I goof off a little

Last weekend while photographer Gigi Hamlett was busy taking romance shots of Becky & Mike, I grabbed one of her back-up cameras and took a few photos myself. I do this every now and again. She usually just ends up yelling at me for not focusing or "bouncing" off the wrong wall. Bouncing is a fancy lighting term I still don't get. Her camera is too complicated. But still, its fun for about 10 minutes. Being a photographer is so much more difficult than it appears. Besides taking pictures for like 6-8 hours, nearly non-stop, then there is the editing process. HOURS and HOURS and HOURS editing photos at a computer. Nope. No way. You couldn't pay me enough.
Anyway, I received an email from Gigi this morning. Here is a photo I took of Denise and myself while Gigi was chasing Becky and her dog Sami down the beach for this cool shot. Denise has worked with me at almost all the weddings in the last year- she rocks. Denise also married one of our dearest friends, Kenny (I set them up!),last Christmas night at a surprise ceremony.
I love weddings.

ME! Session: Erin

Add a Betsey Johnson dress, some killer shoes, and a little rain to Erin's bubbly personality and you get one fabulous Me! Session!

Despite the clouds and rain, we had a blast photographing Erin and her friend Jamie (her Me! Session to be posted soon). Erin's graduating in just a few days and is all set to bring her energy & passion to her study of fashion - look out, Betsey! Here are some of our favourites from her session.

Dreamy...

Contemplative...

Sassy.

And beautiful.

I think this one is my favourite of the favourites!

Happy graduation, Erin!

Pimp Your Flips

This past weekend was Becky & Mike's wedding weekend. It was such a great time! Clint Wiley entertained both Friday and Saturday and let me just tell you- there were people who never left the dance floor. For all I know, they are still there waiting on another encore. You can check out the short video of little ringbearer Cole dancing to Banana Pancakes at the rehearsal dinner on Becky & Mike's wedding blog. Have I ever mentioned I love Jack Johnsons music?

Anyway, let me explain the photo here. I shoulda known something was up when Becky asked me for my shoe size and favorite color in my wardrobe (hot pink & black). She surprised me, and I think all the girls in the wedding party (moms too), with a pair of these customized Reefs. Her sister Kelly embellished each pair for all of us. Oh how they sparkled in the sand. Very cool. Yes, I'm still wearing mine. Kelly is considering taking limited orders for her Wedding Flips, if you're interested, send me an email.

Jasmine+Kenny=REAL WEDDINGS Cover Story!

Congrats to one of our September 06 couples Jasmine & Kenny! Their playful beach wedding is featured in the current issue of Real Weddings Magazine. And our photograph of their gorgeous cake, created by the fabulous Heather & Lori of Cupcakes, is the cover image.



Inside their 8-page spread, you can see that this amazing cake is the top layer of six layers of cupcakes! Jasmine had to climb up on a chair to slice it, and she did so with characteristic style: with a giant Chinese meat cleaver! These guys were so much fun to photograph - their energy and excitement made our job easy!

If you need some great ideas for your upcoming wedding, be sure to pick up this issue - Mike Alexander and his fabulous staff outdid themselves with this issue, their tenth (and biggest!) to date!

Happy Father's Day!

On father's day, a portrait of my dad, Steve. He just celebrated a whopper of a birthday, but you'd never guess his age. His nights out on the town ballroom dancing, boating adventures, and his endless construction projects around our house keep him young at heart. And if there are any ladies out there looking for a charming European gentleman who can make a mean goulash, he's single!



Thanks dad for giving me my first camera (a Canon AE-1)and building me a darkroom in the basement when I was a kid. Without your encouragement I never would have become a photographer, and that would have really sucked!

And a big fat happy fathers day to Lynn's dad also. Lionel's on a multi-day kayak adventure in the Broken Islands with my sister-in-law Laura (sorry we couldn't come, not-so-sorry we missed out on the past three days of rain-soaked paddling!) He's always been there for us too & we're so glad he and Lynn's mom Anne moved out west to BC. Without him, I wouldn't have Lynn .... and that would REALLY suck! You're up next for a portrait when we head over to the island for our next visit.

Happy Father's Day to both of you and lots of love.

Chris

European Destination Weddings

We have been quiet over the last few weeks because we have been in Europe investigating destination weddings there.

We will be posting more information about European destination weddings in the coming days.

I'm a friend of Martha's

I received a lovely email today that just made me happy. I've been extended the Martha Stewart Friends & Family discount! Well how about that? Best part- I get to share it with you. The discount is good through June 22nd and all you have to do is go to www.marthastewartcrafts.com and enter the code MSCFF107 at
checkout.
Oh, and if you haven't been to the Martha aisle at Michaels yet, you are seriously missing out. Very cool stuff. Give yourself an extra hour. They managed to fit an enormous amount of stuff in this one aisle!