Hooray for Monday! Isn’t this a lovely little way to brighten up the beginning of your week? I sure hope so!
So, Saturday was a beautiful day, as far as March in Edmonton goes! It did get a bit nippy, but these wonderful people braved the cold, and about 8 flights of stairs (even though I told them it was only 4) to create some amazing images with us. Can’t wait to show you all the rest!
Lauren :)
I am seriously very very excited about these images. I had a super hard time not posting some yesterday! I absolutely love that we get so excited about every single wedding we shoot, and this was no exception. I don’t think the day could have been more perfect for Romy & Joyce, and they absolutely deserved it. Their engagement session a couple weeks ago literally had snow falling, and their wedding day was bright, sunny and hot! Hooray!
Enough blabbering, here are the pictures. I hope you love them as much as we do!
Joyce looked stunning in her qípáo, which is a traditional Chinese jacket that is elaborately embroidered.
I think this is probably my favorite shoe shot of all time…yep. It is.
And THE bridal party shot. The amount of factors that came into play on this one made this shot so unique. It would have only happened on a very very bright day (which we haven’t had many of lately), at only a certain time of day (20 minutes later the light squares were totally gone), with a certain lens (which we only started carrying with us on this wedding, we don’t usually bring it along), and with a specific number of bridal party attendants. I guess that’s a really long way of saying that this shot will be completely and utterly unique to Romy & Joyce and their wedding day. I absolutely love that!
And even though the previous shot is so wonderfully dramatic and beautiful, I love this one just as much!! So fun :)
And I don’t think I even have any words for this one. I just am obsessed with staring at it. Joyce just looked so stunning I don’t think it was possible to take a bad shot of her!
Adorable!
And I just had to share this one!! I’ve never seen so much dedication to getting that garter off! Joyce’s heels were giving Romy a lot of trouble, but he we determined to get it off!
Make sure to drop us a comment and let us know what you think of the images! Or just tell these two how ridiculously gorgeous they are!
Lauren :)
The more and more time we spent with Robin and Anita, the more we came to love them and their wonderfully sweet demeanor around each other. They are both fairly quiet, soft spoken individuals but as soon as we got them together shooting they just couldn’t stop smiling and laughing and just completely loving being with each other. I hope you enjoy these teaser images from their perfect wedding!
We were so excited to shoot at the Sacred Heart Church of the First Peoples. It had such beautiful artwork all around, and stunning light.
The priest preparing for the ceremony.
Anita & Robin had their reception at the Hotel Selkirk in Fort Edmonton Park. What that means is that we get to use the park for photos, which always makes us incredibly excited! I mean, look at this place!!!
Robin has Metis heritage, so shooting around the teepees was definitely special for him!
If you look closely you can see all the poplar fluff in the air. The Fort was totally empty by this point, and it was completely quiet. The fluff was coming down like snow, and it was such a perfect moment! We were so happy to have been part of it all!
You can see the metis sash that Robin wore in this next photo. Once used to carry belongings, the sash now symbolizes pride and identifications for the Metis.
I hope you enjoyed those! Keep checking back in a lot in the next while since we have SO much to share with you guys!
Tons o’ love,
Lauren :)
Wow. Where to begin? Our weekend was completely packed with Shazma and Matt time, and I don’t think we would have had it any other way! These two must be just exhausted today, because they were going even harder than us the whole time! They didn’t even get a chance to peek at the photos during the reception they were so busy, so I’m going to post a ton for them today!!
We started off with the mendhi on Friday. Shazma’s design looked just unbelievably amazing!
Then it was time for the pithi. This design was created with coloured rice under Shazma’s chair.
Shazma’s friends and family fed her sweets, showered her with rose petals, and gave her good wishes for her marriage.
Matt’s friends, on the other hand, did this to him….
I think this may be my favourite groom portrait ever, lol!! Poor Matt, he smelled so terrible!! I think they got him with salad dressing, peas, sprinkles, pop, peanut butter, ketchup, whipped cream, jello powder, honey, and a bunch of other such things. But he was a good sport, and got to hug all his buddies at the end, so he got his revenge.
Then the wedding day!! Shazma’s shoes were just beautiful.
