At my first meeting with Kaitlyn and Naomi, I walked into Williams Coffee Pub not knowing what they looked like but my eye spotted someone in a Penguins shirt.  I hoped that was one of them.  Much to my surprise, it was Naomi.  From that moment, I knew it was going to be a good day.  We talked for nearly 3 hours at that meeting and barely discussed photography.  We all had so much in common from the sports with the Penguins to music with David Gray (my personal favourite).

After our meeting and them subsequently booking me for their wedding, we send numerous e-mails and tweets back and forth for months.  Aside from friends, I don’t think I have ever known a couple so well before their wedding day.  I am pretty sure if I didn’t move to Halifax, we would be hanging out all the time.  They are both great people and they obviously have good taste.

Before the ceremony at Fort Nelson United Church in Burlington, we did a first look with Kaitlyn and Naomi at Lasalle Park and then did a nice walk around taking photos in a few different locations.  Once we were done taking photos of just the two of them, we called the wedding party to come over and we took those photos.  I wasn’t surprised Kaitlyn and Naomi’s friends were just as awesome as them.  Chris, the Dude of Honour and Katie, the Maid of Honour were hilarious and when it came time for their speeches at the reception, they were very heartfelt and you could see how much Naomi and Kaitlyn appreciated having them in their lives.

The M.C. (or is it emcee?) for the wedding, Naomi’s nephew Matthew (who is older than her) performed the duties better than anyone I’ve seen before.  He was so funny and everyone was laughing at just about everything he said.  I can understand why everyone in the family that gets married wants him speaking.

The party was a lot of fun and I’m not saying I did, but there’s a possibility that I kicked off my shoes and moonwalked to ‘Billie Jean’.  The dancing was pretty good and everyone was having fun.

I can’t say enough good things about Naomi and Kaitlyn and I’m so glad I was able to be a part of their day.  I’m sure we will be keeping in touch and hopefully we’ll be able to celebrate some Penguins wins together in the coming years :)

Congratulations Kaitlyn and Naomi!!!

Here are a few photos from their big day:

Enjoy!!!

www.DustinHallPhotography.ca

In between the ceremony and reception we went to 50 Point Conservation Area for a few photos, the girl in the front office was supposed to tell the limo where I went to setup, but she didn’t, luckily I wasn’t too hard to find.  Being down by the water was a bit cool and the ground was certainly wet but we managed.  After a few photos and laughs with the entire wedding party, Jessica, Mike, and I pressed on for some more waterfront photos.  Jess certainly had some ideas and I love that, I’m willing to try just about anything.  With our time being short, we made our way to the Grand Olympia for the reception.

Knowing that Mike is a big hockey fan like myself, I wasn’t too surprised to find the t.v. in the bridal suite tuned to Hockey Night in Canada when I arrived.  Unfortunately for us though, neither of our teams were in the hunt for the Cup by this time.  The entire wedding party was in a great mood and hilarious.  I got a good laugh out of the suggested grand entrance moves that were being tested out in the tiny bridal suite.  Eventually decisions were made and the couples came in to big applause, including of course Jessica and Mike who added a few extra moves at the end of theirs.  But those moves paled in comparison to what they had in store for everyone later in the evening.

After the funny and emotional speeches, including a tear or two, it was time for Jessica and Mike’s first dance as a married couple.  At first it looked like your usual first dance with the bride and groom holding each other and doing what I like to call the 2 step shuffle, you know, the stand in one place and go in a circle dance that everyone knows.  Then, as the song ended everything changed.  Mike and Jess pulled out some glasses and Mike had a big chain around his neck with the cutout of a dancer and then they started shuffling, the LMFAO version.  It was awesome.  They pulled up guests from their seats and onto the dance floor and just like that the party had started.

A little later in the night I grabbed Jessica and Mike (and their glasses) and had them follow me outside.  I had noticed earlier that a tree was in bloom with pink flowers and I thought it would be great for a photo and they were game.  We got a few shots which I absolutely love, and they went back to he dance floor.

The night would have been good if that was everything, but it’s not.  A certain groomsman, I won’t name any names (though I will divulge in photos below) did a special dance.  He had done a similar dance at a previous wedding because of a lost bet, but it was enjoyed by everyone so much that he was asked to perform again for Jess and Mike.  On the first go around, he danced to Katy Perry’s “I Kissed a Girl” and this time the music was a surprise.  I’m not sure what you would call the dance, I’m hesitant to call it a strip tease but that might be the best term, either way, it was to “I Touch Myself” and I’m sure there’s a video of it online somewhere too.

Here are a few photos from Jessica and Mike’s wedding:

Enjoy!!!

www.DustinHallPhotography.ca

Enjoy!!!

www.DustinHallPhotography.ca

Enjoy!!!

www.DustinHallPhotography.ca

Enjoy!!!

www.DustinHallPhotography.ca

To celebrate, I had some fun with some chocolate bunnies.

Disclaimer:  Some chocolate rabbits were hurt during the taking of these photos, even more carnage ensued after the camera was turned off.  The rabbits will likely get their revenge as my over consumption of chocolate will likely result in a stomach ache, and regret for eating so much deliciousness.

Enjoy!!!

www.DustinHallPhotography.ca

Last year Robyn and I took a delayed honeymoon to Ireland and we absolutely loved it.  I would love to go back again.  If you’re getting married in Ireland, or anywhere in Europe, let me know and we can try to work out a deal.  After returning from Ireland last year I found out the my great grandmother came to Canada from Ireland, something my immediate family had no clue about.  That makes this the first St. Patrick’s Day where I’ve known I’m a bit Irish.  Enjoy the day everyone, I’m getting myself a shamrock shake today for sure :)

Here’s my favourite photo from Ireland last year, taken at the Cliffs of Moher at sunset.

