behind the stairs, so we decided to backlight them and use flash.
Finally it was time for the ceremony. It was held in the boathouse with natural light streaming in from the windows. The bride and groom choose to have their siblings stand with them instead of the traditional bridesmaids and groomsmen.
Their flower girls were the groom’s nieces and the ring bearer was the brides nephew, so it was a really special family focussed wedding.
One request from the bride and groom was that they had seen shots of other couples walking down the aisle after getting married that they loved and also wanted a nice shot of the first kiss.
So I positioned myself behind the bride and groom shooting back towards the crowd for the first kiss. I always ask the officiant to step to the side as soon as they pronounce them man and wife so I can get a great shot of the first kiss with family and friends cheering behind.
Then I moved to the back of the room behind all the guests to capture them coming down the aisle after being pronounced man and wife, and got a great shot of them holding hands and celebrating as they exited.
After the ceremony was cocktails on the deck.
Then everyone headed in for dinner and speeches. The speeches were hilarious and had all the guests laughing. The groom, who everyone nicknamed “the bride” because he was the most excited for a formal wedding, had an absolute blast and was an amazing sport as the main target for roasting in the speeches.
The night ended with dancing, more cocktails and an epic performance from the groom with their band on the drums. He had been practicing with the band prior to the wedding, and he had all the guests cheering as he smashed out a couple great songs.
All in all a very special day for two very special people. Once we delivered the images and video to Melissa and John they were blown away with the results. They particularly loved the video, and told us a day after sharing it with them that they had already watched it 15+ times.
Since then they have told us that they have it on their phones and share it with everyone who will watch. They said they had no idea when they decided to get a wedding video just how much they would watch and enjoy it.
In their words, “So we have watched our video like 15 times. We are obsessed. It’s soooooooo good. Honestly it’s unreal.”
We were so happy to hear how much they liked it and the joy it brought them watching it again and again. We put so much love and care into all of our productions, so it feels amazing to hear when clients love it. That’s what it’s all about.
Thank you Melissa & John for trusting us to capture your special day. It brought us a lot of joy telling the story with visuals.
