I arrived to Angela and Michael’s house in Milton to take photos of the guys getting ready and I was greeted by Mike and their dog at the front door, and then in the background; lots of laughter.  I immediately felt comfortable with all the guys and I was privy to some hilarious stories around the kitchen island while the guys had a couple drinks and got ready.  Once they were prepped, we took a couple photos and I went off to see Angela and her bridesmaids at Angela’s aunt’s house.

When I arrived (after my GPS wanted me to send me the wrong way down Trafalgar rd), I found a house packed full of family anxious to see the beautiful bride in her dress.  She was just about ready and anxious to get things going.  Michael and Angela had decided to see each other before the wedding and when he arrived, he waited at the bottom of the stairs for Angela to descend.  She did and he was thrilled to see her.  With the formalities over for the time being, we went outside and got our first feel for the cold.  It was not exactly pleasant, but we got everyone together for some family photos and then quickly back inside to warm up.  It wasn’t too long before we were on the long drive to Piper’s Heath Golf Club (alright, it was less than a kilometre).

The original plan was to take some photos of the wedding party before the ceremony, but there were already so many guests there and we didn’t want everyone to see Angela before the ceremony.  The ceremony itself was held outside under a tent.  In almost no time at all, Angela and Michael were Mr. and Mrs. Marchese and we made our way to the waiting golf carts to take us for photos.  One step outside and Angela turned around and came back in.  It is no easy task to go outside when it’s that cold in normal clothes, let alone a dress.  After a few minutes, she was convinced that going for photos would be a good idea despite the wind chill.  The girls put on a brave face and we went to the barn on the property for a few photos.  We quickly got through the pictures of the entire wedding party and sent them back to the clubhouse to have some liquid warmth.  Mike and Angela weren’t so lucky.  I kept them outside a bit longer, and then we went inside the barn.  The staff at the golf course were great, even bringing some hot coffee and snacks to the newlyweds to help keep them warm.  Even better was the warm car Tim (from Piper’s Heath) brought out to warm us up in.  I know my hands were nearly numb, so I can only imagine how cold Angela was feeling at this point.  We made one stop on the way back inside and got one of my favourite photos from the day.

Inside, the guests were having a great time and that continued well into the night.  The speeches were quite varied in the emotions they brought out of the guests, but I think the most memorable was from Angela’s mother.  I nearly cried as she spoke of Angela’s late father and how much he would have loved to be there, then we all joined in laughter from her stories.  The only speech that may have topped it would be Angela’s speech.  It had people in tears, tears of laughter.  I don’t know if she had anything written down, it felt off the cuff, but that was just perfect, I think it was about a 10 minute ab exercise for all the guests from all the laughing.

One thing Angela mentioned during her speech was how her and Michael spent their first date watching fireworks.  After her speech she gathered everyone on the patio under the guise of doing a big group photo.  I think a lot of people were not happy with me as they assumed I was dragging them outside into the cold for a photo.  With the help of the guys at Piper’s Heath, we counted down to the photo, and instead of me taking a photo, fireworks went off in the distance behind me.  I immediately dropped down off my 6 foot ladder and got some photos of Angela and Michael enjoying the show.  I absolutely love surprises, so I was happy to see a surprised Michael, simply amazed that his wife had pulled off such a stunt for him and their guests, it was fantastic.

I had a great time being part of Angela and Michael’s wedding, and I wish them all the best, I’m sure they will enjoy many years of happiness together.

Congratulations Angela and Michael!!!

Enjoy!!!

www.DustinHallPhotography.ca

Enjoy!!!

Congratulations Angela & Mike!

www.DustinHallPhotography.ca

I held a draw for a free engagement session and I received over 200 entries.  I drew a winner and oh wait, here’s a shot of my booth from the show, pretty good eh?

Oh right, the draw, well, I mentioned that there were over 200 entries, so in light of that, I decided to pull two names instead of one.

The first winner is………

Miranda Jones (round of applause)

The bonus winner, picked from the jar by my lovely wife is….

