I love hotel lobbies.  Love them.

For as long as I can remember, I’ve loved just sitting in a hotel lobby and watching the world go by.  I love watching all of the people and wondering what led them there.  To that spot…in that city…at that time.  It’s so romantic…so mysterious…so beautifully real.  Imagine the novels that could be written from all the stories that pass through a hotel lobby?

Best of all though, is that I get to be one of them! I am also one of those stories.  I was also lead to that spot…in that city…at that time.  My story is part of the bigger picture…also woven right into all the others.  And I love that.  I’m drawn to that.  It reminds me that our paths cross all the time…whether we realize it or not.

I’ve been very blessed throughout my life to have stayed in some very beautiful hotels around the world.  To have stood under grand chandeliers…visited resident artists…and swam in acres of lagoon.  All of this…in hotels.  A home away from home.  A mystery that is sometimes a world away.

It’s different when I enter hotel lobbies in Ottawa though…because it’s almost always for a wedding.  I am becoming part of someone else’s story instead of being the main character in my own.  And it’s perfection in a totally different way. While I still get to sit back and watch the world go by…I don’t have to imagine any part of it, because it’s there…it’s happening.  Right before my eyes.

The magic…the mystery…the elegance.  It all just becomes another day doing the work that I’m so blessed to do.

As I walked into the Lord Elgin Hotel on a blustery, cold day in February…they were the very essence of what I love it all.  They were seated in beautiful over-sized chairs.  The groom in his tuxedo…the bride in her gown.  Together, warming in front of the fireplace.

A story already written…but a story yet to be told.

On this day, the hotel lobby held the love story that is Judith and Christian…

The post JUDITH & CHRISTIAN: PORTRAITS appeared first on Fifteen:Fifty-One Photography | The Blog.

It first happened around the middle of August just after Hudson turned five months old.  Our baby who had been sleeping through the night for over three months suddenly woke up twenty times that night.  And the next night.  And the next.  Then he also stopped napping.  Pretty soon, my husband and I were taking turns spending three hour intervals in his room throughout the night so that the other could get some sleep.

This went on for three months.  We would often be up with the sun, taking Hudson out in the stroller trying to lure him back to sleep.  Out for late night walks trying to keep ourselves sane.  It wasn’t an easy time in our house.

In October of that year, we sat in a specialist’s office while our son was diagnosed with a laundry list of food allergies, including anaphylaxis to milk, eggs & peanuts, and an intestinal allergy to soy.  Good times!

As first time parents, to say that we were overwhelmed is a bit of a understatement.  We were handed a binder about an inch thick stating all of the ways in which our life would be thrown upside down in the name of not putting our child at risk; any air travel would have to be done on the first flight of the day {before any peanut proteins would be able to contaminate the cabin}…we shouldn’t travel any further than 50km from any major hospital…never use lotions or creams {on yourself} that may have been exposed to milk or peanuts for fear that they may be absorbed through his skin…and on and on.  The list was exhaustive.  As were our emotions by this time.

Now – a year and a half later – we’ve come to learn that the fear of these allergies is actually worse than the actual allergy itself {note to self: this lesson can be applied to most other things in life as well!!!}.  We accommodate…we take precautions…but we don’t stop living.  In fact, the biggest challenge that we are facing with these allergies has nothing to do with food…and everything to do with finding a way to teach our son that – while he is different – he’s still perfectly him.

Having a toddler means having a little boy who is starting to notice that his snacks are different when he’s at Sunday School…or that we don’t stop for ice cream in the summer like his cousins do…or worst of all, birthday cake is not an indulgence for him at parties the way it is for other kids.  And it’s tough to watch sometimes…because people – even children – like to be different on their own terms…not because a pediatric allergist told them to.

My dear friend and former bride, Crystal, knows this feeling all too well.  She’s been there…told she has to be different…made the changes.  And she’s familiar with the struggle.  So when we were chatting one evening and she mentioned the idea of starting a cupcake business that is entirely gluten free…entirely peanut free…some even being entirely vegan…I obviously thought this was pure brilliance!

Well, that “little” idea has taken off in leaps and bounds.  The news is spreading and the demand is rising.  Her cupcakes are amazing!  Broken down to the most organic and raw ingredients, Crystal has created something that not only appeals to the sweet tooth in all of us…but can truly be enjoyed by all of us!  She has created something that means no one has to be different…no one has to be left out.  Even my sweet Hudson…who is totally digging his new position as head of quality control!!

As a parent, there are no words for the gratitude that I have for such an endeavor.  As a dessert lover, she had me at the icing!!

