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Congrats to Angela and Justin, who were married in Airdrie, just north of Calgary.

We started our day at Angela’s parent’s place for the lacing up of her dress and some quick portraits in their garden, before heading over to the wedding ceremony at St. Paul’s Catholic Church. It was really touching to see Angela’s dad getting choked up as he walked her down the aisle and Justin biting his lip.

After the ceremony we were able to just walk a few meters for the portraits in Nose Hill Park. It was a beautiful, sunny day. But it was hot! It was really baking and I really felt for the guys in their suits in the sun. But everyone had an awesome attitude about the heat and they were prepared, with a cooler of cold drinks to keep them going. The whole wedding party were a real blast during the photos, with such a willingness to do whatever it took to get great photos. They even brought along softball gear, because they play it together. That was a first for us to see at a wedding and it made for some fun photos.

After the portrait time we went to their reception, which was at the Airdrie Town and Country Centre. They had decorated with a tropical theme—since they didn’t go to Hawaii for their wedding they brought a slice of it to their wedding. It was refreshing to see cool colours, like blues, in a summer wedding, instead of the warmer summer colours. And their cake was awesome! Whoever made it did a fabulous job. The shells and flowers looked so lifelike it was hard to believe they were made of sugar!

We finished our day with some photos outside as the full moon rose over the city and then back inside for the bouquet and garter tosses.

Oh, and in the slideshow you’ll see a boy, about fourteen years old or so, with a camera. That kid was so confident! He was schmoozing with the bridesmaids and getting right in there at the reception to fearlessly catch the best photos. He even came up to me to give me advice! Lol! I don’t know if he will stick to photography as he grows up, but I am sure that whatever he does he will be good at it. That kid will rule the world.

Ok, that was a long blog post title! For those of you who don’t know what the ISPWP is, it is an incredible organisation dedicated to finding the very best wedding photographers in the world and holding competitions between them every quarter-year. I have always been honoured to be a member and to have placed in each of the competitions I’ve entered so far, coming in the top 20 wedding studios in the world each time.

Here are the images that placed for me this time round (in chronological order):

Congrats to Mike and Sarah! From the time I arrived and saw the note to Mike on Sarah’s door I knew that this wedding was going to be full of their personalities, and as you look through the photos below you’ll see lots of images of them laughing or tearing up. As you’ll see, Sarah had trouble keeping a straight face most of the time; if she wasn’t smiling she was laughing. Oh, and I loved the vibrant colour of her room, too! There were a few minor getting-ready emergencies involving wet bridesmaid sashes and having to repair the wedding dress, but we soon headed off to the Galt Museum for a moving wedding ceremony.

After their ceremony we did most of the portrait around the coulees near to the Galt and at the river bottom. Sarah and Mike were great to hang out with—really easy-going and obviously very happy to just be with each other.

At their wedding reception at the Grandstand, there were more touching moments as the speeches started, as well as some really funny lines from Mike’s brothers. And Mike and Sarah cut their wedding cake with a real sword! It’s an heirloom sabre that has been in Mike’s family and is rumoured to be haunted. As soon as I knew it would be there I had to get a photo of it. Sarah had also organised a cake for Mike, decorated with the Transformers logo. That was cool.

We finished our day with some more portraits taken downstairs below the Grandstand. I like the bright colours of the walls. I think the bright colours suit Mike and Sarah’s personalities.

Robert and Raquel were a really fun and easy-going couple to photograph and I enjoyed the time we spent for their engagement session at Okotoks, around the big rock and a stream in town. I am looking forward to seeing them soon for their wedding!

Thanks to Megan and Evan for braving the wet weather for their engagement session at Elbow Falls in the Kananaskis. The rain wasn’t too bad, really, and it gave the greenery a great colour boost for their photos. Evan and Megan were a very easy couple to photograph—they were obviously in love and had a great sense of humour, too. I look forward to seeing you guys at your wedding next year!

What’s better than coming first in a contest filled with amazing photography from talented photographers and judged by experts in the field? Coming first and third!

