Barbara and Michael: Wedding Day Celebration

With all the rain we’ve been blessed with this summer, nature is breaking its previous records for rainfall. With the Olympic Games now taking place, records are sure to be broken there as well.

This past weekend I broke a personal record, too, for wedding photography! ☺

Barbara and Michael’s wedding was a full-featured affair, complete with a dove release and a late night amusement park photo session. What an awesome day! As a photographer it was filled with challenges, which I enjoy!

Yes, we dealt with rain which moved the ceremony from the beautiful outdoor courtyard of the Liberty Grand to the indoors.

But you know the saying: “For every action there is an opposite and equal reaction”. While my gear may not be a fan of rainfall, I personally love the rain; it brings out the lushness of colour. So when the rain took a break I photographed formals and the bridal shoot in the courtyard.

Photographing a dove release is a challenge. These beautiful birds are trained homing pigeons. Once they’re released, it takes a blink of an eye for them to take flight in a flurry of action to return home. Then they’re gone. Capturing the best moment of their release is a combination of luck and technical know-how. I’m sure the doves were startled, too, what with over 100 people standing around watching them.



After dinner I snuck out with Barbara and Michael for a late night shoot at the CNE. And yes, they were both wearing their wedding attire. And yes, they attracted a lot of attention! And yes, it was a ton of fun!



Everything turned out exceptionally well.

Thanks to the staff of the Liberty Grand for their beautiful venue. Your staff were great and had the ceremony’s indoor venue set up in record time. And dinner was sumptuous, too.

Also, thanks to Jaye Marsh Graham and Laurie Anne Brennan of It’s Personal Occasions for their organizing the details for the day.

And of course great music makes such an affair even more enjoyable. Thanks to the Whitney Smith Band and DJ / MC Peter Pagliarulo of Dee Dee Jays.

Click here to view Barbara and Michael’s Sneak Peek Gallery of 25 images. Turn up your speakers, and enjoy!

If you’ve been invited to view all of Barbara and Michael’s wedding images on Pictage once they go online, click here. To view more of our photography, visit our main websites: imagesofapromise.com and deanorosphoto.com.

Michael and Barbara: Thank you for choosing me as your photographer. I loved how you really let yourself be in the moment once things got under way. Lots of love and happiness to you!

The Machines of Wonderland

I took a much needed day off yesterday, and decided to visit Canada’s Wonderland, for two reasons. First, because I’m a kid at heart and love roller coasters! Second, I wanted to do a test shoot for an upcoming wedding where the couple have asked that I photograph them at night, in their wedding attire, at the Canadian National Exhibition. It’s going to be so much fun - I can’t wait.
As I was walking around Canada’s Wonderland, my focus changed from the children on the rides, to the rides themselves. I love working with kids, so I was a bit surprised when my attention kept being drawn to these machines. They bring so much enjoyment to kids and adults alike. They’re marvels of technology. And I’m a technology geek.

The g-force generated by these rides is incredible. Large groups of people are being hurtled and swung around, often at speeds over 100km per hour, day after day, week after week. Take into consideration how many rides are set up in a relatively small space, and the safety factor involved. It’s very impressive.

When night started to roll in, the rides began to look ominous. They reminded me of Transformers (the movie is such good fun, by the way). With such long tracks standing hundreds of feet above ground, they reminded me of long, mechanical tentacles. We put a lot of trust into these machines, hardly thinking about the technology behind them as we scream at the top of our lungs, hurtling towards the ground, strapped into the latest, and fastest roller coasters.

The only downside from yesterday, is that I got so caught up shooting, I only went on two rides! That’s okay though. I’ll go back before they’re closed for the season.