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2026 Wedding Bookings | Harding Waterfront Estate Wedding

I’m super stoked to be sharing this Harding Waterfront Estate wedding on the blog today! I’m also slightly hijacking this wedding post to announce that I have a brand new, super gorgeous, incredibly detailed and informative Wedding Guide now available for inquiring 2026 and 2027 wedding couples. My Wedding Guide is not just for couples who have already booked with me; I actually like to offer a lot of info up front about wedding day planning and tips, on top of all the usual pricing, FAQs and general information.

Take a little peek below! Please reach out to me after you have your date and venue secured, via my contact form here. I look forward to hearing from you!

Enjoy the beauty below that is Harding Estate (one of my favourite venues!) Classic black and navy tuxes, black bridesmaid dresses, elegant black and white decor, this wedding had it all!

xo Jenn

Vendor Team:
Venue: Harding Waterfront Estate
Coordinator: N Cararah
Makeup: Vibrant Beauty
Hair: Sarah Chartren
Florals: Forest of Flowers, Trafalgar
Cake: Cupids Cupcakes

December 9, 2024
Kurtz Orchards NHL Wedding | How to Not Stress the Eff Out

I’m so thrilled to be sharing this absolutely stunning wedding day at Kurtz Orchards for Selena and Darren. It’s classic, elegant, and so stylish, with all white bouquets, classic black tuxes, and stunning sage green bridesmaid dresses. We had a bit of rain on their day, and I was so impressed by their chill attitudes about it that I wanted to share some tips on how not to stress out your entire wedding day, even when rain shows up or other hiccups come up along the way.

Start Your Day Off Right!

Get your head in the game from the get go. Get some rest, drink water and make sure you have a comfortable sleep the night before. Spend your morning however makes you feel grounded and at ease. Coffee or tea, reading, yoga, go for a walk, etc. Be mindful of who you have around you. Folks who cause you stress should not be by your side all morning. Are you the type of person who gets overwhelmed in big groups? Then definitely don’t invite your whole extended family over and extra friends. Make sure any vendors you are hiring have excellent personalities and will bring upbeat vibes, professionalism and organization with them.

Trust Your Vendors

I’ve said it before and I’ll say it again- you should be heading into your wedding day with complete trust in your vendors! If you are someone who is super detail oriented, then you might want to look into having a planner on your team. Someone who can vouch for you and your most important wishes while you are busy getting ready, taking photos, and just enjoying your day. The last thing you should be doing on your wedding day is worrying about how your table seating chart is set up. Julia from Julia Stewart Events took on SO many details and behind the scenes items to allow Selena and Darren to really enjoy themselves. Let the pros handle it so you can be PRESENT!

Just Let Go

Prior to your wedding day, you’ll have put in a lot of work trying to tie your vision together, gathering inspiration and working hard to finalize a heck of a lot of details. The biggest gift you can give yourself is to just let go of perfectionism. Things will come up, the dress or jacket might get makeup or dirt on it, it might be really humid out. Just let go and embrace your wedding day for what it is- a once in a lifetime chance to celebrate your love and marriage. It’s not a photoshoot or an Instagram Reel, it’s a real day with real people and feelings and any little bumps will just become part of your story.

Enjoy!
xo Jenn

Vendor Team:
Venue: Kurtz Orchards
Full Planning: Julia Stewart Events
Photo: Jenn Kavanagh Photography
Video: Lear Films
Florals: Have a Seat
Table/chair rentals: Simply Beautiful Decor
Bar rental: Special Event Rentals
Officiant: A Divine Affair
Live Entertainment: Mike Robins from SolePower
Photobooth: Fame and Flash
Beauty: Beyoutiful Brides
Gown: Crème Couture

August 13, 2024
Timeless Elora Mill Wedding | You’re Engaged, Now What?

The holidays are a very popular time for couples to get engaged- my feeds are FULL of ring selfies and big announcements these days! Being in the newly-engaged bubble is such a fun time full of excited phone calls, lots of bubbly and well wishes, but it also brings with it A LOT of questions about your wedding plans. This can be pretty overwhelming, especially if the proposal was a huge surprise and you haven’t even thought about your future wedding plans yet. With so many new engagements, I think it’s the perfect week to share some of my insights into what to do after you get engaged! I’m using this opportunity to also share some images from Kendra and Brandon’s elegant and timeless Elora Mill wedding.

