June 2010 Engagements

I had the privilege of shooting these two engagement sessions at two of my favourite locations. Both locals come complete with old architectural ruins, stunning nature, a riverfront and for a more urban feel: graffiti. What more could you ask for in a single location?


Jill and Orlando

Jill and Orlando chose to have their engagement photos at Mill Race Park in Cambridge, Ontario on June 13, 2010. This lovely couple is an online-love success story and are truly an amazing couple. It took Jill a few minutes to get comfortable in front of the camera at the beginning of our session but once she did the rest of the time flowed fabulously and ended up in a playful (and very wet!) water fight between the two of them. Thanks again for the ice cream after the session! It was a great way to spend a beautiful June day.

For these and more fabulous photos from this engagement session, click here.





Jenny and John

Jenny and John (and their wonderful dog) picked Goldie Mill in Guelph, Ontario for their engagement session on June 27, 2010.  Jenny is a fun-loving, natural model and it was almost impossible not to take hundreds upon hundreds of photos of her as she posed, laughed and brought life to all our locations. John may be the quiet half of the pair but he is the ultimate good sport, willing to do just about anything to get a great shot. We grabbed shots at the mill and down the trail along the river and included their very fun and photogenic dog in several of the engagement shots.

For these and more fabulous photos from this engagement session, click here.

Jessica and Jeremy • June 12, 2010

June brings Captured Soul Photography back into Ontario for a summer of stunning local weddings after a winter of chasing after the sun in more tropical climates.

Our first fabulous wedding of the season was with Jessica and Jeremy who were married on June 12, 2010. We began the day with getting ready shots at Expressions Hair Design in Stratford, Ontario and at the bride's mother's home.  Jessica wanted portrait photos taken at the elegant Stratford White House so she arranged to have us stop on our way to their ceremony in Waterloo. This incredible victorian location is a perfect spot for timeless photos.

The ceremony and reception were held at Grey Silo Golf Club in Waterloo, a popular and striking location for weddings in the area. Very little has to be done to this hall to make it impressive... it's an amazing choice for couples that love an open and rustic ambience.

Portrait photos of the family were taken at Grey Silo following the ceremony. We then piled the wedding party into the limo and traveled into St Jacobs Village and along the scenic Mill Run Trail for portraits and candids. Due to the looming threat of rain that seemed to follow us, the couple had come prepared with fabulous black umbrellas with "just married" written across them in large white lettering. Although the couple missed but a few drops of rain, the umbrellas made for some great shots. When the rain actually started to fall (right when we were finishing up! - *Thanks to the weather gods*), I quickly stopped traffic long enough to capture some incredible shots of the couple dancing in the street and then we escaped back to the hall for their very deletable dinner and wonderful reception which lasted long into the evening.

Congratulations Jessica & Jeremy!  It was an honour capturing your wedding!

For these and more photos of this beautiful wedding, click here.

Hajnalka & Dwayne's Destination Wedding • May 21st-28th 2010

Hajnalka and Dwayne were married on May 26, 2010 at the Majestic Colonial, an all inclusive resort in Punta Cana, Dominican Republic.  Dawn Fairbanks of Destination Weddings By Dawn worked her magic (as usual) and found the ultimate location for their wedding week (May 21 to 28th, 2010). With Jacuzzi bathtubs in every open-concept room and a bottle of champagne (and chocolate in the fridge) waiting upon arrival, this resort proved to be not only beautiful but truly romantic. The staff, service and food were all fantastic and the resort had by far, the best Michael Jackson tribute show I have seen so far in the Caribbean.  Seriously.

Shortly after arrival, Hajnalka & Dwayne had a gathering to welcome their guests and provided each couple with monogrammed beach bags containing care packages that they had put together themselves. The beach bags were a great personal touch and contained suntan lotion, motrin, an itinerary for the week and inflatable beach toys amongst many, many other useful items.

Even on a destination wedding, you can't guarantee the weather and Hajnalka was getting very nervous about her outdoor ceremony as the rain had been persistent all week.  But the clouds rolled away just in time for the ceremony and the drops of rain only started to fall again minutes after the last of the portrait photos were taken on the beach. The fabulous resort staff waited to the absolute last second to set-up their preferred ceremony site to ensure that Hajnalka and Dwayne had the wedding of their dreams. The gazebo (ceremony site) was perfectly surrounded by lush, tropical gardens. Their reception was held indoors in a private hall which was perfect as the rain poured all night.  The next morning though we awoke to a beautiful day and captured a trash/love the dress photo session which had Hajnalka and Dwayne climbing palm trees and getting completely coated with ocean water and sand.  These two are amazing and always up for anything; truly a photographer's dream couple, as you can see in this fabulous video that I shot of Hajnalka taking the "safe" but very long way up the tree....

