Today it was grey in Victoria, but I edited this set of images from Nova Scotia in August and it felt like summer all over again. This was my last visit with my best friend Jill before she gave birth to her awesome daughter Gretchen. I wanted to take some maternity photos for her, showing Jill as I know her. Jill is fun, she laughs, she loves her family and dogs, and she loves being at her cottage. This hot August day, we drove to the cottage to hang out with her family and swim. Jill didn’t know I was going to take her photo, I sort of sprung it upon her. She started killing herself laughing because she was in her bathing suit for the photos with her hair messy from the salt water, and just a few weeks away from having her baby. All I could think of was while we were university roommates at Mount Allison, how she said she loved the smell of sunshine on your skin after a day at the beach. To me, the images sum up Jill and Kris, and now they’re one person better with Gretchen. Love these guys.

Sandra and Aaron are a fun couple to be around…they each have great sarcastic sense of humour. Sandra is from Ontario, and Aaron is from Alberta, and since they both live in Victoria, it seemed the best ‘middle spot’ to have their wedding. Friends and family flew in from all over to enjoy their big day. The weather couldn’t have been more cooperative in showing folks from away that it doesn’t always rain in Victoria. In fact, their wedding was on one of the hottest days of the summer. Their ceremony was at St. Andrew’s Cathedral, and the rest of the festivities took place at the Hotel Grand Pacific. Sandra’s grandmother kept us laughing pretty steadily during the morning, spurred on by an interesting article about sex and aging in the Globe and Mail. Not hard to see that the sense of humour runs in the family. Congratulations Sandra and Aaron!

What do you get when a dentist marries a fisherman? A big Cape Breton wedding, that’s what! Kelly and Sandy had their wedding in Baddeck at the Inverary Inn Resort, with the ceremony at St. Michael’s Church. We snuck away briefly after the ceremony for some photos along Water Street before heading back to party for the rest of the evening. The guests shut the place down, giving multiple encores to the band, and they definitely weren’t ready to call it a night! Cape Bretoners sure know how to have a good time!

Christine and Dave wanted to have their engagement session at their farm in Scotsburn, NS. Their farm is beautiful, so we didn’t have to go far to find great locations, and we managed to beat the downpour (for the most part). Butter-Kitty was trying to hijack the session and get in all of the shots, but I suppose when you know you’re that cute, you deserve to have your photo taken! Happy farming Christine and Dave!

Since Layton and Candace smashed pumpkins in October, it (sort of) made sense that we smashed pies in the summer. Or at least it made sense when I suggested it in February…as a bit of a joke…but we still did it. Lyndsay and Adam decided on cream pies, for the splatter factor. It was pretty gross, and turned disgusting when they kept discovering coconut up their noses at supper. Whoops. A crowd gathered at the beach when they saw the two pies come out of the bags and they cheered as Lyndsay and Adam smashed pies in each other’s faces. Talk about romantic! We saw every sort of light that day, from golden light overlooking Victoria, to pink and blue light at the beach…it was really a dream. Not to mention I can cross ‘Photographing married couple smash anniversary pies in their faces’ off my bucket list!