Ladies and Gentlemen, I’m beyond thrilled to introduce just some of the amazing creations by the brilliant gf2 cupcake company…

The post GF2 CUPCAKES appeared first on Fifteen:Fifty-One Photography | The Blog.

At least once a year, Steve and I visit with some close friends of ours who live near Port Elgin.  They have this amazing piece of land, complete with a little lake, tons of trees and an animal or two that may have wandered over from time to time.  Their place is a little piece of rural paradise.  I love taking walks with them along the gravel roads…their dog running off into the woods…passing neighbors as we go.  It’s so peaceful…so isolated…so different from any life that I’ve ever known.

Steve grew up in the country.  I didn’t .  I’ve been an urban girl my entire life.  Walking to amenities is really all I know.  Even now, living in what we consider to be the “suburbs”…I’m still able to take the kids by stroller to the grocery store, library, gym and of course…Starbucks.  A quick ten kilometer bike ride and we’re downtown in less than forty minutes.  Life is pretty accessible for us and always has been.

But anytime we’re driving home from our friends’ house, we inevitably spend a good few hours talking about how amazing it would be just to buy a place outside of Ottawa and flip our lifestyle entirely upside down.  The temptation eventually passes {usually when I need a 6am coffee run and the Starbucks is only four blocks away!!!} and we quickly remember how much we love our little corner of the world!  It really is such a beautiful place!

What we’ve concluded though, is that most of the rural appeal…is really the people!  Country people are amazing!  They are friendly…they are relaxed…they are always up for anything!  Country people are what the city needs more of!!  And I was reminded of this when I pulled up in the driveway to begin shooting Fallon and Jonathan‘s wedding.  There’s just something in the air…something that says “welcome…make yourself at home!”  And I just love it!

That was essentially the tone for the entire day; a wedding where everyone was family…everyone was welcome…everyone had a part to play.  Despite the ridiculously shivering temperatures, Fallon and Jonathan smiled the entire time.  They laughed…they enjoyed…and they embraced this amazing day that is now known as their wedding day.

And as I drove home much later that day…the thoughts popped into my head again.  Thoughts of packing up our family and starting over rustic style.  But then I remembered…

It’s not more country that I need…it’s more people like Fallon and Jonathan that I need…

The post FALLON & JONATHAN: WEDDING appeared first on Fifteen:Fifty-One Photography | The Blog.

I think it’s hilarious that, one day, I’m going to have to explain to Hudson and Avery that we used to actually take pictures with something called film.  That we had to send it away to be developed and that – until you got the pictures back in your own hands – you really had no idea if they were any good!  I’ll have to explain to them what university office hours are and how – back in the day – if you wanted to make a phone call…you had to go home!!  My children have been born into a completely different world…a world that, even when I was in high school, I was still just learning about.

Every day, I’m amazed by technology.  I’m amazed at how small the world has become…how close we all are…and all the while, how lonely it can make all of us.  We judge our success by how many friends we have on Facebook instead the people we share our weekends with.  We send email instead of holiday cards.  We spend more time with Google than we do with our families.  It almost makes me feel like we’ve been given this great power that we haven’t entirely figured out how to use.  The imbalance frightens me sometimes…and {as I sit with my laptop, in a giant leather chair, using Starbucks’ wifi to type this very post!} I’m just as guilty as the next person.

But there are also times in which technology brings me to tears.  Times when the advancements that we’ve discovered remind me that there genuinely is good in everything…

Vanessa and I first starting chatting just a couple of months ago.  Me, here in Ottawa.  Her, at her computer in the Philippines.  It started with the story of how she fell in love with Canada and then shortly there after, a boy named Dustin.  Vanessa and Dustin got engaged…moved to the Philippines…and were now coming back to Ottawa for the holidays.  After some long discussions regarding international logistics, they also decided to have their wedding while they were here.  After a few more international logistics, the two of them arrived in Canada, were able to choose a date…and we were on our way.  With only two weeks to plan everything out {and Christmas break smack in the middle of it}, we chatted on the phone, passed a few more emails between us and shared one final coffee date before the big day.

When their beautiful snowy day finally rolled around, we met up with a handful of their closest friends and family at City Hall to finally seal the deal…to finally make these two lovebirds husband and wife!  But for all of the joy and for all of the excitement, there was still one vital piece of the puzzle missing to make the day complete.  Vanessa’s parents.  They were still in the Philippines and in turn, unable to be a part of the official wedding day.