You’re Engaged! Now What?

Enjoy it! The first few days after the big question is popped should be fully enjoyed. Make all the calls, share the news in person if you are able to safely (dang COVID ruining all the in person celebrations!) and really just take the time to celebrate it. Nick proposed to me on a Thursday night ahead of a long weekend (it was actually on Valentines Day and the Family Day weekend PLUS his birthday!) so it was the perfect weekend to be able to see family and friends and tell them in person, and do some special visits. I’ll always remember that weekend and how much love we felt.

Then the Questions Start: ‘Congratulations! When is the wedding?’

I try not to immediately dive into asking questions about wedding plans when friends tell me that they got engaged. They hear it from almost every single person they share the news with, and it can be really overwhelming to not have any answers. I know that loved ones are just so excited, so the questions come naturally, but I think questions like this lead the newly engaged couple to believe that they are already ‘behind’ in their wedding planning, or that they need to immediately book a venue and pick a date. These questions, coupled with the friendly, yet loaded advice that ‘you won’t believe how quickly x books up! You should book it soon!’ in reference to prime dates, venues, photographers, etc. I don’t think there is anything wrong with taking the time to enjoy your big news, and to slowly start thinking about what you might want your wedding to look like. Having an answer like ‘We aren’t sure yet, we are just enjoying this time right now and will probably start looking into dates and plans in x days/weeks/months.’

Planning Time!

Once you are ready to start your planning, you’ll soon find out that you can’t really get much done without a booked and secured date and venue. As a photographer, I can’t take any meetings with clients who don’t have this settled yet, because if you end up booking on a date that I don’t have available and we’ve already spent an hour together for a consultation, we’ll all have wasted our time! It’s like that old saying, ‘don’t put the cart before the horse.’ There is an order to booking your wedding items that just makes sense. I love when couples are excited to chat with me and already know they want to book me, but I really do think you need to have a firm location and date before reaching out to any vendors. An exception to this would be if you are already certain you want to a hire a particular vendor, then you could reach out to them before you sign onto your venue to make sure that they are available on your date. This is totally fine and it does happen (and it’s flattering when it does!) because I know that these couples are SO excited to work together that they’ll pick their date around my schedule. There’s nothing sweeter! After your date and venue are set, I recommend tackling one vendor at a time, and start with the ones that are most important to you, OR the ones that can only do one wedding per day. Photographers and planners should be first on your list after your date and venue, followed closely by your beauty team, florist and officiant. If you plan on hiring a decor team, videographers, a cake, a band or DJ, limos, and booking hotel blocks, those can be next! Once the vendors are booked, it’s time for the fun stuff like shopping for suits or dresses!

My Advice

I think the best advice I can give to any newly engaged couple is to choose not to stress. Enjoy the process, and just remember the most important reason for all your plans: getting married!

And lastly, what would a blog post be without a featured wedding?! Today I’m sharing photos from this beautiful and timeless Elora Mill wedding. Kendra and Brandon have such great style and such a fun group of friends; I LOVE their bridal party photos we did! This was my first time working at the Elora Mill and man, it is drop dead gorgeous. Such a stunning venue with so many elegant, modern touches. I have a few more weddings booked at the Elora Mill for 2021 and I’m looking forward to shooting there again!

Big shout out to Jacqueline for shooting with me and always being such a calming presence on some hectic days! And as always, list of vendors below!

Enjoy!
xo Jenn

A tip for all of my future Elora Mill couples: bring an extra pair of shoes with you on the wedding day if you want to hike down into the Elora Gorge for these iconic photos! The walk down isn’t too bad (Kendra managed it just fine in her big gown!) but you don’t want to do the stairs and the trail in heels or special shoes.

