Boakview Photography

2019 Year in Review – Couples

2019 – what a year! We had so many wonderful adventures with so many amazing couples! It’s been one for the books for sure! As in pervious years, we went down memory lane and reminisced about our favourite moments of the year. And, as in previous years, it is, once again, time for our annual 2019 year in review – couples slideshow!

Reflecting on this year, I can honestly say that it taught us some big lessons. For one, it taught us not to take anything for granted! The work we do and the people we work with are precious and the memories we capture are equally so. We are so lucky to be able to capture love, intimacy, genuine emotion and to immortalize it for our couples and families. And that is a precious gift!

This year, as with other years in the past, we were able to step outside of our comfort zones with our couples. We had new adventures, new experiences, and are once again humbled by the trust all of you place in us. Thank you! We feel so very blessed that our couples trust us and our quirky requests. But also that we can work together as partners to create some pretty amazing memories! Photography is, after all, a relationship, a team effort, not a solitary enterprise!

This year when I was putting together our annual 2019 year in review – couples, I was struck by how much more comfortable I am with going outside of my own comfort zone! (Does that make sense?) I no longer doubt (or care) if a shot is not perfectly lit, or positioned. For me, this year has been about exploring the human connection with our couples. It was about capturing raw human emotion, as opposed to the perfect composition. This year was all about the feels! (Check out some of those feels here – hope they give you goosebumps! 🙂

As usual, the endeavour of selecting images for this year’s slideshow was not easy. Choosing some of our favourite photos is like choosing a favourite child or pet! And as you know, we love our children and we love our Bubi! But I, somehow, managed come up with a lovely assortment of some of our most favourite captures. These are not exclusive by any means, and if we could find a song that was longer than a mere 3 minutes, we would include more photos!

So lovers, that is it! Another year older and another year wiser (maybe?!) With another season to look forward to, more couples to meet, collaborate with, laugh with, cry with, dance with and make memories with – we cannot wait to get started! In the mean time, turn up the volume, sit back and enjoy while we share this…

Intimate Toronto Engagement

So here’s the thing – when a couple asks us to come to their home and take photos of them hanging out and doing their thing we will NEVER say no! We squeal in excitement, nod our heads, pack our gear and zoom right over! And that is exactly what we did when Megan and Eddie asked us to capture their intimate Toronto engagement session in their home – this is what we live for as photographers!

Because we are lucky to work with couples who put their trust in us & our (sometimes) quirky ideas, we have been able to capture some pretty amazing e-sessions in some pretty amazing locations all over Canada and beyond! (Ahem – super cool Fredericton e-session in the water -yup that’s still one of our faves!) But that also means that we have an ever-growing wish list of places and spaces we want to photograph. An at-home intimate Toronto engagement session has been on the top of our list for a while for several reasons, the main being that your home is a space where you feel most comfortable, cozy, and hyggelig – which can translate into some really beautiful moments, both on and off camera (although we make sure to capture most of them!)

There are oodles of advantages for having a session in your own home – a big bonus is that you can enjoy a glass of wine (or two) to ease that camera shyness (see we are always thinking practically!) But aside from the beverages, your home is also a place that you are most familiar with and that comfort level can instantly create a sense of intimacy and calm in your photos. When we plan e-sessions with our couples one of the first questions we always ask is, “What speaks to you as a couple?” Followed by, “What is it that you love to do together?” Whether that translates into a cozy engagement session in your own home, or a walk to the beach – we encourage you to think about the places and spaces you love to frequent together and are reflective of you both.

Don’t worry about limiting your choices to one location, usually the 2 hours we book together are long enough to travel to two separate places as long as they are not super far apart! For Megan and Eddie we started in their home and then made our way to a park that Megan used to go to when she was little – both locations were near and dear to the couples’ hearts and translated into a pretty rad engagement session! Check out their photos below, and if you can’t get enough you can also see their full gallery here! Enjoy lovers!

Intimate Toronto Engagement Session at home
Intimate Toronto Engagement Session out of focus

