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i am blessed.
i just wanted to let you know, that i am a blessed woman. i am blessed with a wonderful family, an extraordinary hubby, and a career that brings more pleasure to my life than i could ever have imagined possible.
now that i have that public announcement out of the way, i will get on to chronicling about the fantabulous (that's my new favourite, made-up word of the day) wedding that i had the honour of photographing this past weekend.
about 6 weeks ago, i was contacted by Kalyna, who needed to find a wedding photographer ASAP, since her already booked photographer, had to go to Tanzania on a job with World Vision. i was tickled that i was free on the day of her wedding, so we spoke over the phone about the details, and i was excited when i heard that her and Fraser were having a traditional Ukranian wedding service.
how wonderfully unique.
i also realized that Kalyna was super sweet, and i couldn't wait to meet her in person.
this past Saturday, i picked up my awesome 2nd shooter, Julie Rhodes, and we made the trek to Terra Cotta Ontario (near Caledon) which is just a few kilometres from Brampton & Georgetown. it was a bit of a hike ( almost 4 hours) from Windsor/Kingsville, but it was definitely worth the drive.
when we arrived at the bride's house, we realized that this was going to be a special event.
there was so much love in that house!!!!!
Kalyna was easy going and fun to work with, and Fraser was also fun and easy going, so we had a blast with these two!
oh, and the service and reception were held at the most unique church i've ever seen! it's a Ukranian Catholic Church, just outside of Brampton and it looks like it belongs in Europe somewhere. Julie and I squealed when we started up the driveway to the church, since we knew right then and there that it was going to be a lot of fun!
here are a few photos from our fantabulous day.
thanks to Kalyna, Fraser and their wonderful families, for making my job super easy.
service & reception were held at : St.Elias Church, Brampton Ontario
catering : Feast Your Eyes , Brampton Ontario
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kalyna & fraser { brampton/caledon/georgetown wedding photographer }
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there is nothing more wonderful than a love story. i'm a sucker for a good story anytime, but i just love getting goosebumps when i hear someone's story that's a bit more unusual.
michelle & jimmy have one of those stories.
a few weeks ago, i had the privilege of shooting this beautiful wedding with Arica Ingratta and we had such a great time! what a beautiful party :)
ok, on to the story....
i guess it was about 4 years ago, when Michelle & James met on a plane ride from Texas to Detroit (i didn't think you were supposed to have meaningful conversations with your plane buddies). after a couple of years of keeping in touch via email, this lovely couple started to date, which was no easy task because they lived across the Detroit River from each other.
not too long into their dating, Jimmy proposed and of course, Michelle accepted.
i was overwhelmed by the kindness of this couple, the ease at which i got along with their family, and the overwhelming feelings of love that i was constantly surrounded by on their wedding day.
i have also decided that getting married on a friday is the BEST idea EVER!
their reception was at the St.Clair Centre for the Arts in Windsor, and wow, can they throw a party.
nick:
Love your work. Keep up the good work. Keep working hard and growing. From a fellow b schooler. photosbynick.com/blog
(09.04.09)
alyson:
Michele - These have such a wonderful, warm, romantic feel. Love the staircase shot!
(09.04.09)
Christine Bentley:
What amazing pictures! I love reading your blog...full of great posts and stunning images! XXOO
(09.05.09)
Jules :
what a beautiful couple captured on such a wonderful day! their love shines through these images!
(09.06.09)
Listed below are links to blogs that reference this entry:
james & michelle { St.Clair Centre of the Arts - wedding }
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97
a few weeks ago, i had the honour of photographing Susan & Faisal's small, Pakinstan/Indian muslim wedding. i had never had the chance to be involved in a muslim wedding, so this was a wonderful and new experience for me.
i do have to admit that i felt badly that i didn't wear something that covered the tattoos on my legs, since the Imam was present. ooooooops!
Susan & Faisal's little ceremony, took place in the home of Faisal's mom, right in the heart of Windsor. there were only a handful of people present , but that didn't matter at all.