How gorgeous is this indoor ceremony space?! I absolutely love this spot, because even if you can’t have an outdoor ceremony, I’d argue that this indoor space is just as (if not more) lovely than the outdoor option! It’s bright and beautiful and it doesn’t need a lot of added decor. This space is called the Foundry, and its right next to the outdoor ceremony space (which are both a short walk across the bridge from the main Elora Mill buildings!)

One of the best parts about booking your wedding in the Grand Room at the Elora Mill is the exclusive access to the rooftop! This spot is the perfect space to do some sunset photos during dinner, and for your guests to have cocktails and enjoy the views.

These two learned a special dance and didn’t tell anyone, so this was a huge hit and such a surprise for their guests! They danced to Annie’s Song by John Denver, which is actually Kendra’s mom’s favourite song, as well as Brandon’s dad’s!

Vendors
Venue: Elora Mill by Pearle Weddings and Events
Makeup: Catherine Krahn Makeup Artistry
Hair: Hayley Van Eyk
Florals: Fiorella Floral Design
Cake: The Dessert Room
Wedding Gown: The Modern Bride, Pronovias
Veil: Carolyn Young
Groom’s Tux: Long Island For Men
Groomsmen Suits: Suit Supply
Bridesmaid Dresses: Dessy Group
Officiant: Al Harder
DJ: DJ Charlie Clean
Video: See My Clients
Invitations & Signage: The groom Brandon made them himself!

January 5, 2021
Year in Review: 2020

I’m looking back on 2020 with so many mixed feelings…there was a lot of stress, uncertainty, fear. But there was also hope, love, and connection (even if it was through our saviour Zoom!)

This year in review post won’t be quite as in depth as it normally is with travel photos, tons of weddings, milestones and big events (see my 2019, 2018 and 2017 posts!) So unless you think you’d want to see a bunch of photos of Nick and I sitting in our backyard and Kitty sleeping in various spots, I’ll be keeping it short this year.

This year we didn’t leave Canada, didn’t even fly anywhere. We cottaged twice and camped once. But, we did get married. And that is certainly the highlight of the year for me. We went on our ‘mini moon’ to an incredibly beautiful Airbnb on Bay Lake, and also did some November camping for the first time ever.

I got to spend more time with Nick than ever, when we were both home during the lockdown in March and April. This gift of time together was such a treat, but it was also during the most stressful time I’ve ever had a business owner. Every time I opened my email inbox, I had to brace myself for yet another wedding postponement. My business, along with all of my other wedding industry friends, took a huge hit this year. I have never faced such uncertainty and stress, in the seven years that I’ve been running this show. I ended up letting go of any expectations for 2020, and once I did that, I felt like I could accept the situation and move forward, while still holding onto hope for a more ‘normal’ 2021. Now that we are here, I’m still not sure that 2021 will be the clean slate and new beginning we were hoping for, but at least this time, I won’t be surprised. Postponements, micro weddings, and contract addendums are now a part of my everyday vocabulary, whereas before these were things that almost never came out of my mouth. I feel so awful for all of my couples who had to make tough decisions regarding their wedding plans, and weren’t even able to be in control of when or how they made the decision. I was right there in it with them though, as our own wedding plans were sidelined for a year (we were able to have a super small micro wedding but moved our bigger celebration to 2021!) Several of my own best buds had their plans affected, and one managed to squeak in right in the nick of time (two days before lockdown!)

The seven weddings I was able to shoot in 2020, were very special and so unique. Going through so many changes regarding gathering restrictions, and different indoor/outdoor regulations was a lot for couples to keep up with, but in the end, all the weddings I was at were safe and super sweet.

The small upside to not having to shoot and edit my usual 25-30 weddings this year meant I could spend a lot of time outside during the summer! I did a ton of hiking in Hamilton this year, did my best in the garden, and also took my cooking game up to a whole new level. Sourdough was already in my repertoire pre-COVID, but I did revive my love for it again! Trying to avoid grocery shops closer than 1-2 weeks apart was tough, but it made me get even more creative. Want tacos for dinner but don’t have any taco shells? No problem, 2020 Jenn can whip up a batch of homemade tortillas! Grocery shopping has basically become a hobby these days.

