Julie & Brandon, Queenston Heights, Niagara On The Lake Wedding

Julie and Brandon were married on a beautiful fall day in Southern Ontario. Mike and I started out in a cloud of hair spray and flurry of bridesmaids at Julies house.

 We then popped on over to Brandons house for a quick couple of shots. The groomsmen figured out their boutonnieres and posed for an important shot in Brandon’s dad’s motorcycle, complete with a purple socked tribute to a much loved man. 

Speaking of a much loved man, I have a soft spot for daddy’s and daughters on the wedding day, and these two shots are two of my favourites of the day.

The church ceremony took place at the beautiful Cathedral of St Catherine of Alexandria, the same place that Julies parents and brother were both married in. 

In this shot, Mike replicated the same photograph that was taken by Julies parents photographer, back in the day.

The group photos were taken at the beautiful Royal BotanicalGardens in Queenston. There were so many amazing spots to take pictures here, we could have spent hours there, it was perfect. Plus, we are always grateful when it’s raining just a little bit, because the greenery is always so much more vibrant and lush looking. It was a little chilly, a little damp, but the weather only enhanced the warmth and love between this lovely couple (and I'm not saying that to be super cheesy, there really was a lot of snuggling going on!).

As Julie and Brandon met at a golf tournament, it was fitting for us to get a couple of shots on the nearby golf course.

Next, we headed off to the beautiful Queenston Heights for an intimate dinner party and reception. During the cocktail hour, the bride and groom surprised their guests with a special war of 1812 presentation, put on by the fine folks at Queenston Heights. The guests were delighted and Mike was able to get some really unique shots, these guys were so cool!

After a delicious dinner and dessert (where I was introduced to Crème Brulee for the first time and have now commenced a true love story with it…delicious!), it was time for the speeches & dancing. This little dude is not only imitating the cute monster on his pj's, but he totally drops down to the ground for some very intense break dancing. 

dress shoes and pj's? so cute!

 Finally, Julie and Brandon danced together to The Luckiest, by Ben Folds  (Mike and I had chosen the same one for our first dance tooJ ). 

We had such a great time hanging out with Brandon and Julie and we know these two are going to have a beautiful life together!

Jake & Candice - August Wedding, St Catharines, ON

It was a gorgeous, sunny day in beautiful Jordan, Ontario and Candice and her girls are all a-buzz.  I just love the way the light pours in, it was like Nature was all thumbs-up for how pretty Candice looked.

During the ceremony, there was a lot of singing, which is wonderful because its like all of their loved ones are singing them into their new life together.

After the ceremony, there were lots of hugs – this picture is actually one of my favourite pics of the year.

Next it was time to head over to Lakeside Park in Port Dalhousie. They have this awesome old carousel there, fully restored – and still only 5 cents to ride!  The carousel was carved between 1898 and 1905 and is totally awesome. Candice and Jake rented the carousel for half an hour and we had a blast snapping pics and gettin’ dizzy.

Dudes.

A little walk down the beach and we found a troupe of ragamuffin beach boys.

I love the deep purple that Candice chose for her bridesmaids, so elegant and yet the long dress style is flowy and light so it totally worked with the warm weather and beachy theme of the pictures.

Next we went to an park near Brock University that used to be quarry but has since been reclaimed into a beautiful natural oasis.

This is place where Jake asked Candice if she was interested in starting to date - she was ;)

It must be noted that Candice is a farm girl at heart and had no problem walking over the gravel road in her bare feet (check out the hot pink toenails, peeps) 

but a little later on it was time for her new husband to come to the rescue. Rocks are one thing, brambles are quite another.

Finally it was time to head on over to the Four Points by Sheraton in St Catharines. One thing I have to mention – the bridal party had the most creative entrances we’ve ever seen.  

The following picture is not a picture of a bridesmaid falling and being embarrassed – it’s a picture of a bridesmaid doing the inchworm and totally rockin’ it. Talk about hidden talents!  

And not to be outdone, the best man totally surprised us with a fabulous leap forward. (Actually just as a note, this best man did something amazing later in the night  - he actually wrote, played and sung Jake & Candice a romantic song, just especially about them and it was really amazing!)

It's fun being married. :)

During the speeches, it can get kind of emotional. Candices sister stepped in to help Candice with the rest of her speech here, sweet huh?

And then this happened. :D This was a game, not sure what it was called, but something like ‘Guess which one is your husbands butt’. Too funny!! : )

This was arranged by a very helpful and talented flower girl :D

After the first dance,

It was time to party on down.

Just about every guest got their groove on, especially Jake with this classic gettin-on-down dance face.

Candice and Jake are a lovely couple who are just starting their lives out and are going to grow beautifully together in love and life. We wish them all the best!