As you will see when you look through the photos, this was a fun session. We met up at their favourite bubble tea place in Calgary to chat a bit before going out to do their photos. I am not a bubble tea kinda guy, but according to Susan and Krister, Bubble Mania is the place to go for it in Calgary. Just so you know. (I can tell you where the best organic coffee is, but that’s not really a part of this blog story).

Krister, in particular, is a big movie buff who has even got them both into major film festivals—the ones where even actors have to apply for a seat—and so we did something fun that was kind of associated with this interest of theirs. I couldn’t get a star-studded list of international actors in time for their engagement session, but an old TV set in a tunnel was just as good. It was even fairly clean.

We hit up a couple of parks around the north side of Calgary. Krister and Susan were great to work with! As we hiked up the side of a hill in one of the parks, getting further and further from the car, I asked them, “How do you guys feel about being blindfolded?” Not really a typical engagement session question, I suppose, so I understand the looks they gave me. But when I explained my idea they got into it really well and the end result was a real heightened connection between them. I have a whole series of images from this segment that show an amazingly loving connection between them. It was very cool.

I look forward to seeing them again on their wedding day.

We started the day at Julie’s parent’s house, taking photos of the dress and other details, before Julie arrived from the hair salon to get into her wedding dress. Julie was an absolutely stunning bride and her dress had beautiful and ornate decorative stitching throughout, which looked really cool.

Jake and Julie’s wedding was at the Sacred Heart Catholic church in downtown Calgary in a ceremony with smiles and happy tears. After the ceremony and family photos, we went to the high school where Julie and Jake first met, on the south side of Calgary, to start their portrait time and then we drove up to Inglewood to finish the portraits there.

The reception was held at Commonwealth Hall in the north east of Calgary and the decor for the reception was amazing. There was a huge tent set up in the main hall area with bright-coloured up-lights along the floor and a chandelier hanging from the centre of the tent. And check out the cake! That is such an amazingly stylish cake!

Julie and Jake had a game of tossing a big dice to see if they would kiss or whether some other fun event would take place. Each side had a different outcome, but it seemed to land on the kissing side quite a lot.

The reception was a really cool party, with belly dancers who performed and kicked off the dancing. I love it when everyone gets out on the dance floor! Before we left we did some more portraits, because it makes for a great way to wrap up the story of their day together. Here are (quite) a few of my favourites:

Jake and Julie are a great couple and so cool to work with. It would be hard to get a bad photo of them! They were so easy in front of the camera and just so relaxed with each other and in love. We hit a few locations in Calgary, starting with a car wrecking yard and then heading north to see what cool locations we could use in the city centre. We ended up at Stephen Ave, which is such a rich location for photography, especially when they have the lights up in winter. Plus, the pubs and restaurants have really nice ambiance for indoor photos.

We are looking forward to their wedding this year. Here are some of their engagement images.

Their wedding ceremony was held in the Banff Park Lodge’s Castle Room, with their reception and evening after-party at the Glacier Salon. Both rooms are very nice, with lots of polished wood in them and a decorative wall of molded glass showing a mountain landscape in the Glacier Salon.

Leanne had the biggest smile ever! She smiled so much, especially during their ceremony. Everyone else smiled too when she slipped up during her vows to her “awful wedded husband”. Poor Jordan. Lol! Jordan and Leanne had asked that I get photos of all of their guests as they entered the reception, so I set up a little area and quickly had them pose as they came through. I always get candid images of people laughing during speeches and that sort of thing as part of the day’s coverage anyway, but this makes sure that there is a professional photo of everyone who was there.

After lunch they had speeches and a slideshow, which alternatively had everyone laughing or wiping tears. Actually, I’m going to interrupt myself a bit and say how much I like weddings where the speeches are after the meal. That way all your guests are happy and relaxed and can pay full attention and you don’t end up with photos of them laughing with food in their mouths. As a matter of fact, although there was definitely a very relaxed and easy-going attitude at the wedding, I have to say that this was also one of the best-scheduled weddings I’ve been to. We never felt like we were rushed for time. From what I heard during the speeches, this was probably due to Jordan’s preternatural spreadsheeting abilities.

For our photo time we visited a few locations around Banff, capturing the gorgeous scenery of the mountains and the river. We also visited the Fairmont Banff Springs, which is an wonderfully elegant location for photography. I love it in there and it was a welcome break from the cold wind outside! After their photos we headed back to Melissa’s Missteak across from the Banff Park Lodge where the two met with their families for an intimate dinner before crossing the road to meet back up with the rest of their guests for the evening. We stayed to catch some candid photography of everyone having a great time there.

Congrats, guys! Here are a few of your images.

(P.S. Thanks to photographer Trent Ernst for assisting me again).

We started out with the guys over at the Lethbridge Lodge to get some photos of them getting ready and then I took some quick, casual portraits of Dale hanging out overlooking the garden area inside. I freaked Sherri out by sitting on the railing at the very top floor to get some of the photos.

Their wedding ceremony was held at St. Patrick’s church in the centre of Lethbridge. After their ceremony the sun came out just long enough to get the family photos and then we ducked inside for most of the other images. We had rain and hail and sunshine pretty much alternating all day! Maria and Dale had the idea to bring a bunch of umbrellas for their wedding party so they could get something fun despite the weather. I had actually been thinking the same thing and it’s really cool when we’re on the same level like that. In the image of Dale and Maria holding the umbrella, if you look closely you can see some white specks in the sky. That’s hail! This is where you really want weather-sealed gear. And maybe a helmet!

Their reception was held at the Grandstand, which had such a cool variety of little locations inside to use for photography. There were rustic-looking wooden areas as well as more modern places. We snuck off during the reception to get a few more images of Dale and Maria. Speaking of the reception, Dale had a surprise planned for Maria. After their first dance Dale and a friend set up a couple of guitars and amps and Dale sung a really heart-felt song to Maria. It was a really beautiful moment.

Cassidy was my first grad student of the year and she was a really cool kick-off into this year for me.  I have to say that I really love doing grad photo sessions!  It’s like taking all the creative opportunities from weddings and family portraits and condensing them into one session.  And I can pretty much be as weird as I like with my ideas!  That’s my goal in life: an excuse to be weird. 

Cassidy’s mum had set this up for her and I also called Cassidy before the shoot to get some idea of where she was at and what sort of things she’s into to help me to get photos that reflect her.  I had a whole bunch of ideas for outside and then it rained!  Actually, it rained and snowed all in the same day.  But I am a practiced improviser and we used some indoor locations instead.  In fact, I’m glad it rained, because the “plan B” locations ended up really fueling some creative vibes for me.  And check out the cool colours in the first few images. Those are her bedroom walls!  Crazy bright, eh?