I have to preface this by saying that kids and babies tend to not really, you know, follow directions very well! ;) So it was a real pleasure when we discovered that Lily was born to be in front of the camera. Mesmerized by our gear she carefully looked and examined everything very calmly while we were able to snap away. No crying, no fussing, nothing! She was clearly born to do this.

On top of this Sara and George’s home is a real treat to work in. Sara, being an interior designer, has amazing taste which provided some beautiful backdrops and design anywhere we pointed our lenses.

Thank you for allowing us into your lives and giving you memories you can show Lily when she’s older! We wish the little angel health, happiness and lots of love…but she already has all of those so we’re not worried.

Here are a few of our favourite images from the session:

Firstly, if you haven’t seen Stephanie and Stephens wedding photos, you must click here if you want to follow this story properly! Then, you click here to view the day after session and then come right back here to see these photos! ;)

In short, Stephy and Stephen decided it would be a blast to get everyone at their wedding to learn how to surf. Boy were they right! They found the most beautiful place called Macao Surf Camp at the local Macao Beach in Punta Cana (which , by the way, always gets rave reviews on Trip Advisor and is one of the best things experience). On our way there everyone kind of looked at each other confused as to how on earth they were expected to surf…let alone get up on the board. But after a thorough lesson on land by the amazing staff, we were off to catch some waves.

It was honestly some of the most fun we’ve seen people have. Everyone manage to get right up on their boards and they were surfing! Yep. That’s right. Uncles, aunts, cousins, friends, people young and old with huge grins were riding waves all the way to shore. It was fantastic. Surfing was split up into two days so the first day Magda and I documented the first group and lucky for us…we too got a chance to try it. I have always wanted to try and surf and this was everything I expected!

If that wasn’t enough, during the break, a local man came riding up on a donkey to our group and started serving refreshing coconuts to drink and snack on. Last but not least is Jack the surfing Golden Retriever. He lives there with his owner and surfs all the time…it’s absolutely adorable! He’s even on YouTube!

Alright, that’s enough talk. I’ll let the photos do the rest of the talking.

Cowabunga dudes & dudettes!

After being on the island for a few days already venturing out of the resort to do things like the wedding and surfing on Macao Beach, we started to befriend the awesome people at Macao Surf Camp. So when it came to choosing a spot for Stephy and Stephen’s day after session, we spotted a small cove at the very end of the bend of the beautiful Macao Beach. I asked Rafael (one of the surfing instructors we hung out with) if he knew what was out there. He said, “Aaaaah! That, my friend…is lover’s beach!” Intrigued by this seemingly perfect sounding place for our session, we just had to get there!

Unfortunately for us, that place was on private property. So…we had the choice of walking waist deep in sea water along the cliffside, waves crashing into us with all our gear above our heads. Or, climbing through some rusty fences and attempting to bribe the 24/7 guard that mans the property! We took our chances and chose the latter.

The next day, we were off. Rafael arranged picked us up at the resort and arranged it so that his friend (a local photographer actually!) would come up with us as he had spoken with the guard before for his personal photography needs. Long story short, after a little worry that he wouldn’t let us through…we were lucky that $20 goes a long way in these parts, and we were in.

What we found was something straight out of a movie…a James Bond movie I’d even say. Water as pure and aqua as we had ever seen, golden rock formations, white flour sand, beautiful waves and best of all….privacy, peace and quiet. Stephanie and Steve let loose and we all took in every moment. It was serene! We took our time and explored various corners and types of lighting and came back with the following images.

As a side note to other photographers…when there are big waves out there, that means that there is a lot of wind….salty wind! And cameras and lenses aren’t very fond of that sort of stuff so be weary! Needless to say, we are thrilled to have muscled our way out there…it was totally worth it regardless if our gear suffered a little. Anything to get the shot, right? :)

I can safely say that Stephy and Steve are two of the most enjoyable people to work with! Not only did they take direction beautifully, but they were engaging, giving their own ideas…and best of all, they look stunning. It was one of our highlights of our career so far and we are so happy to finally share it with the newlyweds and now the whole world. We are really blessed to have opportunities like this and we are extremely thankful!

We hope you like them as much as we enjoyed shooting them…enjoy…

This will be a long blog post as we have a lot of images and information to share so please bear with us. With us being away for an entire week in the Dominican, we shot a whole lot of different events for Stephanie and Stephen ranging from surfing lessons, a white themed cocktail, the wedding of course and a super romantic day after session!

Let me start off by inviting you to see Stephanie and Stephen’s pre-wedding photo session we did for them a while back if you haven’t already seen it…by clicking here!

We met these two wonderful people (whom we can now call friends) last summer when they were just in the midst of planning their wedding getaway in Punta Cana. There is an incredible amount of logistics and planning to take care of, but that was no hard task for Stephanie and Stephen with them being very detail oriented! After a crazy number of months of planning…we were on a plane with half of the seventy some guests on our way to the Majestic Colonial resort in the very popular Punta Cana, Dominican Republic. I should also mention that this was immediately right after Christmas and we would all be spending new year’s eve down there too! I have to hand it to the resort staff…they really did a great job making new year’s night a special one!