Another bonus to having more time in my schedule was that I was able to document more families this year! I usually only offer mini sessions twice a year to my previous clients only, but this year I was able to host four mini sessions plus tree farm minis, and photograph some family and maternity photos on their own. I always have to turn down these sessions, since I try to maintain some semblance of a work-life balance and just weddings and engagement sessions keep me pretty busy. But this year I opened up my calendar to these bookings, and I really enjoyed them! I got to see some old friends, meet new families and spend lots of time goofing around with their kids and trying to make them laugh.

As promised, this is a short little post. I’ve gathered a few ‘highlights’ from my year, and popped them below. Our wedding photos by Tamara Lockwood are AMAZING and I think I’ll share some more here soon! Everything from the year is pretty much jumbled together below- bathroom reno updates, some sourdough shots, hikes, our minimoon, virtual costume parties, and our first every Christmas card.

Happy New Year!
xo Jenn

December 31, 2020
September Cambridge Mill Wedding

We are nearing the one year anniversary since Kayla and Jamie’s September Cambridge Mill wedding, so I figure it’s finally time to share this gorgeous day with the world! We did a first look and wedding party portraits at Mill Race Park, which is a beautiful spot right across the street from the Mill. It overlooks the Grand River, with stunning steeples in the background and tons of old stone work left from the ruins of an old textile mill. This area of Cambridge is so stunning; Galt has such a charming old world feel. You might recognize some of these spots from where Hulu films The Handmaids Tale!

Kayla and Jamie both got ready for the day at a nearby hotel, but I did want to highlight one spot in particular that is close by the Cambridge Mill. There is a studio called Open Space Studio, which is available for rent for photography or workshops, and more importantly, you can book the space as your wedding getting ready location! It is steps away from Mill Race Park and the Cambridge Mill and couldn’t be more perfect for a bridal getting ready room. It’s big enough for hair and makeup to come in, and still have plenty of room for you and your bridesmaids to get dressed, and your photographer to work. Tons of natural light streams in through the huge windows, and the space is so beautifully decorated while still being neutral enough to suit any wedding style and colour palette. I’m a bridesmaid in a wedding next year and this is where we are getting ready for the day, and I can’t wait to see the space in action!

As always, the full list of vendors can be found below. A huge thank you to Christine W for joining me as a second shooter!

Enjoy these bright late summer vibes!
xo Jenn

Vendors:
Wedding Venue: Cambridge Mill
Beauty: All Things Pretty 
Florist: Flower Workshop 
DJ: Copeland  DJ
Officiant: Linda Wheler
 Wedding Gown: Sherry’s Bridal, Essence of Australia 
Bridesmaid Dresses: David’s Bridal, Vera Wang
Late Night Snack: Beaver Tails

September 9, 2020
Fall Colours for a Caledon Engagement Session

Today officially marks the one year countdown until Phylicia and Alex’s wedding day! Although, tomorrow was supposed to be the biggest celebration of all: their original wedding date, before 2020 had other plans for us all. Phylicia and Alex are one of over 20 of my couples who have been forced to postpone their wedding date, because of social gathering limits, travel restrictions, and safety concerns due to COVID-19. It has been such a hard year for everyone, and I am so hoping that 2021 will feel a little more normal and that we can get back to celebrating love in a big way!

Phylicia and Alex wanted to showcase some fall colours in their engagement photos last year, and after several rain cancellations, we finally found the perfect day! These were all taken in Forks of the Credit Provincial Park, a spot that I have become very familiar with over the years! Caledon is such a hot spot during the autumn months, and it is pretty clear why. The country roads are lined with gorgeous yellow, orange and red leafy trees, and some pretty unique spots can be found here. This popularity is one of the reasons why I only photography engagement sessions during the week- to avoid the busy weekend crowds! The evening that we photographed this, we barely passed by other hikers or visitors and it made the space feel so special for Alex and Phylicia.

