Hart House Engagement | Shaarifa + Talha

Shaarifa was born and raised in London, U.K.. She and Talha met in Toronto. They're one of my many long distance couples. Shaarifa wanted an engagement location in Toronto that had a British flare, nineteenth century buildings that'd reminder her of British architectures. She had her eye on Hart House and University of Toronto's downtown campus during her regular visit in Toronto. These beautiful architectures brought her back to London U.K. where she chose to leave behind for her new page with Talha in Toronto. We had a sunrise engagement session at Hart House. The dusk colours made it looked like as it's romantic, cloudy day in London only with more stunning colours as the sun rose. For the entire time, Shaarifa and Talha couldn't stop smiling and chitchatting among themselves. Their approachable personalities and love for each other was evident in every engagement photo. The physical distance between them had only strengthened their relationship over the years. Now they're ready to move forward to live a married life together, I wish them a lot of happiness.

To Shaarifa, Toronto welcomes you.

xx, Ally

Gladstone Lower West Side NYE 2016 | Small Wedding Venue Toronto

The New Year Eve countdown at the Gladstone is an unique, must-go spot for those of you who're into fun themed parties with an artistic crowd. Everybody dressed as they're in the Roaring Twenties in the Lower West Side. The Gladstone Hotel itself is a historical 19th century Victorian building with lots of characters. This night, the unique venue is dressed up in vintage and classic designs. The fun, hipster crowd come in nostalgic yet trendy costumes. Don't think this is only for party animals in their early twenties. Some of the best dressed guests are in their 50s and 60s. Who says there's an age limit for being playful. This is the work hard, play hard crowd. The living life to its fullest crowd. I enjoy a lot making documentary, candid pictures at this amazing party with photojournalistic eyes. As I'm photographing the NYE party, I fall more in love with this intimate venue. It makes an unique small wedding venue in downtown Toronto. It's a one of a kind space in the core urban area. The artist-designed hotel rooms upstairs also make the perfect space for getting ready photos. I know that the Gladstone hosts intimate weddings and I have to yet to finally photograph a wedding here. Inside out, The Gladstone has a lot of potential for photography for a wedding day. Urban brides and hipster grooms or just any couple who are throwing an intimate wedding and are looking for a local, unique wedding venue should definitely take a look at the Gladstone. If you end up choosing this venue, I wish I will be there to document it. I promise to make the most out of your special day. xoxo.

Lots of love,

Ally 

The National Club Toronto Wedding | Anna + Dave, Part 1

"Dave and I clicked with Ally right from the beginning! She was very open to our vision and she went above and beyond and created the most beautiful photos for our engagement and wedding. Her photos are unique, mixing vintage nostalgia with an urban flair. We had our wedding downtown in a historical venue. Ally was able to combine our love for things traditional with our love for the city life! It was such a pleasure working with you. Your calm and understand nature kept us sane through one of the most craziest and exciting moments in our lives. Thank you again!!" 

Thank you Anna and Dave for leaving me such a sweet review on Google.

Anna and Dave attracted rains. Three months before their wedding day, we drove for an hour for our first attempt to shoot their engagement photos in a lavender farm in Hamilton. Right before we arrived the farm it started pouring. We ended up turning back and rescheduling the engagement session for a better day. It was another rainy day comes their wedding in September. Many cultures believe that rain on a wedding day is good luck. As a wedding photographer, I enjoyed the texture found in rainy day wedding photos. It's moody and subtle. We started the day at the National Club where both the girls' and the boys' getting ready took place. The National Club is a great wedding venue for its classy look. Anna said it's Greek wedding traditions for the bride to return home before the wedding ceremony. So I followed her and her bridesmaids to Anna's parents' home to document some tears and laughers before we headed to Islington United Church. Islington United Church is a beautiful church in Toronto for weddings ceremonies I must say. The rustic look added more warmth to the wedding ceremony and made it a true celebration. In part 2, I will finish writing up Anna and Dave's unique wedding day (EDIT: part 2 is up now and I ended up saving Anna and Dave's post wedding photo shoot for a different entry - stay tuned for part 3). In the next post (or maybe in part 3 now that I think of it, just so I can keep each post short and sweet), you'll find their after session (EDIT: part 3, Anna and Dave's post wedding photoshoot slash more wedding portraits are here now) for that Anna and Dave wanted outdoor wedding photos on a off-location that they didn't have the time to get to on their wedding day. It's actually a great idea as it took the stress out from getting all pictures done on the wedding day when the bride and groom should really focus on enjoying the celebration. A post-wedding photoshoot or pre-wedding photoshoot for that matter can be more fun than the wedding day portrait and a good excuse to wear the wedding gown again on a different occasion. More importantly, it's about doing something that works for your unique wedding instead of worrying about getting the wedding day routines done.

Lots of love,

Ally

Alternative Chinese Wedding Photographer | Jessica + Kelvin | Diamond Banquet Hall Toronto

Jessica and Kelvin's special day produced a combination of elegant, editorial wedding photography and cool, journalistic, candid wedding pictures. These two were fun to work with and amazingly easy to pose for those artistic wedding portraits. We had the traditional Chinese tea ceremony in the morning. Jessica had the Asian beauty that worked perfectly with the traditional Chinese wedding dress as well as her white wedding dress she later changed into for our bride and groom photo session at James Garden in Etobicoke. The two had an amazing family and really cool friends. Making documentary wedding pictures for the crowd couldn't be more fun. The reception at Diamond Banquet Hall in Richmond Hill ended up being a great night with lots of laughters and some happy tears. I was so excited for the chair game and love those awesome candid photos from the bride and groom and their cool guests. I really enjoyed making photographs for informal weddings but Jessica and Kelvin's wedding was a different kind of fun with a fusion of traditions and just enough craziness (yes, including guests throwing up at their tables). Congratulations again my beautiful bride and handsome groom. Thank you for having me on this great day and a fun night.