Kristen & Joel's Wedding at Carmen's Banquet Hall, Hamilton

When we met Kristen & Joel, we were so excited to have been invited to be a part of their day. These guys are the real deal, so in love and super committed to eachother - even across the US / Canada border, their love for eachother is solid. We had a blast at the engagement shoot (our first sunrise engagement shoot, and it turned out fabulous) and knew the wedding was going to be just as amazing. Unfortunately I (Kate) couldnt be there that day, but Mike and our assistant had a lot of fun and, as you can see, this family is pretty amazing and beautifully emotional. Kristen looked so delicately beautiful in her strapless, multi-tiered wedding gown, she really took Joel's breath away. Check out some of my favourites from the day, enjoy!

After the ceremony, Mike and the bridal party quickly headed over to Sam Lawrence Park to snap a few shots. The leaves were just coming out, and the flowers beds were still asleep -  a gorgeous Spring day!

The reception was held at Carmen's Banquet Hall, and everyone was ready to par-tay!

Cutest family!! 

The couples' little one decided he needed to help Joel with the flow of tears...

 

And it helped. A little. ;) 

I love how kids are always the first ones to break in the dance floor :D

Shadow monster dance puppets! 

Congratulations you two, we wish you guys all the best...its a beautiful life! :)

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!