Estates of Sunnybrook Wedding | Claire + Chris

This's a beautiful Korean wedding lunch reception at the Estates of Sunnybrook I had the pleasure to shoot by the side of Steven at Glisten Photography. Sunnybrook Estates was quite a popular wedding venue for young couples. It had multiple rooms for weddings of different sizes. Yet Sunnybrook's more than a regular banquet hall. The three main areas at Sunnybrook, Vaughan Estate, The Couch House and McLean House, each was a separate building on its own and hence had their private space. Each house had their own characteristics. Sunnybrook also had more than one well maintained gardens for outdoor ceremony. It's a gorgeous space for summer weddings and fall weddings. Claire and Chris's intimate Korean wedding took place at the smaller McLean House. It's a simple ceremony followed by a laid-back lunch reception. I felt that Claire and Chris had picked a wedding venue and planned a day that's perfect for them. The wedding's casual and sweet. It's a minimalistic celebration with close friends and families. I really enjoyed documenting a day like this.

xx, Ally

Berkeley Church Wedding | Emily + Antonio

To see a more recent Berkeley Church Wedding, click here.

Emily and Antonio's wedding was my first wedding at Berkeyley Church. When they first reached out to me, they shared their excitement for securing this venue. During my first venue visit, I immediately fell in love with this unique wedding venue just like Emily and Antonio did. Berkeley Church was a historic building at the heart of downtown Toronto. It looked like a regular church on the outside at a quiet street corner. Admittedly, I almost missed it as I was driving by. The inside of it was full of characteristics. The interior was well maintained from 1871 when it's first built. Aged brick walls. High ceilings. Classical mezzanine with 17-feet high stained glass windows. Cozy, intimate basement. What a perfect alternative wedding venue for tasteful couples who were looking for something different. Coincidentally, before I published this Berkeley Church wedding of Emily and Antonio's, I booked two other weddings at this downtown Toronto venue. The other thing that made this day complete was that Emily and Antonio were actually a quiet couple with beautiful souls and a strong bond. I felt that this venue that's so ordinary on the outside and extraordinary on the inside was a perfect fit for the occasion. The entire day felt very personalized. It's not a wedding to show. It's not a night to entertain. It's lots of quiet moments and memory to keep. Emily and Antonio also made great choices in wedding vendors. I loved everything from their cool wedding DJ to Emily's bouquet from Toronto florist Bontany to her dress from Vancouver bridal dressmaker Truvelle to Antonio's suit by local menswear brand Noir Label. They consciously chose the greatest local wedding vendors that again reflected their values and subtle personalities.

I secretly look forward to cross paths with these two beautiful souls at another happy occasion soon and wish them the best of the best.

lots of love,

Ally

Wedding Vendors:

DJ: Dialed-in-DJs | Florist: Botany Floral Studio | Make-up and Hair: Rhia Amio | Wedding Dress: Truvelle |  Groom's Suit: Noir Label | Bridesmaids' Dresses: David's Bridal | Wedding Guitarist:  Jake Dudas | Officiant: Rev. Ray Cross | Venue: '1871' Berkeley Church Event Venue 

As featured on Berkeley Events Blog. 

Caffino Ristorante Wedding | Alysha + Malcolm

"Ally shot our engagement and our wedding. She did an amazing job. Her photography skills are excellent and she had a good eye for detail. She was approachable and very easy to work with."

