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Behind the Scenes: Chasing Lockets Love Circle Project

I’m always searching for ways to show my couples some love and gratitude for choosing me as their wedding photographer, especially something that can be personalized for each client. Earlier this year, I came across an amazing company called Chasing Lockets, who offer beautiful custom made photo lockets and thought they would make an amazing gift (and a wonderful surprise!) In 2014, I’ve been gifting these as a surprise to my brides after their engagement shoot, and so far the feedback has been phenomenal! About a month ago, I heard from Lukas & Suzy Van Dyke (who are the brains and creators behind Chasing Lockets, as well as talented wedding photographers, community creators, wedding venue owners, love spreaders, and new parents….no big deal) who had a wonderful idea involving spreading love and surprising some important people. Chasing Lockets hooked me up with 3 lockets and then I was tasked with choosing who I would give them to, and why.

The first locket I gifted was to an amazing bride of mine from 2014- Laura, who was married at the Cambridge Mill in October. I decided to surprise her with a locket because even though she didn’t do engagement photos (one of the few wedding traditions we just couldn’t get her fiancée on board with!) I really wanted her to have something special from me from her big day. Laura has been a huge supporter of my photography over the years and booked me so far in advance for her wedding, so I knew that us spending her wedding day together would be a dream. The outside of Laura’s locket has a photo I took of the custom made chalkboard sign, designed by Elise from Creative-E.

The next locket I put together was for my friend Noelle, who has spent many a Saturdays with me this year, second shooting for me and keeping me company all day! Noelle has such a lovely, calming presence on a wedding day and really helps keep me in check, even when things get behind schedule. She is the coolest mama I know and has two beautiful daughters. I incorporated a photo of her little family on the inside, and the photo on the outside was from a wedding we shot together in the spring that had some beautiful cherry blossoms on the property.

The last locket I got to make was actually for me! I hadn’t ordered one for myself yet, so this was the perfect opportunity to grab one. It took me a long time to decide what to put on it, but I finally ended up designing a little graphic for the outside that says ‘All you need is love’ with a photo of Nick and I on the inside. The photo is of the two of us doing yoga together at sunset on the beach in Nosara, Costa Rica. Nick has been a huge part of my business for the last few years, and is always someone I can bounce ideas of off, or gush over new photos with (okay, admittedly, I’m the one gushing but he sits through it all patiently!) Last winter, we went on a huge trip together in Central America and it was such an amazing time. I’m basically obsessed with him (haha!)

I just want to give a huge shout-out to Lukas and Suzy from Chasing Lockets, and say thank you for involving me in this special project and for making such beautiful gifts for my clients!

January 12, 2015
Featured: The Wedding Co – ft Steph + Illya and How to Have a Wedding With Soul, Toronto Island Wedding

I am very happy to feature my pal Stephanie Coffey on the blog today, as she writes about her Toronto Island wedding and how to create a wonderful wedding day for you and your guests, all the while staying true to yourself and your partner. I thought it would be great for future brides to have some wise words written by a newly married bride, and tips for choosing vendors, planning your day, and keeping it real.

I first met Steph when we were kids, and though our lives took us separate ways, we have crossed paths again as we both run photography businesses (and enjoy spending time with her sister, maid of honour Amanda!) Photographing another photographer’s wedding is quite an honour, and I’m so happy that Steph and Illya chose me to document their day. It was truly a pleasure (you’ll understand once you see the photos below!) and with that, I’ll leave you with Stephanie’s post.

I’m also very excited to have this wedding featured over on The Wedding Co today! See the full feature here!

From bride Stephanie…
‘When Jenn asked me to write a guest blog about how to have a successful wedding, I was thrilled to start looking back on our wedding day, and recall all of the plans we made. When looking back, I decided to title this post: How to Have a Wedding With Soul. I think no matter what vendors you choose or what plans you make, soul is the key ingredient. With every choice, look deep within yourself and say: do we want this? Does this speak to us? Does it move us in some way? With that guiding voice in the back of your head, I think you can do no wrong while planning your wedding. That said, there’s definitely a lot of advice I can give on the nitty, gritty little details that helped make our particular wedding one of the best nights of our lives thus far.

