There are so many beautiful places to take photographs at the Hidden Meadows (A.k.a. Bee Spot) that it’s almost difficult, because you have to choose…

Luckily owner Nadine pointed us to a place in the fields that was easy to access and I loved it because it had a generous smattering of pink echinacea! It was so beautiful to use that as the backdrop (and foreground) to the wedding party photos.

We didn’t take too long here, because it was bright and sunny and we didn’t want people to have to squint too long in the sun. We took a few photos and went back to enjoy cocktail hour.

Denise and Kevin are awesome, and I’ve already gushed about them and how cute they are together over here on their engagement blog.

But today’s all about their wedding.

Their gorgeous, GLORIOUS, backyard wedding, right in the back of their lush property, very near to where I live.

(So close, in fact, that at the end of the wedding, when I headed home and parked my car in my driveway, I could still hear the distant pumping of the music from the tail-end of their wedding… and swallowed through a major case of FOMO haha.)

To be fair, they met about 30 years ago, but didn’t really connect until much later. They were married once before, and have older children (who were an amazing and important part of the wedding day!)…

So for this wedding, they just wanted to make it really their own.

Nothing fussy or stuffy.

That’s why they chose Spearhead Brewery for the venue.

Since it’s nearly Halloween, how about a Halloween Wedding blog?

Now, just because you decide to have your wedding on Halloween doesn’t mean you need to dress up like a ghoul, or involve any aspects of horror.

In fact, it could mean that you’re just into all things goth and vintage, and you want to wear a black dress and a red cape and—

Oops, I’m giving it all away before I’ve properly introduced the story!

Let’s start from the beginning.

Amber and Pete are two cool kids in love. They are young, but their love is mature, like the kind you cultivate after years being together and weathering all sorts of shite.

Bailey really wanted a queer-positive team to make her guests feel safe and seen and heard. Some of Bailey’s most important people - her most loved ones - are queer. So, it was super important for her to have a photographer who not only knows their way around a camera on a wedding day… but also (and perhaps even more importantly!) makes everyone who Bailey and her partner Chris invited to their wedding feel welcome and loved.

And this is my jam.

Wow, do I have a good story for you today! (it’s a bit different from usual, because the images you’ll be seeing are actually the full spreads of the couple’s wedding album)

FINALLY I’m able to blog about this wedding, because Val & Thomas have revealed their surprise elopement to their family and friends. All in all, the news was received really well!

Some family might have been completely thrown off, and maybe even unhappy. When I had a spur of the moment elopement, my aunt wasn’t thrilled about missing it. But it was nothing personal - we didn’t omit her because she’s not special to us - she definitely is! We didn’t invite anyone because we literally had two days to plan, and it required an overseas trip…

I was completely excited for this day, even though I didn’t know many of the details. All I really needed to know was that the colours would be gorgeous, all the important folks were attending, and that everything else would be just right.

The forest was adjacent to Lu’s parents’ place, in Landsdowne. It was a beautiful drive there, the trees were just starting to turn colour. I drove onto a forest county road lined with yellow and orange trees.

A Beautiful Sunny Day For An Elopement In Tamworth, Ontario

We had planned to meet at the Hidden Meadows in Tamworth just a few minutes before 2pm. Rebecca would change into her dress and shoes quickly, and we would head to the fields.

I met up with them at about 1:50, just in time to see Rebecca and Dave pulling in.

Baby Cole was in the baby seat, and they took him out. He was very curious about this place, and sat patiently in his car seat as his parents unbuckled him and got him dressed for the elopement.

What can we say? The first kiss as newlyweds is an important part of the wedding ceremony. And as with dancing, there are many different kinds of kisses. We love to capture this important ritual, its another favourite part of any wedding.

Kissing helps couples bond, improves compatibility, and boosts happiness. It also improves your immune system, reduces stress, and lowers blood pressure; what could be better?

They weren’t looking for anything stuffy and formal, mind you.

They just wanted the folks who were near and dear to their heart to be photographed all in a group!

This is why having me, their photographer, at their rehearsal dinner made so much sense.

We could take time to get a bunch of group photos on the Friday at the rehearsal, and reduce the amount of time we would need to take group photos on the Saturday, their actual wedding day.

They’re super sweet together. They have the kind of mature love you’d expect people who have been together for 30 years to have. She even wears his underwear! (I’ll admit, I’ve been known to do the same with my hubby. Men’s undies are just so much more comfortable! Don’t judge!)

I knew they were awesome from the moment of our consultation together, a few months before the wedding. We laughed so hard. My cheeks hurt afterwards.

So yeah, their wedding day was going to be just as quirky and funny and unique as they are.

What can we say? We love it. It's our absolute favourite part of any wedding. Weddings are a celebration and we don't think there's any better way to celebrate than by having a dance party. We love the faces, the movements, the wild abandon, the romance, the groping - ALL OF IT! Bring it…

It's our bread and butter. Whether DJ, live band, or iPod on shuffle, we're IN!

Let’s talk about microweddings! It’s been a long year but if there’s one thing we’ve learned from the couples we’ve photographed, it’s that humans have an incredible gift for resilience and being creative during times of limitation.

Microweddings could be the way people choose to get married this year, and maybe for a little while longer this decade, just until things calm down a bit and people feel safe. Or it’ll be like the roaring 1920s and all the weddings are going to turn into 90’s style raves complete with glow sticks and love bombs.

Many couples yearn for a quiet and magical elopement, full of nature’s wonder. And this is exactly what you’ll find at the Hidden Meadows, any week between June and October.

Does it seem like some of the BEST couples in the world meet at summer camp?

Well, these two did. And then they threw a huge bash to celebrate their love eight years later at Canvas Event venue in Toronto.

When I hear people saying, “you’re too young to know true love”, I call BS.

I think Britni and Andrew know exactly what I’m talking about, because they fell in love in Grade 9 and have been in love EVER SINCE. And you guys, they are TOTALLY ENAMOURED with each other and it’s awesome to behold. 😍

I have no idea! Honestly, I thought I already had… but then when I was trying to show these photos as an example of what kinds of things you could do on your “engagement” session (otherwise known as a day in the life session around these parts), I couldn’t find it.

So anyway, Sarah and Oliver already got married, and we were there to celebrate with them, and we even blogged it (yay us!)

So this story takes us even farther back in time, to a very warm and mosquito-y day in June of 2019, just a few months before their wedding took place.