Love Documentary at the Swan

I love bride and bride stories. For Bec and Jen's engagement session, we picked The Swan restaurant on Queen West, the two's neighbourhood since Bec moved in to Jen's apartment. The session was all about stories. We each ordered a coffee and started chatting. From work to how great of a life we have it in Toronto, from how the two met years ago to how Jen proposed to Bec and decided on a November wedding at the Distillery, the stories were full of passion and love. Jen used to be a professional musician and a solo singer. She's now in the entertainment business. Bec's in advertising. They're both closely related to the creative industry. Bec and Jen grew up in the same hometown and shared a close mutual friend. Although they've heard of each other through this mutual friend, they've never met in person until they moved to Toronto. I was told that the story about how they met will be modified in their speech at the wedding. So I might as well skip the detail on that. It's love at first sight for Jen. After they met, they soon became close friends. So close that they would meet up for morning coffee everyday before work. When the two looked back, they realized that they're already in love with each other during those morning hangouts. The rest was history. As the story was told, we're amazed at how pure the love between the two was. It's the kind of love that we would take our time to get to know each other and let the feeling lingered. Bec and Jen's story reminded me of a song, The Nearness of You, -

It's not the pale moon that excites me
That thrills and delights me
Oh no, it's just the nearness of you

It isn't your sweet conversation
That brings this sensation
Oh no, it's just the nearness of you

When you're in my arms
And I feel you so close to me
All my wildest dreams came true

I need no soft lights to enchant me
If you will only grant me
The right to hold you ever so tight
And to feel in the night
The nearness of you

Surprise Wedding at The Chase Fish and Oyster

This surprise wedding was the sequel to Sara and Kevin's city elopement in the previous post. The two now New Zealanders came  to Toronto for an elopement in the city where they used to call home. The elopement was followed by a surprise wedding with the immediate families at The Chase Fish and Oyster, an amazing seafood restaurant right at the centre of the city. Sara and Kevin met the families at Omni King Edward Hotel as planned only to surprise them with wedding attires. After some warm greetings, we departed the hotel and took on the Toronto streets for family photos. It was fun walking with 14 of them and stopping by whenever and wherever a photo opportunity presented itself. It was a short walk from Omni King Edward Hotel to The Chase Fish and Oyster. I only stayed until the families entered their private room at the restaurant and were greeted by the Mexican trio. The rest of the night was an intimate gathering surrounded by love.

xx,

Ally

Click to see Sara and Kevin's elopement in Toronto prior to their surprise wedding.

Elopement in Toronto City Hall Wedding Photography

This's an elopement wedding story in Toronto. Although it's not a popular elopement destination internationally, Toronto had its unique beauty and especially for couples who are originally from or met in Ontario, eloping in Toronto could be a great idea. Sara and Kevin were born and raised in different towns in Ontario, met in Toronto and moved to New Zealand for work and a different lifestyle. The two fell in love with the island nation where they now called home. But with their families back home and a Canadian root, they've decided to elope in Toronto when it's time to tie the knot. The elopement was followed by a surprise intimate wedding reception with immediate families. Sara found me on Instagram and hired me to be their elopement photographer and also capture part of their intimate wedding celebration. I couldn't be more thankful for technologies when it came to connecting my photography with the right couples. We only had a few hours together but we were able to accomplish so much. We explored downtown Toronto and had candid photos and wedding portrait done at and around Toronto City Hall. We chatted about life in Toronto and New Zealand.

Soon after we departed and the gallery's delivered, Sara left me a beautiful message:

"Thank you so much for spending time with us in Toronto and for sharing the pictures so quickly - we are so in love with them! The locations you chose are amazing and it's all credit to your quick thinking on your feet as we wandered around. We are so impressed with your work, and really appreciated your friendly and positive attitude, your relaxed approach on the day, and your kindness working with our family. So pleased to have found you and love the photos you have shared with us, we will treasure them!"

Thank you Sara for your kind words and appreciation. It's priceless for a photographer that their pictures made an small impact in people's life and were treasured.

xx,

Ally

Click to see Sara and Kevin's surprise wedding at The Chase Fish and Oyster restaurant after their elopement.