Oh, and so was she :)
Love this ring shot Rob took. So simple but gorgeous.
This was Shazma’s reaction when she looked out the window and saw Matt and his groomsmen waiting for the girls to arrive.
We took this awesome bridal party around a parking lot downtown, and it was crazy fun!
Then it was Shazma & Matt time.
When we were driving around scouting locations for these cuties, I said to Rob “Let’s do something EPIC for them”. Then we found this spot. And we did something epic.
And that’s not even the half of all the crazy fun we had with them! You’ll have to wait for the full wedding post for the rest. But trust me, much more to come on this blog this week!!
Shazma and Matt, you guys are amazing, thank you for such a fabulous weekend!
Tons o’ love,
Lauren & Rob :)
Ok, so this is a teaser for the teaser post! Right now we’re on our way out the door to do a shoot. Since Jamie is such a big blog fan, I’m assuming she’s been checking all morning, so I don’t want to keep her waiting all day! So here is one image to tease you, and then later today I’ll post a bunch more :)
Enjoy!
Lauren :)
Ok, I’m finally getting this up! Wow, it’s been a busy day, but I’m determined not to miss my Monday post :)
Geez. Now I have to write about Jon and Jamie, and that’s pretty incredibly hard. These two are some of the most beautiful people both inside and out. During their speeches, when everyone was saying all these ridiculously nice things about them, you could just see the whole wedding party nodding their heads in agreement. These are the people who live up to those platitudes every single day. They took ridiculously great care of us, and honestly I can’t think of any place I would have rather been on Saturday than hanging out with these two.
I think Jon will dig this portrait. He’s sitting in his Bobcat (recall that he was the dude who did our amazing landscaping!)
Love this one. I hope Jon listened to that sign :)
Awwwww. This is Mr. McDuff, Jamie’s dog. When we asked them if there were any special shots they’d like us to get during the wedding day, he was the only thing on the list :) But look how cute he is!!!
Jamie’s dad the first time he saw her in the dress. Man that guy looks proud.
And then it was Jon’s turn to see her. He looks pretty smitten I’d say. I love these little moments during the ceremony.
And then fun times! This bridal party was hilarious and kept us laughing the whole day.
The University of Alberta installed some new rocks near Saskatchewan Drive. So we made good use of them!!
Ok, I had to throw a couple photos of the flowers up here because they were STUNNING! They were created by La Piazza Dasee and were truly one of the most beautiful bouquets ever (even though I think it weighed roughly 100 pounds ;)
And speaking of flowers, that gorgeous parasol Jamie is holding was also created by them, and is filled with white orchids. Isn’t this just the epitome of a fairytale wedding??
And of course, a little bit of fun and awesomeness thrown in!! Mad props to Jamie for being so fearless!!And for these two for being such awesome snugglers :)
And finally, a true one-in-a-lifetime moment. We snuck out during the reception for some photos around the gorgeous grounds of Red Tail Landing Golf Course and this little bunny kept coming up and checking us out. Then he jumped past these two creating a pretty nifty shot :)
Whew!! That was quite the teaser post! But I hope you all enjoyed it, especially all the cute animals :)
Have a fantastic evening, and keep coming back this week because we have a ridiculous number of shoots we’ve been doing lately and can’t wait to share them!!
Lauren :)
I think my blog dudes would smack me if I uploaded the 49 images I got ready from this wedding all at once, so I’m going to do this over two days. Today you get to see part one of this wedding, and tomorrow will be part two :)
We started off with Robyn as she got ready for the Sikh ceremony.
Yowza!
Then it was time for the ceremony. The priest started everyone off with a prayer before the milni ceremony.
The Nanaksar Gurdwara is seriously gorgeous.
The ceremony ends with the offering of prasad to all the guests.
See what I mean? What a gorgeous building.
I love these two. The background looks like a painting!
And our day ended with the doli. Sush and his guys had to bribe their way into Robyn’s house. I love these shots Rob got. He was squished in so tight that he could barely move. It made the shots seem so real, like I’m standing right there. 
For this one I feel like I’m part of the conversation. It’s a perspective we don’t usually get, being up that close and personal, but I love it so much.
