City Hall Wedding and a Wedding at the Burroughs Pt. I

Once in a while I cross paths with people who truly understand me and the intention behind the work I create. I find it often difficult to articulate a lot of what’s going on in my mind and heart when I’m taking photographs. Wedding photography had put me in a weird place and I was at a crossroads, writing an elegy in my mind when I had initially met Karl & Emeiko at the Wedding Co. Market the year of their wedding.

We probably spoke for a solid hour at the event, going through albums, discussing various facts about ourselves which led to Emeiko explaining her father’s career as a photographer and how analog photography “just made sense” for her wedding. After seeing her father’s work, I felt the pressure, but I was so excited to be using analog film to tell their story all the while paying homage to an important element of her relationship with her father. It’s something I can deeply relate to and made me feel sentimental and nostalgic throughout their wedding day, and those are two feelings I often try to hone in my own personal work so to have it carry over to a wedding was special to me.

 I always find these little things about people that I like to dig into as a photographer to help elevate my ability to photograph someone’s true self. I can’t entirely say for certain, but there was something about these two that made me feel at ease.  Maybe it’s because Emeiko reminds me so much of my older sister, and maybe it’s because Karl has that French-Canadian charm I was became so accustomed to back in Ottawa throughout my childhood and teens  while attending French school. I can’t say for certain what it was that drew me in, but it was sincere.

Leading up to the wedding I got to hangout with them at Toronto Island, where we walked the flooded Island that we had to ourselves and took the late night ferry back to the city as we came down from a midnight wish, staring at the clouds as we felt the wind at our backs. It was one of those hyper-real experiences that you only share with people close to you and people who have no hesitation of letting go and living in a moment within your presence.

Having gone through that I had high hopes for Karl & Emeiko’s two part wedding day that they had set out, with part 1 setting the stage with their Toronto City Hall elopement in the morning. With the Broadview Hotel playing host to both their getting ready’s and their first look.

They played the first part of the day as casually as you can think, starting off bright and early with the groom making a pit stop at the flower shop to pick up his soon-to-be bride’s first bouquet of the day.

The bride and groom decided to get ready together for the first part of the day providing candid moments like Emeiko helping Karl with his tie only to have him return the favour in helping her put the final touches on her white jumpsuit. It was both beautiful and intimate to see them both nervously anticipate what was to come, yet being able to comfort each other through laughter and kind gestures along the way. I’m glad they saved their first look for the second ceremony since I got a unique experience and insight into their relationship and the transition from two people in love, to two people bonded by commitment. 

The Broadview hotel provided a great atmosphere with quirks and sophistication. A vinyl record player in the room adding to the ambiance and allowing Karl and his mom to bond over Tycho’s album “Hours” and discussing how to pronounce the band’s name - we settle of “ ’pti chaud” (small-hot translated from French to English). 

Emeiko looked stunning. A walking editorial ad. A bride that jumped right out of the pages of Aritzia’s lookbook, with utter confidence and stunning beauty making the white jumpsuit seem like the natural choice for any modern bride getting eloped in the city.

After snapping some shots on 35mm film and 120 medium format film around the hotel - we jetted off to Toronto’s City Hall for their elopement in the presence of their immediate family… and us. An intimate elopement if I’ve ever seen one.

Part 1 of the day was capped off with lunch at the Broadview Hotel’s retro bar - where the bride and groom indulged in some fantastic burgers and good conversation.

There’s a lot more I can say about this day, and these two, but maybe I’ll save that for part 2. If you think part 1 was good, part 2 is without a doubt worth waiting for.

Song/Album of the Day

Elegy - Tycho - Hours (album)

- 3B

Elisha and Matt at Dowswell Barn

Elisha and Matt’s intimate wedding at Dowswell Farm in Beaverton Ontario was nothing short of spectacular. The authentic and rustic vibe of Dowswell Farm created the ultimate atmosphere for the the bride and groom to showcase vintage details, but most importantly, to officially unite their family. The spirit and essence of family was a large reoccurring theme throughout the wedding day, with numerous elements paying homage to their current families, but most importantly, the wedding day was an official right-of passage for the Bride and Groom to unite their own family, in the presence of their young baby boy Maddox.

The morning of the wedding was one of the foggiest days I’ve ever seen and having a moment to take in the fog roll in over Lake Ontario near the hotel where Elisha and her bridesmaids got ready was an incredible way to get my creative vision rolling. With her friends and family gathered within the confines of the hotel room, Elisha couldn’t contain her excitement as everyone got their hair and makeup ready, looking forward to showing off her beautiful modern vintage bridal look to her closest.  A large part of her excitement was the mere fact she was able to get her wedding vision complete by having her wedding held at Dowswell Barn in the first place, something she worked very hard to accomplish, and it was totally worthwhile.

