May
16
A few weeks ago, we spent an early spring Sunday afternoon with Alicia and Jeff, who are expecting the newest addition to their family very soon. We had a ton in common with these two and they are incredibly fun and easy going so the afternoon just flew by! We were also lucky enough to meet their feline companions, Archie and Reg (aka Chicken and Squirrel). As everybody knows, Archie and Reg are two short-hair exotics who are the stars of their very own blog.
We started off the shoot in Alicia and Jeff’s apartment. The big white walls, high ceilings, and giant windows made for amazing light!
Alicia and Jeff were awesome together — every time we thought we were about to get a straightforward portrait, they’d share a joke an crack right up.
It wasn’t long until the sneaky kittens made it into our shots (don’t worry, their star turn is coming) . . .
How cute are these?!
Of course, before we headed outside, this little guy needed his turn in front of our lenses. Though he did need a little persuading to pose (as opposed to just photobombing, which he was clearly keen on!)
U of T offers such a variety of places to shoot, providing beautiful backdrops. We couldn’t have been happier when we talked with Alicia and Jeff and they told us that U of T was an important place to them. Perfect – personal and picturesque. This quiet nook at University College was perfect for a couple of snuggly close shots of Alicia and Jeff.
(By the by, stay tuned for a fun gif we put together from this part of our afternoon – more to come).
And one last picture of the star to be . . .
We can’t wait to see the FIVE of you in a couple of weeks!
May
14
We spent a beautiful winter’s day with David and Alicia up in Collingwood shooting their winter wonderland engagement shoot. A few weeks ago we had the chance to spend another afternoon with Alicia and her amazing family and friends at St. George’s Golf and Country Club to shoot her high-tea themed bridal shower.
Between the incredible treats baked by Alicia’s family and the high-tea theme that Alicia and St. Georges pulled-off perfectly, we had a fabulous afternoon. We felt like we were caught between a Martha Stewart food shoot and a royal party!
Of course, the most important part of high-tea: the high-tea fashion. The hats and fascinators were out of this world!
See you guys soon!
May
02
A couple of weekends ago we spent a fun afternoon with Jenn, James, and Asta hanging out at their place and the park near their house. We also got to meet James’ parents, who were in town visiting from New York. With Jenn just weeks away from her due date, the house was full of energy!
What a beautiful silhouette, Jenn. Really stunning.
With all the excitement, organizing, and planning leading up to the new arrival, it was nice to have a few quiet moments with Jenn and James. The light in Jenn and James bedroom in the late afternoon was absolutely beautiful. So soft and tranquil.
Asta just had to be in the middle of everything…
Jenn and James had just taken their outdoor furniture out for spring. Seriously, it’s about time for sitting out on your front porch!
And, because we couldn’t resist, a little more Asta — this time guarding her domain…
Jenn is actually wearing the coat her mother-in-law wore when she was pregnant with James. How fun is that?!
Spring just hasn’t been cooperative this year. Our walk to the park was a bit chilly, but Jenn and James were happy to play around in the late afternoon sun.
Looking forward to seeing you guys again soon and meeting the newest member of your family!
Apr
25
When Matty called Mark last fall to let us know that he and Carolyn were expecting twins, we couldn’t have been happier for them. A couple of weeks ago, we got to hang out with the very tired, but very contented Matty and Care and meet Mary and Charlie, the perfect additions to their family. It was awesome…
Reach, stretch, and snuggle into mom …
Love these from Carolyn’s perspective in a quiet moment.
With their big eyes and little noses and mouths (not to mention tiny fingers, and toes), it’s hard not to get caught up in the details. Seriously, look at these beautiful big eyes…
(And this little nose and mouth!)
Mary slept so peacefully during our shoot. Even the introduction of her little brother didn’t faze her at all.
This was too cute, particularly because it wasn’t posed. Shortly after we put Charlie down with Mary they curled into each other, linking arms. Guess that’s just part of spending 9 months together in close quarters!
That is a big yawn for a little one…
Looking forward to many years of watching Mary and Charlie grow up together. They are so beautiful. Congratulations!