Anna & Andrew ~ A Whimsical Wedding in Toronto

So we consider ourselves pretty humble people, but one thing both Hugh and I always like to brag about are the relationships we like to foster with the amazing couples and families we have the privilege to capture – I’m not going to lie, we are kinda like bad pennies, and for the most part it’s pretty hard to get rid of us! But despite the fact that we LOVE all our couples and we maintain friendships with them long after their big day is done, once in a while we meet someone that we just instantly click with, like they have us at “hello!” This was absolutely the case with Anna & Andrew! From the moment they stepped into our lives both Hugh and I just fell in love with their energy, quirkiness (keep in mind we, ourselves, are pretty darn quirky), their obvious affection for each other, and their natural ability to just relax, chill, and have a good time – we were kindred spirits right from the start! I think they kinda picked up on that, because what was meant to be an hour “business” meeting turned into a two hour gab session about everything from weddings to Star Trek, Thailand, Lululemon, and on.  So when, a couple of days later, they asked us to capture their big day, we were beyond thrilled – and a beautiful friendship was born… (well either that or they just still can’t rid of us!) Just like Anna and Andrew, themselves, their wedding was equally beautiful, chill, and hilarious (Andrew is a pretty funny guy – get Hugh and him together and there is no stopping their silliness!) They got married in a beautiful old church in Oakville, the chapel was filled with laughs, and tears as they committed to a lifetime with each other, after the ceremony we whisked the couple away to an old estate where we hung out, laughed some more (probably more than is actually appropriate for a work day) and snapped the happy couple as they snuggled, danced, and laughed (a lot of laughter at this one folks!) with us. I am told that the night ended on the same high note, and the party went into the wee hours of the morning. I honestly would not expect anything less from these two – but I will let them tell you their story  in their own words. Scroll down, and enjoy – oh and I dare you not to smile…

Anna & Andrew’s Love Story:

Andrew and I met in high school however, despite having the same group of friends, we never really talked or hung out.  In 2008 I got a summer job between second and third year university where Andrew worked full time and through a mutual friend, we started talking and hanging out more and more and the rest is history!

Our love story, wasn’t without it’s hardship though, in 2013 I  moved out west to Vancouver for a dream job and  for a few years Andrew and I did the whole long-distance thing.  After three years of west-coast living and long distance, we decided it was enough, we missed each other and hated being so far apart!   Plus, I felt that it was time for me to move back home.  Andrew flew out to help me pack up my Vancouver life so we could drive my car back across the country. Our first night on the trip back home, we stopped at the Fairmont Lake Louise as a bit of a “celebration” that we were reunited & despite all the odds made a long-distance relationship work.  We went out for a late-night walk around the lake, no one was around, the sky was clear and the moon was shining so bright that it reflected beautifully onto the lake… that’s when Andrew got down on one knee and asked me to marry him! Obviously I said “yes!” and got to admire my new bling for the rest of the ride back to Toronto

What inspired your wedding?

I always wanted a fall wedding, the time of year is so beautiful & the weather isn’t too hot or too cold.  We decided on a neutral & rustic themed wedding because of how many beautiful colours already exist during this time of year.  We are also a very casual couple and wanted something for our wedding that we could look back on in 10, 15 years and still love and think was timeless.

What was the most unique aspect about your wedding?

We loved having a Portuguese & Polish wedding!  We were able to incorporate all friends & family and everyone seemed to have a great time, which is all that we wanted!  It was also very special to have so many friends & family come from out of town. We had family come in from Poland & Germany and friends fly in from Vancouver & San Francisco.  To be able to have so many people fly in from so far to be there to celebrate with us was so special and something we will cherish forever!

Our wedding was such a party and everyone was having such a great time that when they closed down the bar, we asked them to re-open it and the venue did! Even the DJ continued playing and it was as if we could have partied all night long!

What was your most favourite part of your day?

Honestly, all of it!  The day flew by so quickly that I often ask Andrew if we can re-do it!  From the morning with my family & bridesmaids and putting on my dress with all of the laughs that followed to walking down the aisle and seeing each other for the first time and then partying the night away, it was all so perfect and better than I even imagined it would be!

What is your top advice for future couples?

  1. Everyone says it, but don’t sweat the small stuff.  If something isn’t going to plan on the day of, laugh it off and enjoy the moment! It goes by so, so quickly that getting worked up over a small detail is not worth it!
  2. I would also say to take a few moments every now and then to take a mental photo of everything! So much work and planning goes into this one day that you need to ensure you soak it all in and enjoy it.
  3. Bring more shoes than you think you will need!  You’re on your feet literally all day! The weather can change, your feet could hurt and the last thing you want to do is ruin your wedding shoes in the grass if it is muddy!  I threw a pair of Hunter rainboots into the limo and it ended up making for some pretty awesome photographs!
  4. Enjoy your first dance and make it a reflection of who you two are as a couple.  It doesn’t have to be something super formal or fancy – just have fun with it!
  5. Make the day about you two as a couple – yes you want to ensure that everyone who attends your wedding will have a great time, but remember, they are there for you!  In all the planning and prepping, bring some of your personalities to light. Andrew loves superheroes, so we incorporated that into the groomsmen’s attire and everyone’s entrances into the hall.

