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Category Archives: Destination Wedding

Best of 2009 :: Weddings

So, it took awhile to get things in order, but I pulled together my favourite images of 2009 to share with all of my wonderful clients, friends and blog followers ( that still seems hilarious to me – strangers coming to my lil ol blog to check things out…seriously?  SO appreciated)!!!  Anyways, here are the fab couples. They really, truly were. I’m pretty sure I laughed my a** off , and made a fool of myself with every single one of you. So much fun…..thank you thank you a million times over for choosing me to document such an important day in your lives. I am so thrilled to be doing this, and can’t wait for what 2010 brings. I’d also like to say a very special “thank you” to Brooke for being my partner in crime….it seriously is double the fun having you to work with – I don’t know if anyone else could deal with my bossiness/quirkiness/flightiness as well as you do ! Stay tuned to us both as we put some amazing plans into action in the coming year……

Happy 2010!

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02/14/2010 - 5:30 pm Carol - *tapping my watch* It's VALENTINE'S DAY!! What IS it????????

02/08/2010 - 11:03 am Jeanette LeBlanc - What an utterly fabulous collection of images. AMAZING.

01/16/2010 - 9:13 pm Mandi - Lovin all these!! Beautiful work!!

01/16/2010 - 10:08 am Amy - Amazing! I love them all - Great work

01/15/2010 - 9:44 pm michele - Thank you ladies - Sara, I agree; the image of Ashley and her Dad is definately my fave "real" moment to date. I was a blubbering fool while she was walking down the aisle..good thing I had a second shooter as most shots were out of focus! And Brooke, thank you as well....I suppose I am a dork but I pride myself in knowing that; Nevaeh just said to me minutes ago, " Mummy, you're weird. But if you're not weird or silly, you're boring, right?!" Couldn't have said it better myself:)

01/15/2010 - 7:39 pm Sara K - the photo of your bride walking down the aisle holding back tears is amazing - what a beautiful moment to capture.

01/15/2010 - 9:32 am Gina - Love them all!

01/15/2010 - 8:39 am brooke bowland - wow. WOW. i was so thrilled to wake up and check this out this morning. you had an amazing year!! seriously amazing. oh and thanks for the mention...dork...ha. no, really...i feel exactly the same way. now i will have to make up not having a little chatter before my fave photos. maybe i need to do a specific "michele is fantastic" post. :). MWAH.

Jay + Janine :: After

So, after such a fabulous wedding day I was a little anxious as to how our session would go. I didn’t feel as though the bride and groom were truly on board with the idea of getting all done up again, in the heat with what was sure to be many onlookers! Well, they showed up , the weather somewhat agreed; although there wasn’t a cloud in site we were able to work it out….and most importantly we had SO much fun! We had quite a few lookie-lou’s, people taking pics and even a restaurant worker who jumped in with his “eat my burrito” apron; it seemed harmless enough until he lifted it up…..WHOA! Good thing it wasn’t real is all I have to say;  I’ll leave those pics for J& J to view at home as they’re not completely appropriate for a family blog:)  One of the shots I wanted to get was something with a lot of color and an obvious Mexican feel; the first ceramic ones are a few of my faves. Jay and Janine’s request?!  A volkswagon. Hmmm….. considering there weren’t vehicles allowed where we were shooting I didn’t think it was going to happen. But luck was on our side, and instead of flagging a cab on the way back from the hotel I asked if they could flag us a VW. It worked! It was getting quite dark out, the ISO was cranked, but we got it….and bonus…..it’s GREEN!  VW’s were one of the many things that brought these two together so I’m thrilled we were able to incorporate one into the shoot. Guys, thanks for dragging yourselves away from the beach and taking the time to come out again….I’m pretty sure  you’ll agree it was worth it. 

 

Enjoy!!!

 

My fave..

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Jay, you are one lucky man!st1b6324b6523bAre they not the poster faces for Destination Weddings?  I think so:)6525b6528bst4bSo stylin, and I just lovvve the movement in this one; fave #2.6612posbstry6bBelieve it or not, this great find was outside the Hagen Daz ice-cream shop; yum!6880lbUmmmm…..yeah, you two are seriously HOT!   6902b
High ISO, blurry, grainy….and I don’t care! Love them:) st7bEdited to add *** One forgotten image – I had to!

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Thank you so much, both of you and each and every person who played a part in me getting to be included in your big day!

