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LazyDayz Bed & Breakfast Wedding

Caitlin and Jeff’s LazyDayz Bed & Breakfast wedding is currently gracing the cover of WeddingTrends magazine! I am SO thrilled to finally be able to share these photos from this beautifully rustic DIY barn wedding. Caitlin and Jeff worked so hard on their wedding, taking care to make sure that all of their guests had a great time and we were well fed! A custom caesar bar complete with all the fixings, homemade jam take-home favours, and a delicious buffet were just a few of the highlights in store for their guests. I was so blown away when I saw their cake setup- antique doors that they found on the side of the road were the perfect rustic backdrop for their gorgeous cake by Cakes by Design.

Some personal touches were also thought of throughout the day, like Caitlin wearing her Mom’s wedding shoes (complete with her parents’ wedding date written on the sole!) and highlighting Jeff’s Dad’s car as part of our portrait time. Even though the night got cool, guests kept warm by dancing the night away to catchy music by the Dirty Little Swing Things!
Enjoy!
xo Jenn

Caitlin and Jeff had such a sweet First Look moment. I’m pretty sure if I recall correctly, he turned around and said ‘holy ****’ and they both just started nervous laughing and crying! How’s that for an honest reaction!

If you can be beautiful and adorable at the same time, Caitlin has certainly nailed it. I love her woodland fairy look!

Plus, those dimples. I mean come one!

Another thoughtful touch for guests- if it’s going to be chilly and you’re celebrating outdoors, provide some cozy blankets!

Even after having a First Look, Jeff still reacted this way upon seeing his bride coming down the aisle. You can have it all, friends!

The officiant managed to drop the rings not once…but twice! It was gold.

These are the pefectly packages jam favours that Jeff’s Mom whipped up for their guests! Such a sweet idea.

Makeup: Meg Collett Hair: Ashley Shantz Bridal Florals: Rural Roots Flower Co Cake: Cakes by Design Gown: Truvelle from Sash & Bustle Music: Dirty Little Swing Things, Kelly Davies Bridesmaids Gowns: Sophie’s Bridal Suits: Moore’s Rentals: Elite Party Rentals Catering: Shaw’s Catering Late Night: Smoke’s Poutinerie Officiant: Gerry from All Season Weddings Venue: LazyDayz Bed & Breakfast

February 23, 2016
Featured: Earth to Table Farm Wedding Inspiration

I’m so excited to share this Earth to Table Farm wedding inspiration shoot that is featured on Elegant Wedding’s blog today! This gorgeous spot is one of Pearle Weddings and Events‘ newest ventures- a farm just north of Hamilton that offers warm weather weddings overlooking acres of farmland. We wanted to incorporate the natural elements found inside this beautifully restored barn from the 1800s, as well as highlight local food that is grown and prepared on the farm. The Earth to Table farm serves freshly made organic bread to wedding guests, has an on site butcher, and is dedicated to featuring sustainable and artisanal fare.

Mixed metal serving ware and pretty pink florals stood out beautifully from the white washed barn board. Our delicate ‘Mister + Misses’ chairs by Quill and Oak were draped in garland and florals and were the perfect spot for some newlywed snuggling!

Thank you to our incredible vendor team for pulling together and producing such a stunning day! Our models were so lovely and gracious despite the cold we endured! Full vendor list can be found at the bottom of this post!
xo Jenn

Venue: Earth to Table Farm by Pearle Weddings & Events Photography: Jenn Kavanagh Photography Design & Decor: Coordinate This Design & Décor Inc Florals: Elegant Bouquets Dessert: By Annitra Baker Jewellery: Hattitude Jewellery Calligraphy & Stationary: Quill + Oak Hair & Makeup: Sam Lee | covet | co. Gown: Lillian West | Richmond Hill Bridal Boutique Suit: Caruso Fine Tailoring Candles: Helix Candles Chairs: Gervais Party & Tent Rentals Models: Emilija & Daniel!