Tamara MacKenzie (bonus round of applause)

Thank you to all who entered!

Congratulations Miranda and Tamara!!!!!

www.DustinHallPhotography.ca

You’ll notice that I didn’t consider this post a ‘Best-of’ blog post, and there’s a good reason.  I find that the photos that resonate with me are not necessarily my best, but these are the ones I like the most.  I don’t really have any guidelines that make for my favourites, it’s a certain je ne c’est quoi.

I had so many great experiences in 2012, from Erin and Tony’s Engagement Session at Erin’s family Cottage on Georgian Bay in Ontario, to Jen and Brad’s Alexander Graham Bell Museum Wedding in Baddeck, Nova Scotia, it was a wonderful year and will be a challenge to top it in 2013.

I wish you all the best in 2013 wherever you may go and whatever you may do.

Enjoy!!!

www.DustinHallPhotography.ca

After the ceremony we decided to go to Alderney Landing for photos as our original location was going to be too wet.  Before everyone had arrived, I took just Tracey and Cameron for a few photos before it started raining.  When everyone else arrived, we powered through the photos to use every dry moment possible.  Much to everyone’s surprise, the rain never came.  The wind did remain however, so that was a bit of a challenge, but we managed.  The girls all put on their best smiles even though I know they were probably quite a bit cold on the waterfront.

The reception was at the Wardroom at CFB Halifax – Stadacona.  This was my first time on a Canadian Forces Base, so I was fortunate enough to be following a few members of the wedding party into the base, otherwise I’m not sure I would have found the right building once on the base (as was evidenced by my attempt to get off the base at the end of the night).

I didn’t have the highest of expectations for the reception venue but boy was I wrong, it was fantastic.  The reception took place in 3 separate rooms, one for the cocktails, one for the dinner, and another for the dancing.  The speeches were good and the slideshow put together by Tracey’s sisters brought tears and laughter to many.  From the look in the eyes of both Tracey and Cameron, you could tell how much they appreciated everything and everyone there.

The dancing certainly brought out some interesting moves, that’s for sure, but you don’t see that unless people are having fun, so I can assure you, people were having a great time.  Here’s a few shots of the day.

Enjoy!!!

www.DustinHallPhotography.ca

After the guys were prepped, it was back to Erin’s for the finishing touches with the dress.  We got to the church quite quickly as it was so close, and the ceremony began approximately on time.  A little back story here; when Tony proposed to Erin at the cottage, he managed to sneak up a guitar and play ‘If it’s Love’ by Train (great song by the way).  So, when the minister pulled out a guitar, Erin and Tony were both concerned the minister would want Tony to play something.  Luckily it was strictly coincidence, and he was using it as an analogy.  You could see the relief in their faces once he put it down.

With the ceremony and family photos at the church complete, we went for a drive.  We did the bulk of the wedding party photos at Gairloch Gardens in Oakville.  Once we were done there it was off to the Harbour Banquet & Conference Centre in Oakville for the reception and a few photos with Erin and Tony before heading inside.  When I scouted the location, I wondered if it would be possible to get on the docks for some photos knowing full well that people will do just about anything for a bride on her wedding day.  I saw a guy leaving through the locked gate and I ran about 50 metres before he could get out and asked him if it would be alright.  He obliged and we went through for a few shots.  I’m quite glad he allowed us as I got some nice shots there.

Heading inside, I noticed that they had blown up a shot from the engagement session and also used a lot of photos from the cottage to make a guest book for people to sign.  I signed by my favourite photo from that day (them on the dock at sunset with the canoe on the dock beside them).  I love seeing my photos printed, it lets me know that what I do matters to people.

Erin and Tony had a band for the night and they did an awesome job keeping the dance floor busy all night.  But the most impressive part of the reception was seeing Erin dance with her 91 year old Grandfather.  It wasn’t some slow dance either, it was a fast Viennese waltz.

It was a wonderful day with some amazing people, I had a great time.