This is where the glorious trumpets of technology sound…

With the help of all hands on deck…Vanessa’s parents joined the ceremony from the Philippines {at 5am!} via Skype and Facetime.  It was amazing…and touching…and so beautiful to witness.  A small thing in our day and age…an incredible thing in the grand scheme of things!

It’s been a whirlwind relationship for Vanessa, Dustin and I as they are already packing their bags to head back to the Philippines…but it’s been amazing to document this part of their journey for them.  To share this story across continents…to come together for a brief moment in the midst of the adventure…and then to part ways again with a whole new perspective on how close we really all are.

Congratulations, my new friends!  Let’s be sure to keep in touch…we certainly have the means to do so!!!

The post VANESSA & DUSTIN: WEDDING appeared first on Fifteen:Fifty-One Photography | The Blog.

I was walking through a bookstore yesterday with the kids when I noticed one of my most favourite things about the new year; magazines with the words “year in review” scrolled across the top!  Ugh, every January, I have to stop myself from spending eighty dollars on everything from the best photographs of the year to the best dressed of the year to the top recipes of the year.  When it comes to magazines, I’m definitely a recreational user…but when I do give in, I tend to overdose!

There’s just something so appealing about being beautifully reminded of everything that time tries so hard to make you forget.  Good or bad, I like remembering that it was once there.  In the world.  On the red carpet.  Going viral on the internet.  I genuinely think it’s important to reflect.  We strive so vehemently to become better people…to reach greatness…but we’re so often faced with the miles left to go.  So it becomes essential to remember where you’ve been…where the road has already taken you…the adventure that’s already been traveled.

I’ve mentioned this before and I’ll mention it again…I have the best readers ever.  EVER.  You come back here time and time again to be a part of my life…my art…my stories.  And I am eternally grateful for it.  And you participate in the conversation in a remarkably engaging way.  I’m often finding myself flooded with emails about a particular shoot that you loved or a piece of writing that you want to know more about.  Or sometimes, it’s just to send an encouraging word…share a story of your own…or to remind me that you’re there, watching from a distance.  And it’s humbling.  In more ways that I would even know how to express.

This blog has had an exceptional year.  We’ve had more visitors than ever before.  It has brought some of the most amazing people into my life {one of whom just photographed Lady Gaga last night!!!}.  And most recently, I’ve been approached about potentially turning my little corner of cyberspace into a book {insanity!}.  Regardless of what ultimately happens…I could survive an entire year off that compliment alone!!

In the end though, I’ve had an exceptional year because you’ve made it an exceptional year.  Art – while it can be created in solitude – can’t be received in solitude.  So before we head off into another amazing year, full of possibility and potential…here’s what you, my dear readers, loved most about two thousand and twelve…

5. Keri & Greg: Wedding
It was my first wedding of the season and perhaps the best way to start off the year!  Keri and Greg were a fairly last minute addition to the roster and with nearly a year having gone by since our first coffee date, they have become one of my favourite couples!  I shot their wedding on a wonderfully warm May day…in a beautifully rustic field filled with vintage cars and the most black flies that I’ve ever seen in my life!  It was wedding kick-off bliss!

4. Kate: Portraits
Kate.  My sweet, sweet Kate.  We met up on a dirt road in South Western Ontario to do her portrait session and instead, I found myself flooded with the agony of too much pain…too much turmoil…too many demons battling it out in my head.  I fell apart that evening.  I broke into a thousand little pieces without the slightest idea of how to put them all back together again.  I was hurting…I was afraid…I was a mere fragment of the person I once was.  But God is good…God is faithful…and God gave me exactly what I needed at that very moment.  He gave me Kate.  He gave me one of the most beautiful human beings that I’ve ever met.  And He gave me enough strength to wipe the tears away and capture some of my favourite images of the year. 

3. Lisa & Mike: Engagement
Ah, yes…Lisa and Mike!  The two breathtakingly gorgeous faces that you couldn’t help but adore.   And I was certainly no exception!  Perhaps it was the perfect summer night…perhaps it was the intoxicating light…or perhaps it was their eyes.  Oh, those eyes!  Whatever it was, it makes you want to get all dressed up…go on a first date…and fall in love all over again!  Even if it’s with the very same person you’ve loved all along…

2. Stephanie & David: Engagement
They say that to truly create magic, you have to work just outside of your comfort zone…to push your art just beyond the place that makes your heart beat a little faster.  A couple of days before Avery was born, an amazing couple approached me with the idea of integrating a 1920s silent movie into the images of their engagement.  Essentially, they were asking me to push beyond my comfort zone and create something completely different!  So that’s what we did.  And not only did we create an amazing story to tell, but we created the ideal relationship surrounding a camera; me, having to fully trust their vision and them, having to fully trust my ability to bring it to life.  The result was just as promised…pure magic!

