Originally from Vancouver, Brooke and Russ have been living in New Zealand for the past few years. We’ve been chatting with them for almost a year and a half as they planned their wedding from afar, and were super excited to finally meet when they flew to Vancouver in the days before the wedding!

I think one of the coolest things for them was that it really wasn’t just a wedding, but also a reunion - living on opposite ends of the globe it becomes a rare treat to spend time with closest friends and family.  They had a close knit group of people there to celebrate with them, and no one wasted any time in starting the party. What a blast!

Detail, details. Kudos to Paula at Aeyra Cakes for yet another gorgeous cake as well as the folks at ko-’ket design and Eleni Floral for their share of these details

The Ceremony - I love Brew Creek Lodge, it’s such a great venue and this is just one shot that shows how gorgeous it is

The Bride & Groom

This reception shot pretty much sums it up

And - the party! Oh, the dancing. I couldn’t pick just one…

CONGRATS again to you both! Hope you are well back in New Zealand, and that your Tahiti honeymoon was fabulous.

Thanks as well goes out to Jeanie for doing a stellar job second shooting!

Cheers!

Share This

So long for now, Cuba, this one’s a wrap!

Philip and Megan tied the knot at the end of May at the Royal Hideaway Ensenachos near Santa Clara, Cuba. They laughed, they partied, they got hitched. Their family and friends were a blast, and the wedding will be one to remember!

So many photos… it’s always hard to pick just a few to really sum it all up. This will be a little images heavy, but we couldn’t decide which we liked more!

First things first… touring the resort for the engagement session

The wedding day - the dress. Love this angle!

The Bride Megan looking serene

The ceremony on the beach was breathtaking. Simple, yet so gorgeous. I loved all the white cloth as it blew in the wind

The Bride and Groom

Two favs from the reception

And, of course, in Blue-Olive-Does-Cuba style, the trash the dress! Done early in the morning before everyone boarded a plane to go home, this will be one send off to remember!

CONGRATS, CONGRATS! So, next year, same time, same place you two?!  Talk about the perfect anniversary destination. We can’t wait for you to see the rest of the images, and hope life back in Calgary is treating you well. Props as well to Josh for donning the Blue Olive hat and second shooting in the land of sun and surf.

Cheers!

Share This

Two down one to go… Kat and Mark’s wedding was our second of three in Cuba!

Also at the Iberostar Varadero, Kat and Mark had the same location as Liz & Brad but that’s where the similarities ended. I love being able to highlight the unique personalities of everyone we photograph. These two and their crew were quite the crowd - so much energy! My favourite shots are definitely the group trashing session in the ocean - HOT!

Kat and Mark’s week started with a group tour to Havana with a few engagement shots captured along the way

The Wedding Day - The Aisle

The Newlyweds

The Guys and Gals

Shoes!

Reception

First Dance

And my favourite shots of all - the Trash the Dress session featuring the entire bridal party! Just look at those clouds… WOW

I know you guys are missing Cuba now that you’re back in Toronto, but hopefully this sneak peak takes ya back!

CONGRATS again, we’ll be in touch soon!!

Share This

Liz and Brad got hitched in Cuba!

The Iberostar Veradero was the resort of choice for these two earlier this month. I love destination weddings - whether local destinations or those far away - because there really is something magical about getting away for a vacation to celebrate with your closest family and friends. Everyone is so relaxed and has an amazing time, and it really really shows.

After having talked on the phone and via email with these two many times in the months coming up to the wedding, we were so excited to finally meet them. They are both so sweet and so obviously passionately in love! The photos speak for themselves, and this is only the very tip of so many gorgeous images.

Congrats guys!

Getting Ready

The Aisle!

Newlyweds

Liz

Into the Evening

Trashing the Dress

Again… wow. You guys rocked it. Hope all is well now that you’re back in Calgary, and we’ll be in touch soon!!

Share This

It’s true! We’re hitting the road with a whole month in Cuba - and we should be safely tucked into our room in Varadero by the time you’re reading this.

We’ll be back in the studio on June 3rd. Internet is spotty in the land of the mojito, we’ll be getting online as much as possible but our responses may be a little slower than usual. Don’t have too much fun without us!

