Alanna - Blue is Her New Favorite Colour

Meet Alanna. She is my sister-in-law, and from what you are about to see, she is expecting her second baby; another boy! I am so thrilled and excited for her and her husband Mike for the soon-to-be new arrival that will be coming early next month. Oh, and the possibilities an uncle can have with two nephews is somewhat endless...

A few weeks ago we were over and I set up shop in their basement for my first ever maternity shoot. And what shoot with Alanna, would not be complete without including little Grady, my 27 month old nephew, my little buddy.

I am greatful that I got the opportunity to do this for them. Here are some shots from the afternoon:

Lesley & Kevin - On Your Mark, Get Set, Get Married!

Lesley and Kevin got married on one of the last days of super warm weather this summer. The likes of which we will probably not being seeing around these parts for a while. It was a great day for a wedding.

After the classic ceremony, Lesley and Kevin had a special surprise in store for all of there guests in attendance, including me. A dove release. Now for the record, I have never shot a dove release before. So this was making me a little nervous, as I know I only get one shot to get this perfect! (See the result below!)

So for a dove release both Lesley and Kevin each received a white dove provided by Dovely Expressions. Once posing for a few pics, they shared a kiss, and then simutaneously released the doves into the sky. The doves then perfectly trained, fly in a couple circles, and then instinctively return home. It was a really neat thing to watch!

After that, we cruised around town, shooting and enjoying as much of th weather as we could. It was so easy working with Lesley and Kevin, and I probably think their engagement shoot earlier this year helped them relax and just have fun!

As the sun started to set we headed to Assiniboia Downs for the reception. It's a great venue for a reception, because you can enjoy your celebration, the food and the dancing, and then watch some horse races! (There was even a race dedicated to the special couple!)

Thanks Lesley and Kevin for a great day, and thanks for making the weather so great!

~Blair


Some select images from the day:

Jen & Marty - Small Town Lovin'

The blog has been getting an nice increase in traffic lately, despite those who visit more often, you've probably not seen much going on. Admittedly, the blog had been neglected as of late. I finished a streak of weddings that I had so much fun with, as well as a recent trip to Seattle (pics to follow as well). So no excuses! Post following in the coming weeks will showcase the awesome couple I had the pleasure of working with this summer, starting with Jen and Marty.

Jen and Marty live in St. Laurent, which is a rural municipality about 45 minutes north of the 'Peg. It was not my first visit to St. Laurent though. My sister, Melanie, used to live there and teach at the high school (how I got together with Jen and Marty) a few years back and I had made the trek before.

The wedding was held at their home in St. Laurent. A great piece of property to have a wedding. We did most of our shots just out and around their huge yard! We used a vintage truck that sits in the front yard of the house (it currently doesn't run) as a great prop for some of the shots we did. We had an opportunity after that and before the ceremony to head out to a secluded part of the beach for a little bit and took some shots by the water.

I could tell that Jen and Marty have great family values when I had the opportunity to attend the reception and capture some shots. Just the great things that people had the chance to say during speeches. Several people came up and said a little bit about each of them. It was great to see.

Thanks Marty and Jen for a great full day and an awesome home cooked dinner!

~Blair


Some pictures from their day below:

Amanda & Jason - Wonderful and in Love

Anyone watching Hell's Kitchen on Tuesdays? This is my first season checking into it and I gotta say that's given me a new found respect for Chef Ramsay. Yeah he has got a colorful vocabulary, but he is sharp and the chefs respect him. You can also always expect some sort of catastrophe in each episode, but what would reality television be without it? Great, now I am hungry...

Jason is a friend of mine, and I am shooting the wedding of him and his lovely Amanda this October. We headed out recently to do some shots. One thing I realized is they are not shy around the camera, which is a photographer's dream. As you'll also see, Jason and Amanda know how look good! They don't lack style or charisma. I can't wait to see her wedding dress, and the tuxedos.

Thanks for good times guys and we'll see you soon.

~Blair

Karen et Cory - Un match a fait dans Niverville

No, this won’t be a French post. In fact, I don’t really even speak French. This title came courtesy of a translation. I know you really thought I was “multi-talented” though.

I was never really good at "speaking" French. I just took mandatory classes in school and never really advanced much farther than that. I am pretty sure I understand it more that I think at times. The accent gets me though...I'll never learn that.

So Karen and Cory are good friends of ours. Truth be told, Karen was actually the MC at our wedding. (And did a wicked awesome job.) It was no surprise to me when they got engaged last year. Cory popped the question on her birthday. What a guy.

Karen is a meticulous planner, and down to the finest details, it showed on her wedding day. Everything was near perfect. (And I don’t say that very often.) Even the fact that the rain stopped at all the right moments during the day, was almost mysterious and well-orchestrated, although I can’t say for sure.

As such the day was awesome. We took every opportunity for photos that we could during the day, which is why I ended up taking more photos than I even have before, a sampling of which you will check out below.

The wedding and reception were both held at a definite diamond in the rough. The Niverville Heritage Centre is about 25 minutes from the city and is terrific venue for both events. They have a great space for the ceremony, which is all pine with a fantastic looking, two-tiered staircase. But of course, Karen picked it, so I wouldn't imagine anything but.

So alas, they are now married. Karen and Cory, I was thrilled and honored to shoot your day. Thanks so much, and we can't wait to see photos from Europe!

~Blair


The slideshow from the day: