Sassafraz Yorkville Toronto Wedding

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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!

 

Waterstone Estate Wedding

Chelsea + Danny

Chelsea + Danny had an amazing wedding a few weeks ago and I was really honoured to be a part of it.

The day began nice and early with the girls getting ready at Chelsea's parents house in North York.   Since day one I've always offered full day coverage and some of my days can get a little long but I honestly don't mind.   I want to photograph the entire day, everything from the getting ready in the morning to the late night party (more on that to come later!).

The boys were just around the corner getting ready and then joined us at the house for the traditional Chinese door games!   The bridesmaids weren't too hard on the guys... a couple songs, a dance routine and some light seaweed kissing.   The bribe to get in the door consisted of a used watch, a PC Optimum points card and some car keys.  Okay, and some cash.  :)

After a really nice tea ceremony it was time for Chelsea to get into her white wedding dress (one of three outfits that day!) and head off to the church for a really nice Roman Catholic ceremony.    The priest was great and funny, I actually found myself laughing a few times during the ceremony.  After a few big group photos at the church the wedding party piled into the limo for the drive up to Waterstone Estates for wedding portraits and the reception.

To be honest, this is where the wedding went off the rails a little.  We had pretty tight timeline for pictures but this went completely out the window when the limo driver somehow got lost and was 45 minutes late.   Dude, you had one job.  :)

Anyways, I pride myself on being able to adapt and turn lemons into lemonade.   Sometimes I think I actually create better under pressure.   We managed to get a bunch of great shots with Chelsea + Danny and their wedding party.  Plus, I worked with the venue manager to tweak the schedule for dinner so we could get 10 minutes at sunset!   At this point, I'd gladly trade 10 minutes of nice golden hour light instead of an hour at high noon.

The DJ did a great job of keeping the party going strong all night... There might have even been a conga line at one point.

A final huge thank you again to Chelsea + Danny for trusting me to capture their day.

Check out some of my favourite wedding pictures above and their full wedding slideshow below!

You can also check out their engagement pictures here.

 

Toronto Fermenting Cellar Wedding

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Meghan + Jeff

Meghan and Jeff had an amazing spring wedding at the Fermenting Cellar in Toronto's Distillery District.

Meghan, her sister and her mother spent the morning getting ready at One King West.  One King West has stunning suites that are the perfect place to spend the day.   I met up with Jeff and his best man at the Fermenting Cellar to photograph the finishing touches as they got ready.

Meghan and Jeff decided to have a first look which I always think is a great idea as it allows the bride and groom to spend time with their friends and family after the ceremony instead of running off to do pictures for an hour.   

While we were doing some family pictures Meghan was dive-bombed by a bird.  Meghan HATES HATES HATES birds.   :)

Meghan + Jeff had a really beautiful candlelit ceremony in the Fermenting Cellar that was full of laughter and emotions followed by a cocktail hour with some amazing appetizers. 

The Fermenting Cellar is one of my favourite wedding venues in all of Toronto... I love the dramatic uplighting, the industrial feel and the great layout.  I can't recomend it enough if you're looking for something a little different from your traditional wedding venue in Toronto. 

Dinner was intermixed with some amazing speeches and toasts by Meghan + Jeff's family and friends.   They had a great kissing game where guests had to answer (impossibly hard) trivia questions about Meghan + Jeff's favourite TV couple.... seriously hard questions.  

Once the cake was cut and the desert was served, it was time to hit the dance floor and Meghan + Jeff's wedding was an amazing fun party.

You can check out some of my favourite wedding pictures from Meghan + Jeff's wedding at the Fermenting Cellar above and their full wedding slideshow below.

You can also check out some other weddings I've photographed at the Fermenting Cellar:

Danni + Felipe
Renee + Ian

Toronto Family Photography

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Heather and Shay are getting married this august at Sassafraz in Toronto's Yorkville neighbourhood.  We decided to convert their engagement session into a little mini family session which I thought was a great idea.

On what seemed to be the last cold day of the season, everybody was real troopers braving the wind and chill... even their little guy!

Here are some of my favourite images from this Toronto family photography session, check back in a couple months for some amazing wedding pictures featuring these guys!

Heirloom Wedding Photograph

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Here's another image in my ongoing series titled 'Heirloom Photographs'.   This one is from Jayde + David's amazing New Years wedding I photographed up in North Bay.

