This was their outfit for their traditional Sikh ceremony in the morning.  So gorgeous, they look like they are on the set of a romantic bollywood movie.  It was totally worth the 20 mosquito bites I got!  I love the closeness and feeling of love in this photo, you can really tell they are best friends.  I also love how Elaine did Simran’s makeup, you actually don’t notice the makeup at all, but only her natural beauty.

For the reception in the evening, Elaine and Janet did an entirely different, but equally beautiful “old hollywood glam” look on Simran.  Joti has to take credit for his new look   Joti looks so proud to have this pretty new wife and Simran looks quite happy to have this handsome new husband!  I am sure they are still smiling now, relaxing and soaking in the hot Mexican sun! They missed out on all the rain we have been getting in Edmonton!

Their decor at the reception was…WOW!  This was just the entrance to the banquet hall, wait till you see the rest of the photos!  The venue was so simply elegant, yet jaw droppingly gorgeous, just like our newly married couple.  Congrats again! We are so happy for the both of you and wish you a lifetime of happiness together.

On to our regularly scheduled days of celebration!  There is still the engagement party, and also Simran’s turmeric ceremony, in addition to the wedding day festivities to come.  It was truly an amazing experience and we are so happy and thankful to Simran & Joti and their families for welcoming us and giving us the honor of capturing your amazing week.

She sat still for hours and hours but was surrounded by loving friends and family.

Her dedicated and loyal bridesmaid’s were all right there bringing her drinks, snacks, brushing her hair from her face.

You could really feel the joy and happiness that filled the room. Young and old were lining up to get henna.

Simran makes an absolutely stunning bride!

From her amazing, welcoming and kind parents.  A father who turns a garage into a beautiful venue for his first daughters wedding.  Amazing, fun and supportive bridesmaids.  Thanks for letting us be a part of your big day!

Three more days of fun!

Here is Joti’s sister is creating the colored rice decoration.

Joti getting rubbed with turmeric and being fed sweet rice by his mom.

I love this photo, from the way Joti’s mom is holding Joti’s face in her hands, to Joti’s cute expression, it’s a great moment that I’m glad I caught on camera!  Thank goodness for fast glass and a camera that can take photos at 5 fps!

Everyone got a turn to rub in the paste…now I understand why Joti wanted to have this ceremony done at his house.  So he could shower afterwards! Joti has such a nice sister, she made sure nobody put any on his face!  His cousins got his pretty good though!

Joti’s kind and beautiful mom and sister who were so hospitable and welcoming to us.

After the ceremony, we headed out to the Edmonton Meridian Banquet Hall for some food and dancing!  Here is a special dance where the women took turns dancing with this decorated drum.

The guys joined in after a while and it looked like everyone was having so much fun!  Simran & Joti’s families really know how to PARTAY!  Even the little one had the best moves!

Her something new.  Her something blue.

Getting into her dress took the help and guidance of all the bridesmaids.

Relieved to have the gown on and veil still intact.

Her something old.  Eva’s bracelet has been passed down in her mother’s family for over 200 years.

The most adorable flower girl.  So polite she even covers her mouth when she yawns!

Excited to be married!  After the ceremony, we stayed at the Winspear for some portraits.

We also went outside to take advantage of the beautiful day.

This romantic photo shows off their personality…

Personalized M&M’s!

Some of the special details.

Eva & Tyler had a kissing game where guest have to roll this giant dice (or is it die?) and somebody has to kiss.  It could be the bride&groom, the brides’s parents, groom’s parents, random guests etc. Well, the flower girl threw the dice two times and both times it landed on the groom’s parent’s (her grandparents).  It was quite funny and really cute!

Getting off the garter belt…I don’t know how Eva hid all those signs under her dress!

One reason why we kept them in the past is because we know how photos can just sit and sit on your computer and never get printed.  We also wanted to encourage our clients to get professional prints/albums/products from us because the color and quality isn’t even comparable to the stuff that regular consumers have access to. We will still encourage you to take a look at our samples and see the cool products we have found (that are only available to professional photographers!)