1. Lindsay & Brad: Wedding
When searching through blog stats…some things come as a surprise.  Other things…not so much!  Lindsay and Brad fall into the latter!  Last year, their engagement made the top five posts of the year, along with making an appearance on several wedding blogs.  This year, their incredible day graced the pages of Wedding Bells Magazine as one of their featured weddings.  Between the beautiful DYI decor to the amazing backdrop set along the St. Lawrence River…it was a hard affair to resist!  But at the end of the day, it was all them!  All Lindsay and all Brad.  Two people so unbelievably in love that it makes the rest of us fall in love with them too!  Lindsay and Brad, welcome to the number one spot!

And then there’s you…my beloved readers!  Thank you for making the past year one to remember!  I can’t wait to have you join me on the upcoming ride!

Much love,
Gen xoxo

The post TOP FIVE OF TWO THOUSAND TWELVE appeared first on Fifteen:Fifty-One Photography | The Blog.

I read recently that if you don’t write down the things that you remember…then it’s actually like they never happened at all.  Intriguing.  I don’t know that I entirely agree, but it does tug at something inside…the writer inside of me.  Because once those things are forgotten, then how do you know?  How do you remember?  Once you’ve forgotten…then all is forgotten.

That’s why I had to write it down as it happened.  So that I wouldn’t forget the moment…

I was walking down the aisle at the grocery store around 11am on a Tuesday.  Steve’s parent’s had just left our place to head home and I had both kids bundled in their running stroller ready to tackle the snow.  It was cold outside…so cold.  But the sun was warm and inviting.  I remember the trail of water that we were leaving in our wake as we turned down the aisle filled with office supplies, birthday cards and magazines.

And that’s when I saw it…the magazine…

I was told that the Spring/Summer 2013 edition of Wedding Bells Magazine was due to hit the news stands that Saturday.  But it was only Tuesday.  So when I looked over and saw the beautiful green cover with the gorgeous blue script…I nearly jumped out of my skin.  I grabbed the first copy and – like a maniac – flipped through all of the pages until I found it…until I found the familiar faces!

This was December 11th, 2012.  Almost a full month ago.  And I’m only posting about it now because a part of me still wonders if it’s real.   I still wonder if – even though I’ve written it down – did it actually happen at all?

In reality, I’ve had close to six months to get used to the idea.  Six months of working with art interns and senior editors.  Six months of waiting for confirmation that the issue has gone to print.  Six months to get used to the idea that my images would be featured in a magazine.  Not just one wedding…but two.  And yet, I just don’t get used to it.  Even now.  A full month later.  It’s too surreal…too amazing…too much.

Three years ago, when I first started this “project”…this wasn’t part of the plan.  I wasn’t suppose to have to write things down so that I could believe they were true.  And yet, here we are…a part of a plan that is much bigger than anything I could have imagined.  And for that, I am eternally grateful.

So before my hands begin writing it all down {every last detail}…I will raise those hands to the heavens and thank God for including me in His bigger plan.

Because it’s a plan that even I have yet to believe…

The post TRYING TO BELIEVE appeared first on Fifteen:Fifty-One Photography | The Blog.

We got snow!  Finally!  We woke up to it on Monday morning!

Well, not quite.  Steve and I had actually been up every two hours with Avery over the course of Sunday night {thanks for that, teething fairy!} and at some point during the dark, cold hours…Steve told to look outside.  So, with very groggy eyes, I peeked through the curtains and there it was…the world covered in snow!  A beautiful blanket of white that makes everything peaceful again and somehow, it was okay that I was exhausted and on my own in the morning.  It was winter now!

If you read my last post, you know that I was having a really hard time coming down from the intensity of my wedding season.  My mind was racing, my body was restless and I just wasn’t finding myself able to decompress.  When I woke up after my three hours of sleep on Monday morning…I had shifted!  I had managed to find the slower gear…the quieter pace…the deeper breaths.  Apparently all I needed was snow!  I needed a literal change of seasons in order to induce the metaphorical one that my soul so desperately needed!  And despite the sleep that I very much desire…I’m happy!