February 10, 2016
9 Expert Tips for Perfect Wedding Day Hair

One of the best parts of having a wedding off-season means getting to collaborate with lots of my talented pals! I have Ladylyn Gool on the blog today with her 9 Expert Tips for Perfect Wedding Day Hair!

Ladylyn is the queen of long lasting bridal hair styles, all of which are so stunning and she somehow whips them up so quickly! Ladylyn did the wonderful work on Kerry’s wedding from earlier last year as well as Laura and Jordan’s wedding, and I love when my brides book with her because I know they’ll have gorgeous hair all day long and they’ll be on schedule all morning! Our makeup artist for this shoot was Terena Hyma, who has loads of makeup experience under her belt, and she is just the sweetest to work with. I am just so blown away by how talented she and Lady are. I consider myself so lucky to call these ‘friendors’ friends! I encourage any brides out there reading this to inquire with these two for their wedding day beauty!

1. Clean Hair, Happy Hair

• A clarifying shampoo should only be used once a week at the most, to remove product and oil build up.
• Invest in a good one, like Bumble and Bumble’s Sunday Shampoo, and you can share it among you and your bridesmaids.
• Use this shampoo the night before your event.

2. Dry That Hair, Girl!

• Some heads of hair take forever to dry. Like two whole days kind of forever!
• For your stylist to create beautiful, soft, long lasting looks, your hair need to be dry, 110%; even the back part.
• If you think it’s “dry enough”, keep drying it baby.
• Any dampness will add time to your hair service, making the morning run late, and the style may not last.

3. Forget ’em: Conditioner, Products, Leave-ins and Oils

• No matter how tempting it is or how tangled/limp/dry you think your hair gets, avoid using any conditioner, oils, leave-in treatments and products (C/O/L/P).
• When C/O/L/P are used on the hair, it creates a barrier, which does 2 things: a) it makes it difficult for the heat to affect the hair, whether you’re curling or straightening, meaning a higher temperature needs to be used. And that’s not good thing! b) the barrier also makes it difficult for holding products, like hairspray, to actually work. Instead, it will sit on top of the C/O/L/P and you will have crusty, flaky, sticky, heavy hair.

4. Maintenance, Maintenance, Maintenance!

• A lot of women tend to grow their hair longer for the wedding (especially the mother of the bride!) Imagine this, you grow out your hair for the wedding, then on the date of the wedding, you show your stylist a picture of the hairstyle you want, but it’s from when your hair was shorter. This happens more often than you think!
• Your desired hair length and colour should be established at least 30 days before the wedding, and your last hair trim and colour should be 10 days before the event. Major changes to your hair before the wedding is never a good idea!

5. Cut & Color Make a World of Difference – Ask Your Stylist!

• Your hair cut and colour can make or break your desired wedding hairstyle. Some hairstyles require long hair, some short. Some look best on blonde hair, and some with very fine highlights. Bangs are another important aspect to consider. Should you grown those out or leave them?
• An experienced bridal hair specialist is the best person to help you answer these questions. Having the right hair cut and colour will help create the look you want. At the very least, trim up split ends, tone brassy highlights and cover those greys.

6. What About Hair Extensions?

• The best hair extensions to use for your wedding are clip-in hair extensions, and 160g-180g is the best weight to achieve a full look. Anything more than that weight will feel heavy and give you a headache.
• Double wefted-Remi hair that is 18″ or longer will be perfect for a full and healthy look.
• Choose a color closest to the color of your hair, or the ends of your hair.
• Before the wedding, start preparing hair extensions by spraying them with hairspray and brushing them. Repeat this every other day. Fresh extensions out of the box will not hold curl or volume, and they will look like hair extensions, rather than looking soft and beautiful.