01/09/2010 - 7:39 am Veronica Lane - These are great!! I come back to look at them often! Love the colors, love the angles. I miss weddings!!!!

12/03/2009 - 3:14 pm Jessica Zais - Oh my god!!! These are flipping fantastic!! I think I just drooled. hahaha. You are SO talented! I can't even pick a favourite I love them all so much.

12/02/2009 - 4:28 pm brooke bowland - ahhhhhhhhhhhh...... these are crazy amazing. i can see so many that are going to have to become amazing pieces of art in your home. how will you ever decide?? you two rock and michele...mind blowing. :)

12/01/2009 - 7:29 pm Reb - Love the kiss in front of the mariachi guys! But they're all to die for! :)

12/01/2009 - 1:30 am michele - Really....thank you for the comments :) But the real reason this shoot came together so well was because of the subjects. Jay & Janine really, truly did work it in front of the camera....most importantly they were comfortable, had fun and were REAL. So, J&J; THANK YOU for making my (wonderful) job so easy!

11/30/2009 - 9:09 pm Jay - Agree with Chris. all amazing photos

11/30/2009 - 5:55 pm Chris Ilao - HOLY CRAP MICHELE!? These pics are amazing! Love em all!! They look terrific. You have done a most excellent job!! Keep up the good work!! Chris I

11/30/2009 - 10:33 am Jennifer Holland - WOW....... Michele you are amazing!!!! I know you love doing weddings but this one must have been suoer extra special!!!

11/29/2009 - 11:29 pm alana bourque - Wonderful job. I am sure the bride and groom will be thrilled that they listened to you and came out for that final shoot!

11/29/2009 - 10:32 pm nancy - simply amazing!!....as always!!...but to do a destination wedding had to be the ultimate!

11/29/2009 - 10:24 pm andrea blair - knocked it out of the park!! lovely :)

11/29/2009 - 9:28 pm michele - Thank you SO much; I really am so proud of these.....as I was uploading I told Mike I actually had butterflies- you know, that HIGH you get when you know you got it....and LOVED every second of it:)

11/29/2009 - 8:18 pm Brandi - Ok, WOW Michele! Every one is amazing - hot couple, sweet location (and I'm loving your posing!), and their awesome shoes are icing on the cake :)

11/29/2009 - 7:23 pm Lorena - amazing amazing job, couldn't have been any better.

11/29/2009 - 6:36 pm Rebecca - Love it!!! This must have been SO much fun.

11/29/2009 - 6:27 pm Michelle - SERIOUSLY Michele.....WOW. These are truly amazing. This couple has got to be in their glory looking at these photos. You rock girl!!!!

Jay + Janine :: We Do

Last Thursday, November 19th I had the privilege of photographing Jay & Janine’s gorgeous oceanside wedding in the tropics. It was perfect. The dress, their shoes, the weather, even light seemed to hold on a teensy bit longer for us to be able to shoot a few on the beach. I first met Jay and Janine in Calgary just hours from when we flew to Cancun. Brooke was with me, as we’d just done a workshop with [B]ecker and J & J offered up their place for us to crash at (probably because the heard I SUCK at getting my butt outta bed and didn’t want me to miss the 4 a.m. wakeup call)! B thought I was a wee bit off my rocker to stay with people I’d never met, but through the emails we’d sent each other I had a feeling that I was going to click with these guys. And I was right…they were fab. So, early the next day 59 of their friends and fam met in Playa Del Carmen at The Iberostar Tucan Resort. Even my hubby came along for the ride:)  These pics are from the wedding day, and as I forewarned the bride and groom I knew it would be rushed. A 3 oclock ceremony with the sun gone at 5. So, I made them move, made em sweat, got a little bossy ( okay, a lot bossy)! and we shot until the last bit of light was gone….you can see proof from the night shot; that was minutes after I finished the last shot on the beach ( for you photogs,  I was shooting at ISO 3000)! I could seriously keep on writing about all the great details, but I’ll spare you and let the images speak for themselves. 

Make sure to tune in in the next few days for their After session….by far my fave; we’re talking mosaic tiles, hot pink brick walls, and a roadside bar with swings:) Yup, I was a happy girl! I promise you won’t be disappointed as they were rock stars!

