Katie & Troy say their vows in Windsor Ontario!

August 25, 2015 • Leave a Comment

Windsor, Ontario set the stage for this Canadian bride and groom. Katie and Troy first reached out to me while visiting St. Petersburg Beach, in 2014, to have their engagement photos taken on the beach where they were vacationing. I walked up, said "hi" and Troy asked me what color shorts he should wear for the session. This is pretty much the beginning of a great session I said to myself and well... I was right! I wrote an earlier post you can check out here to see all the great images from the session. Forward ahead 4 months and the question, "So, how do we get you to Canada to photograph our wedding?" was asked. "Easy" I said! Forward ahead to July 2015, here we are, Canada bound!

I'm pretty sure that "Southern Hospitality" came from Canada! All I can say about this experience and the way I was welcomed by both sides of Katie and Troy's wonderful families is that my very own family has some mad competition. Seriously, I will have my own stocking hanging on their mantle at Christmas now. ;) One of the biggest advantages about traveling to photograph a wedding for me is the extra time I get to spend getting to know the couple and their bridal party. It's almost more fun than getting to photograph the wedding! But alas, when it's time to pick up the camera to capture the day, parden the pun but, this is when everything clicks. The magic to capturing candid moments is to NOT interfere with them in the first place. I was given a great compliment the next day that while I photographed for nearly 14 hours nobody ever felt my presence. This is partly due to my NINJA prowess. ;) But mostly it's due to the incredible atmosphere of the day that Katie and Troy created and shared with their closest friends and family. It's easy to be overwhelmed on a wedding day and lose track of what's important and why you are there in the first place. Katie and Troy are genuine and they affectionately showed their appreciation to each and every person who came to celebrate this day with them. I really wanted to capture this atmosphere!

Troy and the boys got dressed and ready at his house while Katie and her girls prepped at her parents home. Their ceremony was held at the beautiful Our Lady of Assumption Parish Church of Windsor. Katie really wanted Troy to see her for the first time as she walked down the isle but she wanted to arrange a first touch. We found the perfect spot! Following the ceremony we took the entire bridal party to the famous Historic Hiram Walker Distillery. Holy cow this place is awesome and FULL of history, for example take Prohibition in the U.S. and this Canadian distillery and you get the infamous Al Capone's favorite "hangout"... you know, if you're interested in that sort of thing... I am! Here's a link Mr Hiram Walker himself! This place is a site to see and it's been beautifully restored over the years. I am thankful we had the opportunity to capture some really beautiful portraits in and around this charismatic property!! The evening reception was held at the Ambassador Golf Club. One of my favorite portraits came from here as Katey and Troy walked down a winding path with rolling hills and trees in the background. I may have done a dance after shooting this image.. ha! Ambassador's coordinator, Diane Farquhar, along with Milestone Weddings and Events did a gorgeous job designing the decor and intimate atmosphere for reception dinner! The night was filled with heartfelt speeches and toasts to the newlyweds and their family. The band, Toast & Jam kicked off the party and took it into the early hours of the morning!

The following couple of days I was able to do a little exploring so I took myself to Toronto and then Niagara Falls - Canada side! I will be making a post of the images I captured of the falls so check back for those soon!

This was a great wedding and it turned out to be more special to me than I had anticipated. It's always exciting to travel somewhere new but I made some new friends for life and I am thankful for that! Thank you Katie & Troy, congratulations again!! And thank you Todd & Debbie, Brad & Darlene, Sarah & Khalid, Julia, Chad, Erica, Matt, Amanda, Mike, Felicia, Zac, Kaitlyn, Reuben, Kyla, Brendon, Avery, Brady! Enjoy.

The Wedding Day: Ceremony Location: Our Lady of Assumption Parish, McEwan Campus | Post Ceremony Photographs: Hiram Walker Canadian Club | Reception Location: Ambassador Golf Club | Reception Coordinator: Diane Farquhar | Decore & Event Design: Milestone Weddings and Events | Hair: Carolyn Visocchi - Salon V | Make-up: Nayeli Castellanos | Bridesmaids Dresses: Dessy Collection - Bridal Couture | Wedding Dress: Allure Bridals - Bridal Couture | Groomsmen Tuxes: Freeds | Florals: I & F Design | Limousine Service: Black Tie Luxury Limousine | Invitations: Wedding Paper Divas | Wedding Cake: Angela Crispo & Lisa Crispo | Wedding Band & Engagement Ring: Vera Wang Love | Band: Toast & Jam