We wanted our day to be a true reflection of us as a couple. We both love vintage décor (our home is practically all vintage pieces) and consider ourselves to be fun loving and laid back people. We wanted to combine these elements and create a casual but elegant outdoor dinner party/crazy, fun dance party.

One of the best choices we made was hiring some really talented people to help us. When you begin to plan a wedding, the most humbling experience is realizing that you cannot possibly do everything yourself. Once you put that crazy idea aside the fun begins and you get to start trolling the Internet for creative new people to help you to bring your vision to life. When looking for vendors, we found that two elements were woven through all of our choices:

1) Does this vendor have the talent we are looking for/are they in line with our vision?
2) Do we like this person/company? Do they make us feel special and excited to work with them?

We were able to find a lot of great vendors this way who not only were insanely talented creatives, but also were responsive to emails, attentive with our needs, and genuinely cared about our wedding. Each one was carefully selected and Illya and I were consistently impressed with their work. We also had many conversations about how much we enjoyed working with them all, which was a really nice feeling.

Some of our talented vendors, to name a few, were:
Photography: Jenn Kavanagh Photography (heyo!)
Hair & Makeup: Alex Rotundo & Oriana Rossi
Florals: Coriander Girl
Wedding Dress: Magwood
DJ: Indie Wedding DJ
Videography: Farmer Vision
Officiant: Tade Credgeur
Catering: The Island Café
Venue: Artscape Gibraltar Point

Illya and I decided we’d be together for the whole wedding day. We got ready in our apartment together with our entire wedding party. We then had a ‘First Look’ in the courtyard. Waking up in the morning with my husband to be and getting to spend the ENTIRE day with him was so special to me. The first look allowed us to get lots of great photos before the ceremony. Afterwards we had lots of time to spend with our family and friends. Looking back on the First Look I felt so much raw emotion and energy seeing Illya in our courtyard. I also still had so much excitement seeing him at the ceremony. It was like we got a two for one deal!

We definitely wanted some DIY projects on our wedding day. Our wedding party was full of a lot of really talented people and their help was immeasurable to making the day so wonderful. My bridesmaid and best friend Chelsey designed all of our invitations, menus, place cards & table numbers. My maid of honour and sister Amanda found an amazing old windowpane at a thrift store and wrote our seating plan on it. My bridesman Ben wrote us an original poem and made us wedding programs. Illya’s brother Adam, the best man, wrote us a Flight Of The Conchords inspired song for the ceremony. My bridesmaid Steph and her boyfriend Erik made our caramel popcorn party favours. Our good friend Andy created a signature cocktail for us, The Sammy Slammer, named after our flat-faced cat. Finally my sister, my mom and I scoured the entire GTA in search of vintage and craft beer bottles for our floral arrangements. We got a lot of our supplies from thrift stores. All of the paper for our signage was from The Paper Place. I also splurged a little bit and bought monogrammed garland and floral confetti from BHLDN. The personal touches were so meaningful to us and our guests really seemed to notice them and take them in.

If you are planning to do DIY projects my advice would be to enlist the help of your wedding party as they can be quite big projects. Also pick projects that resonate with you and that you will be happy doing. You will get tired along the way, so it really helps to be invested in the projects so that you don’t lose steam.

We had an absolutely wonderful day surrounded by some fantastic people. Signing off my last piece of advice will be one you’ve probably heard before. Be present on your wedding day. Let everything go and take it all in. The energy you give to your day will be the energy that all your loved ones give back to you. And that is a pretty incredible thing.’

January 5, 2015
Behind the Scenes: Year in Review – 2014

This is the perfect time of year to reflect on the past 12 months, and to start looking ahead to the next 12. Setting new goals, learning from mistakes, and refocusing where I want my business to go is an important part of celebrating the new year, but reflecting on the past year is also equally as important. This year, I grew my business far beyond what I had set goals for, and along the way got to photograph more than 20 amazing weddings and almost 30 engagement sessions. I had the chance to connect with a lot of amazing couples, and am already set to go for 25 weddings in 2015! I connected with some amazing local wedding vendors, made lots of new wedding photographer friends, and traveled to some new places and venues. I’m almost fully booked for this coming year and I’m so grateful for every bride and groom (and bride and groom to-be’s!) who have trusted me and allowed me to share in such a special day in their lives. During the course of the wedding day, I wear a lot of hats: wedding photographer, time keeper, schedule organizer, dress fluffer, flower holder, bobby pinner and sometimes even a chauffeur for some extra bridal party members! I am really lucky to do what I do, and the fact that my couples have faith in me and let me photograph their wedding the way I see it is so humbling. I love getting to know families and friends, making my couples laugh and feel relaxed, and helping them to fully enjoy their wedding day.