Enjoy!
xo Jenn

September 3, 2020
The Revel Sessions Workshop | Stationery + Flat Lay Styling

The Revel Sessions stationery and flat lay workshop was the very last project that I photographed before things really hit the fan with the COVID-19 pandemic. It was Wednesday, March 11th and things were just starting to get weird. I remember the days leading up to event date, thinking that we should probably refrain from shaking hands, hugging, etc and maybe establish some kind of other greeting. Ideas like placing your hands on your heart, or the elbow bump were floating around. Little did we know, that just five days later, we would be in full lockdown mode. Thankfully, everyone was mindful of what was going on and we were able to have an amazing day!

Laura of Laura Olsen Events and Krista of KJ & Co. launched The Revel Sessions as a series of practical and educational workshops that they saw were missing from the Canadian wedding industry. Their very first workshop focused on stationery planning and flat lay styling, featuring guest speakers Paper & Poste and Will Reid Photo.

Attendees spent the morning in the bright and beautiful atrium at Spencer’s At The Waterfront, learning from the guest speakers, and getting hands on with styling in the afternoon. Spencer’s, which is a Pearle Events venue, served up an incredible three-course lunch with wine pairing. My floral pal Quill + Oak rocked the flower bar, and my fave album company Dekora supplied some sweet styling boards! See below for a complete list of vendors.

The Revel Sessions has more incredible sounding workshops coming up, like Bubbly 101 (hello, sign me up!) with some dates TBD due to current gathering restrictions. Check out their workshop listings page to see what they have up their sleeves, and you can keep an eye on their Instagram to see when new ones are announced.

Hosts: The Revel Sessions, by KJ & Co. + Laura Olsen Events
Venue: Spencer’s at the Waterfront
Speakers: Paper & Poste and Will Reid Photo
Sponsors: Quill + Oak, Artisaire, Dekora, Simply Beautiful Decor, Stór by Margot, Locust Collection, Gather 33, The Dessert Room
Video: King of Hearts Media

September 3, 2020
Earth to Table: The Farm Wedding | What To Do With Your Wedding Photos
Today I’m sharing a little roundup list of what to do with your wedding photo collection, featuring wedding photos from a late August wedding at Earth to Table: The Farm in Millgrove! Sarah and Riley have kindly shared some photos of how they’ve incorporated their engagement and wedding photos around their home so far. Plenty of frames and loose prints of their favourite wedding moments! You can even spot some of these framed engagement photos in the background of Sarah’s getting ready photos. Don’t forget to scroll all the way through to check our their sweet vendor team, plus you can see the list of incredible DIYs that Sarah pulled off!

Without further adieu, read on to learn what I recommend to do with your wedding photos!

1. Have a Viewing Party!
2. Choose Your Favourites

After you’ve looked through your whole gallery, go through the collection and select your absolute favourites. These are the ones that you might show people when they ask to see some wedding photos, or ones you know you’ll be printing later, or saving as your phone lock screen, etc. It really helps to have a smaller collection like this handy!

The gallery that I deliver to my clients has a super simple ‘favourites’ list feature that you can add and remove photos from, make multiple lists for different purposes (one for your album selections, one for photos you want to share on social media, photos you plan to print, etc). If you share the gallery with your family, wedding party or guests, they can also make their own lists!

3. Download and Backup

Nothing stresses wedding photographers out more than seeing no downloads in your online gallery. I offer full download capabilities in my wedding galleries, with no watermark or limits on the size (you get it all, baby!) But- did you know that once you receive your online gallery, you are responsible for making sure that these digital memories are backed up and taken care of? Wedding photographers cannot guarantee that they’ll have access to these files forever, so it’s best to take your investment into your own hands.

Make sure you download the entire collection in the highest resolution you can, and save it in a few different spots. I recommend a cloud based storage service, like Google Drive, iCloud, Dropbox, etc! There are SO many options available, and most of them offer free subscriptions for smaller storage limits. I have my most important folders saved over a few different services, and it doesn’t hurt for your spouse to also back it up somewhere too! You can even ask your MOH/Best Man to pop a copy of it onto their drive as well.

If you received a USB with your images on it, that is a great spot to store images as a backup as well. But keep in mind that USB technology is already on it’s way out the door, and will soon be joining DVDs, CDs and floppy disks in tech heaven. So many devices no longer support USB drives so I wouldn’t recommend relying on this long term.