Vendor Info:

Church: St. Andrew’s Church

Hall: Lakeshore Convention Centre

Dress: Maggie Sottero

Suit/Tux: Strauss Men’s Wear 

Bridesmaids Dresses: Sophie’s Gown Shoppe 

Groomsmen Suits: Michael Kors

Hair: Schulz Make-Up & Beauty Studio

Make-up: Schulz Make-Up & Beauty Studio

Jewelry: (Bracelet) Tiffany & Co. (Earrings & Hairpiece) Bittersweet Jewelry

Décor: Art of Celebrations

Invitations: Designs by A

Limo Service: Erin Mills Limousine Service

Flowers: Art of Celebrations & Flower Parade

DJ: Good Vibrations

Cake: Piece of Cake by Shivani

Bride’s Shoes: Badgley Mischka

Groom & Groomsmen’s Shoes: Steve Madden

Socks: Harry Rosen

Best of 2017 ~ Engagements

Words truly cannot express how grateful we are for the couples we work with! You guys truly make what we do absolutely magical. Being around so much emotion always reminds us that love, just like life, is a journey never a destination – it is fluid, adaptive, forgiving, & selfless and we have the absolute privilege to be able to capture it as best we can and to immortalized its beauty. 2017 has been a bit of a tough year for me – running a business and having a baby at the same time is not an easy endeavour but going into 2018 I’m making a point of staying positive and grateful for the wonderful job I have (I get to photograph love! Thats pretty neat!) So to remind myself of how much I truly love what I do despite some of the difficulties, I have been going through our photos from last year and I couldn’t help but smile at all the wonderful memories we created! So part two of our “Best of…” series includes some of our favourite engagement moments and serves as a reminder of the amazing couples we get to hang out with and their love which we get to document. So turn up the music lovers, and enjoy!

 

The Best of 2017 ~ Weddings

This has been a year full of many new adventures and experiences, both personal and professional – not all have been super positive but they all definitely made us learn something valuable about ourselves as people, creatives, and as business owners. We are so grateful to be doing what we do – to have the freedom to be creative on a daily basis (sure it’s not always easy, but it sure is rewarding and fun!) and to bear witness to some of the most vulnerable and emotional events in people’s lives – We feel humbled that couples trust us to capture their most sacred memories and to immortalize their most precious moments, that truly is an honour! So thank you, to all of our friends and family, to our amazing couples that make what we do possible – we couldn’t have done any of this without your support and your trust! Hugs all around!

PS: Choosing a a limited amount of photos for our “Best Of…” slideshow was probably the most difficult thing we had to do so far in the new year! Please turn up the sound and enjoy!

Kelly, Vince, & Joie ~ A Fun Family Engagement in High Park

There is truly nothing more special than the melding of two families – two hearts, two souls, two sets of dreams to become one…unless there is a third little heart, soul, and set of dreams involved. When Kelly and Vince first approached us to photograph their engagement session we were thrilled, not only are they our kind of people (you know, laid back, easy-going, creative, and slightly dorky) they also wanted to include Vince’s beautiful little girl Joie. We absolutely loved the idea of having a little lady included in their session (I mean who doesn’t love a little girl in a pink tutu!?) but also because we love the idea of this unique little family coming together and sharing their love. We had so much fun roaming high park, swinging on swings, picking flowers, and snuggling. It really made all of us feel like big kids again…

Ida & Nolan ~ An Intimate Breakfast Engagement in Toronto

Once in a while we come across people we just know we were meant to meet. We get that lovely inexplicable feeling in our guts that these humans may be friends for life – this is exactly the feeling we go as soon as we met Ida & Nolan. Not only do we have oodles in common (including our mutual love for greasy spoon burger joints) but we instantly clicked not only with Ida and Nolan themselves but their entire family (honestly Italian families are the bomb!) For their engagement session, the couple invited me into Ida’s family home, where we had a late breakfast, chatted about their epic wedding at Hockley Valley and played with their adorable Visla fur baby, who also tried to steal some of the goodies served at breakfast (she’s fast that one). It was the perfect way to kick off the weekend, Nutella included!

Jacqueline & NJ ~ An Engagement in Little Italy

When a couple we met at another wedding asks us to photograph their own big day, we can’t help but high-five each other (yes, we are THAT dorky!) To us, this means two things: one – we already get along and our chemistry is aligned (BONUS!) and 2 – we must have done something right (DOUBLE BONUS). So when NJ and Jacqueline asked us to capture their special day we were thrilled. Their wedding is fast approaching and we are super excited to spend even more time with them, and so in honour of the yet-to-occur occasion, we are posting some snaps of their engagement session in Little Italy.