7. Pictures & Pinterest!

• 5 weeks before your trial, begin collecting pictures of hairstyles you love, and ones you hate. You can save these pictures on Pinterest, or in an album in your phone. They can be 20 different pictures of the same hairstyle, or 20 different pictures to create one hairstyle. You may love the volume in one picture, and the curls in another. Pictures will help you communicate your desired look with your hair stylist.

8. What to Wear to your Trial

• Your trial is meant to help you choose a wedding hairstyle and makeup look. Wear something that makes you feel beautiful, as if it were actually your wedding day. You can wear a white, off the shoulder top, with lace, or off-white silky dress. Whatever you choose, try to avoid looking “edgy” or “comfy” on your trial date. Unless that’s the wedding look you’re going for! It can affect your choices drastically!
• Arrive to your trial with your hair clean and dry, with no C/O/L/P.

9. Be Open!

• The most important advice is to be open. This is most likely your first time being a bride, and it will be the first time you put the whole look together.
• Keep in mind that there may be a different hairstyle that is better suited for you.
• Give feedback to your hairstylist during the trial, and they should be able to cross hairstyles off the list, to narrow your search. Make sure to choose a hair stylist that you love to work with, and trust in them! This is the key to perfect wedding day hair!

February 9, 2016
TuesdaysTogether Toronto – January Meetup

This morning we had our January TuesdaysTogether Toronto meetup at Le Dolci bakery! We sipped on coffee, had some delicious treats (cupcakes and macarons for the win!) and chatted about everything to do with goals. Danielle from The White Book Wedding Co shared her philosophies on living your life to the fullest and settings goals based on how you want to feel everyday and throughout your entire life. Grouping those feelings together into larger ideas and words will help get you to where you want to be (i.e if feeling like a girl boss, independent, powerful and feminine all make the list, you want to focus on what steps you need to take to make yourself feel that way every single day).

If you’re not sure what the heck I’m talking about, TuesdaysTogether is an initiative that was started by the Rising Tide Society in the early months of 2015 (Check out my explanation from our June meetup!) As a part of this group, are encouraging creative entrepreneurs to get together once a month to foster a supportive community! Our meetups happen all over the world and are united by hashtags (follow along #tuesdaystogether and our local meetings at #risingtideyyz and #tuesdaystogethertoronto)

Thanks again to Le Dolci for graciously hosting us and feel free to contact me if you are a Toronto creativepreneur looking to join us!

xo Jenn

January 20, 2016
Cambridge Mill Wedding – Jennie + Adam

So the first wedding of the year is in the books! This Cambridge Mill wedding was a great way to kick off 2016, and has subsequently set the bar quite high for the rest of 2016! First of all, it looked wintry with a bit of ice and snow, but it was am amazing 6 degrees outside! Thank you January! This meant that Jennie and Adam could have the pretty wintry look without freezing our buns off, plus we got to do our First Look and the rest of the portraits outdoors. Mill Race Park is a popular spot to go for your bridal portraits when your wedding is at the Cambridge Mill, since it is a quick walk across the street and it features a lot of beautiful old stone work, just as the Mill does. However, since the ‘off season’ months do not require a permit to use the space, we found ourselves in a bit of a turf war with another wedding party! So after a couple of broken bones and a smashed camera….just kidding- we ended up taking turns for first looks and then shared the spot for our bridal party photos! A stunning candlelit ceremony led by Adam’s kindergarten teacher (right?! So cool) was followed by cocktails and apps, which was attended fully by our bride and groom and their bridal party (since stellar planning had all of their photos completed pre-ceremony! Not that I’m biased towards first looks or anything…) The Gallery Room was the perfect backdrop for dinner and dancing, to which Jennie and Adam entered to the song Hula Hoop, while hula hooping!