For all of you brides and grooms planning your upcoming weddings, don’t despair.  We’ll be setting up consults for the beginning of June based on the order people inquire and will be able to confirm our availability from here. If you want to finalize your booking and don’t want to wait - no worries. We’ll send you the info and we can get it all done remotely.

OK! We can’t *WAIT* to share all the awesome images we’re going to have when we get home. Have a great month, and we’ll catch you on the flip side!

Share This

Wow.

You know, we go to a lot of weddings and we’ve seen countless different venues and types of celebrations. And sometimes, things really just click for us. This was one of those times.

We were married 7 years ago (as of last week! weu!) and I can absolutely say that if we were to do it all over again right now, this would be the exact way to do it.

Small, destination wedding. Not very far away though - Tofino/Ucleulet is so very close and yet feels like it’s worlds away. A big house to hold the wedding and reception as well as to provide accomodations for a sizeable group of friends and family. Beach and rocks and waves and trees. Amazing food served all night long. Mingling. Drinking. Gorgeous details and decor. And most importantly, an incredible group of family and friends to share it with.

The Dress and the View from the master bedroom

The rings on the pages of the Prophet - later to be used as the source of a ceremony reading

My favourite ceremony shot. Deanna hugging her father after they’ve walked down the aisle

Some of the amazing food, flowers, and other details

The Bride

The Groom

Together

The View

The Cake

Congratulations again to you both, from the bottom of our hearts. It was such an honour to be there to celebrate with you!

Kudos to Camilla at Crabapple Floral in Tofino who blows me away each time we do a wedding in Tofino or Ucleulet with her gorgeous work, and to our friends Albertine & Brina from Blue Skies and Daisies who did their magic with invites and website goodies here as well. It was great to see you both! Here’s one final shot of the Blue Skies clan!

Share This

Last weekend we travelled to the Sooke Harbour House on Vancouver Island for our 3rd destination event in a row! Rob & Jill travelled there with their close family and friends for their weekend away. What I love most about their choice in location is that it will be the perfect place to escape to for years to come for their anniversaries! The perfect retreat.

A few of our favourites so far - first, the flower girls!

Rob & Jill just after the kiss. I’m standing below them on the path, and Rob is looking out over the ocean. I can only imagine all of the wonderful things he is thinking of as they officially start their life together as husband and wife!

The Champagne Toast!

Portrait of the newlyweds

Walking along the path in front of the Harbour House

And - of course - just a few of the amazing dishes served up by the chefs for the evening dinner.

Share This

I just returned from a week in Seattle hanging out with some great photographers for the ANTI-workshop. We talked about business, played with some light, explored what it means to create art, and generally had a great time. And for me, it was just what I needed at this point in our season to get refreshed and recharged for all of the amazing weddings we have to come! I love getting away to see what other photographers who have been pushing the limits are up to, and to take time to shoot just for me.

As for the photo? I like to stretch outside of comfort zones on occasion to push myself to grow as an artist. Part of one assignment in Seattle was to take a shot that was risky, and thanks to a perfect setting and a willing-to-do-anything-for-art bride turned model, I snagged this shot. If it makes you look twice or makes you ask questions or even if it makes you angry, I accomplished what I set out to accomplish.

Share This

Keith and Julie chose Bodega Ridge Lodge on Galiano Island as their perfect wedding destination. Avid cyclists and kayakers, the island was close enough to home yet still felt a million miles away and provided plenty of opportunities for both sports.

Here are a few of our favourite shots so far!

The Dress

The Girls getting ready

The Guys before the ceremony (and the stark contrast between the two!)

The ring!

One of many heartfelt speaches

And finally, a candid shot of the newlyweds enjoying the sunshine that finally broke through the rain later that evening!

Thanks again to both of you for inviting us to celebrate with you!

Share This

I’ve spent the last week in Vegas with hundreds of amazing wedding photographers who travelled from around the world for the convention this year. It’s been a great week! So much inspiration and some great changes to come for us including some new products and some site tweaks. We can’t wait!

Earlier today 2 other photographers and I arranged the ultimate Vegas shoot - a trash the dress session at sunset in the desert. Here are a few of my favourite shots.

And yes, ladies, you too can look this hot!

Share This