Distinctive downtown wedding

Unconventional - that's the word I would use to describe Cindy and Brandon's wedding this past weekend.

We hit a number of downtown photo locations in record time, walking through a sea of tourists calling out their congratulations. One lucky tourist even asked to have his photo taken with Cindy - she looked so beautiful, he probably thought she was a movie star.

I love it when a wedding is a bit different - they got married on a Sunday, we did all the photos before the ceremony, Cindy created the bouquets, they got married at Lago restaurant instead of a church, her mother walked her down the aisle, the first dance was before the reception.... In short, Cindy planned a wedding that defied convention, but worked perfectly for them on their special day.

Congratulations!

Todd and Tamara

I scouted locations for Todd and Tamara's wedding photos months before their big day, but didn't find anything that I felt was good enough for them. It was important to have "wow-worthy" spots to reflect all the time and effort put into their wedding planning. The location also had to be close to Tudor Hall or St. Mary's Church so that their little man could get in the family photos, then be whisked away for naptime.

Finally, a week before the marriage date, the perfect spot presented itself. Mere blocks from the church, and possessing the most exquisite light and greenery in the midst of a drought. Check out the last photo of this post, where Todd and Tamara are nestled under the huge, old tree - definitely "wow-worthy" of this beautiful couple on their beautiful day.

Merry Christmas!

The season of festivities and feasting is upon us!

Our family tradition is to celebrate Christmas on Christmas Eve at my parent's place. This is how the day's agenda usually unfolds: eating, catching up with family members, eating, toboganning, eating, opening gifts, and then eating again.

In true Dutch fashion, the majority of the eating will involve baked goods and candies. I'm looking forward nibbling on some boterkoek (buttercake), which is a dense cookie not unlike thick shortbread.

This year I decided to create my own Christmas cards. I wanted a photo that looked like it was taken in another world, something that looked like it might have been drawn instead of photographed. So here is my version of a couple's winter wonderland.

Merry Christmas and enjoy the holidays!