Thank you Alysha and Malcolm for leaving me such a sweet review on Google

Alysha and Malcolm are two loving souls. They are both registered nurses. When I first met these two they were a bit quiet and very sweet. As we get to know each other more, they appear to be two adventurous and down-to-earth young professionals. They chose a trip to Thailand for their honeymoon and had a lot of fun backpacking. I always adore backpackers as I'm a backpacker myself. I also find Alysha and Malcolm very charming with their professions, life experiences and personal values. In fact, these two almost eloped! It's a lot of fun photographing their wedding. Alysha and her bridesmaids had their getting ready at a cool Airbnb house in downtown Toronto. I had a few brides getting ready at Airbnb. I find that an amazing idea to have an unique space as well as to support local Toronto businesses/ residents. Then of course they picked one of the coolest small wedding venue in Toronto. Located in the heart of downtown Toronto, Caffino is a charming ex-factory space on King West, in Liberty Village. Caffino Ristorante is a cool Italian eatery with eclectic decor and rustic, urban interior design and industrial looking exterior - lots of bricks, concretes. It's a unique wedding venue for intimate wedding and for urban couples. It's a perfect fit for Alysha and Malcolm. The day was also a "when traditional meet modern" kind of wedding day when the traditional wedding ceremony and Alysha's family in those absolutely beautiful, colourful indian wedding guest outfits. Just when I thought the day was good enough, Alysha and Malcolm's guests turned out to be great dancers on the wedding dance floor, the outdoor dance floor where Alysha and Malcolm did their romantic first dance in sparklers.

Alysha, Malcolm, thank you so so much for having me on this cool, sweet, fun wedding day!

Lots of love,

Ally

Click here to see their engagement on Toronto Island. 

Toronto Island Engagement | Maha + Salman

Engagement session's not only a perfect excuse for a soon-to-be-married couple to get some lifestyle photos to document their dating slash engagement life but also a great opportunity for a wedding photographer and the couple to get to know each other before the wedding day. Speaking of which, Maha and Salman offered me rum and coke before the their engagement session started. I thought that told us something about this professionally successful yet fun couple. Maha and Salman were both strong-minded and driven. They had been dating for about a year before they're engaged and were very passionate for each other. We spent a fun afternoon on Toronto Islands and took most of the engagement photos on Centre Island. Sometimes I felt being an engagement photographer can be quite different from being a wedding photographer. An engagement's more like an elopement. While going into a wedding day, a wedding photographer got to meet and greet and photography not only the bride and groom but their wedding party and friends and families, an engagement photographer spent an intimate time with just the couple. While on a wedding day, a wedding photographer observed and documented moments and emotions, an engagement photographer although didn't necessarily create those moments and emotions, I had to facilitate and intuitively capture the fleeting moments and genuine emotions. We posed too and we tried to make those posed pictures look effortless. I've been to different parts of Toronto Islands for various occasions - engagement sessions, wedding receptions, wedding ceremonies, personal leisure trips (click here to see a wedding ceremony I shot on Ward's Island and click here to see another quieter engagement session that felt quite different from Maha and Salman's) . It's a special location that's so close to the city (10 minutes ferry from downtown Toronto) yet felt so different. I've also been to the islands in different seasons. The islands looked unique in each. I must also admit that I have some special feelings for taking a ferry. There's something nostalgic and romantic about taking a ferry (or water taxi in this case for Maha and Salman's engagement lol). 

xx, Ally

Crescent School Intimate Wedding | Iva + Nermin

On this day, Iva and Nermin were surrounded by closest friends and family and celebrated their intimate wedding in a private school in Toronto. Crescent School was a hidden germ in the city for small weddings. It's located conveniently on Bayview at a private, beautiful spot. There's a high ceiling space for indoor reception and a gorgeous garden for outdoor ceremony and a little patio for outdoor dance floor. Moreover, it had great architectures for photos. It's all in all a unique all-in-one wedding venue. Iva and Nermin set up their own wedding in the morning and received their guests with a big smile in the afternoon as the ceremony's about to start. Iva and Nermin's down-to-earth vibe was contagious. After a quick and easy ceremony and taking some wedding portraits around the school, Iva quickly changed into a casual evening dress. Iva and Nermin skipped the grand entrance and quietly walked into the reception and mingled with friends. Iva and Nermin made funny faces during first dance and called this ritual cheesy. "We are not cheesy people" Iva commented. Together, they made their wedding a big party with lots of laughters and minimal rituals. It's a personalized, alternative wedding that focused on having a fun time with friends and family.

xoxo,
Ally