Here are a few shots from Erin and Tony’s Wedding:

Enjoy!!!

www.DustinHallPhotography.ca

Flash forward a few years and here we are at Tanner and Chantal’s wedding.  They were getting ready in Mississauga just a stone’s throw from each other, with the ceremony and reception at The Old Mill in Toronto.  I was glad we didn’t have to get on the Gardiner as it was closed and making traffic a little bit hellish for the weekend.  We had a minor traffic hiccup as it was with a couple of important peoplestuck on the highway, which pushed the ceremony back a bit.  The Old Mill has a nice little chapel on site and a note to all photographers: be aware that the light is pretty bad in there with very little ambient light and a spotlight on the couple, so you have to be very careful not to blow out the highlights.

After the ceremony we went outside for some family photos and then we took a few with the wedding party before sending them inside to start the festivities.  I took Chantal and Tanner for a few photos.  I had an idea to take a photo with them in silhouette on top of a bridge, only to have them get to the bridge with me below and find out that the wall was much higher than we had expected, so that certainly didn’t work out.  The Mill’s building was my favourite backdrop as I love the old character of the building.  It reminded me a bit of Switzerland with the way it’s built.  It was so fun to take photos with this wedding party, they had a great sense of humour which made my job a lot easier.

We went down to the reception and had some real fun.  I enjoyed the speeches, especially Tanner’s story about getting pulled over in Vegas (loved the accent’s in the impersonation), and I thought the trophy presented to the brides from Tanner’s brother was very fitting.  He used their hockey sticks to create a trophy essentially with a few pucks which had the wedding details on them.  He has his own business doing custom pieces called Tanner Customs if you’re looking for something like that.

The dancing went late into the night, lesbians really know how to party.  I know I had a great time and I couldn’t be happier for Chantal and Catherine, they are both amazing people and they are perfect for each other (they also have a really, really cute and sweet puppy as you’ll see below).

Congratulations Catherine and Chantal!!!

Here’s a little sampling from their big day, September 15, 2012:

Enjoy!!!

www.DustinHallPhotography.ca

Congratulations Tracey and Cameron!!!

www.DustinHallPhotography.ca

I was happy to hear from Nicole and Aaron when they got engaged and were in need of a wedding photographer.  While back in Ontario for another wedding this summer, I met up with these two for engagement photos in Burlington and we each got a feel for how the process was going to play out at their wedding in September.

As their day approached, the weather forecast called for a 100% chance of rain…great.  The ceremony was at the Grand Olympia and they decide whether the ceremony will stay outside or not at 9:00 in the morning to give enough time to get everything organized properly.  Of course, at 9:00 am it was pouring.  The indoor ceremony was quite nice as they used one of the halls instead of their tiny chapel.

Much to all our surprise, the ceremony ended and we went outside to find sunshine, actual sunshine.  All of our worry and discussions about what to do if it rained were happily tossed out the window and we made our way to Puddicombe Farms.  I had never been there before, but I will recommend it to anyone getting married at the Grand Olympia in the future.  The one knock on the Grand Olympia, which does everything for you, is the lack of photo locations.  That problem has now been solved.

Puddicombe’s little locomotive takes you around the property to a variety of beautiful spots.  They have a few train cars at the front which can also be used, and as you’ll see below, we did.  The people there were friendly and helpful,  I think everyone was satisfied with Puddicombe.

After the photos, the real fun began at the reception.  I’ve never seen the Groomsmen so committed to the dance floor like Aaron and his guys.  They spent most of the night dancing, and well, I might add.  The little ring bearers had some stellar moves too.  I spoke to one of them when I was outside the Halton room taking photos and I asked him if he was getting tired of all the dancing.  This was 2+ hours into the dancing at this point and he’d been out there the whole time, so he should have been exhausted.  He looked at me and said “I was born for this” in a very matter of fact way.  I couldn’t help but laugh.

It was a great day and I was happy to be there to capture all of the moments.

Congratulations Nicole and Aaron!!!

Enjoy!!!

www.DustinHallPhotography.ca

Enjoy!!!

www.DustinHallPhotography.ca