And for the record, they did finally manage to bribe the girls enough to get in :)
And I’ll end on this one. Highly emotional, but so impactful. Sush leads her out of her parent’s home as they are tied together with a scarf. Robyn throws grains of rice as she leaves.
Come back tomorrow for the rest!
Lauren :)
I really hope you guys really enjoy the images from day 2 of this crazy wedding extravaganza. I think there are some really special frames in here!
Starting with this one. Isn’t the light gorgeous? A+ to Rob.
Oh, P.S. If you’re a shoe lover you might want to sit down. Things are going to get crazy. These are Robyn’s morning shoes.
And these are her evening shoes.
Sush’s family comes from Kerala in South India. They are members of the Malankara Orthodox Church. It was our first time shooting a ceremony like this, and it was amazing. Sure, we had to stand for nearly 2 hours, but completely worth it. It was held in the stunning St. Josaphat’s Ukranian Catholic Church.
Waiting to start.
The ceremony was held primarily in Malayalam, their native language. That meant we didn’t generally know what was going on, but here they are blessing this chain for Sush. I believe it is called the “Blessing of the Crown” ceremony, as they used to use gold crowns.
Sush’s father swinging the thurible, which is filled with charcoal and incense.
Love this one of Robyn’s bridesmaids carrying her dress. When there is a combining of cultures in one frame (mendhi with a Western wedding dress) I just get so excited.
We returned to Sush’s parents house for a milk ceremony. Sush’s mom served them chocolate milk.
And they drank it. And that was pretty much the extent of the ceremony! Sometimes they are complex, and sometimes just very simple :)
Then it was time for some cool shots with this stunning bridal party.
Flowers from Swish. Awesome.
That would be a Bentley. Just look up the MSRP. I think you’ll be quite surprised :)
And I’ll finish up with a couple shots from their reception. Truly the most gorgeous reception decor we’ve ever seen. Huge props to the amazing people at Elegant Touches for their unbelievable work.
Sush waiting as Robyn gets ready for the reception. Doesn’t he look crazy cool?
Oh yeah. There were acrobats. It was insane.
Oh man, what a wedding. I started giggling when I was looking at the rings! So so so nice.
Yeah. Nuts right?
Lauren :)
When Karen & Gary told us they had 3 hours scheduled for us to create portraits of just the two of them on their wedding day, we almost fainted with excitement. I was even slightly worried that we might not be able to handle that much time! But as weddings always go, the hours just raced by, and before we knew it we were done. I’m not sure what it was, but it just seemed like everything was so perfect that day, we were just in heaven.I’m pretty sure Karen and Gary had fun too :)
The ceremony was at the unparalleled Hotel MacDonald. That made the getting ready shots pretty stellar.
Love this one of Gary waiting in the lounge for the ceremony to start.
I think it’s safe to say that the Wedgewood Room is our favourite ceremony spot in the whole city.
There was a wonderful tea ceremony following the wedding ceremony.
This is just so gorgeous. Rob took this one, and when I saw it on the computer I was completely blown away. Karen is so ridiculously gorgeous, it’s kind of not fair.
Ok, I know I have a tendency to talk very highly of pretty much everything. But I enjoyed this lion dancer performance so so so much. I think it was the most fun and entertaining performance I’ve ever seen at a wedding!! I loved it!
I couldn’t get over the stunts they pulled!! Insane!!
I’m still recovering from that wedding, it was just so stunning! Hope you enjoyed the images!
Lauren :)
Just can’t wait to share this one. From earlier today, at the wedding of one of my closest friends, Barbara. Her new husband, Anthony, is the sweetest guy, and I was so incredibly happy to share in their big day! And I’m so honored to have been able to be their photographer. I really, really like this frame :)
Lauren
A year and a half ago, while we were traveling India, Michelle & BJ booked us for their wedding. We had never met them, and they hadn’t even been to our place until last week. But that doesn’t change the fact that they are kind of our couple soulmates. They are an azn/gwai lo duo who love movies, video games, and just generally being ridiculously cool. BJ introduced us to some of our fav TV shows of all time (Sarah Conner Chronicles anyone? Anyone?). And Michelle and I pretty much have the exact same sense of humor. We were so excited to get to be there on their big day, and can’t wait for more wine and appie dates in the future!