We always suggest to our couples to have fun with their engagement session location and to choose something and some place that strongly represents them and their relationship. Somewhere you feel comfy and/or are familiar with so that it is a true representation of your journey together. Because NJ & Jacqueline are huge fans of board games, we started the evening at Snakes and Lattes a cafe that holds oodles and oodles of games and serves some pretty great lattes. After a pretty heated game of Scrabble, we made our way through the charming Toronto neighbourhood taking in the gorgeous weather and light. It was a lovely and chill way to spend a warm summer evening…

Selvia & Jeffry ~ A Vintage Engagement in Toronto

One chilly November afternoon, I met with Jeffry and Selvia downtown Toronto. Despite the cold weather, these two were all smiles ready to have me follow them around downtown and capture their obvious adoration for each other. Jeffry and Selvia’s story is an epic international tale. The two met in school on their first day in university in summer 2006 in Asia. They were instantly smitten with one another and went out of their way to spend as much time together as possible – they secretly signed up for all of the same group projects and any free time they had was spent talking, laughing, and dreaming about their future together. But even despite their mutual commitment and love for each other they had some bumps along the way. Selvia decided to continue her studies abroad in Japan for five years without Jeffry and they endured a long distance relationship for that entire time. After such a long time apart they just couldn’t imagine being away from one another for any longer and both came to Toronto, Canada to study together. After just two years in Toronto, Jeffry popped the question and without any hesitation Selvia  said “YES”! This May the two will be tying the knot in Indonesia and although we can’t be part of their big celebration we are so lucky have captured their love in the city where they re-connected and solidified their future together!

This engagement session was featured on The Wedding Co.

We were thrilled to have shot this session with Dipak Parmar, see more of Dipak’s work here!

Preserving your Memories…

Photographs are meant to be looked at, admired, and shared – no matter the medium in which they appear. That being said, there is no denying that although looking at your images on a computer screen can feel inspiring, seeing a photograph in print imbues an image with a unique kind of tangible feel.  Think about the last time you came across your parents or grandparents’ family photo album – if you are anything like us then you probably spent a good chunk of time looking through it, admiring the longevity of the beautiful photographs encased within, and laughing at some of the ridiculously outdated fashions (or maybe that’s just us?!) No matter the reaction, the way a photo album feels in your hands, the texture of the pages, the vividness or fading of the images, tends to bring the photographs to life. An album can evoke forgotten memories and incite a sense of nostalgia for moments passed, not to mention it can be a beautiful showpiece to display and enjoy. 

As wedding photographers, it is our job to capture and preserve memories, and while we love digital media, we also know that having your memories curated in a photo album can be invaluable. The beauty of albums is that they are accessible, easily shared, and lovingly passed on from one generation to the next, which may not be the case for digital files. Furthermore albums, especially wedding albums, are a beautiful physical reminder of the intimate moments shared between the bride and groom and family and friends, all the while providing a timeless snapshot of captured celebrations. 

In addition to the beauty and longevity of having an album, however, there is also a very practical element.  As I sit here writing this post I (shamefully), think to our own wedding photos, tucked away in a folder, on a hard-drive, on one of our computers somewhere, rarely looked at and rarely enjoyed. Sure we posted some of the highlights on Facebook and one photo sits framed in our living room, but after the excitement of our wedding day and the inevitable commencement of everyday activities, we somehow pushed the work of making our own album to the bottom of the priority list. Sadly, this is not an uncommon narrative, most of our friends who enjoy their photographs on a more regular basis, do so because they were organized enough to make an album or had their photos carefully and beautifully bound by their photographers. As a result families sit together album in tow, share stories of their special day, and collectively laugh together at the memories – but best of all they can pass on those memories in a very visual way. 

Here are some things to think about when considering a wedding album:

There is difference between an “album” and “coffee table book”. Coffee table books tend to be smaller, lighter, and easier to transport but they also need more care because the pages are usually not as thick. While they are also cheaper in price they may not last as long as a lay-flat albums with thicker more durable pages. Either way both are amazing options to have your memories preserved.

Aside from the importance of having your own album made, think about who else would enjoy looking and reminiscing about your special day. Parent albums are a great gift idea for mom and dad and are sure to win you some serious cheek pinching and tears or joy from grandpa and grandma.

When working with your photographer, make sure you always specify what you would like the focus of your album to be. Is it family photos, detail shots, photos of you and your hubby, or do you prefer to hand over the reigns and give your album-maker full creative control? Some couples like to be more involved in their album creation than others, but it also important to remember that your photographer is a professional and they’ve been trained to curate your images in a beautiful and timeless fashion.

Contact Us

Toronto & Beyond

(647) 454-4744

hello@boakviewphotography.com

Stay in touch

Latest on Instagram