As soon as you meet Claudia and Mike you can tell how much they love each other. It was easy to capture their chemistry because they are so comfortable together.

The whole session was filled with laughter – they just have so much fun together! I didn’t need to remind them to smile because the grins never left their faces.

The couple married in September 2011. The photographs from that day are still to come, but for now enjoy the images from this lovely day in June 2011 outside of the Museum of Civilization.

Have a wonderful day,

Liz – Contact Me, I would love to speak with you!

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Garrick was a little young for smiles, but that was quite alright because every other expression he made was adorable! As with most new babies, he was happiest sleeping, so I was able to get some great shots of him snuggling into his beaming parents.

Say hello to Baby G.I.Joe – Garrick.

Garrick just turned one last week so let’s send out some birthday wishes to him and his family!

Have a wonderful day,

Liz – Contact Me, I would love to speak with you!

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While the pink blossoms were falling off the trees gently around us, these two followed me through tall grasses while we “off-roaded” and I am so happy with the images we were able to capture.

I am so excited about Stephanie and Jeff’s upcoming wedding at a brand new wedding location in the Gatineau Hills called Le Belvedere. These two are such wonderful people and I just can’t wait to capture their wedding day with them.

Have a wonderful day,

Liz – Contact Me, I would love to speak with you!

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These two radiate with happiness whenever they are together, and I felt so lucky to be there to capture their love and the beginnings of their life together.

Jia and Wada married in July of 2011 in a beautiful tea ceremony at Wada’s family home. I’ll post the images and memories from that day soon, but for now get to know the couple by looking back on this great day.

Have a wonderful day,

Liz – Contact Me, I would love to speak with you!

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Mel and I met a few years ago through the dog world. I run the Ottawa Dog Blog and she is and Randie foster dogs for Hopeful Hearts.

One day last summer, while I was photographing Genevieve and James’ wedding (that post is coming soon!), Thomas texted me to tell me that “Mel says hi”. I thought to myself, who is he talking about? (I know a few Mels). Turns out Mel was walking her current foster and recognized our dog Wellie, from my updates on the Ottawa Dog Blog! What’s even better, is that she and Randie live around the corner from me.

Since we discovered this, she has been calling on me to photograph her foster dogs as they are ready to be up for adoption. The latest being a super cute schnauzer named Miko. You can read all about Mel and Randie’s journey as a foster family for rescued dogs here on her blog.

I have photographed a TON of Mel’s rescue pups so it was about time that I photograph Mel and Randie’s own brood. Halladay is a happy-go-lucky schnoodle (shaunzer-poodle mix) who simply adores his dog-brother Wookie, a schnauzer who Mel and Randie fostered last year and “failed”, meaning they didn’t adopt him out, but ended up keeping him! He is such a sweetheart and the two dogs just love each other. Halladay will actually give Wookie kisses on command, except when I was trying to capture it! haha

Family.

Such cuties! Halladay is on the left and Wookie is on the right.

I just love the colour at this time of year.

Mel proving she was a model in a former life.

Can you spot them? This would look so amazing as a really large print or canvas!

Bouncing through the dandelions = best time ever!!!

Have a wonderful day,

Liz – Contact Me, I would love to speak with you!

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Gunner is a playful dog who had a great time checking out all the toys Gunner’s human and I brought with us as well as whatever sticks and smells he could find. He also had a lot of fun hiding and running in the long grass.

This session was a special one because the final print collection was a gift for Gunners human Dad. He is a fire fighter so we tried our best to include bits of that in the session including fire hydrants (both real and in toy form) and the amazing red doors of an old converted fire house in Hintonburg.

While he loves having fun, Gunner also treasures the most important thing in his life: his human family! The loveable fur ball knows who belongs to him, too bad it’s not me!

Prepare to oooh and awwww (and awwwww and awwww).

Here is the surprise birthday print collection that was ordered for Gunner’s human Dad. Love it!

You will notice in these final prints that Gunner’s leash has been digitally removed. I purposely left it in most of the above images to display that safety is always my number one concern. We always have the dogs leashed if they are young and also if they are in the city because of passing cars and lots of distractions. Leashes are removed from final prints and album orders.

Another exciting thing about this session is that I was able to have a HUGE 24×36 canvas printed to hang in the awesome store Masters n Dogs in Westboro (formerly Bark&Fitz). The owner selected this image herself as a favourite to hang at the front of the store!

Have a wonderful day,

Liz – Contact Me, I would love to speak with you!

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This quirky and beautiful couple married in August of 2011. I was lucky enough to be their photographer on that special day as well, so stay tuned for those pictures.

For now, check out some images from our first session together. You can see part one of this post, which included their three amazing dogs, here.

Have a wonderful day,

Liz – Contact Me, I would love to speak with you!

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Michael is one of Thomas’ (my awesome hubby) brothers and when the whole family met Lisa for the first time, we knew she was special. They complement each other so well and Lisa just fit into the family like she had always been there.

Now I have to share their engagement story for the title of this post to make sense. Lisa adores the beach – if she could spend every waking moment there she probably would. In the cold and dreary winter this year, Mike and Lisa decided to take a vacation to somewhere warm – with beaches of course. They decided on Costa Rica and after much researching, Mike got a great deal on an amazing resort where “celebrities” stay (according to them! haha). Little did Lisa know, but Mike was also planning to propose on their trip.