2015 is looking grand so far- I have some time to regroup and refocus after a very busy wedding season. I’ll also be heading to a photography workshop in California where I’m hoping to get inspired, recharge my batteries with some days off, and drive up the coast to see some new places! I’m looking forward to photographing a destination wedding in the Dominican Republic, and connecting with all of my awesome couples.

I just wanted to send out some huge thank you’s to my couples from 2014- you helped make this such a great year and I’m so grateful to have gotten to know you and spent such an important day with you! I also wanted to thank my second shooters- Noelle, Caitlin, Erin, Kara, and Steph- having a friend by my side during the wedding day is a dream come true and you all helped me tremendously this year. Thank you! And lastly, the awesome wedding vendors I have met and worked with- you are all so talented and getting to photograph your work makes my job all the more rewarding.

Cheers to an amazing 2014, and looking forward to an even better 2015! Here are some behind the scenes photos from some of this year’s weddings!

Happy New Year!
xo Jenn

PS I don’t often wear rain boots to photograph weddings- only when we’re heading to a wet and rocky waterfall!

December 29, 2014
Brittany + Justin – Hart House Wedding, Toronto

This cozy day at the Hart House on the University of Toronto campus was a blustery one but Brit and Justin didn’t let that get them down! They chose to do a first look (which was preceded by a ‘first touch’ – check out the cute shot of them on either side of the door!) which allowed us to really maximize as much natural light as possible for their portraits, which was key because their ceremony was scheduled to finish after sunset. This meant we could use every nook and cranny in the Hart House and it also allowed the newlyweds to enjoy their full cocktail hour and say hello to all of their guests! I love that Brit totally embraced the Hogwarts feel of the great hall where we had the reception and even organized her seating chart after the four large tables from Harry Potter! The candlelit tables and huge wood burning fireplace at the end of the hall really made this a cozy and intimate reception. Congratulations to Brit & Justin!
Enjoy!
xo Jenn

December 16, 2014
Laura + Jordan – Cambridge Mill Wedding, Cambridge

Where to begin with this wedding! Laura and Jordan’s wedding was so stunning and such a pleasure to be a part of! Some of my favourite wedding vendors were involved and together, with Laura at the helm of the planning process, her vision for her big day came to life and it was even more amazing than I imagined it would be. The florals by Blush & Bloom were, as usual, to die for, and Elise at Creative-E made an amazing chalkboard that was custom designed with details related to Laura and Jordan’s life together (it now hangs above their couch at home- what a perfect wedding keepsake!) Dawna Boot and Ladylyn Gool worked their magic and provided the girls with flawless hair and makeup. Laura got ready at her aunt and uncle’s house since it is a short drive away from the Cambridge Mill, but she made sure to bring along some pieces from her own home to make her getting ready process her own. Large rooms with lots of natural light gave us so many opportunities for beautiful photos before we left for the Mill. After their ceremony, we headed over to Mill Race park for some photos against the old stone archways, and the sun even poked out for a few minutes! The highlight of the evening was definitely the speech by maid of honour Kelly, who is Laura’s ‘little big sister.’ She wrote and performed a song for Laura and Jordan, and even rapped a few verses without faltering once! Laura and Jordan- you two are such an amazing couple and I wish you the very best as Mr & Mrs!

Check out the list below the photos to see all of the amazing vendors who contributed to the big day!

Enjoy!
xo Jenn

A huge shoutout to Noelle for shooting with me and just being amazing overall!

