Jill was my roommate at university. We were sort of forced together a few weeks into the first month of school. For some reason, I was put into a French residence…meaning I had to speak French 24/7. I can’t speak French. I had to request a residence transfer, and as it turned out, so did Jill’s roommate. We had a basement room in our residence and were thick as thieves within hours. When we were roommates off-campus, we would skip class (sorry Mom) and meet at home to watch a really terrible soap opera, while drinking really terrible Irish Cream flavored instant coffee…and it was absolutely wonderful. She’s still the one person who beats me to sending an email when I’m thinking of her. Today, I sent her a link to the gallery of her images and the first line of her response was, ‘I was just thinking of you.’ It never fails.

This year, my Jill married her Kris. They’ve known each other forever, they’ve traveled and taught around the world together, and they finally had a surprise wedding in March. The distance made it difficult for me to attend, and I missed their wedding celebration party this summer as I was shooting another wedding in Victoria. My present to them was this rainy day session at one of their favourite places, Melmerby Beach.

Catherine is a piper from Pictou County, and she’s yet another friend from the Gaelic College days. We took some photos around downtown Halifax and were joined by her Dan at the tail-end of the session.

Liz and Seamus were married on September 26th at Craidelonna Ocean Edge Lodge in Sooke, BC. The lodge was a beautiful setting for the entire wedding and situated high above the Pacific, the backdrop couldn’t have been more beautiful. Ritchard and his staff worked tirelessly and created a stunning ambiance for the day. I first met Liz at the beginning of the year, and she said she heard about my work from their friends, and my past clients Kristy and Jeff. When I first met Seamus on the wedding day, I asked him if he was at Kristy and Jeff’s wedding last summer and he replied nonchalantly, ‘No, I was actually over competing in the Olympics in Beijing.’ Turns out, humble Seamus is a two-time Mountain Bike Olympian. We had a good chat about that while he was getting ready that morning, and if anyone could battle a case of wedding day nerves, I’m positive it would have been Seamus. Liz was full of laughs while she was getting ready as we needed a collective effort to get her into her dress…I was shooting and helping to tie it up with her bridesmaid at the same time. One additional image from this wedding is featured over on the Photographer Network blog as Photo of the Week. A beautiful wedding, a genuine couple, and great guests.

Jocelyn and Jason were married on September 19th at Glendale Gardens. At our first meeting, Jocelyn’s little boy Jordan plopped his red fireman hat on top of my head as I spoke with the couple about their upcoming wedding….it really must have been a sight to see! Since Jason is a fireman, the boys from the station drove the firetruck over for a few photos before the ceremony, while the girls took a rather ‘thrilling drive’ to the gardens. It’s obvious when you’re in the company of these two how much they adore each other and because of that, they made my job very easy.

Jane and Luke were married on August 29th, 2009 at Poet’s Cove Resort on Pender Island. It was my first trip to the Island and I couldn’t have asked for a happier occasion. Jane and Luke live and work in Africa and their wedding was a celebration and a reunion for their family and friends, many of whom traveled a great distance to attend. A big thanks to the talented Jenna Tye who came along and shot with me on the day.

Chris and Rebecca were married at Holy Cross Catholic Church on June 27, 2009. When I arrived, Chris was calm and Rebecca was smiling and laughing in the limo about having to ask the driver to pull over so she could use the washroom at a gas station on the drive to the church! She got the giggles during the ceremony and as we all know, the harder you try to stop giggling, the more you giggle (regardless of the number of elbow nudges you get from your groom)! Their reception was held at Hatley Castle and we had full access to the beautiful gardens at Royal Roads University. While we were taking photos in the lounge of the castle, a tour group came through and Chris and Rebecca quickly became of particular interest to the visitors. Luckily they were distracted by the questions and I was able to take some of the photos I was hoping to get in that room. While the dark clouds and rain poured outside, the dancing and partying continued inside. Rebecca’s laugh is absolutely infectious and Chris easily kept herself (and everyone else) well entertained so we had a great time during the day. Congratulations!!

Jess contacted me for an engagement session for herself and Dusty. They got engaged on Christmas Day and are in the process of planning their wedding for next year. We started out on top of Mt. Doug and then made our way to a quiet little beach that they like to visit with their dog. Jess and Dusty were completely laid-back and were willing to do absolutely anything asked of them….even heading into the chilly ocean while looking fabulous the whole time.

My cousin Bethany contacted me in the early spring to see if I’d like to come to Boston to shoot her wedding at Newton Presbyterian Church on May 30, 2009. Bethany recently graduated from photography school, has since started up her own business in the Boston area, and trusted me to document her day. It was a trip I couldn’t resist! Like many Maritimers, my grandmother’s sister Anna moved to Boston to work when she was young, married my Uncle Lester, and ever since my family in the ‘Boston States’ has been growing in size. I stayed the week with my cousin Rob and his wife Becky and was treated like gold the entire time. On the wedding day I was reunited with cousins I hadn’t seen for 20+ years and had a great time catching up on the years between frames.

Bethany and Jeff were entirely laid back. Bethany arrived back from having her hair done and fired up her espresso machine and began to make lattes for all the girls at her home as if it was any other day! They planned a ceilidh for the evening festivities and after I was finished shooting, my cousin Don and myself hopped in the square set and tore up the floor! A wonderful day full of wonderful people and I can’t wait to return. Congratulations Bethany and Jeff….thanks for including me in your day.

While I was in Boston, I had time to travel into the city for an afternoon. Michael had contacted me just as I had left Boston in the spring and wanted to arranged a portrait/couple session when I returned. With such limited time, one session was all I could manage and I was glad to have been able to spend it with Michael and Annette. Michael contacted me through my pal Ben Powell as they are both graduates of Berklee School of Music, while Annette, a current Berklee student, skipped school for the afternoon for our session.

I had a ‘just because’ session with Amel and Pierre this week! They’re celebrating their 3rd wedding anniversary this year…well, their 3rd ‘Lebanese Anniversary’ and their 2nd ‘Canadian Anniversary’. I photographed their Canadian wedding in Victoria almost a year after they were married in Lebanon during the war and we patiently awaited Pierre’s arrival to Canada to have the celebration here! Talk about a beautiful couple!

I get many emails and comments about folks wanting to see an actual photo of me. Well, here’s one. Yesterday, we went to the beach after getting our favourite super-charged-hot-caffeinated-bevvies at Caffe Fantastico and a treat at the best bakery in town, Pure Vanilla. When I’m not shooting on the weekend it’s just part of our routine, and I love each and every second of it. We went to Willows Beach sipped our coffee, ate our snacks (truth be told, mine was finished by the time we even reached the beach) and I hauled out my camera to take a few photos in the wind. Jamie’s behind me standing on a piece of driftwood.