As December rolls in at the end of the week, I’m looking forward to all things Christmas!  Some baking…a much needed visit with family…our little girl’s first birthday…and there’s a boatload of must-watch movies with my name on them!  So you may be seeing a little bit less of me over the next month as our family wraps our arms around the holiday season and settles in for a bit of a rest.

But first, I need to take a moment to thank some people who have made this past year extra amazing for me…people who have embraced my work…featured my work…shared my work.  And for that, I can’t thank them enough…

www.weddingbells.ca

kristen & aaron: wedding

ashley & rob: wedding

www.weddingsinontario.net

heather & tom: engagement

www.weddingstyleblog.com

lisa & mike: engagement

www.satinandsnowflakes.com

lindsay & brad: engagement

jessica & pierre: wedding

learnlove.org

kayla & tony: engagement

anastasia & nic: engagement

liane & ryan: engagement

www.ottawaweddingmagazine.com

keri & greg: wedding

It’s hard to accurately express how much it means when other people not only believe in your work…but want to share it with others.  It humbles me…it blesses me…it makes me immensely grateful to be able to work with such amazing people!

Thank you again and again for reminding me that I have the best job in the world!

- Gen xoxo

The post SHOUTING OUT appeared first on Fifteen:Fifty-One Photography | The Blog.

I always love driving at the end of the night after finishing up a wedding!  Sometimes I’m close to home…other times I have hours to go on the road…but either way, I love it.  I usually change my shoes…turn on my favourite music…take a giant sigh of relief…and off I go.  Whether it’s the next ten minutes or the next three hours, it’s much needed time for me to unwind, decompress and process everything that’s happened over the course of the day; all of the family, the friends, the emotion, the anticipation.  In a lot of ways, it feels like I was just there all along…through all of the planning, the stress, the excitement.  And then you have to go home.  Because you’re tired, your body hurts, and the “wedding hangover” is about to set in at any moment.  Just like your own wedding…it’s closing time eventually and life inevitably goes back to days when you’re not wearing a beautiful white dress {though I highly encourage all brides to bake muffins as often as they can in their lovely attire!}.

Then there is the drive home after the last wedding of the season…and that drive is completely different.  For that drive, I stand at the car door just a little bit longer…I hold my camera a little bit tighter…and I breathe a little bit deeper.  The drive home is always a mix of emotions; I’m sad that my time with all of my couples has come to an end; I’m grateful for the amazing year that has been; and I look forward to the time of rest that is before me.  And I’m also tired!  Creating is a lot of work.  A lot of energy.  A lot of putting yourself into someone else’s story.  And it requires some time off.

Stephanie and David’s wedding was the end of my season.  No more ten hour days in front of a camera.  The last big party before it came time to switch gears a little bit.  And they were perfection.  They were the absolute best way to finish off a year.  Mostly, because they are adorable!  They laugh so genuinely…they love so immensely…and they give of themselves so happily.  They are wonderful and the moment I opened my car door…I missed them.

Steph & Dave, I’ve heard it been said numerous times that you have to choose your last wedding of the season wisely.  That you need to choose a couple that can carry you through to the end…that can inspire you until that last drive home.  Because that’s the couple that’s going to make the season worth missing!

What can I say…looks like I’m a wise woman…

The post STEPHANIE & DAVID: WEDDING appeared first on Fifteen:Fifty-One Photography | The Blog.

“Coffee date soon?!?!”

For those of you who don’t know me overly well, allow me to be the first to tell you that those three words – strung together with a gloriously inviting question mark {the more punctuation the better!} – are some of my absolute favourites!  They are heavenly…they are sweet…they are the beginning of a very beautiful friendship!

Coffee dates mean complaining about traffic…coffee dates mean a joint love affair for all things caffeinated…coffee dates mean getting to know someone.

Whenever one of my brides throws these three words my way, my day brightens…my world lightens…and I am immensely thankful for a job that includes the liberty of coffee dates!

Because, here’s the thing…

So much of life is a transaction.  An interaction of giving and taking.  Time…money…effort…services…quality…quantity…and and and…the list goes on.  So much of what we do these days isn’t personal…it’s business.  And I just can’t live in a world like that.

So, when I meet a couple like Lisa and Mike…and when I get those fantastic little words that pop up in my email, I am reminded that the world isn’t just transactional…it is – more than anything – relational.  It’s about people and not just pictures…it’s about an investment of emotion and not just money…it’s about the personal ties that bind and not just the contractual ones.

From day one, I have adored Lisa and Mike.  They are wonderful, kind, encouraging.  They are personal.  And my time with them has had a pretty fantastic coffee date or two!  Coffee dates that included the details of their life and not just the reception…coffee dates that vented about challenges of the day and not just the guest list.  They were coffee dates with friends… not just my clients.