Hair: Hair by Ladylyn
Makeup: Dawna Boot
Florals: Blush & Bloom
Gown: Beckers Bridal – Paloma Blanca
Fur: Vintage, Laura’s Grandmother
Earrings: J.Crew
Groom’s Shoes: Allen Edmonds
Bride’s Shoes: Macy’s – Nina
Invite Suite, Menus & Table Numbers: Lolo Lincoln
Cake: Tiny Cakes
Cake Topper: Better Off Wed
Chalkboard: Creative-E
Paddles: Badger Paddles
Wooden signs: Bride’s father
Bridesmaids Dresses: BCBG & Amsale
Groom’s Suit: Burrows Clothiers – Lanvin Suit & Hugo Boss Bow tie and Shirt
Balloon: Michael’s
Song: Kelly & That Song Guy

November 25, 2014
Jacquelynn + Kevin – Hernder Estate Wedding, Niagara-on-the-Lake

Niagara on the Lake, you’ve stolen my heart! I don’t get to shoot in the NOTL area often, but when I do, its always a pleasure! Jacquelynn & Kevin planned a vineyard wedding that was all about celebrating and making sure that their guests had a great time too. These two appreciate good food and drink and that was definitely apparent throughout their day- guests enjoyed wine and beer after the ceremony at Ravine Vineyard, and then headed over to Hernder Estate. The Stone Mill Inn was the perfect spot for the bridal party to get ready in. Jacquelynn’s vision for her wedding was right up my alley- an intimate candlelit evening that didn’t follow the usual wedding routine. They even had a custom popcorn table with lots of candy and flavours!
Wishing you two all the best, and thank you again for having me!
Enjoy!
xo Jenn

November 17, 2014
Jennifer + Brad – Glencairn Golf Club Wedding, Milton

Jenn and Brad were married at Glencairn Golf Club in Milton surrounded by their nearest and dearest. This bridal party was a blast and you could really feel how happy everyone was to be there. I was just swooning over Jenn’s details all day! I loved everything she had picked out. Jenn and Brad are both so easy going and fun to be around (as documented at our engagement session in High Park earlier this year) so it was no wonder that we are able to get some really amazing images again for their wedding! I love when a couple has complete trust in me and lets me just do my thing! We finished the night with a super fun photobooth, for which I made Jenn a special pink and grey bunting to match her wedding colours. See below for a list of the talented vendors who did amazing work (including the bridesmaids who did the florals and cake!)

Jenn and Brad, I hope Greece was amazing (it sure looked it!) and all the best as Mr and Mrs!
Enjoy!
xo Jenn

Glencairn Golf Club Wedding brought to you by:
Florals and Rentals by: Blooms & Flora
Cake by: Kristen Raiskum (bridesmaid)
Makeup by: Lana Rae
Hair by: Ashley Shantz
Jenn’s Gown: David’s Bridal
Jenn’s Shoes: Badgley Mischka
Bridemaids Dresses: Henkaa
Wedding Program/Menu Cards: How Lovely Paper
Paper Signage: You Got My Sunshine
Invitation Suite: Wedding Paper Divas
Cake Topper: Better Off Wed

October 7, 2014
How to Choose Your ‘Getting Ready’ Location ft. Leighton + Derek – The Royal Ambassador, Caledon Wedding

Oh, this wedding. Where do I begin?! Leighton and Derek’s wedding was SO lovely, for many, many reasons, so I’ve decided to use this as an opportunity to touch on a subject that I wish I could always have control over. Where do you get ready for your wedding? A hotel? Your house? Your parents house? In the venue’s bridal suite? Sometimes there are lots of options, and sometimes, there aren’t- say your wedding is over an hour away from where you live! Hotels seem like the obvious choice a lot of the time- usually you have stayed over the night before or are planning to stay there after the wedding. However, these may not always be the best choice! Hotels are often very dark, small, and decorated in, well, hotel style. Often you’ll see 10 different patterns happening at once- the curtains, carpet and bedspread all have something funky going on and it really doesn’t match the style of the rest of your day. On top of the crazy colours, patterns and generic paintings and photos that are nailed to the wall (wait, what?!) there is often very little natural light to work with. This is key for the ‘getting ready’ photos. I try to leverage natural light as much as I can, so I can use it to photograph all of those little details you’ve spent months curating. Your dress, shoes, rings, flowers, invitation suite, veil and jewellery all need to be captured and its so much nicer when there is space to work with and light coming in the windows. On top of that, if your hair and makeup team are coming to you, they also need lots of light to make sure everything is applied evenly and beautifully. So how many people do we now have in the hotel room? Say 5 bridesmaids, a bride, bride’s Mom, me, and 2 hair and makeup artists. That’s 10 people in one tiny room! And that’s assuming your aunts and flower girls aren’t hanging out either.

