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Here are some of my favourite shots from the day.  The guys started at the Oceanfront Grand Resort, which is set in an gorgeous location.

Thanks to Karen for inviting me to shoot with her, and thanks to everyone at the wedding for being so darn photogenic.

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Here are a few of my favourite shots of the couple, their wedding party, and the lovely garden.

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I meant to put these up earlier, but it took longer than anticipated because there were so many photos that I really liked from this wedding. I hope these photos help their friends and family feel a bit like they were there, and that Pamela and Stephen are on a computer somewhere on their honeymoon loving these shots as much as I do.

While I photographed the girls getting ready, Jon sneakily managed to get some shots (next three) of the guys just hanging out, like the rockstars they are.

Jon recorded the beauty of the room with his ultra wide angle lens, below.

I’m sad to say that Jon took the shot on the below left in front of the Empress.  Sad because I think it’s awesome and wish I’d shot it.

Thanks to Jon for second shooting for me, and thanks so much to Pamela and Stephen for sharing part of their special day with us.  It was wonderful meeting you.

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The ceremony was held at the Pemberton Memorial Chapel at Royal Jubilee in Victoria.  The light in the chapel was really gorgeous and bright enough that I never had to use my flash.  I couldn’t help but snap a few shots of the chapel from different angles.

We headed down to Gonzales Beach for some bridal party portraits in the very bright sun.  This is my first time doing bridal party portraits and I wasn’t quite sure what to do with a group of people.  Anyway, I made some silly suggestions (i.e. “bride and groom kiss and everyone else make a face”, “now everyone point at the couple”).  It worked out pretty well, I think.

I love her tattoos.    I love shooting a girl in a big, girly, white dress with cool tattoos.

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I suck at posing.

When I shoot portraits, I typically let people pose themselves. I usually ask them to stand or sit in a certain location and then just shoot away. I ask them for suggestions of what kind of shots they what and what kind of poses. I try to get them to show their personalities.  I try to make them laugh and be silly.  Sure, I can pose people in a way to make them look really good. I even have a book on it. But I find traditional poses very boring.  I want to see people for who they truly are.

I find letting people come up with their own poses creates the best photos, really showing off their personalities. For example, for the photo below from a Halloween wedding I just shot, I asked Lyndsey and Brennan to stand on the stairs, with one of them standing a few steps higher and both on opposite sides of the stairs. They were looking at each other and I suggested Brennan reach out his hand toward Lyndsey. I thought it might look cheesy, but sometimes cheesy makes the best photos. I stopped giving instruction and just took a bunch of photos. She took his hand. Then the below happened. Perfect Halloween wedding portrait. And it’s all them. You’re not going to get that if you’re constantly ordering people around. Sometimes our weaknesses can be our strengths.

Note that this probably isn’t the final edit, and the web format isn’t great for dark photos.

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We headed down to Queen’s Park after for some photos of the newly married couple.  It was so easy to shoot the formals with these two.  They were full of smiles and love and willing to get a little silly.  It helps that they’re truly adorable together.  Phil took the beautiful shot on the left below, despite the challenging super bright sun.

The reception was at the Royal Victoria Yacht Club and was mellow and untraditional.  They had appys instead of dinner, and yummy looking cupcakes from Oh La La Cupcakes (which made me wish I could have dairy and gluten).   Phil captured the three great detail shots below.

Their first dance was to “I Wanna Grow Old With You” from The Wedding Singer, which was just too cute.

Phil, always the master of dancing photos, took the two below.

Thanks to Phil for being a stellar second shooter, as usual.  Thanks again to Mikayla and Chris for letting us be a part of their day.

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Photos by Phil (editing by Lara): detail shots 2 and 3 (wine bottles and candles), groom and his mother dancing (to the right of the bride and groom dancing shot), two bouquet toss photos, two last crowd dancing photos.

Reception location: Church of the Advent, Colwood, BC

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