These two are just so sweet and are such a great match for each other (plus Jennie is basically the most beautiful bride to ever exist). They spend a lot of time cottaging and fishing, and Jennie has even been dubbed the ‘fish whisperer’- but Adam was totally on the money when he mentioned during his speech to his new wife that he had made the biggest catch of all- he caught the fish whisperer. I love that!
Enjoy!
xo Jenn

Thank you Kayla for shooting with me!
Wedding Coordinator: Leena from LetsParty Consultants Makeup: Victoria Bourque Beauty Bar Hair: Suzie Kim Bridal Hair Videographer: Jeff Rocchi of Colour North Cake Artist: Bride and Groom! Florist: Elaine of From The Potting Shed Invites/Signage: Suzanne from Oakville Paper Boutique DJ: Bill Copland DJ Officiant: Jane Fredrickson Wedding Gown: Maggie Sottero “Paulina” from Ritches Bridal Bridesmaid Dresses: Lazaro Noir from Ritches Bridal Groom & Groomsmen Suits: Freeman Formalwear Vocalist – Jessica Wilson Vocalist

January 15, 2016
Now Booking 2017 Weddings!

It’s no secret that most proposals take place between November and February every year, so it’s no surprise that come the beginning of January, my inbox is flooded with newly engaged future brides and grooms inquiring about wedding photography for the big day. I’m happy to announce that I am now booking 2017 weddings! I wanted to write a little note about this to ensure that this process makes sense!
I really recommend waiting to contact me until you have a date and venue set! Once that’s all settled, you can inquire through my contact page, and I’ll shoot you an email back! If I’m available on your date, I have a very detailed Wedding Guide that I’ll send over that’ll walk you through my process as a wedding photographer and what you can expect from working with me! It has tons of info, pricing, and FAQs in it. If I’m not available on your date, you can expect some amazing referrals for some talented pals of mine!

I’m looking forward to chatting with you and hearing about your big day! Enjoy some sparkly goodness from 2015!
xo Jenn

January 12, 2016
Forks of the Credit Engagement – Heather + Jon

This Forks of the Credit engagement was one of my faves all year! Heather and Jon were such a blast to hang out with, and I loved that they were up for anything. I’m basically obsessed with Heather’s ring, and my Instagram blew up when I posted a sneak peak photo of it! It’s a beautiful morganite stone in a stunning rose gold setting (check out Designs by Josef!) These two are gearing up for their big day in October and I’m so grateful to be the one to document it for them!
xo Jenn

January 5, 2016
Year in Review: 2015 Behind the Scenes

Finally, the third and final Year in Review blog post! This time I’ll be shedding some light on all that goes on behind the scenes…when I’m not photographing weddings and being a #girlboss! Read last year’s recap here! This year brought many new wonderful opportunities and challenges, and while it’s so hard to sum up an entire year in just a few sentences and some collages, I’ll do my best!

California
First off, early in the year I headed to Ben Sasso’s FOSTER workshop in California! I met a lot of great people, learned a lot, and became very envious of California’s light and landscape. View that blog post here!

Thanks to Tamara Lockwood, Ben Sasso and Benj Haisch for the shots of me! And Ryan Longnecker for the group shot!

After the workshop, I met Nick at LAX in our big campervan rental and headed up the coast through Big Sur to San Fran. We camped along the way and hugged the coast for a good week and a half before ending up in San Fran. My pal Sarah and her ‘fiance/husband’ Brad showed us the ropes and gave us a place to stay, and in exchange I photographed some engagement photos for them! See their session here!

Part way up the coast, I hooked up with Monika Greenaway in Carmel and we did some photos of each other. Such a sweetheart and I’ll cherish these shots forever! View more of my photos from that session here!

Orchard Row Styled Shoot
The day after my birthday, I photographed this incredibly beautiful wedding inspiration shoot. I can’t even express how blown away I was by the talent of all the vendors involved. It was published on the Ruffled blog and it’s something I am still so proud of. See my blog post about it here!