Top 5 Questions I've been asked as a Documentary Wedding Photographer

Documentary wedding photography sounds unfamiliar to most. Some brides and grooms have a difficult time differentiating a documentary wedding photographer's approach versus a non-documentary wedding photographer's. Some associate documentary wedding photography with un-posed, candid wedding photos and interpret it as the opposite to fine art and traditional. Personally, I don't find documentary wedding photography contradicted with fine art wedding photography nor traditional wedding photography. Rather, they can coexist. On the other hand, it's only partially right that a documentary wedding photographer takes un-posed and candid wedding photos. Documentary wedding photography is largely founded on a photographer's approach to documenting a wedding and the way we see weddings.

Here are the top 5 questions I've been asked the most as a documentary style wedding photographer:

1. What inspires a documentary wedding photographer?

Moments. I'm keen on capturing even the most mundane moments so much so that it became a habit. It became a way I interpret the world. There's a story behind every frozen moment. Each moment is unique and no real expression can be replicated. This makes a documentary photographer the perfect match for story-telling wedding photography especially for couples who treasure both the big and small moments.

2. So does a documentary wedding photographer put candid moments over posed photos?

The short answer is yes. A candid moment cannot wait while a posed photo can. In the example below, the little kids attracted my eyes as I'm posing my bride and groom for a portrait at Nathan Phillips Square. This set of photos documented an elopement in Toronto and a random candid moment can be a story in itself when the couple look back to their special day. After the first picture, we still have the opportunity to take a posed portrait as planned. It’s the little moments that connect the dots and give a story a life.

3. How does a documentary wedding photographer approach portraits?

I'm drawn to natural expressions and unique moments. When approaching wedding portraits and engagement photos, I try to initiate a moment and let it unfold itself. The result is capturing the couple in their zone. There's no one magic word to make every couple relaxed, behind the scene there's occasionally a cold joke, occasionally a long conversation and other times just intended silence.

4. What do black and white photos mean to a documentary wedding photographer?

We love black and white photos if you ask me. Monochromic image takes away distractions. My wedding photos tend to include a good portion of backgrounds and a black and white picture helps to either emphasize on subject of focus, or deemphasize the centre point of a photo and assist our eyes to move around the picture to read the story in and behind it. As Swiss photographer and documentary film maker Robert Frank famously said, "Black and white are the colours of photography".

5. What else is important in documentary wedding photography?

A sense of humour and appreciation for imperfections are important in my approach. I don't go to a wedding with a mental shot list but instead an open heart. I find this approach works the best for me. I often captured the least expected moments and again these moments give life to a story. It helps me to illustrate a personal story instead of producing a set of cookie-cutting wedding photos. My wedding photography intends to capture the intimate relationships that are unique to each bride and groom and their favourite people. On top of it all, a sense of humour never hurts.

Mildred's Temple Kitchen Wedding Proposal

This was a story about the secret proposal True had planned for Nassim. It was a romantic and successful one.

Nassim and True were in a long term relationship. "It took him that long," Nassim joked about True's proposal to her at Mildred's Temple Kitchen, a popular wedding venue in Toronto. Before their brunch was served, True bended down on his knees with a non diamond wedding ring that Nassim preferred over a traditional diamond engagement ring. It wasn't a coincident that Nassim also loves intimate restaurant weddings and Mildred couldn't be a better location for this proposal. I wish I could better describe her reactions and his when she said yes but I wouldn't want to ruin it with my limited words and would leave the proposal photos to do that part of the job. It's just beautiful to witness this. Nassim and True were absolute sweethearts. Nassim had the most natural and beautiful smile on her the entire time we're taking photos and True couldn't seem to take his eyes away from her.

I should've mentioned that Mildred gave Nassim and True a piece of nicely plated cheesecake for the special occasion and I found that very thoughtful of them. The cake also looked very yummy. If you happen to be struggling with a proposal idea or looking for a proposal location in Toronto, maybe the cheesecake in itself is a good reason to consider Mildred's Temple Kitchen.

Nassim and True, thank you for having me to document your proposal. I look forward to your wedding.

xx,

Ally