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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.

I’m pleased to tell you that I recently had eight of my images place in the International Society of Professional Wedding Photographers summer contest, giving me an over-all placing of 15th in the world. This is truly an international contest: out of the twenty place-getters, there are ten different countries represented! It’s great to see such a cool diversity and world-wide representation. I am honoured to have placed in among such skilled and talented photographers.

Although this is the summer contest, the deadline for submissions was earlier in the year when wedding “season” up here had only just started, so I am really happy to have done so well. I placed in these categories: Wedding Ceremony, Wedding Reception, Emotional Impact, Bride Portrait, Bridal Party Portrait, Engagement Portrait, Pure Art.

Here are my placing images:

Stephanie and Kyle are a great couple whose engagement session I photographed last winter in the Kananaskis (in a blizzard—but that’s another story). After their engagement session I was really looking forward to their wedding—and not just because it was in summer.

We started the day with Kyle and his groomsmen out on Taber golf course as they played a quick round before coming back to Stephanie’s parent’s house to get ready. Well, to eat burgers and kick around a soccer ball. Same thing, really. Kyle is such an incredibly easy-going guy and the whole time I was with the guys there was a great laid-back feel with no pre-wedding jitteriness.

The property where Stephanie got ready, and where the wedding reception and ceremony were held on, was amazing—equal parts farm and mansion. I could have spent a day just photographing all the cool architectural details and the decor. When Stephanie was putting her dress on, Lindsey from Once Upon a Bride in Lethbridge had a tip for getting the dress on without messing her hair: a plastic bag over her head! It sounded funny to me at the time, but it works really well and was a clever idea.

The ceremony was held outside in a cobblestone courtyard and I have so many photos of people wiping their tears!

After the ceremony we stayed on the property for all the photos. It was a very diverse place, with a vineyard, some cool old stone constructions, and my favourite thing: a bouncing castle for the kids. As soon as I saw the bouncing castle I knew I had to get the wedding party in there. Fortunately, they were a super-fun bunch and felt the same way. It was so much fun in there! At first everyone was just kind of standing around looking at the camera, but I encouraged them to really go for it—which was interesting for my assistant Jessica, who weighs about 20 pounds and got thrown around like crazy—lol! We actually tipped it over at one point when everyone was on one side. Good times. Every wedding should have a bouncing castle.

After the fun reception guessing games and speeches, awesome Lethbridge band Hippodrome got everyone moving out on the grass of the reception area. I’ve seen Hippodrome perform at a couple of weddings this year and they really make the place come alive. It’s not just excellent music, but also a great feel that only a good, experienced live band can bring to an event.

And, best of all, there were no blizzards; just beautiful weather all day and night.

Congrats to Samson and Donna who were married recently in Calgary! I photographed their engagement session last winter and had been looking forward to their wedding—I knew that it would be a fun day.

Their ceremony was held at Mount Calvary Lutheran Church and after the family photos we took the wedding party to a couple of nearby parks for their wedding party and couple portraits. This was an action-packed wedding, yet Samson and Donna were relaxed and happy all day, which is a big testament to their easy-going personalities.

Donna and Samson both wore a variety of amazing outfits, from a beautiful white wedding gown—obviously, I’m just talking about Donna now—to traditional Indian and Vietnamese clothes, and then into a shorter white wedding dress for the dancing. Samson also wore traditional Indian clothes at their reception as well as a cool suit. There were so many personal touches during the day, but especially at their reception. For example, check out the cake! That’s so funny and so cool!

There were a lot of activities and events during the reception, including some very talented dancing by an Indian dancing team and then a couple who salsa danced. There were also some wedding reception games, such as the Shoe Game (photo below) and some wilder ones as well. I have some very incriminating photos from those other games.

Samson and Donna are great dancers and their first dance was a blur of twirls and dips around the dancefloor. Then the floor was opened up to everyone and it was packed with people of all ages out there having fun.

Here is a small sneak peek of the wedding photos.

I always say that wedding photography is all about the people and the wedding of Ryan and Milena is a perfect example of this. Their wedding was a very intimate one, with just family and close friends. As you look through the photos you’ll see the love everyone had for one another—almost every image has someone laughing or crying, or both at once.

Milena, her mom, and her bridesmaids got ready at the El Dorado Hotel and when we walked in that morning Milena’s face lit up with a huge smile—it’s great when brides are excited and not stressed about their wedding day!

Right before Milena’s dress went on we quickly hopped across the road to the Playa Del Sol Resort where Ryan and the guys were getting ready to get some photos of them. That’s where I took the cigar photo. I’m not a smoker, but I liked the ironic juxtaposition between the cigars and the nearby sign.

Their wedding ceremony and reception were both held at the Summerhill Winery, on a terrace overlooking Lake Okanagan in Kelowna. There are only two ceremony images below, but you can feel the emotions in them and we have photo after photo showing their love for each other.

After the ceremony we did the portraits in a cherry orchard and the winery. There are two photos from the portraits that I normally would not include on the blog. One is from the family portraits, where Milena is joking around with her parents. I’ve never put any family formals on the blog before, but I love the interaction between them. The other image is a “smiling at the camera” photo (the first photo in the cherry orchard), but I love it because Ryan has a huge grin and just looks so happy. I didn’t tell him to smile at the camera; it’s a genuine smile.

As Jessica and I were leaving they took the party outside and danced to traditional music from their home country, whirling and laughing on the patio as the full moon rose over the lake.

I am very pleased to tell you that the ISPWP has featured me in a member’s spotlight interview! The International Society of Professional Wedding Photographers is a photography group that I am definitely proud and honoured to be a member of. From their website:

The International Society of Professional Wedding Photographers (ISPWP) is a rarity among wedding photography organizations. Photographers cannot simply buy an ISPWP membership, they have to earn it . . . Our requirements are experience, talent, and professionalism. To be accepted, a photographer must have shot at least 50 weddings, submit their portfolio for review, agree to operate under the ISPWP Code of Conduct, and have an ISPWP Sponsor or four references. And THEN they have to be voted in by current members.

It’s a really cool organisation and I admire the stance that Joe Milton, the founder, has taken in being true to the high standards he started out with and not compromising. And now they’ve been kind enough to feature me as a guest interviewee. You can read about my thoughts on my style and some of my favourite tips for brides who are planning their weddings HERE.