4. Print Your Photos

You had the perfect day, you hired a killer photographer- and now your images are sitting on a computer or in the cloud. Don’t let them go to waste and only see the light on day once a year when you post your anniversary on Instagram! Print those babies up!

Small prints like 4x6s and 5x7s can be popped into table top frames, stuck on the fridge, or tucked into mirror frames. This size is also great for sharing with your families and wedding party too! 8x10s and 11x14s can fill a small wall. I usually put these in those spaces between doorways and along hallway walls where you just need something small. They also look great leaning on a shelf, or as a part of a collection of frames on a wall. Larger than that needs a good frame and a big space- pick an epic photo for this. I usually like ones that are a bit of a wider shot, that show a bit more scenery.

5. Make an Album

Your last step is to order an album! I love to produce high quality, long lasting archival albums for my couples that look and feel amazing. The albums I offer my couples are locally sourced and handmade. This is the perfect way to have a ‘highlight reel’ to look at over the years, without having to pull up your gallery or saved folder on a device. Your future children and grandchildren will love looking through this!

If my couples prefer to go the DIY route with a more economical option, that is certainly available to them! I’m happy as long as these memories are printed somewhere and enjoyed off-screen, even if it isn’t ordered directly through me! There are many options for consumer albums, where you can design and order online and have shipped to you.

Whichever album route you take, I do recommend trying to complete this within one year of your wedding! After that, the project will really hang over your head and it’ll be on your to-do list forever. I find that this project really gets put on the back burner after you move homes, get a puppy, have a baby, etc! You are more likely to complete this while your wedding and newlywed excitement hasn’t worn off yet.

If you’d like to see more wedding photos from Earth to Table: The Farm, check out Anna and Mike’s wedding post!

Vendors:

Makeup: Costa Chic, Makeup by Missy
Hair: Elle Hair Design
Florals: Mint and Magnolia Floral Design Co
Dessert Table: Darling Donuts
Venue: Earth to Table: The Farm
DJ: Copeland DJ
Bridal Gown: Enzoani via Becker’s Bridals
Hair Accessory: Sarah Walsh Bridal Jewellery
Veil: Custom made by Irene’s Studio
Bride’s Shoes: Badgley Mischka
Bridesmaid Dresses: Morilee (in Rosewood Pink) via Best for Bride Hamilton
Robes: Le Rose Gifts
Ring Box: The Mrs Box
Chair Signs: Thistle & Lace Designs Inc
Suits: Collins Clothiers
Videography: Bright Sky Weddings
Officiant: Brianne Jourdin
DIY Decor: Welcome sign, table slabs, card box, & window seating charts were made by the bride, Sarah! And a very handy groomsmen made the tiered donut display!
May 25, 2020
Arizona Trip Part 2: Horseshoe Bend Elopement

Today is the one year anniversary of this Horseshoe Bend elopement! May 14th, 2019 was an incredibly special day. Elopements are always graced with a special kind of magic, and Kat and Kyle’s beautiful day was no different. Gathered with just their immediate families on a ledge overlooking a majestic turn in the Colorado River, vows were exchanged, rings were dropped (whoops!) and champagne was shared. This is part 2 of a blog post featuring this trip to Arizona- view Part 1!

We had all kinds of weather, including some pretty epic wind that was possibly made worse by the amazing location of their gorgeous hilltop Airbnb. We had a bit of rain, and then things cleared up and we were blessed by some really amazing light that settled in right as we arrived at the ceremony site. Sunny and bright with some perfect cloud cover to diffuse the sun- Mother Nature ended up being on our side!

Kat and Kyle arranged the most perfect day from start to finish, and it was an absolute treat to document it all. After an incredibly sweet first look and family photos at the Airbnb, we hopped in an open air 4×4 vehicle and hit the road! Our first stop was a private visit at a slot canyon, which we had completely to ourselves. This pretty much looks exactly the same as the super popular Antelope Canyon, but without all the crowds! I couldn’t tear myself away from photographing so many portraits of Kat and Kyle here, but they knew that the best was yet to come.

