Sassafraz Yorkville Toronto Wedding

Heather + Shay

It's not often that someone can steal the show from the bride at a wedding (and get away with it!) but when you're the couples adorable son... it's allowed.  Check out this great Toronto portrait family session we did this spring!

I love a restaurant wedding... there's something really nice about the the casual, laid back vibe it seems to automatically impart to a wedding.   Add into that a Jewish wedding ceremony (fast becoming my favourite kind of weddings!) and you have a recipe for an amazing day!

Heather and Shay spent the morning hanging out in their amazing suite at the Four Seasons in Toronto's Yorkville neighbourhood.   I love shooting in those suites as they provide a great backdrop for the getting ready pictures.  Plus I'm a sucker for luxury. :)   Shay and Heather were a little unconventional and spent the morning hanging out together which I have to say was a great idea...  I think it helps manage the nerves and excitement in the morning.

We snuck down to the a beautiful staircase in the lobby of the Four Seasons hotel for their first look and then toured around Yorkville grabbing some great wedding portraits.  We met up with all the family a little early at Sassafraz Restaurant before the wedding ceremony for some family pictures.

The Jewish wedding ceremony was great, officiated by one of my favourite Rabbi's with a great cocktail hour following. 

Dinner was a relaxed, low key affair with only a few speeches and lots of time for mingling and conversations.   Shay and Heather opened up the dance floor with their first dance and from there the dance floor was packed for the rest of the night thanks to Tiffany from Bounce Entertainment!

A big thanks to the team from Heidi Gruenspan for doing an amazing job planning this wedding!

 

Madsen's Greenhouse Wedding

Andrea + Chris

Here's the blog post for Andrea + Chris' amazing wedding at the Madsen's Greenhouse in Newmarket, just outside of Toronto.

Sometimes when I photograph a wedding I form a real bond with the couple and their family and I almost feel like family by the end of the day.  Well, since this was my 4th (maybe 5th????) wedding with this same family it's safe to say this was like a family reunion for me.  It was awesome seeing so many of my past couples and their kids and soon to be kids!

I started the day at Andrea + Chris' brand new townhouse for some hair and makeup with the girls and then met up with Chris and the guys for a little ball hockey.
Once the guys let Chris score enough goals to make him happy, we all headed over to Andrea's parents house for the traditional Chinese door games. Some light bribery (including a Presto card!), modelling the latest in thongs and a little Backstreat Boys karaoke and the guys made it into the house!

Until Andrea + Chris, I had never heard of Masden's Greenhouse but I have to say it is easily one of the most unique wedding venues in Toronto I've ever seen... and I think I've seen most of them.
This place is literally a greenhouse converted into a wedding venue.  They have a beautiful indoor ceremony space and reception venue.  They also have all kinds of nooks and cranny's around the grounds which we used to good effect for their first look and portraits which was great since it decided to rain most of the day.   The traditional Chinese tea ceremony was held in a beautiful little spot with a nearby fountain... very tranquil.

One of the things you have to be comfortable with as a wedding photographer is working in front of a crowd.  And every once in a while when your'e working in front of a crowd you do something stupid like knock the alter flowers over during the ceremony.  There aren't words to express that level of embarrassment so I won't bother.  Suffice to say, for the 100th time... I'm sorry.  :)

Even a clumsy photographer couldn't ruin an amazing ceremony as Andrea + Chris were surrounded by their closest family and friends as they exchanged their wedding venues in a really beautiful setting.   We even managed to duck outside for the 10 minutes the sun made an appearance right at sunset for some more beautiful portraits.

The reception was filled with a beautiful first dance, great speeches and two of the most energetic MC's I've ever seen!   The night carried on with some epic movies on the dance floor.

Thanks you to Andrea + Chris for having me along and being a part of your wedding, it was an amazing day and so great seeing so many of my past wedding couples there!

You can see some of my favourite wedding images above and their full wedding slideshow below!