Apr
23
We’re so excited to share our Game of Thrones inspired winter wedding shoot, which was featured yesterday on Champagne Sweets. To see the feature, click here.
Shooting in both High Park and up in Uxbridge, we tried to bring trees and snow into as many shots as possible to reflect the importance of the old trees and winter in GOT. We like to think that you can almost hear Bran Stark rustling in the trees…
Look at the beautiful and dark table scape imagined and put together by Amna at Lemon Truffle (links to all of the contributors below!)
An absolutely stunning and complex bouquet put together by Floral Designs By Francesca.
Authentic costumes and hair and make-up by Lush Brush and Little White Dress (two of our absolute favorites)!!!
The models played their roles perfectly!!
Our last model of the day was Strider. Magnificent.
We had such fantastic time collaborating with Melissa and Kathleen from Lush Brush Hair & Makeup, Amna from Lemon Truffle Designs, and Alexandra and Jessica from Little White Dress. Their work is absolutely beautiful!
Credits:
Stylist: Lemon Truffle Design
Hair and Makeup: Lush Brush Hair & Makeup
Dress: Little White Dress
Florals: Floral Designs By Francesca
Antiques and Flatware: Cynthia Findley Antiques
Models: Anastasia Rae, James Knox, and Strider
Apr
22
One of our New Year’s resolutions this year was to blog more of our travel photography. And like so many good, well-intentioned resolutions … well, let’s just say that it’s the 112th day of 2013 and it’s about time that we shared a couple more photos with you from our Tanzanian adventure last winter!
We spent several days following this cheetah mom and her four cubs across the Ndutu Plains. Flipping through the photos reminded us just how amazing they were — the pouncing, playing, hunting, tree climbing, and, on a more serious note, struggling to survive. We’re definitely going to fit a full-length cheetah post in soon (now that we’ve said it, we have no choice!).
Introducing the tree-climbing Cheetah!
We have a wide variety of family photos and engagement shoots to post soon, in the mean time, here are some of our favorite kitten family (don’t tell Sabine and Griffen we said that – they get jealous).
Apr
16
Elaine and James have known each other for most of their lives — their parents are long-time family friends so they grew up seeing each other regularly at gatherings and events. As one might suspect, under the circumstances, it wasn’t love at first sight. In fact, as kids they mostly ignored each other. Once they were into their teens, ignoring evolved into friendship, which then turned into something much more. Their shared history and bond is amazing. Even more heartwarming for us is how important the details of their relationship are to them.
We think it’s really important that an engagement shoot is personal and reflects the couple’s relationship. Elaine and James each brought a box of items that they’ve collected over the course of their relationship to the shoot. Their boxes were overflowing with letters, postcards, pictures, ticket stubs, trinkets, and, to our surprise, a contract. During the years that they’ve been together they’ve always been looking into the future. So, in their teens, they drew up this contract:
And we couldn’t resist pulling out a photo strip from one of those old mall photobooths (you know the ones!) to do a before and after shot.
Elaine and James decided that they wanted to do their engagement shoot down at Cherry Beach, but before heading down there we took them on a walk down an old deserted set of railway tracks that we’d been itching to shoot for awhile.
After wandering along the tracks, we headed down to the beach. Something simple and pretty to start off in the late afternoon down by the water.
We decided to turn to something a little more playful, which suited Elaine and James perfectly — they’re always smiling and laughing. To be honest, down by Cherry Beach at the end of winter-early spring, we think Elaine and James were glad for the chance to run around and warm up a bit!
Love this tree with its gnarled old roots — made perfect seats for Elaine and James.
Talk about a fierce look from Elaine!
Something a little more quirky before another round of horsing around on the beach…
After a quick wardrobe change, we walked further down the beach towards another big old tree, which framed our shots perfectly.
Because you thought that these two couldn’t be any cuter together, Elaine and James decided to ramp it up. James had bought them coordinated t-shirts — the design can only be fully appreciated if they wear them together. It was too cold to sport the shirts by the lake, but James decided to brave the cold to show off the back of the shirt, which has a smaller version of the full design on it.