Aisle Academy
Later in the year I was super honoured to be featured in the Aisle Academy’s newsletter! This year I really embraced being a creativepreneur and small business owner, and I’ve enjoy sharing my learnings and advice for up and coming wedding industry folks. My feature can be seen here!

Thanks to Christine W Photography for my new headshots (and for being such a wicked person in general).

Rising Tide Society
One of the biggest shakeups this year was the arrival of the Rising Tide Society in my life. This movement was born in May, and by June I was appointed the Toronto leader for TuesdaysTogether, and welcomed over 50 creative entrepreneurs to our very first meetup. Since then, we now have over 200 members in our Toronto group and the Rising Tide Society is home for more than 13,000 members. Interacting with such like-minded people who thrive in the spirit of community over competition has changed the way I run my business day to day and how I interact with other wedding professionals in my area (a.k.a I have a lot of new and amazing friends!)

Thank you Sara Monika for capturing our June meetup!

lululemon Ambassador Photos
One piece of my business is very near and dear to my heart, and it’s one that I don’t share about too often. I am an approved photographer for lululemon’s ambassador photoshoots, and this means I get to hang out with more like-minded folks who love to sweat and have smiles on their faces most of the time. I love being a part of these shoots because it’s so different from my typical wedding or engagement shoot, and it’s usually an activity I’m passionate about (yoga and CrossFit…) These are some of my faves from later this year with Upper Canada Mall!

Sonderwood
Nick has started building me photo boxes this year, and I’m so proud of him and how far he has come in such a short amount of time. Glue and tung oil practically run from his veins at this point but his final products just feel so amazing and are a great combo for storing prints and USBs. Today we finally shared this on Instagram (follow him @Sonderwood!) and he is hoping to start offering this to other photographers in Canada. I’m adding these boxes + prints to my 2017 wedding packages and they’ll be available for 2016 wedding clients a la carte. Aren’t they beautiful?!

Behind the Scenes
As always, I love including some behind the scenes shots of me from weddings! I had some incredible second shooters this year, who captured these moments and many more. Thank you to Caitlin, Steph, Christine, Kayla, Alana, Noelle, Janna and Cari!

Creating for Creation’s Sake
After wedding season wrapped up and I finished editing my final wedding edit, I decided to shoot something just for the purpose of creating. My pal Ashley is always up for shooting with me and has a killer wardrobe, so she was my go to! I had some techniques and posing ideas that I wanted to try out, and I’m so happy with the shots we got!

Family
I’ve also officially become that Aunt from that Buzzfeed video, who doesn’t have any kids of her own but is obsessed with her niece and nephew, and talks about them like they are her own. Abby and our newest arrival Hank are my favourite people! So much of my free time is spent hanging out with them and Facetiming daily. #obsessed

Instagram
Best nine on Instagram this year! I share a pretty good mix of my wedding work as well as behind the scenes photos here- follow along @jennkavs!

A snapshot of what 2015 looked like on Instagram!

December 31, 2015
Year in Review: 2015 Wedding Photos

I spent some time today going through all of my favourite 2015 wedding photos and it’s been SO hard to choose just one or two from each day! I had 26 amazing couples this year, and I wish I could’ve shared 10 from each wedding day! I shot weddings all the way from Owen Sound to the Dominican Republic and I’m so grateful for each one.
Christmas has come and gone but I’m still in holiday mode! Staying cozy, watching Netflix with Nick, and ‘thinking about’ heading back to the gym are the plan for this week, with some low key New Years eve celebrations. On New Years Eve I’ll be opening my ‘2015: Jar of Wonderful Things’ and reflecting on all of the big goals and accomplishments from this past year. I’ll also be posting some behind the scenes photos from this year, so stay tuned!

And without further adieu, here are some shots from each and every wedding I had the incredible opportunity to document this year!
xo Jenn

I kicked off the year at Hockley Valley with Jenn and Greg- who are now expecting! Couldn’t be happier for these two!

Such a fun couple to hang out with and I loved their non-traditional cocktail style wedding at Twist Art Gallery!