With the beautiful summer morning light coming through the room, the stage was set for beautiful and genuine candid moments between the bride and those in her presence that morning. With Elisha’s mother and one of her bff’s giving Elisha a hand to put on her custom gown, the bride’s mother was unable to contain her emotion as the beautiful bride revealed her completed look. 

Before the wedding day itself I knew how important family was to Elisha so it didn’t surprise me to see minor details paying homage to that even within her modern-vintage bride look. An incredible detail she included was wearing a pendant that contain the ashes of her grandfather. A beautiful touch to have someone significant in her life remain close to her heart in a monumental and important event.

As the bride and her crew wrapped up getting ready and rushed off to Dowswell Farm for the wedding celebration, Matt and Maddox got dressed back at the groom’s parents house in Georgina.  Seeing the bond between Matt and his son as they got ready together was memorable. Maddox’s mini suit and shoes were beyond adorable if I can admit.

The wedding ceremony symbolized and manifested both the bride and groom’s family and heritage. Maddox playing the role of ring-bearer, refusing to walk down the aisle without the assistance of his dad was equally as cute and memorable as Matt’s grandmother playing the role of flower girl, also walking down the aisle with the assistance of the groom.  On the flip side, to honour Elisha’s aboriginal heritage and family, there was a traditional blanket ceremony performed by the aid of one of the bride’s cousins. The ceremony brought forth a sense of calm and spirituality that I haven’t ever witnessed during a wedding ceremony. It was utterly beautiful and impactful, something that resonated with everyone in attendance, including the bride and groom.

Once the Dowswell Barn wedding ceremony finished up, the bride and groom along with their bridal party made the most of the rustic environment that Dowswell farm has to offer, allowing us to capture and document intimate and candid portraits within a cornfield around the farm’s numerous barns and locations. We were treated with the summer’s most beautiful and poignant sunsets. The clouds had a hue of pink and shades of purple as the bride and groom appreciated every second of it as they spend some quiet time alone together before dinner. A big bonus of having your wedding on a farm is that you have few distractions and limitations when it comes to witnessing the beautiful sunsets that nature has to offer. A far cry from the usual chaos and distractions that come from photographing weddings in Toronto!

As the light began to dwindle and seep through the cracks of Dowswell Barn, the bride and groom took a moment to share in an intimate moment and dance together in the middle of the barn, creating a surreal and cinematic moment that was purely instinctive and natural, chasing the light and making the most of every moment, allowing me to capture it purely as a documentary wedding photographer, allowing my photojournalistic approach to take over and providing the bride and groom a moment of quiet intimacy to gather their thoughts and emotions. 

Something I absolutely loved about Dowswell farm’s barn was how authentically rustic and vintage it was, providing slivers of light to seep through from all directions, providing beautiful natural light in every corner for every moment, truly breathtaking.  

Once the light faded dinner began to be served as we were treated to authentic smoked BBQ, copious amounts of wine, and genuine speeches by close members of the bride and groom’s family. Something that was truly beautiful and natural about the entire wedding reception was Elisha and Matt’s unwavering attention and inclusion of their son Maddox. They subconsciously included him in every joyous moment, every tear shed and every detail of the wedding day. It was equally about their union to each other as it was a commitment to their son and their immediate family.

Despite being beyond full from the amazing BBQ dinner served at the wedding reception, Matt and Elisha had a few late night surprises in store for their guests. I remember hearing a faded tune in the distance along with some faded neon lights approaching. I was caught in a weird moment in-between nostalgia and surrealism, as an ice-cream truck slowly began to approach the barn, I was able to capture that moment and feeling that resonated “Stranger Things” vibes and offered up a weird and cool moment in the wedding day.

Of course, with the addition of the ice-cream truck, the bride and groom couldn’t neglect to have street-meat on offer, as there were gourmet hot-dogs for the late-night munchies from all the partying and dancing that was had, effectively tackling the usual midnight munchies problem through and through.

Beneath the moon and stars above Dowswell Barn, the bride and groom indulged and shared a blue slurpee with one another before we took some night time portraits to cap off the already incredible wedding day.

An authentic wedding with vintage aesthetic and vibes, only to be surpassed by the authentic presence of love and family. An unforgettable day and evening at Dowswell Farm with a beautiful bride, a down-to-earth groom, and their adorable baby boy.

Song of the day

I Love It [(Freaky Girl) Edit] - Kanye West ft. Lil Pump

 

- 3B

VENDORS
Hair Stylist: Jennesa
Makeup Artists: Sarah J and Jenna Collins
Wedding Dress Designer: Laudae
Wedding Dress Boutique: Sash and Bustle
Bridesmaid Dresses: David’s Bridal, Amanda-Lina’s, Boutique 1861
Suit: Moore’s
Florist: Room to Bloom
Catering: BBQ Gourmet
Coordinator: I Do Weddings!
Invitations: Minted
Second Shooter: Ryanne Hollies