The purpose of the project is for me to understand which images I've created are truly important to them and why.  I consider the wedding photographs I create to be the first heirloom of a new family that will be passed down and cherished for generations.

In their own words, here is Jayde + David's Heirloom Photograph:

"We both love to be surrounded by our loved ones and getting married on New Years Eve seemed to be a great combination of family, friends, fun and love!
Although we truly love so many moments that were captured by Scott at our wedding, this picture definitely encapsulates our feelings about the day. The excitement and joy in this photo really do bring us back to that moment during the countdown to midnight as we celebrated with those we cherish. The colours are as vibrant as the people and personalities in the photo. We are currently building our dream home and plan to have a large print of this moment in our great room. Thank you Scott!"

Jayde + David

PS  I LOVE this picture too!   And it even won an award!  :)

Toronto Professional Headshots

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Did some new headshots for Laura in Toronto... to tell a family secret, Laura is the first bride who ever hired me to photograph her wedding.  She's the one responsible for all this!

And no, you can't see the pictures.  :)

If your LinkedIn profile pic makes you cringe, give me a call and we can get you a great new professional headshot.   Same goes with your actors headshots or even your online dating profile picture (if it works, I get to shoot your wedding!)

Some Personal Work

Toronto Architecture Photography

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Don't get me wrong, I love photographing weddings.   But sometimes it's nice to shoot something... different.

And I can't get much different than shooting architecture in Toronto's downtown.  I've always been drawn to this style of photography and really enjoy when I can get away for a couple hours and just roam the streets and alleys looking for a unique angle.   One day, maybe I'll make it to Hong Kong to shoot which would be my idea of heaven.  :)

Elginton Grand Wedding

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Happy Anniversary to Elsie + Jeff

A wedding photograph from Elsie + Jeff's wedding at the Eglinton Grand in Toronto, Ontario by Toronto wedding photographer Scott Williams.

Social media can be a double edged sword. 

There's all the terrible aspects of it (the hacks, the curating, the online bullying) but it also allows a connection with people that I think would be difficult any other way.  It was through an Instagram post that I was reminded that Elsie + Jeff, one of my all time favourite couples, are celebrating their 6 year anniversary!  

Elsie + Jeff had a fantastic wedding way back in 2012 at the Eglinton Grand event space in midtown Toronto with a wedding ceremony at the always stunning Trinity Chapel on the University of Toronto grounds.

A lot of photographers hate looking back at the older work.  

Am I a better photographer than I was in 2012?  Probably, but it doesn't mean I'm not still proud of the pictures I've created over the years for my wedding clients.   And sure, there can be some cringeworthy stuff in there as we all succumb to certain fads, processing styles and technical limitations with the older cameras.   And of course the most glaring thing will always be how much you've grown and learned as a photographer over the years.

But it can also be a lot of fun looking back at these images and seeing the joy in their faces and the great moments.   Here are a couple of my favourite images from their Eglinton Grand wedding.

Also check back soon for a family session with Elsie + Jeff's beautiful family!

Happy anniversary you guys!

 

Award Winning Wedding Photography

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I had a few other nice surprises in the inbox... One of my photographs placed fifth in the Kids Category  International Society of Professional Wedding Photographers Winter 2018 contest!

Another image from Sabrina + Zach's Toronto wedding was given an honourable mention by the Wedding Photojournalist Association in their latest round of winners!

As always, most of the credit goes to my amazing clients that trust me to capture moments like these for their weddings.

Muskoka Wedding Photography

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Alli + Andy

I love when I get the opportunity to second shoot weddings with other wedding photographers, doubly so when it's photographers whose work I love.

Last fall I had the chance to help out Kate Hood, an amazing wedding photographer up in Muskoka.   You can check out her wedding photography work here.  Kate also does some amazing boudoir work which you can see here (slightly NSFW!).

All and Andy decided to have their entire wedding on their beautiful property in the heart of Muskoka.   The both got ready in their house, portraits in the woods behind, an intimate backyard outdoor ceremony and a cozy tent reception.

Alli & Andy decided to have a first look so they could get most of the posed pictures out of the way before the ceremony and spend more time with their guests.   Well, we finished up some wedding portraits in the woods and headed back to the house but then we all realized that most of the guests were already seated and would see Alli.   Quick thinking groomsmen came up with the idea to spread out a tarp and walk Alli across the backyard... it's one of my favourite pictures of the day.

Enjoy the rest of these pictures, hope I can work with Kate again soon!