Lisa and Mike, thank you for never letting it be just about business.  Thank you, for making it personal…

xoxo

The post LISA & MIKE: WEDDING appeared first on Fifteen:Fifty-One Photography | The Blog.

Life can be complicated sometimes.  Life can be tricky and messy and full of drama sometimes.  Life can be filled with the unexpected and the difficult and the surprisingly challenging sometimes.  All in all, life can just be a lot of work sometimes.

But then there are the other times.  The times when things seem perfect and polished.  The times when the days flow with ease and joy and bliss and excitement.  The times when all the right things happen at all the right times with all the right people.  All in all, life can just be a whole lot of beautiful moments sometimes.

I would like to think that life is filled with more of the luscious than the strenuous…that there’s more to smile about than to cry about…that there’s more to love than to turn your back on.  But it doesn’t mean that we should be any less grateful for them when they happen.  Because when they happen…they are reminders – reminders of what matters…reminders of what lasts…reminders of what is truly magical and wondrous and worth holding on to.

Andrée and Mathieu‘s wedding day was one of those times – when all of the right things happen at all the right times with all the right people.  And it made me you just want to stop and say ‘thank you’.

THANK YOU for bringing these two people together so the world can be just that much more perfect!

The post ANDRÉE & MATHIEU: WEDDING appeared first on Fifteen:Fifty-One Photography | The Blog.

When I was in high school, a good friend of our family got married on the hottest day of the year.

Their cake melted in the sun…one of the groomsmen got heat stroke from spending the day in a tux…and half of their guests left the outdoor ceremony for cooler grounds.  All in all, it was best defined as a bit of a wedding day train wreck.

Four years ago, when I started shooting weddings, one of the things that intimidated me the most was dealing with the unpredictability of nature.  While it’s easy to say that it doesn’t matter…having tumultuous conditions has the potential for some pretty detrimental side effects.  But if you get the right couple…with the right frame of mind…then it becomes absolutely true; the weather really doesn’t matter!

When I woke up a few weeks ago to the realization that I was about to shoot Lisa and Jason’s outdoor wedding on the hottest day of the year…my first thought went back to my family friends and the fragments of wedding day bliss that systematically fell apart as the mercury kept rising.  The heat…the humidity…the too many layers of clothing!

And then I reminded myself once again; with the right couple…and the right frame of mind…even the hottest of days can become the party of a lifetime!

By the time the sun finally set and I started the long drive home {in my air conditioned vehicle!!!}…the mercury had managed to clock in at a unruly 45 degrees.  Yes, there was some sweating!  Yes, there was a little more sweating!  But there was also an amazing cottage BBQ…some beers in the woods…the mother of all chess games…and from what I’m told, some much deserved late night dips in the lake {the bride included!}!!

Lisa and Jason…you guys are beyond fantastic!  I still can’t believe how you turned a brutally scorching day into one of the funnest weddings I’ve shot all year!!!  Frankly…the weather ain’t got nothing on you!!

The post LISA & JASON: WEDDING appeared first on Fifteen:Fifty-One Photography | The Blog.

Every year, when I was growing up, my mom’s work would host an end of summer BBQ over labour day weekend.  Rain or shine, we would gather near the water – with music, food, lawn chairs, beer – and we would just be…together.  Everyone would bring their kids and their pets and their favourite sweater for the late night campfire…and even though the calendar was about to turn to Fall and school was about to start…it was still summer right where we were.

These BBQs are some of my favourite childhood memories.  Because very few things are better than just being with family and friends to celebrate something beautiful…even if it’s just to celebrate a long summer night.  A warm season gone by.  A new one about to begin.

Jen and Mike‘s wedding brought all of those years flooding back to me as they tied the knot in the very same fashion; an amazing backyard party with family…friends…and a whole lot to celebrate.

When I first pulled up to the gorgeous property in Russell, decorations were still being put up…friends were swimming in the pool…and the good times were only just getting started.  As the day rolled on, cars lined the street…wardrobe changes happened…and a mariachi band even joined in the fun.

Until finally, as the sun set behind the trees, the party took a pause so that Jen and Mike could commit their lives to each other in the very best way possible; in their backyard…surrounded by family and friends…with a season of their relationship having just gone by…and a brand new one about to begin.

What a day.  What a love.

What an amazing thing to watch…

The post JEN & MIKE: WEDDING appeared first on Fifteen:Fifty-One Photography | The Blog.