Keeping the files left a knot in our stomachs, and made us feel bad, so we thought, hey! Why are we doing this? This is why we started this business, to do what WE wanted to do, not to follow what the “norm” is.  We want to keep this business fun for us, and if it isn’t fun anymore, we should change what we are doing.

Yes, that makes us happy!  We hope you are too!

Have a great Friday!

Baby and his dog.  Kids really have a special relationship with their first pet.  My daughter loves our dog Emma and is the first thing she looks for when she gets up.  If she is grumpy or sad, Emma can always cheer her up. I’m sure Zachary will feel the same way about Bailey as he gets older.

Babies at this age are so curious!  The world is so new and amazing to them, a flower or even a carrot is so interesting.

It was also so HOT outside, we had to go into the studio for some pics and to cool off.

Much better being inside with air conditioning and no clothes on!

I’m glad we waited all day to get some more photos outside.  I love golden evening light, and another plus was it wasn’t scorching hot outside anymore!

They had their wedding outdoors at the beautiful Devonian Botanical Gardens.  It had been raining quite heavily for the past few days, but on the day of their wedding, the skies cleared and they had amazing weather for their wedding.

Elaine headed to the ceremony early to catch these shots of the ceremony while I was with the girls getting photos of them getting ready, and Irene was with the guys getting their “getting ready” shots.

Christopher has an amazingly talented family.  His brothers and sisters formed the string trio that played the processional accompanied by his father on guitar.  Amazing considering they were also part of the bridal party!

Irene had to go and hide in the bushes for this shot, and I love it.  It really showcases the whole wedding party perfectly.

Hearing the vows are one of my favorite parts of a wedding and sometimes I have to remind myself to keep taking photos! The emotion, love and eloquent words of devotion and promise are just so touching and take me back to my own wedding where I could barely say my own vows, and good thing my husband, like Chris, came to the rescue with tissues at the ready.

The gardens had so many beautiful places to take photos and here we stopped by a gazebo for a little rest.  One of my favorites!

Daisy and all her lovely bridesmaids.

Loved her bouquet, simple yet stunning, just like Daisy.

The guys did an impromptu song and dance, straight from a broadway show.  It was really amazing, I would have imagined they must have practiced it but they are all so talented they probably didn’t and just did it on the fly.

They had their reception at the Faculty Club at the University of Alberta.  It is a special place to them, it is where they went on their first date, got engaged and now where they had their wedding reception! I fully expect them to have their first baby’s party there as well  

Here are Chris’s talented siblings again performing Ave Maria.  Chris’s youngest sister has a beautiful voice.

Their kisses got more and more elaborate as the night went on, the maid of honor’s reaction is priceless.

This is a truly “I love you” look straight into each other’s souls.

Congrats Chris and Daisy! We had such a great time hanging out with you on your special day.

This is a sneak peek at Matt and Kathryn’s beautiful wedding this past weekend.  I will post more after the bride and groom see them first!

Details, Cake and Favors

Young and old hitting the dance floor!

The most perfect and romantic first dance.

Such a sweet tender moment, I love it when people forget we are there taking photos and just “enjoy the moment” with their loved ones.

Yes, she is 8 months pregnant and wearing heels!

Pregnancy really agrees with Jess, don’t be fooled by this soft beautiful face, she is a tough cookie and amazingly hardworking.  Just this last weekend, she hosted and organized a baby shower for a friend including making all the food and preparing and the decorations/games etc.  She is also planning to work until the baby comes!

I love the emotion in these photos that Elaine got.

If you follow our blog, you may remember the “ice cream” session we had…well, Jess loved that idea and we raided our cupboards for some snacks.  We also didn’t have to go out and purchase any of these chips for these photos…is it obvious we love junk food ?!? :p

Daisy had THREE pairs of shoes for her wedding day.

The delicate and sparkly edging on her veil.

So beautiful even before she is all dolled up.  

The bride and all her best gals.