Faisal & Susan are in love and ready to face the challenges ahead as they begin their new life together.
i do have to say , that being a wedding photographer has to be the best job in the world! not only do i get to meet with the best people around, witness love first hand, and get to take photographs that document a special day, but i get to see all sorts of different types of weddings! in all honesty, i think that Indian weddings are SPECTACULAR!!! look at these colours!
oh, and i forgot to mention the Indian food. what's with those great flavours and awesome smells? i was forced to leave the wedding with a heaping plate of goodies, and of course i didn't complain one little bit :)
Listed below are links to blogs that reference this entry:
susan & faisal { Indian wedding photographer / Windsor Ontario }
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96
every year, for the last 9 years, we have packed up our little family and taken the 16 hour drive from Windsor Ontario, to the Outer Banks, NC.
the house that we rent, is right near Frisco, which is a stones throw from Hatteras Village and the end of Hatteras Island.
it's an idyllic place, filled with wonderful memories for us.
as creatures of habit, we rent the same house every year, and we look at the same sunset, the same view, and lay on the exact same beach over and over again. why would we change things up when everything is perfect every time. sometimes i like change, but sometimes i just like to know that what i'm getting is awesome!
this year, the vacation was even sweeter than normal. not only did we not get to go on our 10 day camping trip to Tobermory, but i have been working 60 hours a week since January, trying to get my business up and running. i was burnt out.
seriously.
i have been photographing weddings, processing weddings, dreaming about weddings, having an aneurism while trying to figure out Lightroom and Photoshop's little inner workings and tricks, and it was time for a break.
wedding photography took a back seat to wave riding, sunbathing, eating junk food, laughing and playing games with my kids, and just staring out into the ocean and looking for dolphins.
it was heavenly.
the only downside to this awesome trip, was that our scuba diving charter got cancelled due to engine problems. i was pretty devastated, because supposedly there were quite a few sharks on the wrecks this year. it was also quite a hit, because we haven't done any diving this year at all, which is pretty sad indeed.
i did come back to a truckload of work, but the 10 day holiday at the beach did my brain some good, and i have a KILLER tan as well!
aren't my kids cute?
Listed below are links to blogs that reference this entry:
our beach adventures~ from Windsor to Hatteras 2009
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first off, i want to welcome you to my new blog!
this is the first official post in my new home, and i hope you like the new set-up.
there are a few bugs that need to be ironed out, but so far so good. actually, i have been pulling my hair out while figuring out a few things, but i'm on the right track and hopefully everything will be up an running properly, very shortly.
for my first official post in my new blog-home, i wanted to post a few photos from today's photoshoot in Toronto.
sarah and tyler are a young couple from the Windsor area, and they have been living in Toronto all summer. they asked if id be willing to come to Toronto to photograph them for their first anniversary. of course i obliged, because they are awesome and i've never officially photographed anyone in the big T.O yet!
i am from there originally, but i've only ever been a photographer here in the Windsor area.
sarah & tyler were one of the first couples that i photographed last fall, when i decided to pursue photography as a career. i was offering a bunch of free photo-sessions to build my portfolio, and they jumped at the chance. we had a blast!
i'm so very happy that they are still in love and are celebrating their first anniversary this month.
for our first location, we headed to the Brickworks , and for our second location, we travelled quite a ways through construction, to the abandoned Kodak building.
i just want to say that we nearly died from heat exhaustion, and we came close to having a run in with a vagrant that had taken up residence in the abandoned Kodak building! sarah had crawled through a window (and i was going to follow) when she heard someone yelling and some footsteps, and we quickly decided to stay outside for the rest of the time! LOL!
man, it was steamy and HOT today!
Listed below are links to blogs that reference this entry:
sarah & tyler { toronto wedding photographer }
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Great set! We found you on another blog and wanted to drop by and say hi! Let us know if we can ever do anything for you!
(09.08.09)simply beautiful and perfectly gorgeous!
(09.08.09)Michele, I am so in awe every time you post photos. You are so very talented and your are a phenomenal person to boot. I am so privileged to have you in my life. xoxoxox
(09.09.09)The details of the wedding are absolutely fabulous! It all looks so earth friendly! Beautifully captured!
(09.12.09)Nice work! I love the tones in your shots the "just married" shot is my favourite
(09.12.09)