On the other hand, when you get ready at a house (even if its a small one) it will likely mean a few things: there will be lots of rooms for everyone to spread out in, and plenty of places to photograph your details and candid photos of you and your girls. I’ll be able to pick the room that has the best light where we can get you into your dress, instead of using the foot and a half between the bed and the window like in the hotel. If you don’t have access to a house nearby and hotels are looking like your only option, consider checking out airbnb! I chose to write this post with photos from Leighton and Derek’s wedding because both of their ‘getting ready’ spots were great- lots of light, lots of room, and very clean and neutral decor. I was literally skipping around upstairs as I was photographing Leighton’s dress and other details, because the room had TONS of pretty light coming in and it was decorated so beautifully (seriously, like straight from a magazine. Shout out to Leighton’s parents for their awesome house!) You’ve spent months and months planning your wedding, and this is one last detail not to overlook. If you have the choice, think about it!

Anyway, on to Leighton and Derek! This day was so pretty down to the very last detail! They chose to incorporate a small wine box ceremony, which I have never seen before and I thought it was really cute. The idea is that Derek and Leighton both write a letter to each other, and seal it up and place it in a double locked box along with a bottle of wine. They then give the 2 keys to the box to two very important people in their lives, and they are not to open the box until they’ve hit a rocky patch in their marriage and need the letters as a reminder of how in love they were on their wedding day. This would also ensure that when they go to their key person to get the key, they would have to share what was going on and hopefully talk it over with that important person. On the other hand, they can also open the box when they have something to celebrate (maybe 10 year anniversary in 2024?!) and then they would also have to share in the celebrations with their key people. I thought it was a sweet idea and I’m surprised I haven’t seen more of them at other weddings! Leighton’s Mom had a special gift for Leighton- a gold coin that was purchased when the government child tax benefit was phased out, and she’d been saving it for Leighton all these years! Derek and Leighton entered their reception and walked all the way around the large circle their guests had formed, saying hello and grabbing hugs from everyone. Then the whole circle watched on as they had their first dance as Mr & Mrs! The rest of the evening was spent dancing in the tent -Leighton looked like she was having the time of her life! And we wrapped up the evening trying out some sparkler shots.

Leighton & Derek, all the best and thank you for having me as your wedding photographer!
Enjoy!
xo Jenn

September 27, 2014
Tegan + Xavier – Le Jardin, Vaughan Wedding

Tegan and Xavier met each other in their church’s choir group- Tegan stood up front and shined, her beautiful voice filling the air, while Xavier, stood in the back row wondering who this amazingly talented girl was. It was only fitting that they had their ceremony in the very place that brought them together in the first place, and Tegan sang her vows to Xavier. I don’t think there was a dry eye in the room and I definitely had some goosebumps! The rest of the day was bliss, surrounded by lots of friends and family we went to Adamson Estate for some portraits before heading to Le Jardin for the reception. Xavier donned an ‘A Tribe Called Quest’ bowtie for the reception, and Tegan’s band The Touch had everyone on the dance floor performing some classic motown covers.

Enjoy!
xo Jenn

See below for the list of very talented vendors!

Vendors
Makeup: Marcia Garnes
Hair:Jasmine Merinsky
Planning: Ashley Blanche
Band: The Touch

September 26, 2014
Katrina + Josh – Riu Negril, Jamaica

Katrina and Josh were married on a hot, hot, hot day in Jamaica and it was perfect! Their families have known each other for a very long time, and when they were little they actually ran a lemonade stand together (see Josh’s lemon tattoo for Katrina!) Once they grew up and started seeing each other in a different light, Josh told Katrina that if they started dating, that would be the end of it and they would eventually get married. They both spent their day with 10 of their best friends by their side, including A LOT of sisters, and it was so nice to see such a close knit and tight group of people supporting them throughout their big day.
Katrina and Josh, thank you for having me! I miss the mojitos already.
Enjoy!
xo Jenn

August 21, 2014