Dora went home with over 30 bites on her legs! I went home with a bunch of images filled with bugs to photoshop. Next time I'll remember the bug spray. :)

Loved starting my wedding year with Erin and Mark. I had tons of fun during our e-session last Fall and I was counting the days for their big day at Archeo, a really cool venue for intimate weddings inside the Distillery District.

I remember shooting weddings in March and it was never this freezing cold. I really don't know how Erin was able to walk around Distillery with no jacket at all. Bravest bride I've had so far! We even tried some sparklers photo during the night, but the wind and cold didn't help us at all - well, at least we got one cute clumsy heart drawing to remember (which you can see at the end of this post).

The highlight of their wedding day was the Pyebaek, a Korean wedding custom. It's a beautiful ceremony where the parents share some wisdom on marriage. They also throw jujubes (I've seen chestnuts at other ceremonies as well) at the bride and groom, which represent their wish for lots of grandchildren. I'm really lucky to live in a country where I can shoot so many cultures and traditions.

Erin and Mark, congratulations! You suit each other perfectly. May your every day together be a joyous ride. ♥

From all the shoots I've had last year in this place, this one is my favorite! Loved shooting this cute little family! The kite sequence was quite hard since the wind was not helping at all, but in the end we did get great images out of it.

I won't even start to talk about weather - I lost count of how many times we had to reschedule this shoot. Hopefully will have a sunny 2014. :)

This past year I was really impressed with the number of couples that get overwhelmed by my huge (and heavy!) 12x12 wedding book I bring to meetings.

Even though I still think that book is classic and timeless, I felt that the brides I work with were looking for something lighter and maybe more modern/current. So I finally came up with a wedding book that is lighter, modern, without losing its great quality that my original album has. And the best thing is: it costs 30% less than my original wedding book.

This 9.5 x 9x5 wedding book still has all the good things about my older book: pages layflat, photographic laminated paper, leather cover (16 colors to choose from! - exclusive feature of this new book) and the option of having your names embossed on the cover.

Both are great, it's just up to you to figure out which album is the right one for you! Please contact me for more info.

The bride looked stunning! Loved loved her hair style - she looked like one of those movie actresses from the 50s. This couple wanted to spend as much time as possible with their friends and family, so we had very little time for their portraits (15, 20 minutes tops!). They wanted a classic feel to their photos and I'm really proud of the results. I'm usually not a fan of just doing classic poses, but I do think this venue in particular is perfect for that.

Let me share some of my favorites with you!

p.s.: Even though I'm still working every single weekend (and it's already December!), I will take some time off this blog for a bit. It's really unfortunate, but I didn't have time to post all weddings, families and engagement sessions I'd like to. I will keep posting new work on my Facebook page - so make sure you check that out every now and then. See you all next year! :)

Some weeks prior this wedding, as we were talking about maybe not having enough time for wedding party portraits, I said to the bride that I'd just stick to the classic shots (everybody looking at the camera, boys to one side, girls to the other, etc). For my surprise, she couldn't care less for these kind of photos. I was over the moon about that, because, in fact, I'm not a fan of those as well.

Shooting this wedding just took me back to when I first started, when I used to be 100% photo-journalistic driven. Then, years went by and I just noticed that some couples missed the classic posed shots, so I decide to incorporate that to my work. Of course I will still be doing those because I know most people would like to have them anyways, but it was so good to capture the whole day the more natural as possible.

Let me share some of my favorites with you.

Our shoot started over there, then we headed to the amazing scenery you see up there ↑. Weather was pretty bad while driving to Caledon - raining on and off. Luckily it didn't rain throughout our photo session and now I'm really proud to share these images with you.

Congrats on your engagement, Amy and Matt! Can't wait for your wedding next year! :)

Anyways, back to Erin and Mark, if I could describe this couple in one word, that would be "real". And I just love that! This is what I want to shoot - real couples, real people. I love how genuine these images feel. I already know I'll have a blast at their wedding next year at the Distillery District - yes, I just said I'm tired of engagement shoots there, but I do love their wedding venues!

What can I say about this couple? They were so sweet! Their vows were definitely the most beautiful I ever heard this year! Also, thumbs up to them for donating to charity instead of giving wedding favors. I have always liked that idea - it's so much better to spend money helping others instead of buying something that will probably be thrown away in the end! Okay - before I get some hate mail, I do love taking pictures of cute wedding favours (and I actually have some really cute ones from awesome couples that I worked with), but personally, I'd also do the charity thing.

This was one of the very few sunny weekends we had this year, but even if it did rain, we wouldn't need to worry just because the venue itself is already gorgeous. Can't forget to mention that we went to the subway and took some pretty cool images! Let me share my favorites with you.

Shannon and Graham, congrats! May your life be filled with love, laughter and happiness always!

OFF-TOPIC: It's been a while since I don't post family shoots over here, but I've been posting lots of new family images on my FB page - so please don't forget to like my page in order to get my latest work. ;)

I usually finish the blogpost the B&G first dance, but today I had to post the Bride and Father/Groom and Mother dances as well. I wish I had time to post some other highlights from the reception since I got to capture so much joy and happiness that night!

Tarin and Thomas, congrats! You two are perfect together; wishing you love and happiness always. :)