Jacquie and Pat

Jacquies father spoke about having moments in his life "flashes" that he would always remember. Rocking his baby girl, sun streaming in at a 45 degree angle, walking her down the isle, blue skies set above the people who love them dearly. I believe that those moments are treasures. This wedding was full of treasures. Not only the perfect Jimmy Choo sparkly shoes, or the Tiffany's necklaces, but treasures that have true and profound value. Their August 6 wedding was incredibly meant to be. Everything was beautiful, memorable and infused with love.

They waited 12 years to get married, and they arrived at their wedding full of stories, full of life and swimming with love. There is so much you could say about Jacquie and Pat, but I feel the looks on the faces of those they love and cherish most... say it best. They are loved.

Jacquie is described as being an amazing healer, working as a nurse with children who need her. Pat can make even the most stern face... burst into laughter. I think everyone who was a part of their wedding, and is a part of their lives, know how valuable and emotional their wedding memories are, and will be forever. A true testament to living life presently, in each moment and savoring every delicate, fleeting instant as it happens. When you live with intention and love, your moments will all be treasures.

May you both be surrounded by life's blessings always, and may the universe wrap it's expansive and warm arms around you always, but especially right now. I am forever humbled and honored to have been a part of something so beautiful. In loving memory of June Hole. In Jacquie's words... "She was an incredible woman. She would do anything and give anything to anyone. Her spirit is unmatched. " Savor each fleeting moment.

Laura and Derek

Love at the Beach Well, it has been a wild few days (or week).  With a mid week amazing wedding at Tigh-na-mara in Parksville, a few extra awesome maternity sessions, family sessions, headshots, engagement session, another amazing Filberg Wedding in Comox, it's been far from boring.  And all full of fantastic.

My Tigh-na-mara adventure involved the fabulous Laura and Derek, who absolutely rocked from the first moment I met them.  They are just so great together, into each other and so much fun.  I love her hand made dress dress, so elegant and romantic and everything was just so incredibly relaxed. They saw each other before the ceremony, in fact just walked up to the gathering of people started mingling and then said, "Ok, we're ready". Perfect!  My famously awesome sidekick Shannon and I had an amazing time with these two, and I just have to share these images with you NOW!

Special thanks to the folks at Craig Heritage Park Museum for allowing us to use their property for some fun images!

Looking forward to more posts as soon as humanly possible! That beautiful Dresstry on the dresselegant Are you thinking Old Hollywood movie star? I am. movie starstunning I'm not really a 'ring shot' kind of girl... but I love this one! the ringstogetherLOVEpeacemore love I've recently heard it said, "show what you want to shoot". This my friends, is how I love to shoot. sneakyhold So clearly into each other. intostained glasssweet

Becoming Present...

It's no secret that I photograph a lot of weddings, being in a small town its also no surprise that I photograph people that I know. But I have only photographed a handful of true 'friends' weddings. Tiffany and Braden fall into the very good friend category. (I'll apologize in advance for the long winded round about way this is delivered.)

The first wedding I ever photographed, I was in the bridal party... another one a few years later was the deciding factor for me, that I should be photographing weddings for a living. That one was 5 years ago, that was my good friend Sarah and Jody's wedding.

The moment I knew I HAD to be photographing weddings, was not during the wedding, when I was bouncing around, crawling on my tummy for the perfect shot... or even when I was climbing up a ladder (in a long skirt) to reach the roof top of Jody's parents house for a fun group shot.... but more so after... when so many people made a point of talking to me, and letting me know how much they appreciated my energy at the wedding, and also seeing the reaction of everyone when they saw the images. It was then that I realized... hmmm... maybe I'm alright at this. Not to mention... hmmmm maybe weddings are alright to photograph. (I was one of many budding photojournalism students who swear to NEVER shoot weddings, for fear of bridezillas, momzillas... and doilies) Truth be told, I loved Sarah and Jody's wedding, and I loved photographing it. So there spawned my wedding journey.

What I'm getting at is that being at weddings, involved with weddings is natural for me. Its what I do. I go through the motions, I get to know people, the connections they have with one another. I pay attention to detail, I look for light, I watch peoples faces, their body language. I capture memories... almost without thought. It feels right.

So I never really realized that it WOULD be different photographing a good friends wedding at this stage of my career.

I have done many MANY foolish things with Tiffany, driven cars without licenses, picked up random hitchhikers, (a LOT of stories that stay locked within us as well)....I've stayed up talking all night with Tiffany, shared a love of literature, art, books and dance with Tiffany...

I put as much energy into every single wedding. I give every client, every thing I've got. I truly do. Maybe that's why I've heard people say, they feel like they know the people in my images... because even if I don't, I feel like I do. So I was working, bending my mind, my heart to create wedding images for Tiffany and Braden... pre-ceremony, I was photographing her through her veil, her shoes, the makeup, the dress... I was scurrying over to catch the fellas, Braden waiting patiently, admittedly, finally "a little" nervous... I was working, going through the motions... It wasn't until the ceremony when I watched Tiffany walking down the isle with her dad and mom, welling up with a few 'almost' tears... that I realized... I know her. That is Tiffany. The same girl, I wrote notes religiously back and forth with in high school, the same one that shaved her head for fun, the same one that knew my family, knew my history, knew me, just as much as I knew her. TIFFANY was walking down the isle! My senses tingled, and I became incredibly present. Increasingly so. It was a beautiful thing.

Here is how I saw their wedding day.