Jay, Janine and all of your seriously amazing friends and fam…..I had such a great time and really appreciate you having me; now somebody else get married away…..I’m addicted!!!3628lblog3690lblogAre you kidding me?! Janine, you are stunning.  3843lb3864bDoesn’t Jay remind you of Hugh Laurie…aka: House??! 3735b3745lb
I just adore the expression on her brother’s face here……3966lb4076bDoes she not look like she could just burst here?! Love.4056bThe boys giving us a little groove after the ceremony….4106b4175lb4567b4546lbOkay, so there’s a bit of a story behind these next two;  these guys are all “city-folk”, and although I’m no country-bumpkin, when it comes to getting a great shot, I will do what it takes. Well, I’d spotted this little cluster of ruins off the side of the road and just had to get us there for a few shots after the ceremony. Well, there were bugs. Big bugs. And lots of em. Of course I didn’t care, even laid on the ground for a couple while getting eaten ALIVE ( I’m not kidding….27 bites just from that afternoon; ouch)! Well, although we got these two, there really aren’t any others….they are literally slapping each other, screaming (boys too)  and/or ripping off clothes in the rest. But come on….soooo worth it! 4658b4631bThis may be may fave…..I love how real this moment is. 4820blogThese next two were shot at ISO 3000……meaning it was NOT good light.4840b4831blogBelieve it or not this was taken just minutes after finishing up on the beach; ISO 200, no flash of course. Ain’t it purdy!? 4962pbb
And the ring shots….it was a bit of a problem as each time I remembered about the rings it was dark out. I shot the first in their jewellery shop, not having a clue really as to what I was doing and the other 2 were shot just before I hopped the bus to go home. Good thing I didn’t pack the macro or there would’ve been an entire post dedicated to their rings!7091b7106lb7112b

12/03/2009 - 3:17 pm Jessica Zais - Way to think outside of the box! Fantastic job!

12/02/2009 - 4:27 pm brooke bowland - these are killing me. jay + janine...first let me thank you for allowing us to stay in your home...you two are amazing. I wish I had felt better...hehe. Thanks for the TUMS jay! now...you two are AMAZING. these images are insane and i so wish i had been there. stunning.

11/30/2009 - 9:07 pm Jay - i DO NOT look like House!!!! lol Great pics Michele. You made even ME look good, not an easy task. Janine. easy. she is a stunner- you captured it. Thanks again for all your work.

11/30/2009 - 3:06 pm Janine - Jay and I got back last night and we had a good look at the pics over pizza (good ol' Canadian greasy pizza). We loooove them!!! I'm so glad that you were able to make it out. And...very happy that you convinced us to do a second session. Having to re-do the hair was well worth it! HA HA HA

11/30/2009 - 9:05 am Alli - AHHHHHHHHHMAZIINNNNGGG!!! Seriously. Incredible!

11/29/2009 - 1:25 am michele - THank you ladies; every one of you......you all know how great it is to get the blog love; makes a girls' day sometimes! Of course it was amazing, fantastic, spectacular and a great change of pace; now to get back into the swing o things.....

11/28/2009 - 5:06 pm s h e r r y - Oh wow, these are gorgeous!! <3 I love the ring shots (especially the one with the rings on the snails...)

11/27/2009 - 9:53 pm Phillipa - You rocked this, you are such, such an incredible photographer Michele-and you need not spare us the details-love them all.

11/27/2009 - 9:34 pm andrea blair - Fab-U-LOUS love these :) Rock it girl!

11/27/2009 - 4:34 pm Simone - once again, you rocked it girl! I can't believe you took those photos at ISO 3000-incredible!

11/27/2009 - 1:38 pm Tisha - GORGEOUS GORGEOUS GORGEOUS!!!!! they are going to LOVE these!!!!

Jay + Janine :: Mexico Sneak

Yup, they’re for real…..super hot, super stylish and superDUPER fun in front of the camera. My fave thing?! They were amazing listeners…..I have a tendency to get a bit bossy; well, let’s face it – I am Queen Bossypants, can’t help it. But hey, it worked, they laughed, and we squeezed in a lot in some fast fading light. Janine and Jay, thank you thank you thank you for bringing me to Playa with you, for trusting me without ever having met me ( little did you know what you were in for)! and most of all for letting your real selves shine through in your photos. It was an amazing week, and I feel so very fortunate to have played a role in your day. Hope you enjoy the peek…..more to follow once I finish some blog catch-ups! 

 

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11/26/2009 - 9:46 am Rebecca - AAAAAAAAaaah I LOVE IT!!!! So cute. I want to get married in Mexico just to have this picture. For serious.