We had the opportunity to meet Pamela and Grinton last year when they commissioned us to do some portrait work for them. In doing their session, we were really impressed with how genuine and nice these two were, and that the quintessential boy meets girl love story does still exist. They shared with us that they were making plans for their wedding in 2010, and as unusual as it was for us, we asked them if we could shoot their wedding! We truly wanted the opportunity to document their love, as it is inspiring to meet people who care so deeply for one another, as well as the people who come into their lives. Last weekend, we photographed their engagement session in their beautiful Sandy Hill neighborhood, and had a blast watching these guys have so much fun together…

Last Wednesday we had the pleasure of sharing the role of Official Photographers with Barb Cameron at Ottawa’s first Wedding Professionals Networking and Sangria Tasting Event. We would like to thank Wendy of Beyond Events & Jen of Trixie Tulip for taking the time to organize this event, which was a great success! The event gave many of us wedding vendors the opportunity to hang out and chat with others that we knew and had relationships with, as well as those who we would like to work with. The event was held at Lago, in the lake view room which has a gorgeous view perfect for weddings and get togethers. Michelle VandenBosch created amazing exotic floral art that was just too easy to photograph! She proudly told me that she had some of the flowers brought in from Thailand for the event, and the effect was a stunning tropical oasis! Wendy and Jen even arranged a candy buffet for us, beautifully (and deliciously) provided by Wedecor!

We had our first opportunity to photograph a Bar Mitzvah here in Ottawa last week, and it was a heartfelt and inspirational celebration in honour of a young guy named Gabe. Ivanette and I found it really interesting to watch and learn about the tradition and ceremony. Gabe’s parents, Lynne Dee and Henry, are wonderfully kind and generous in their willingness to share their blended customs with family, friends, and photographers alike! In order to become a Bar Mitzvah (a responsible adult), Gabe had a lot of preparation to do; he did an in depth research project on kosher foods and his presentation was very well delivered–along with the background of what denotes kosher, we learned from Gabe that not everyone follows kosher at all times, and that “it’s really freakin’ expensive!”. Gabe is very insightful for 14 years old, and it was a pleasure to hear him speak about what he learned about people, traditions, cultures, and misconceptions during his preparations.