Thought we’d pair the awesome details on the jackets with some straightforward portraits…
One last set in the woods. The blurred trees in the background make for a beautiful, surreal setting. Who says winter shoots without snow can’t be gorgeous?!
James is always keeping Elaine on her toes and keeping her laughing…
Elaine and James — we had an awesome afternoon with you guys and can’t wait to shoot your wedding next month!
Mar
22
Isabel and Zubin initially met a couple of years ago at a mutual acquaintance’s house warming party. Not too long after, they went on their first date — a concert at the Mod Club and then to browse for records. It was, coincidentally, Record Store Day. As you might expect, for their engagement shoot, there was no question — they wanted to revisit their old haunts. We started our walk in the park in Kensington.
Kensington is such a unique place. Bustling with interesting people. So many alleys to wander down and get a little lost. And sometimes we find delightful little surprises, like these punches of colour in this graffiti on a grey winter’s day.
We love it when our couples bring items that are personal to them for the shoot. Love the bag. Just perfect (more of what’s in the bag in just a few moments).
Isabel and Zubin stopped in at Sonic Boom to browse for some records. We’re huge vinyl fans (and we love Sonic Boom) so this was a blast for us too.
Isabel *loves* latin food, so before we went to the top of the parking garage to take a few shots of the records Isable and Zubin brought with them, an Empanada break was in order. Yum yum!
The temperature dropped pretty quickly when we got back down to the lake in Isabel and Zubin’s neighbourhood. Perfect for Isabel to snuggle into Zubin in her warm fuzzy hood though.
We had scouted this big piece of modern sculpture hidden away at Harbourfront earlier in the week and had an idea that Isabel and Zubin were only to happy to try out. So pretty. It was totally worth braving the cold for this shot (although I guess that’s easy for us to say — wearing our jackets!).
Thanks so much for such a fun afternoon, Isabel and Zubin. We can’t wait for your wedding this spring at One King West!
Mar
11
This weekend was downright balmy in Toronto. As we strolled back to our place from catching the Gregory Crewdson doc ‘Brief Encounters’ at The Projection Booth (an awesome independent movie theatre on Gerrard East that you should check out if you haven’t yet), we even saw a couple of guys sporting shorts! How was it only 2 weeks ago that we were in snowy Collingwood with Alicia and David for their winter engagement shoot?!
We met Alicia a couple of months ago and hit it off right away. After a couple of phone calls with David, we started planning their Blue Mountain engagement shoot. Before heading off on our snowy adventure, we started off with a couple of snugly shots by the fire pit.
Alicia looked absolutely gorgeous with her big furry hood on… and off… we couldn’t actually decide which we liked better!
David looked pretty dapper in his fitted herringbone dress coat.
On route to the pond, we couldn’t resist using the yellow building with its pretty oval windows and bright yellow paint job.
Love this through the trees…
Alicia and David had told us that they often skate while up at Blue and so wanted to shoot a few pictures out on the ice. We LOVE it when our couples bring fun ideas to a shoot! Laced up for a few turns on the ice, Alica and David quickly forgot us and just enjoyed each other, seemingly along on the crowded pond. David is quite the skater. The ice was a bit uneven (resulting in some close calls), but they both managed to stay on their feet and have a few really good laughs.
After skating and taking a walk around the grounds, a snowball fight was certainly in order. The competition was fierce!
And the footing on the slope was challenging… whoops!
The tables were even turned on us. It was a real team effort!
A little more horsing around to end the day off. Right into his arms…
What a great day at Blue Mountain! We had *so* much fun with you guys. We can’t wait to shoot your wedding this June!
Mar
04
Winter is coming… Or rather it came. On the coldest day this winter, we collaborated with our friends Lush Brush, Lemon Truffle Designs, and Little White Dress on a fabulous Game of Thrones-inspired wedding shoot. Thanks to Anastasia Ree and James Knox, our amazing models, who braved the cold while the rest of us were bundled up in our winter gear!
You might have noticed our third, equine model in the last pic just off to the right: Stryder.
We can’t wait to share the rest of the images once the shoot is featured!