The first time someone told me that I should write a book was during my second year of university.  We were walking down the street towards campus when my friend {who would later become my boyfriend!} said “Gen…you should really write a book someday!  And it should be about love…”  I was pretty puzzled at this statement and frankly, considered it to be the worst pick up line I had ever heard!  “You think I should write a love story?”, I replied.  “No.  You need to write a story about love.  You just see it everywhere…so you should write about it.”

Obviously, I never ended up writing a book about love.  I fell in love.  I followed love.  I even captured love.  But I never wrote a book about it.

I did, however, constantly find myself wondering what that book would look like.  If you could put love into words…what would they say?  What would the cover look like?  How many chapters would there be?  It’s been just one of the mental dialogues that has been following me around for close to a decade.

A few weeks ago though, I was able to put a few more of the pieces together.  And it came in the form of Heather and Tom…one of the sweetest, happiest, and most in love couples that you’ll ever meet…

Now, truthfully, most couples on their wedding day naturally tend to be sweet, happy and completely in love.  It’s sort of a given.  But not everyone laughs.  A lot.  Or cries at the mere sight of each other {aka. the best first look EVER!}.  These are the little things that made them so different.  So amazing.  So perfect for the story.

And as I walked away from their day, I knew that if I ever wrote a book about love…it would be a book about them!  Through laughter…through tears…through the pages of a perfect love story…

The post HEATHER & TOM: WEDDING appeared first on Fifteen:Fifty-One Photography | The Blog.

The first time I met Lindsay and Brad was in a dentist’s office.  For real!  We sat on little stools huddled around a computer next to all the dental hygiene equipment and talked about the beautiful plans that were in place for their waterfront wedding.  It wasn’t a typical “first date” but nonetheless…I liked them.  A lot!

A few months later, we met for the second time along the St. Lawrence River.  We got to know each other better…we laughed a lot…and we took some beautiful pictures.  They gave me the cutest birthday card ever!  After that, I was smitten!

As for you guys…many of you fell for them here…on the pages of this blog.  You didn’t know them, and yet you couldn’t get enough of them.  You loved their smiles…their chemistry…the way that the world just looked better with the two of them in it.  You loved them so much that you just kept coming back to see them.  Over and over and over again.  My site meter could barely handle all of the traffic.

And I totally get it.

These two just have something about them.  A magic…a wonder…an immense beauty.  Their love is like a vortex that just swirls with such force that it brings everyone within proximity a little bit closer.  It’s so amazing to watch.

Lindsay and Brad, my heart grew two sizes when I showed up for your wedding day!  I knew from the first time I met you that I was going to love every single minute of our time together.  Your wedding was a dream…but your love is a fairytale.

Thank you so much for letting me be such a big part of the story…

The post LINDSAY & BRAD: WEDDING appeared first on Fifteen:Fifty-One Photography | The Blog.

My mother-in-law has the most remarkable garden.  So often, when we make the long drive down to visit, we’ll pull up in the driveway to find her knee deep in dirt wearing a giant, over-sized sun hat.  To watch her, you’d think that she was lost in another place…lost among her flowers and wind chimes…lost from the chaos and happenings of day-to-day life.  It’s a really beautiful thing to witness.

Gardening really isn’t for everyone though.  Gardening takes patience…it takes inspiration…it takes trust.  It takes the ability to sit back, relax, and know that in the long run…the effort is always worth it.  The effort will bring forth something more beautiful than you ever imagined.

It certainly didn’t come as a surprise for me to know that Jessica and Pierre felt it appropriate to have a backyard, garden wedding to exchange their vows.  Right there, among the trees and the flowers, they stood before their loved ones to make a promise.  A promise to be patience…to be inspired…to be trusting.  A promise that if they found themselves knee deep in dirt…they would do it together.

Because the truth is that marriage isn’t always easy.  It will endure hard times…stresses…external factors.  But just like those countless hours spent in a garden…the effort is always worth it.  The effort surpasses the storms…makes it through drought…it can even outlast a hungry animal or two!

Jess and Pierre, congratulations!  You have already started bringing forth that certain something that is more beautiful than any of us could ever imagine!

Thank you for letting me be there to capture it…

The post JESSICA & PIERRE: WEDDING appeared first on Fifteen:Fifty-One Photography | The Blog.

Before my life as a photographer, I worked at an art gallery.  A very beautiful art gallery.   Some of the finest art in the world would pass through our space on any given day and every time I looked at it…I couldn’t help but be swept up in the splendor of it all.

