Happy Holidays everyone! 2011 was an amazing year and I am so grateful to all the past and new 2012/2013 clients who’ve put their trust in me!!  Right now I am doing a personal assignment in Africa and will be back home in January to start another awesome year.

This wedding was held on the same day as  the  Toronto Polish Festival. The church was right in the middle of it and getting to it was not easy. After the ceremony we drove to UofT for some photographs with the bridal party and the couple, before heading off to Paradise Banquet Hall.

In case you are wondering about the mascot and the marching band… Well, we were taking pictures and they just swarmed around us and gave us a good show. 

All that was followed by a night of dances,laughter and some happy tears. Some involuntary stunts were performed by the single ladies and boys, trying to catch that bouquet and garter and be the next to marry 

Elvis impersonator was certainly a nice touch and I must say he was better than some of those in Vegas!

Charlie and Lorraine got married at Colborne Lane in Toronto – one of the top restaurants in Canada. The food(more like art, taste and presentation wise) was simply amazing!

Getting ready shots were taken at their condo in downtown  and then we just walked to the restaurant, taking pictures along the way.

I guess you are seeing by now that this wedding is not very traditional. And did I mention the cool custom made short wedding red dress?!

Another really cool fact about this wedding is that they made their rings themselves from scratch by taking a jewelery making workshop!!

So many really amazing weddings and I wish I had time to showcase ALL of them! I’ll try to post at least 1 more before the end of December.

I have a few minutes to spare and I am posting another amazing wedding (yay!)

This wedding took place at Riu Palace Punta Cana, a magnificent resort located in the Dominican Republic.

Here are a few photographs to highlight the wedding day and a trash the dress session a morning after.

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On the other news,   I am only taking 3-4 destination weddings for 2012 and only 1-2 spots left for the year!  If you are planning to get married outside of North America, now is a good time to give me a call! 

Irene and Eugene live in Edmonton, AB,  but decided to get married here in Toronto.

Due to the distance, all communication was via email and we only got to see each other a few days before the wedding day. After they arrived here we  had a chat and then spent a great evening outside taking their engagement pictures.

Wedding itself was held at Hilton Suites Hotel and evening reception was at the adjacent Empire Court Chinese restaurant(great food!)

Amazing day with lots of laughs, happy tears and moments to remember.

Last fall I spent a full day photographing a great family at Bigwin Island located about 2.5 hours north of Toronto on the Lake of Bays. It’s one of the most gorgeous places I’ve been to!

I arrived early in the morning to the private parking lot at the Lake of Bays. From there a 10-minute boat ride took me right to the island.

My idea was to photograph a family session with a mix of portraiture,journalism and show things in a more relaxed way.  To make things more real and memorable.

And although it was a bit chilly and rainy, we manage to fit a lot in just  1 day of shooting.  I can’t help but smile at most of these images as I had so much fun too!!

Enjoy

Not often do I get to shoot themed engagement sessions. This one had a really cool retro theme, with a neat old car and matching clothing.  It was definitely a lot of fun to photograph!

It was a little bit rainy on that day and at first we even thought of changing the dates, but I am so glad we didn’t!!

Here are a few of the shots that I personally liked:

Had a chance to photograph a beautiful wedding that took place in Mexico at Omni Puerto Aventuras resort.

First day was the wedding ceremony and reception with some images before and after.

On the second day we went into the town for some photographs,then the golf course for some fun(groom is really into golf) and then we finished the evening at the beach, with some real trash the dress shots. 

Here’s a video sideshow with about 90 photographs and a few more down bellow.

This wedding took place at 111 Queen St West in Toronto. A venue with countless doors,stairs and corridors.  Getting ready started at the Sweet Grass Spa and beautiful The Ivy at Verity boutique  hotel and reception took place at the George Restaurant; all under 1 roof!  It is very beautiful inside and allowed us to take all images on the grounds.

It was a  joy being there and celebrating their special day with their family and close friends.

I’ve been meaning to post this wedding for months now. It was quite an amazing experience from start to finish.

Dancing started since I arrived and continued through the whole day.

Reception took place and the  Liberty Grand which was beautiful as always.

Thank you for allowing me to be a part of your special day

I would like to share some photographs from my recent journey to Antarctica. It was a truly once in a lifetime experience, though I’d be happy to go back there any time.

I’ve traveled to quite a number of countries and places and none of them left me speechless.  There, many times I’ve found myself just sitting and admiring the beauty of this place. I just have no words to describe it. YOU HAVE TO SEE IT FOR YOURSELF!!

All the wildlife was right there,with penguins walking around just a few feet away.

And I even had a chance to take a swim in the ocean twice during the trip (last picture of this set…)!

It took me 2 days to narrow 370 images from this trip to my favorite 75.  Enjoy and I hope these photographs will persuade you to put this place on your bucket list

Antarctica 2010-2011 Pictures

Happy New Year everyone!!   2010 was a busy year and it was finished with an expedition to Antarctica, from which I just return home.  Before I post those pictures, here’s one of the most memorable weddings from 2010.

When you think of destination weddings, most would think of an ocean and sand. This couple however decided to do something a bit different and they got married in Costa Rica,  La Fortuna @ the Springs Resort and Spa ,  near a live volcano & rain forests.  It does rain quite often in the area,but we mostly managed to avoid it over the course of 3 days of photography.

If you like animals and birds, Costa Rica is probably one of the best places on earth to experience those up close. There’s no need to drive for hours with binoculars in search of something as it’s all right there in front of you! Sometimes you just need to slow down and look around you.  Chances are you’ll see dozens of birds,monkeys, spiders,frogs and snakes.  If you are staying in La Fortuna area near the volcano, you can also indulge yourself in the mineral hot springs or do some surfing in a nearby province.

Here are some of my favorite photos from those 3 days

Costa Rica Wedding Photography

Another great wedding to show from earlier of this year. It was definitely one of the most colorful events of the summer; filled with rituals, vibrant colors and laughter.

A few wedding day highlights are shown bellow.

Enjoy

Autumn is a very popular season for engagement sessions. The leafs are falling and the colors are vibrant.   I’d like to post one of many engagement sessions I was privileged to photograph this Fall.

This particular session took place hours away from Toronto in a small town

Another great wedding to show you.  Bride and groom pictures were shot in 2 locations.

Reception was held at the National Banquet Hall in Toronto.  I was actually very impressed at the food setups, choices and all the presentation at this venue.

As always, I had a hard time narrowing down my favourites so here’s a slideshow with about 90 images. For those who are too lazy to click, you can view some of them in here too