NOTE: All photographs were taken while on seconding assignment for Ivory + Gold Photography. Thanks, Juliette!!
A little while ago, while it was freezing cold in December, I had the chance to document Vietnamese wedding with my friends Juliette. There was a lot of food and a lot of laughter and a lot of fantastic moments. For me, the best moment was capturing the groom Alex showing off the ring he put on his bride’s finger earlier that day just as they were making their entrance into the reception. Epic.
A while ago, I had the opportunity to work with Yinger at Yinger Fotokrafie as a secondary shooter and also a Behind The Scenes photographer. This photoshoot was entirely orchestrated by Yinger but I was able to capture and document some of the going-ons behind the scenes that made the photoshoot amazing for this couple. Huge thank to Yinger Forokrafiefor having me on! All of the photographs here (I believe) were shot on beautiful 35mm film, my favorite photographic medium…
A few years ago, I penned a letter to brides and grooms expressing my thoughts on what matters on a wedding day. Having been married for 7 years, photographing dozens and dozens of weddings over the years and having recently become a father, I’ve revised my original letter to reflect some of my most recent experiences. I’d like to share it with you all as a little note to remember what the wedding day is all about.
How do you even begin to encapsulate a year? It’s 365 days of living and being and breathing and it all goes by so fast. As a photographer, the photos I take are not only momentos of the little moments that went by but also memory place holders that let me look back and recall a time in my life: the smells, the sights and even the sounds.
First, huge thanks to Ryan Flynn Photography, who took me on as a seconding photographer for this assignment of his. Ryan is a great guy!
As I am based close to the city of Vancouver on the British Columbia mainland, heading to Vancouver Island and the city of Victoria is always a treat. I love the feel and sense of adventure and travel when I make my way out there. In order to make the ferry to get to the wedding on time, I had to wake up at a very early hour (i.e. it was still dark and it was Summer time) and make my way through some winding roads. Eventually, I managed to get to the Tsawwassen ferry terminal and soon relaxed once my car and I were on the ferry and on our way across the water.
When Mandy from “Eventful by Mandy” and I came together to brainstorm an idea for a styled shoot, I knew from the get-go that I wanted to do something different. I wanted to do a styled shoot that was more along my style: unposed and more authentic. Mandy brought in the idea of doing an Asian-Fusion themed wedding.
Approaching a wedding in a documentary fashion is actually quite difficult. As I'm not directing people to pose or to do certain things, I have to be able to react and anticipate moments as they happen. There's no "OK, can you look at Mom and laugh now?". I'm there to document it as how it truly unfolded. Why would I approach things this way? To me, there's something absolutely magical about creating beautiful photographs of real and authentic moments. It's telling your story as the way it happened and not how I as a photographer directed it to be. Candid, photojournalistic and unposed moments are where my photography passion lies.
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.
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.
Welid and Savannah's wedding was one of the first backyard weddings I had photographed. While I thoroughly enjoy the atmosphere and the revelry of larger weddings, I also love the intimacy that comes with small weddings as well. It was a bright sunny day and lended itself to a great day followed by a reception in a hall in the evening.
As per before, I won't say much in the ways of an introduction. I do think that the images speak for themselves (yes, including the mirror selfie with the bride's dress...). Michael and Shannon were married at Brockhouse in Vancouver followed by a reception at Victoria Chinese Restaurant. The night capped off with a dance rendition of "I Had The Time Of My Life" and it was kind of awesome. OK enough words. Photographs below :)
Thanks to Jody Wiger for the opportunity to second shoot.