Dan brought some of his British flair to his and Sarah’s big day- love this carefree shot!

Gorgeous couple, inside and out. Jeanine and Danny’s beautiful spring wedding was one for the books.

I can’t get enough of cherry blossoms! I always try taking advantage of these for the short time they are out.

I photographed this very tiny and intimate ceremony for Nikita and Jarrel on my birthday and I wouldn’t have had it any other way! They flew down to the Domican the next day to celebrate with a big group of family and friends!

Katrina and Aron’s rustic glam wedding was just so beautiful and they were all smiles, all day!

So much happiness! The rain barely stayed away for this ceremony at Knollwood Golf Course but I’m glad it did!

Champagne toasts and snuggles were on the bill for this June wedding with Erin and Paul.

I always enjoy photographing Glencairn Golf Club weddings!

Brit and Kyle were regular celebrities with the Say Yes to the Dress film crew following them around all day! It was the fairy tale day they had always dreamed of.

Kerry was beaming this entire day!

The willow trees on Bear Estate are the perfect backdrop for afternoon weddings!

Just the cutest couple with impeccable style. Glad to be a part of this day!

Million dollar smiles, all day!

Coming back down the aisle shots are always my favourites from every wedding day. So much pure joy and candid emotion!

These cats from ‘Berta knew how to throw a party!

We did a church ceremony on Friday and a beautiful backyard reception, and then the next morning…

We all flew to the Dominican to have a week long celebration!

Moments after their very sweet first look. Jon may or may not have shed a few tears…I’ll never tell!

Am I allowed to say #worththedrive? Cobble Beach was stunning, and the water looked so inviting!

I’ve said it before and I’ll say it again, BEST. GROOM. REACTION. EVER.

Laura was my rocker bride and I loved her incredibly laid back and trusting nature. Her Mom officiated the ceremony and the two of them danced down the aisle together!

Even though I chose some black and whites to showcase here, this was the most colourful wedding of the year! KJ and Co did a stellar job bringing Linda and Rory’s vision to life and Blush and Bloom nailed it with their florals.

My laid back and relaxed couple, who had one of the most touching ceremonies all year. Strolling around the Royal Botanical Gardens with this group after the ceremony was a blast! I love how they are such a great group of friends.

We couldn’t have been any luckier with the timing of the rain on this day! Just enough time to get lots of pre-ceremony photos with Karen and her family, and then it completely downpoured. But it stopped raining just in time for our portrait session!

My neighbours (practically!) We live so close to each other that I get to hand deliver every piece of mail or prints that I have for them, and it’s a nice way to pop by and say hello!

Jess and I joke that we are kindred spirits and also pen pals…what a couple of sweethearts! Such a stunning Old Mill wedding.

Oh what a day- this DIY wedding was executed flawlessly and these two had one of the cutest first looks EVER! Plus…Caitlin’s dimples are basically the cutest thing I’ve ever seen.

Laura and Nick were ahead of the Pantone 2016 game! Periwinkle looks good on these girls!

My last wedding of 2015…and even though it was wet and rainy, we were prepared with a plan and some umbrellas and I loved this wrap up to my season!

December 30, 2015
Year in Review: 2015 Engagement Photos

As the year starts to draw to a close, I thought I’d look back on all of the projects and sessions I had the pleasure of working on in 2015! This is a snippet of each engagement session from this year.
This time of year seems to creep up on all of us so fast! It’s a couple of days before Christmas, and I finally, for once, seem to be organized and on top of my game before the week of family visits and eating too much officially commences. Gifts are wrapped, wine is ready and I’ve already watched every Christmas movie that I own. I hope you’re ready for the holidays too!

Here they are: 21 engaged to be married couples- some have since gotten married, and some are heading down the aisle in 2016! Wedding photos from this year will be hitting the blog next!

xo Jenn

December 21, 2015