Now booking 2027 weddings!

Category: Behind the Scenes

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
Behind the Scenes: TuesdaysTogether Toronto, June Meetup

Yesterday I had the pleasure of hosting the very first TuesdaysTogether meetup in Toronto! This movement is the brain child of The Rising Tide Society, who are encouraging creative entrepreneurs to get together once a month to foster a supportive community! Our meetup last night filled Whelan’s Gate on Bloor St to the brim! I am so thankful to our gracious hosts, and to Sara Monika for taking these lovely images.

From the ladies at The Rising Tide Society: It is our hope to cultivate a society of creative entrepreneurs who believe in community over competition and have a desire to lead with love. From this dream, #TuesdaysTogether was born. A meetup every month where creatives + entrepreneurs gather together for coffee and conversation. An open space for idea sharing and goal building. Separated by distance, but beautifully united by a hashtag and a shared desire for community. Because isn’t that what we all deserve? A safe place to belong.

We will be meeting on the second Tuesday of every month, at different times and locations, so find us on Facebook to join in on the July meeting! Keep in mind that this is not just limited to photographers (although we had plenty of them at the meeting last night!)

Follow along every month on Instagram! #TuesdaysTogetherToronto

All images via Sara Monika, Photographer.

June 10, 2015
Blush and Bloom Floral Workshop

Today I had the pleasure of attending a Blush and Bloom floral workshop, which is a lively (and busy!) floral company with Becky De Oliveira at the helm of it all. Becky just took over the unit next to her original studio, so she now has plenty of place to play with and even some natural light. I’m pretty obsessed with her floral wall! We got to design our own pieces after a short (and very informative) intro from Becky, who made it look so easy (which it actually isn’t!)

There were plenty of creative ladies on the scene though, who all made some amazing floral arrangements. Hattie, who designs custom jewellery, was definitely in the running for ‘should maybe switch careers to floral design.’ We were also joined by Blaire Nadeau, who has a very busy millinery business (brides, check her out for veils and headpieces!) One of my 2014 brides, Laura, also came along, with her sister -and they all brought their Moms! Becky, thank you for such a nice way to spend my Saturday and for such lovely florals to take home!

Becky is running a Mother’s Day workshop on May 10th from 12-2, so you should definitely check it out more Blush and Bloom floral workshops if you’re interested in learning more about how to make these beautiful arrangements (and if you need a great Mother’s Day gift!)

Enjoy!
xo Jenn

March 28, 2015
Behind the Scenes: Foster Workshop with Ben Sasso, California

A few weeks ago, I packed up my bags and headed to stunning California for a 2 day photography workshop led by talented wedding and portrait photographer, Ben Sasso.

I try to attend some kind of workshop or creative gathering every year, and was so glad when my pal and fellow Toronto wedding photographer, Tamara Lockwood, let me know about this one that she was attending (she can be seen below, just killing it in front of the camera!) Going to workshops and conferences is a really important part of being a creative small business owner, especially when you tend to spend most work days slaving behind a computer, at home, for hours (days) on end. I put a lot of love into my couples’ photos and spend a lot of time doing so, but it can often feel isolating. Getting together with creatives, learning from each other and sharing in our similarities and differences is a great way to grow, as well as it gives you a chance to connect with other people who are in the same boat as you. I really liked Ben’s approach to education- he is very transparent and is a huge advocate for supporting community over competition. Learning new or different ways of doing things in my business is obviously always beneficial, but sometimes it’s also reassuring to see that I’m doing things the same way as photographers that I look up to.

Ben had some amazing ‘co-hosts’ and helpers at the workshop, and they all produce amazing work (plus they’re like Instagram superstars), so be sure to check them out! Benj Haisch, Katch Silva, and Ryan Longnecker. We were also lucky to have Liana and Brian hop in front of our sea of cameras, to do some modeling for us as we worked on posing. Ben and Benj did some portraits of us too, so you can see those below too (including the Photoshopped masterpiece, created by Ryan!)

I thought it’d be nice to share some photos from the workshop and to give my couples an idea of what I’m up to during the winter when the weddings slow down. I’ll be sharing more from my trip to California soon- I’ve got a session from Calla Lilly Valley in Big Sur and an engagement session from Sonoma coming to the blog soon!

xo Jenn

February 27, 2015
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
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