I’m not sure what it was that made everyone immediately click with each other. Was it the fact that we were away from home – relaxed? Was it the warm sun? Perhaps it’s just that everyone who came down for the wedding was incredibly nice, generous and made the whole group feel like family! Regardless, if you asked anyone who came down, it was incredible.

After a night of getting together during the welcome cocktail, we all spent some time learning how to surf at the Macao Surf Camp. That’s a story that I will save for another post complete with photos of both the bride and groom hanging ten on some killer waves! ;)

The wedding day was to die for. A calm breeze swept through the resort with a beautiful, but not too strong sun shining down on us. After a relaxing morning at the spa Stephanie and her girls went back to their rooms to get ready, while the boys did the same in the other suite. Since the ceremony was a little later in the afternoon, Stephanie and Steve were game to see each other before the big moment, which was a real treat for them because they had a little breather. A moment to relax, fall more in love with each other and have a very comfortable and intimate portrait session too.

We fell in love with Macao Beach while at the surfing lessons. So, instead of doing the ceremony at the beach resort, we all decided it would be an awesome (but crazy!) idea to shuttle everyone down there to have Stephanie and Stephen get married on a raw and local beach! And that’s exactly what happened. A private beach, insane waves, a killer backdrop in every direction, Stephy and Steve exchanged their vows at an even more stunning location than they had imagined. Could you ask for more?

What happened next is something for the books…

Everyone came back to start the night of the reception at the resort. Lot’s of laughs, tears, endless drinks (google “Mama Juana”, and ask for it next time you go to the Dominican…trust us.), a photobooth (yes, we brought a photobooth with us on the plane!), ended with some incredible dancing into the night. There was this round wading kids pool next to the dance floor (coincidence? I think not.) that eventually lured everyone in…and that’s when everything went nuts! Aunts, uncles, cousins, literally everyone jumped in fully clothed and partied like they’ve never partied before. And to top it off, it finally rained during the last dance song of the night…are we joined it sans cameras! Some of the best fun we’ve had in forever. You can imagine both Magda and I loved every minute of it as this made for some awesome photos, so without further ado…please scroll down and enjoy our favourite moments of the day.

Oh, and be sure to check back shortly because we will be posting Stephanie and Stephen’s day after photo session at a completely secluded beach…

Stephanie and Stephen. Thank you, from the bottom of our hearts, for choosing us to fly down with you to capture your day. It was an honor and we are super happy to have made more friends and memories that will last forever! We wish you two the most incredible, long and happy married life together! :)

Click play below for probably our longest slideshow yet! :)

We took them down by the water here on the West Island in Beaconsfield for some sunset photos. All of us completely underestimated how cold it can be this time of the year especially with wind down by the St. Lawrence river! We were lucky to wear some gloves but Devon and David had to rock out the shoot without any gear, and I have to say they did it with style.

Devon lit up each frame with her pretty face, infectious smile and laughter. I also have to give it to David for doing so amazing, even though he’s not the fondest of having his photo taken…which is really a shame because he’s also pretty easy on the eyes! ;) We’re really glad to have met these two and cannot wait to photograph their wedding next year! Enjoy these photos you two and we’ll see you in 2012…

We first met Annick and Stephane down south a few years ago when we shot their friends wedding in the Caribbean. I think I remember them mentioning to us that they would keep in touch with us as they had their own plans to get married so we were quite excited when they gave us a call to book us!

After a really fun raccoon filled engagement session a couple months ago, it was now time to tie the knot. Annick and Stephane chose to have their beautiful black and white themed ceremony and reception at The Embassy Plaza here in Montreal. This was probably the most energetic reception we have been to this year, with literally everyone getting down the instant they had a chance to put down their forks. I think I have to attribute this dancing energy to the Haitian culture! Well dressed guy after guy owned the dance floor with all the bridesmaids blowing them out of the water right after. We had a chance to reconnect first of all with Annick and Stephane, old friends and we enjoyed a ridiculously fun day and evening.

Thank you to Annick and Stephane for choosing us as your photographers for your special day! We know you were freezing cold throughout the outdoor photos during this time of the year, but it doesn’t show! All we see is love and happiness…and that is exactly what we wish for the two of you. Here are some of our favourite photos from your day and make sure you check out the slideshow right below…

Click play below for the slideshow!

Her and Clint were planning a late evening cocktail dinatoire reception which they decided to host at one of Montreal’s most prominent art galleries in the Old Port, the Galerie Saint-Dizier on St. Paul street. This being November, the sun sets quite early so Magda and I started getting excited for the opportunity to do a night time photo shoot which we don’t normally do for weddings!

