Brix and Mortar Wedding - Pete and Christine - Seconding for John Bello

Thanks to John Bello Photography for taking me on as a second shooter for this one.

If it isn't already apparent in my blog posts, I truly enjoy photographing at Brix and Mortar in Yaletown. It's a nice and small and intimate space with a unique ceremony space but the people there are also really cool. 

Brix and Mortar has become one of my favourite places to photograph a wedding. It has a great intimate atmosphere, the courtyard area is beautifully lit and the staff are great people to work with. On this day, I was making my way over to Brix and Mortar to begin my assignment when I saw this bright red classic car. After looking at it a few moments, I noticed that it had our couple's image on it and knew that this was a part of the wedding. Legends say that seeing a bright red car on your wedding day will bring you multiple... luck? Children? Who knows. I'm just kidding.

I met Pete's groomsmen and family in the pub next to Brix and Mortar and proceeded to document the day. I recall taking a photograph of Pete writing his vows and later also moments with Christine talking with her bridesmaid just prior to the ceremony, with her Dad looking happily-teary as the big event approached. There was great emotion in the air and, as always, it was fantastic to be a part of it all and documenting it all. 

As per usual, I'll let the photographs and the little bits of commentary do the narrating of this wedding. Just a quick note: That amazing red British car was an awesome sight to see.

PS: Brix and Mortar has become one of my top wedding venues to photograph at. CLICK HERE TO FIND OUT WHY.

The groom and his groomsmen spent a bit of time hanging out at the pub next door to Brix and Mortar.

While moments like these can be posed, I love creating them in the midst of the wedding day. It's really tough as everything has to line up just right... but when it does, it becomes something amazing.

That First Dance moment in the Brix and Mortar courtyard :)

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FULL GALLERY:

Yaletown Roundhouse Wedding - Ana and Matt

Yes, Nerf guns.

Note: All images taken while on seconding assignment for Jody Wiger Photography.

This wedding involved nerf guns. Yup. 

Right after the first look and a few formal photographs, the bride and groom pulled out some nerf guns and started pelting each other and the groomsmen and bridesmaids with soft and harmless foam projectiles (yet another hazard wedding photographers have to watch out for on a wedding day. Hah! I kid!.... It's green goop and shaving cream). 

Ana and Matt had an amazing wedding at the Yaletown Roundhouse Community Center surrounded by loving parents, friends and family. But let's step back for a moment to when I walked into the apartment where Matt and his groomsmen were getting ready. As Matt's Mom put the suit jacket onto her's son's shoulders, I could see a twinge of emotion. My hope, as a documentary photographer, is that moments and times like these are captured for the bride and groom and future generations to remember. I didn't tell them to do this and I definitely did not dictate the emotion or tell them to "smile" or "hey, do it this way"... it just all started to come together on it's own. In this way, it was truly an honest moment. In between the smiling at the camera and in between the hustle and bustle of the day, there are these small precious and honest moments that sometimes draw a tear to my own eye as I experience them while being a wedding photographer.

Thanks to Jody Nay Photography for the privilege to second shoot and experience this wedding.

Brix and Mortar Yaletown Wedding - Nick + Dayna

As a documentary wedding photographer, I approach a wedding with the mindset of a photojournalist and am on the lookout for amazing “candid” moments to build a story of an entire wedding day, giving brides and grooms and authentic retelling of their day. However, as I soon learned, we as wedding photographers usually have to wear many hats on a wedding day!

So I found out pretty quickly that my little Honda Fit car is able to fit a bride and two bridesmaids... and with room to spare. You see, the bride was about a 15-20 minute walk away from her venue but the day was hot and I didn't want the bride Dayna to sweat like crazy just before her ceremony at Brix! (We were at David Lam Park and it was warm that day). That's when it dawned on me: "Why don't *I* drive the bride up? I'm parking there anyway!" So there I was, with a client clad in her bridal gown and with her bridesmaids were in my car as we scooted up a few blocks in my little Honda Fit to Brix & Mortar. I've photographed in a lot of weddings and this was definitely an amazing first. 

I am thinking of changing my approach to read: "Documentary wedding photographer who drives brides to their wedding ceremonies"...Kidding.

That's the kind of day it was: All kinds of amazing.

The day started at Hotel Blu, where I found the bride amidst all her bridesmaids, friends and family and getting ready, putting on make up and eventually getting into her dress. We later met up with Nick, who saw his bride Dayna for the first time in her dress down at David Lam Park. We took a little journey through Yaletown Roundhouse and made our way (via my Honda Fit) to Brix & Mortar to begin the ceremony and the rest of the day. Stefan, who is Nick and Dayna's lovely baby boy, made his first appearance pulled in a wagon by his grandparents. Amidst the champagne after the ceremony and into the dinner service and speeches, I found myself moving around and amidst the crowd capturing little moments that, while they were not the usual "big" moments of the wedding, were documents of the people and the day that unfolded and I know Nick and Dayna appreciated this a ton.

There was love and happiness all around and my words really can't do justice... so here's a visual documentation of the day:

PS: Brix and Mortar has become one of my top wedding venues to photograph at. CLICK HERE TO FIND OUT WHY.

Shout out to the staff at Brix & Mortar for being an amazing venue and some very cool staff (oh and fantastic food!).