Horseshoe Bend was absolutely breathtaking and I have never in my life seen such a picture perfect spot to tie the knot. The company that toured us around (shoutout to HorseshoeBendTours.com!) has private access to this ledge, and once again, we were the only ones there. It was such an incredible spot to see and so special to not have to share the view with crowds of people. After the ceremony and TONS of portraits (again, could not tear myself away!) Kat and Kyle hosted a special dinner at a restaurant on the water. To end the evening, everyone headed back to the Airbnb for cake and toasts, and a sweet first dance on the grand patio.

Intimate ceremonies and epic elopements have certainly seen their popularity rise over the last several years, but with so many weddings being postponed and plans being changed due to the COVID-19 pandemic, I really think that elopements are going to be more popular than ever before. At every elopement I’ve photographed, I can tell how special it is for each person who is there to be witnessing a moment so special and intimate. I always feel thankful that I get to be there for those moments, and I always make sure to get tons of photos of the few special guests watching the ceremony. Seeing parents swell with pride and joy is one of my favourite parts of wedding days, and I love how much time Kyle and Kat got to spend with their families on this day.

Many tears and many laughs were shared a year ago, and I hope Kat and Kyle are able to celebrate in style today, despite the current situation our world faces.
Enjoy!
xo Jenn

May 14, 2020
Arizona Trip Part 1: Phoenix Engagement Session

As a wedding photographer, I’ve been lucky enough to go on some incredible adventures and travel to new places for destination weddings. One of my absolute faves was this Arizona elopement. Ontario couple Kathryn and Kyle hosted their immediate families (only 6 guests, plus Nick and I!) in a breathtaking Airbnb overlooking Page, Arizona and tied the knot on the ledge of Horseshoe Bend. Nick and I traveled to Arizona about a week beforehand, to do some road tripping and to also meet up with Kathryn and Kyle for their Phoenix engagement session!

Nick and I have done quite a few trips to the States, and we always have the best time! We’ve driven up and down almost all of the west coast, and our favourite way to explore is by hopping in a rental car, and just hitting the road! We’ve found that the best way to road trip is to not try to pack too much distance into one day, and to make sure that your itinerary doesn’t have you driving more than about 4 hours every day. We always stop so much along the way, to hike, sightsee, and check out restaurants, and we know that the feeling of having to ‘make good time’ and get to a new destination by a certain time can be stressful. Arriving at Airbnbs after dark can be challenging for parking and checking in, and I always feel better when I know what our surroundings look and feel like.

For this particular trip, we actually did a loop from Las Vegas because of where we needed to be and when, so we flew in and out of there. We didn’t spend any time in Vegas though, as we’d both been there before and didn’t feel the need to hit it up again. We drove straight to the Grand Canyon from the airport, and got to see it bathed in beautiful golden sunlight before the sun set! Because we were there in late afternoon/early evening on a weekday, we were able to find parking super easily and got to enjoy the views with almost no one around. After a one night stay in Flagstaff, we headed right down towards Phoenix, with a quick detour through Sedona! We hit up a baseball game in the city with Kat and Kyle, and stayed in Old Town Scottsdale, which is where I would definitely recommend staying. Tons of great restaurants and bars, and just a really great vibe overall.

The next day, we headed out to Usery Mountain Regional Park to photograph the session that you’ll see below! I had digitally scouted this place out before we even left home, with the help of Google Maps and Instagram! The mix of huge cacti, sandy trails, and peaks in the distance were exactly what we were all hoping for. To me it felt like such a classic AZ look and I’m so glad it worked out.

After our time in Scottsdale, we headed back up to Sedona where we spent my birthday weekend at the most gorgeous horse ranch. The views were incredible, with the red rocks practically towering over us ! We went horseback riding, and hiked the Devil’s Bridge at sunrise, where we witnessed a proposal! After that, it was time to head up to Page to prepare for Kat and Kyle’s elopement, which I’ll be sharing in my next blog post, Part 2!

Enjoy!
xo Jenn

February 27, 2020