We got a hint of Marie-France and Clint’s originality when they wanted us to come up with an engagement photo session that fit in their theme of beige earthy tones and branches. We got to work right away and on a cooler spring day of this year we took them to some woods so if you missed it last time, click here to see the photos! The theme was continued at their wedding where wedding planner extraordinaire Azar, from Principal Planner, transformed an art gallery into their dreamed up vision. They even had an artist painting on a huge canvas live during the reception and each guest was able to be incorporated into the work of art! Complete with a steel drum band, a horse drawn carriage ride at night and with our photobooth the night was beautiful and something they will remember for the rest of their lives. Oh, and that cake and pushup pops? Those were made by one of Marie-France’s bridesmaids! (don’t tell anyone but I think I had two…)

Marie-France and Clint, we honestly cannot thank you enough for bringing us into your lives to capture this day for you. From the moment we met we admired your dedication to this wedding and we see that this same kind of dedication is also put into your relationship! We got to enjoy your company and learn a little about your touching family memories, saw Clint hold back tears when he received his amazing gift from Marie-France and witness Marie-France’s delicious obsession with Diet Coke! We wish you a fantastic life and we hope you fall in love with your wedding once again after seeing our favourite shots below…

Click play below for the slideshow!

We had the pleasure of first falling in love with Nhu and Art during their pre-wedding enagement photoshoot in Ottawa. I’m not sure how that’s possible, but Magda and I had even more fun with them this time during their beautiful traditional tea ceremony wedding. Recently, we have been very lucky to be a part of and experience traditional asian ceremonies like this, complete with amazing food and an incredible amount of family love. Oh, and Nhu and Art’s family is massive! I have no idea how they fit so many people in the house ;).

The wedding reception was held in the brand new tulip shaped Ottawa Convention Centre. It sits right in the heart of downtown Ottawa and has a spectacular view onto the Ottawa Parliament due to the amazing domed glass that covers the whole thing. With it’s humongous hall it was a perfect match for Nhu and Art’s celebration. The beautiful and delicate cake was made by Viettien Nguyen of Sentiment Cakes, the fudge and sweets were made by Nhu’s girlfriend Laurie Hesson, the energetic music was provided by DJ Kimio and the MC was Nhu’s friend with an infectious personality, Tuan Nguyen. Oh and a big shout out goes to the super helpful staff of the Centre!

Alright, enough talk and more pictures right? So here they are! A handful of our favourite photos from Nhu and Art’s amazing wedding followed by even more in a slideshow right below. Oh and Nhu did a fantastic job making props for the photobooth! We were so thrilled people loved it so much and had such a fun time with it. :)

We wish you two the best that life has to offer and we thank you for having us be there to capture every moment. Nhu made it very easy for us as she looked stunning in all over her three dresses! We felt right at home with you two, oh and Art…thanks for the workout tips! You may notice Art’s suit is a little..umm tight around the biceps? Yeah…I didn’t mess with him. Although I find it hard to believe a happy soul like him could ever get angry ;)

Click play below to start the slideshow :)

As I mentioned in the pre-wedding post, Tin and Bobo are very special people to us. They are genuinely kind and caring people who fell in love with us and our work! They flew us all the way down to Vancouver to be there for their wedding day and capture every moment. We were honoured – thank you. It breaks our heart that just before the wedding Bobo’s father passed away, which made it very tough for both of then, especially Bobo. But strangely, the wedding was very much of a soothing and healing process for her and Tin. Tears of sadness seemed to be replaced with tears of joy while they sang beautiful hymns during the ceremony and eventually exchanged touching vows and finally their wedding bands. Magda and I had to fight back tears while we shot during these moments as it was very hard not to feel connected to everyone. Connecting with people like this is one of the many things that we love about our job… even if it makes it hard to see through the viewfinder sometimes!

The wedding took place at the beautiful Rowena’s Inn on the River at the picturesque Harrison Mills in British Columbia, just south of Vancouver. We have shot a wedding there before so it was a pleasure to be there again but this time for an elaborate Chinese wedding full of games, traditions, colorful dresses and a traditional tea ceremony. Big shout out to Erin and Mac from Hello Tomorrow wedding films who were there to capture everything on video! It’s like we’ve known them forever and it was a real pleasure working along side them. Check out the beautiful work they did for Tin and Bobo here!

Although the day before was sunny, unfortunately we were stuck with a very cold and rainy wedding day. Luckily the gloomy weather didn’t stop Tin and Bobo from ignoring it and just enjoying it..so we still did the photoshoot outside!

Tin and Bobo…we thank you from the bottom of our hearts for inviting us to photograph your wedding weekend getaway! You and your family and friends welcomed us just like family and we had a wonderful time capturing every detail. We know this day brought lots of happiness to your recently tough days and we know you two are strong and will come out with big smiles…just remember Magda and I trying to fit in during rehearsal dinner by trying to pronounce very difficult phrases in Cantonese! ;) We wish you love, happiness and lots of blessings and we hope to one day spend time with you again. Please enjoy our favourite images from your day and remember to click play on the slideshow!!

Hit play below for a (really long!) slideshow, and prepare some kleenex ;)