Trent Ernst, who writes for the DWF blog had some very kind things to say about my wedding day portrait photography over on their blog. For those not familiar with the Digital Wedding Forum, it is the largest resource for wedding and portrait photographers anywhere, as far as I can find—both online and in comparison with any other learning source. This is the fourth time I’ve popped up on the DWF blog and it’s a true honour each time.

Past articles can be found here, here, and here.

Mike and Elva had a relaxed and happy wedding day at Waterton, with their ceremony being held right on the lake. You know, I’ve been in some pretty fancy venues around the country, but it’s hard to beat such a beautiful natural setting.

As Jessica and I got to Waterton early that morning, it was damp and overcast, with mist greying out the landscape and hanging over the lake. But right before the ceremony the sun popped out, which was just as well for when we jumped in the lake later that day.

After a short but heartfelt ceremony with emotions really coming out during the vows, we did a mini tour of Waterton for their portraits, going to the historic Prince of Wales Hotel, Cameron Falls, and a few other places—it’s hard to find a non-photogenic spot in the Rockies.

Elva had asked to do a trash the dress session when she booked us and she was bold enough to do it right on the wedding day—and before their reception! I saved those photos until the very end of the portrait time, because I knew the water would be cold. And oh, my goodness, it was cold. It comes from glaciers, so what should I expect, I guess. Elva waded right in! She handled the cold amazingly.

Because we had planned all of this ahead of time, we all had changes of clothes for the reception and I had brought towels, too. Except, I had forgotten to let Jessica know. She was soaking up to her neck in glacier-melt and had nothing to change into. Thankfully, there was a store open selling outdoor clothing, so I bought her a dress from there to wear for the rest of the day. (Who wears a dress to go hiking or camping, anyway?)

Their reception was back at the Bayshore Inn in a very relaxed atmosphere. There were no speeches, just dinner with their friends and family, following by cutting the wedding cake.

Thanks for having us, guys.

I had a great time photographing Jamie and Elizabeth’s engagement session in Lethbridge a few months ago—these guys have such a fun sense of humour and were really easy to work with—and their wedding day was everything I expected it would be. And since their engagement session had a rainbow it was only right that their wedding should have a unicorn. No, really.

Their wedding day was filled with their personal, quirky touches—I love weddings where you can look around the reception room and get a good idea of the couple and their personalities just from the decorations. You’ll see what I mean from some of the wedding detail photos below, though you can also get a sense of how genuine and fun they are just from their portraits. Actually, speaking of decorations and details, Elizabeth made all the little origami birds and hanging crystal bead thingies herself. I just posted some close-ups, but the room had them everywhere—so cool!

Jessica and I started our day with Elizabeth at the Lethbridge Lodge before we all headed down to the park just outside of the Nikka Yuko Japanese Gardens for their wedding ceremony. After their ceremony we headed off to various locations around Lethbridge for their portraits.

At one point I was talking to Jamie about him doing a fun photo between the grain silos and he was thinking about it when Elizabeth kicked off her shoes and climbed up between them. Apparently she used to do this kinda thing as a kid all the time. She even emailed me after the wedding to show me an old scanned photo of her as a young girl wedged off the ground halfway up a doorway. Lol!

Their reception was at the newly-renovated and renamed Coast Hotel, which in the same building as the new Firestone Restaurant. There were so many great moments from their reception—lots of laughter and tears.

Thanks for having us, guys! See you again soon, when your photos are finished!

We have been accepted as members of the Best of Wedding Photography association. The Best of Wedding Photography board includes world-renown photographers David Beckstead, Ben Chrisman, Matt Adcock & Sol Tamargo (Del Sol Photography), Glen Johnson, Anna Kuperberg, Crash Taylor, and David Ziser.

From the Best of Wedding Photography site:

A few times each year, our editorial staff submits a list of outstanding photographers to the BOWP Review Board, who then vote separately on whom to invite . . . We are the premier invitation-only association for the world’s top wedding photographers. Best of Wedding Photography employs a unique system of peer-review to ensure that membership standards remain uncommonly high. We look for photographers who are leaders in the field – both in terms of the quality and style of imagery they produce and their level of success and recognition by brides, fellow photographers, and others in the wedding industry.

Best of Wedding Photography has capped their membership at only 350 of the best photographers in the world, so Jessica and I are really happy to have been accepted.