Seat yourselves, because these images might just knock you over. Go.
Michelle acting all cute for the camera. Busted!
BJ helping his dad get ready.
Immediately following the first kiss. Adorable.
These photos are officially legendary. I have the paperwork to prove it right here in my hand.
Oh yeah, they’re also ballers.
Happy Monday everyone!!
Lauren :)
Oh yeah. This happened. The start of something fantastic.
Whew! What a day Sunday was! We were honored to host some very talented and wonderful photographers at our home, and had a blast doing it! I think our attendees are still probably recovering from the brain overload :)
One of our favourite things to do is challenge ourselves. Every time we put ourselves in an unfamiliar situation, we’re amazed at what comes out of it. So when we were choosing a spot to shoot for the Chill Session, we decided to go totally out there. We found a random elementary school and worked it out. I think we’ll be shooting at elementary schools more often, they totally rock!!
Here are some of our images, with our beautiful and wonderful couple, Michelle & BJ. And yes, they look really familiar, because we just shot their wedding the weekend before! They just couldn’t get enough of us, I guess :)
BJ looks a little intimidated having 10 women with huge cameras staring him down!! But they rocked it so hard. I’m not even mad, I’m just impressed. ;)
Children at play. Completely appropriate :)
Ok, I can’t get over how insanely stunning Michelle is here. HOLY SMOKES. And if any Chill Sesh peeps have a “behind the scenes” photo of how we managed this shot, I’ll totally post it up :)
BEHIND THE SCENES!!!! Yes, we do this for real. And it works awesomely.
Thanks to Devon for this one…
And Sandra for this stellar montage. I look like such a slacker reclining on the grass. It’s epic.
*sigh* Cutie pies
That’s their ride. Honest. ;)
G-darn I love this one. A+ to Rob.
Yeah. They’re fierce. What.
I also wanted to share this super duper sweet message from Rhiannon, one of our participants:
Thank you, thank you, thank you sooooo much! It’s so wonderful of you both to be so open about your art - it really means a lot to me that you are willing to share it. You gave me so much information and inspiration! Like you used to be, I am really shy, which is one of the biggest reluctance’s I’ve had to throwing myself into a career with this. You’ve given me the confidence to know that it can be overcome, and I’m really excited to put all of my new tricks to work at my next session. Oh, and the Snickerdoodles rocked!
In case you’re totally confused, Snickerdoodles are the crazy awesome cookies I made for the Chill Sesh. Don’t you wish you came now? ;)
If you’re interested in the October Chill Session hit me up (love [at] robandlauren [dot] ca) and I’ll get you signed up. It’s going to be stellar!!
Lauren :)
Two kids from Flin Flon, Manitoba. Making it happen in Edmonton. I really can’t say enough awesome things about these two. Travelers, cat lovers, with stellar taste in music, and just way too much fun to hang out with. It was truly a privilege to get to spend their wedding day with them.
Angie’s mom watches as the veil is put on. How can you not get a lil’ misty eyed?
Portraits before the ceremony. Totally an awesome way to go!
This is what we call “manly hand holding”. Grrrrrrr.
Aren’t they just ridiculously good looking? I mean, seriously. They’re like a triple threat.
Nailed it!
Gotta throw one in from the gorgeous ceremony!!
And the super cute first dance.
Haha! Rob forgot to tell us all that this was meant to be a silly face photo.
And finally, a couple scans of polaroids I took. Still trying to find a way to get the scan to reflect how incredible these look in person. But I’m getting close :)
Lauren :)
Often when I’m designing an album for one of our couples I’ll come across images that I missed when I was prepping their blog post. There are so many little gems hidden on our hard drives! That’s why I’m so excited about this “photo a day” thing. I can find frames like the one below that are just awesome, but get lost admist all the other shots. Enjoy! And happy Monday!
Just wanted to share a cute image that caught my eye today!
Lauren :)
Tara 1 year, 5 months ago
That second one is so great!
Amber Hughes 1 year, 5 months ago
Oh man… could they BE any cuter?!? Seriously awesome wedding guys! I LOVE that shoe shot! :)
tanya 1 year, 5 months ago
Beautiful pictures! The bride is gorgeous