I remember sitting in a staff meeting one day and discussing the final logistics of a exhibition opening when a colleague gently reminded us “not to get too stressed out about it…it’s not like we are saving lives here”!  And it’s true – technically speaking – we weren’t performing heart surgery or rescuing someone from a burning building.  But I would definitely be hesitant to say that art doesn’t save lives.

Life as a whole, is perhaps the most beautiful work of art there is.  A gorgeous landscape of colour and light…a beautiful soundtrack with which to live out the adventure…the script of your choosing to follow along with.  Life…is art.  And when you walk into a museum…go to the theatre…listen to a concert…or read an amazing book…it can – in fact – bring you back to life.  It can make a broken heart start beating again or help a lost soul find its way.  I think it’s because art always brings us back to a truer version of ourselves…the self that we were always meant to be.  Art reaches a part of us that nothing else can…a part of our spirits that were meant to create…the part of ourselves that were meant to be casts as the lead role in a life full of beauty.

In that sense, art is a lot like love.  It’s passionate…instinctive…and it very much, saves lives.

When I get to work with other artists, I am reminded so much of why the world truly needs art.  Because without art…you lack the people who create art.  And those people are intense…beautiful…romantic.  Those people see the world a little bit differently.  And there are times when the world absolutely needs to be seen differently.

To experience Erin and Chris‘ wedding was to be in the presence of everything I love about art.  The emotion…the longing…the desire for something beautiful.  From the intimacy of their ceremony {held – of course – in an art gallery!} to the subtleties of their details…their day was inspiring.

Their day was a perfect reminder that with art and with love…everything is more beautiful…

The post ERIN & CHRIS: WEDDING appeared first on Fifteen:Fifty-One Photography | The Blog.

Chemistry.  It’s a funny thing.

When I was in grade eleven, I nearly failed my chemistry class.  And all because the cute boy that I had a desperate crush on sat right behind me!  Every now and then, he would ask to borrow my eraser and I would instantly dissolve into a complete blubbering idiot.  It was shameful!  He was just so cute.  Those eyes…that dark hair…the adorable way that he wore those lab goggles!  Ugh…seriously, what was a girl to do?!?!

By the end of the semester, I had actually learned quite a bit about chemistry.  Granted, I couldn’t remember the periodical table and just barely got a passing grade, but I did discover what human chemistry can do to a teenager!  And it wasn’t overly productive!!!

As we get older though, that chemistry can also make magic happen!  It can bring two people together and open up the possibility for so much more; the possibility for love…for marriage…for a life spent in the midst of that reaction.  And it’s a beautiful thing.

From the day that I met them…it was evident that Keri & Greg had immense chemistry.  The way that they smiled at each other…the way that Greg looked at his future bride from across the table…the way that they couldn’t wait to be husband and wife.  And that too – was a beautiful thing!

Anyone who has ever sat in front of a Bunsen burner with over-sized plastic goggles on knows all too well that some chemical reactions are better than others.  Some make you stand back in awe of what the world can do, while others just leave you with a face full of smoke and some mildly singed eyebrows!

If Keri and Greg were a science experiment…they would be the one that had the entire class crowded around the table asking “how did you do that?!?!” {and of course, winning the top prize at the science fair!}.  Their chemistry…their spark…makes you stand back in awe.  It makes you marvel at how amazing a relationship can be.  It makes you grateful for all the people it can bring together.

It also makes me pretty happy to know that while I may have missed most of it in school…I get to enjoy a whole lot of it in life…

The post KERI & GREG: WEDDING appeared first on Fifteen:Fifty-One Photography | The Blog.

Ah, Friday…where have you been all my life?!?!

Every week, right around this time, you start pouring out your charm and teasing me with all of your enticing weekend activities!  Oh, how I love you!!  I hope that we always have such a great relationship!!!

To salute this day for all it’s awesomeness, I wanted to give a little shout out to Angela and all of the wonderful people over at Weddingbells Magazine for featuring Kristen & Aaron’s wedding this past week.  Shot last August, this wedding was glamour at it’s very best and it’s such an amazing honour to have it recognized as one of Weddingbells’ Real Weddings.

If you have a chance, please hop over and take a browse around their site…check out the feature…and show them some much deserved love!  Be sure to click here if you haven’t already seen the rest of Kristen & Aaron’s gorgeous wedding…it’s heavenly!

And as for you dear Friday…we have a hot date tonight!  Don’t be late!

The post WEDDINGBELLS appeared first on Fifteen:Fifty-One Photography | The Blog.