Enjoy!!!

www.DustinHallPhotography.ca

2011 was a year full of great memories.  I recently posted about my favourite personal photos of the year, and if you’ve read that or stop  by frequently, you’re aware I moved half way across the country.  I’ve yet to shoot a wedding in Nova Scotia, but you’ll see those throughout 2012.  This post however is about 2011.  I shot weddings in every season and had some pretty extreme temperatures, from the freezing cold of Shannon and Rich’s wedding in January to the sweltering heat of Rachel and Dan’s.  There was fog, rain, snow and of course bright sunlight.  The best light I had was at Peter and Anita’s wedding in September where the ceremony was later in the day and everything seemed to come together perfectly for them.

I met a lot of amazing people at the weddings I attended and was fortunate enough to witness some amazing speeches which varied from emotional tear jerkers to comedic moments so funny they deserve their own place on a comedy network special.  I did my best to capture every moment on camera for my couples and I’m proud of what I’ve delivered at the end of the day.

I love to be there for all these moments and nothing feels better than receiving that e-mail from an ecstatic bride who loves her photos, it means so much to me to know the photos will be cherished for years to come.

Below are my favourite wedding photos of 2011.  There’s a difference between my favourite photos and my best photos.  My favourites are not necessarily my best, but I like them for one reason or another.  That reason may not be apparent if you weren’t at the wedding, but that’s alright, if you were there, you’ll get it.

Alas, I’ll stop writing and just get to the pictures.

Enjoy!!!

www.DustinHallPhotography.ca

The wedding was in Niagara on the Lake at the Hilton with the ceremony and reception both on site.  With the ceremony being held later in the day, Brooke and Reggie had me take photos of Reggie and his Groomsmen and Brooke and her Bridesmaids separately before the ceremony.  We made sure that Brooke and Reggie didn’t see eachother before the ceremony.  The weather was pretty good for this time of year save for the wet ground.  It was chilly which was better for the guys than the girls, but they put their warm faces on while we were outside.

The ceremony was by candlelight which was another first for me and I think it went beautifully.  Reggie even raised his arms in celebration after they were announced as man and wife.  That set the tone for the rest of the night in my opinion.

Instead of the glass clinking, there was a huge die which people had to roll to get the couple to kiss and it was a big hit.  At one point I overheard Brooke’s grandmother ask what number she needed to roll to be able to give Reggie a kiss, I thought that was sweet.  Then came the speeches.  Reggie gave by far the best groom’s speech I’ve ever heard.  He had everyone laughing and laughing hard.  He may not recall how hard everyone was laughing due to his sleep apnea but that’s alright (if you were there you’ll understand what I mean).  Brooke and Reggie have such positive personalities and you could really see the joy on their faces all day.

Once the dancing began there was no stopping it.  This was one hell of a party and the dance floor was full all night.  Reggie stole the show with his dance moves.  The M.C.’s had alluded to the fact that Reggie was likely to remove his shirt and perform a number of his signature dance moves including one they called the back to back.  He even did the latter dance move during the mother-son dance.  Since the wedding, I’ve heard the song ‘sexy and I know it’ by LMFAO numerous times and maybe it’s a little weird, but every time I hear that song I think of Reggie dancing to the song while taking his short off (as you can see below).  I know everyone enjoyed seeing Reggie bust out all those moves on the dance floor.  Brooke and Reggie were just so much fun on their day.  They were the life of the party on their wedding day and that’s just awesome.

Here’s a little glimpse into the wonderful wedding of Brooke and Reggie:

Enjoy!!!

www.DustinHallPhotography.ca

At the start of 2011 I was working at a medical gas company in Mississauga.  I thought at the time that I would be there for a while.  As time went by and the amount of travel increased, I realized that I could not work a day job with travel and continue to grow my photography business so I left that position for a lower paying day job with more consistent hours which would be good for my photography.  The company was where Robyn worked, so our commute was easier, especially once the HOV lanes opened up through Burlington and Oakville.

In February I drove out to Halifax and volunteered as a photographer at the 2011 Halifax Canada Winter Games.  I met a lot of great people in my extremely busy week and shot a number of sports I’d never even seen live before.  It was a lot of fun and something I would love to do again.  Prince George 2015, if you’re listening, I’m available.

We had wanted to move to Nova Scotia for a couple years and we decided that 2012 would be the year for that, so we decided to sell our house and move in with my parents.  That way we could save a little more money but most importantly, we could be sure that the house was sold before we wanted to move.  Our house sold the first day on the market.  Within a month, Robyn got a job in Halifax and our move date moved up greatly.

At the beginning of August, my brother and his wife had a baby.  Connor is my first nephew, and we love him to bits.  We made sure to see him as much as possible in the busy months before moving.

October came and we made our big move to Halifax with a uhaul full of our stuff and the car being towed behind.  It was a long drive over 2 days and ended with torrential rains as we arrived in Halifax, a fitting beginning to our Halifax experience.

I’ve since visited Ontario a couple times for weddings and tried to visit with family when I was there.  I know it will be hard in the future to have my family in another province, but we will manage.  Hopefully we will be getting a bunch of visitors in 2012 and I’ll be sure to take pictures, that’s what I do.

With 2011 being such a crazy year, I’m excited to see what 2012 will bring.

Here are my favourite personal photos of 2011:

Enjoy!!!

www.DustinHallPhotography.ca