We finished off the week with a candid photo session of the group swimming, relaxing, and playing frisbee on the beach on the most incredible sunny, blue-sky day.  It was a perfect afternoon to finish off the week!

For these and more photos of this incredible wedding week, please click here.

Stephanie & Barry's Destination Wedding • May 2nd-9th 2010

Stephanie and Barry were married on May 5, 2010 at the Iberostar Varadero, an all inclusive resort in Varadero, Cuba. Their fabulous wedding week (May 2nd to 9th) took place on the grounds of one of my favourite and most colourful resorts in Cuba. The beach ceremony could not have been more beautiful: it was the perfect blue-sky day and Stephanie's wedding colours of turquoise and white were stunning against the white sandy beaches and colours of the ocean. Their reception dinner was held at one of the a la cart restaurants and was continued in a private area outdoors for cocktails and dancing.  At sunset,  the newlyweds briefly escaped their dinner reception to capture a few photos with the most perfect Cuban sunset as their backdrop. You couldn't have asked for a more incredible day!
Normally, we use their extra photos session that is included in their package for a Trash the Dress or Excursion but Stephanie & Barrie wanted to let everyone in their group have individual and family portraits instead!  How very considerate of her to provide this for her guests!  After the portraits, we ended up with our happy couple cooling down from the tropical heat by playing and splashing in the lobby fountain which earned us some fabulous smiles from the resort staff.  After all, a destination wedding is all about letting go and having some fun...



For these and more photos of this incredible wedding week, please click here.

Claire & John's Destination Wedding in Mexico • March 27th - April 3rd 2010

Claire and John celebrated their incredible wedding at the Occidental Grand Flamenco Xcaret all-inclusive resort in Playa del Carmen, Mexico.  Their week in the Mayan Riviera included a fabulous excursion to Tulum - one of Mexico's most picturesque mayan ruins, as well as having an amazing ceremony overlooking the ocean in a lovely gazebo and a reception in an open air hall that took true advantage of the incredible scenery of this stunning resort.  The next morning we went out on the lava rock shore for photos of this lovely couple with the gorgeous sunrise as a backdrop and spent several hours in a trash the dress session that truly captured every nook and beautiful cranny of the resort, ending of course with photos of these two brave souls in the stunning turquoise of the ocean, laughing and allowing me to take some of the most romantic photos I have ever captured.

This resort comes highly recommended by our bride & groom as well as their family & friends (and myself).  If you are considering booking your wedding at this resort, make sure to spend the extra few dollars to stay with your group at the Royal Club.  The special service and food certainly makes any extra charge completely worthwhile!

Our incredible duo reside in Parry Sound Ontario and I am incredibly privileged to have not only had the honour of capturing their wedding but also to now call them friends as well.



For more photos and a review of this resort (and services), please see Claire's wonderful review on the forums of BestDestinationWedding.com

Portrait of a New Family at Waterloo Park

I'm so pleased to finally get together with Pam for a session.  We met at a wedding I captured several years ago (and she was also one of my yoga students back before I was shooting full time) and we've been trying to get together for the last year.  But we finally made it happen and with perfect timing too.  Pam and her fabulous husband just had a baby girl and we had a wonderful amount of fun capturing this new family on camera.  The portrait session was taken this past May in Waterloo Park.


For more fabulous photos from this session, please click here

Two Engagements at Goldie Mill

When I am asked to do an engagement session, the location is always up to the couple. I have travelled all over Southern Ontario for engagement shoots but always seem to come back to several popular spots in the area - and no wonder, they are absolutely stunning locations and have lots of fabulous different backdrops for photos. One of these locations I inevitably return to several times a year is Goldie Mill in Guelph. The area is rich in beautiful architecture, nature, with a bit of urban flair thrown in for good measure.

My first two engagement shoots for 2010 were both at Goldie Mill and both for brides with the same first name (though spelled differently). What does this mean? Well, firstly it a wonderful coincidence and secondly, it shows that anyone with this first name has to have good taste, right?

Congratulations Christie & Jeremy and Kristy & Ian! Wishing you both very happy futures together!


For more photos from Christie & Jeremy's engagement session, please click here.



For more photos from Kristy & Ian's engagement session, please click here.