As they packed their bags, Mike got really worried that Lisa would find the ring. On Thomas’ advice, he balled up the ring box in a pair of socks and proceeded to stress about it the entire trip there. Lisa was so excited to get to the beach that she didn’t even notice Mike clutching his bag very closely in their travels.

As soon as they arrived in the hotel, Mike suggested they go for a walk (if you ask Lisa, she will tell you it was more like he insisted on going for a walk). She got changed out of “plane clothes” and they went down to the beach. In a private little clearing, Mike got on one knee and Lisa screamed so loudly that people at the other end of the beach heard her and later wished them all the best.

I am pretty sure everyone, except Lisa, knew that Mike was going to propose on their vacation and we all were anxiously awaiting their return to celebrate. I, in my awesome nerdyness, decorated their house full of kitchy valentine’s day and love-themed decorations which they found upon their arrival back home at about 2am!

Lisa and Mike decided they wanted to have their engagement session encompass some of their favourite things. For Mike, that is cars, in particular, Porsches. So our first stop was the Porsche dealership in Ottawa. Lisa wanted to include the location of their first date, a walk along the paths around Dow’s Lake as well as her family dog, Benji.

One bonus was that this weekend was the beginning of the tulip festival so there were some beautiful flowers out for us to photograph among.

And now, without further adieu, two very special people whom I am so honoured to have photographed yesterday.

Lisa’s favourite colour is purple so we obviously had to find some purple tulips.

Love.

Of course, Lisa brought one of the seashells from their trip back with them and I asked her to bring it along with her to photograph her stunning ring with.

This cutie is Benji, Lisa’s 16 year old family Lhasa-Poodle mix. You could never tell this dude is 16! He was running and bouncing all over the place!

I had to include this one. This is them making fun of me – I kept asking them to bend forward at the waist, so they did…a bit too exaggeratedly. (Oh and also some woman’s arm who rode in front of me while taking this shot.)

Have a wonderful day,

Liz – Contact Me, I would love to speak with you!

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What woman doesn’t want to be just a little bit like Audrey Hepburn? Amber is no exception, and she and her new husband Darrel fashioned their wedding after Hepburn’s classic movie Breakfast at Tiffany’s.

From the music for the couple’s first dance, to the bride’s ring (obviously from Tiffany’s!), to the touches of Tiffany blue, this wedding invited guests to revel in the world of Audrey Hepburn.

On this day though, Amber and Darrel were the stars of the show. The bride and groom were all smiles as they said their vows in front of family and friends. There was great food, plenty of dancing and tons of fun all around. A lot of planning went into this wedding, and all the details came together to create a beautiful and memorable day.

Amber and Darrel were married in October of 2011 and are now settling into their new life together. When they look back on this day, they can’t help but smile as they remember all the great memories. Even the sky was channeling that Tiffany blue.

I asked Amber and Darrel some questions about their wedding day and here is what they had to share.

Which one moment will last for each of you forever?
The entire day – from getting ready with our wedding party and parents, to our first look, to our personalized vows and first kiss as husband and wife, to a fantastic meal and night of laughter and dancing with our families and friends.

Best advice for future bride/grooms? 
Have the wedding that fits your vision and enjoy every moment.

Best wedding related decision?
Having a one-stop venue for the ceremony, cocktail hour and reception.  Also, our choice of wedding photographer!

What was the funniest memory from your wedding day? 
The speeches from our fathers. One included Amber’s horoscope indicating that the day might bring a boring task, but do it anyway!  The other included a humorous Irish tale.

What is your favourite image from your wedding day and why?
That’s a tough one as they are all beautiful. Loved the black and white bride and groom portraits and fountain shots!

Wedding Songs

Processional – Moon River (theme from Breakfast at Tiffany’s)
Recessional – Beyond the Sea by Bobby Darin
First Dance – At Last by Etta James
Mother/Son + Father/Daughter Dance –  Somewhere Over the Rainbow/What a Wonderful World by Israel Kamakawiwo’ole
To Get the Party Started – You Never Can Tell by Chuck Berry
Last Song – All You Need is Love by the Beatles

Vendors

Ceremony and Reception Location – Le Cordon Bleu Bistro 
I would definitely like to highlight Le Cordon Bleu, especially Jennifer Carter. We knew right away that it was the perfect venue for us, but had some issues with staff turnover, etc. until she came on the scene. Jennifer was great! ~ Amber

Officiant – Michael O’Callaghan, All Seasons Weddings 

Wedding Dress – Estee by Pattis, Luxe Bridal Boutique
A special thanks to Maddie and Lisa from Luxe Bridal! ~ Amber

Shoes – Yen’s Bridals 

Groom’s Suit – The Bay
Darrel had great service when shopping for his suit at the Bay. ~ Amber

Bride’s Ring – Tiffany & Co.

Groom’s Ring – Epochs

Flowers – Tivoli Florist 
A special thanks to Tamiko. ~ Amber

Hair – Perfection Hair Design and Spa

Makeup – Mattia Colasanti, MAC Cosmetics 

Caterer -  Le Cordon Bleu Bistro 

Live Musicians/ DJ – Quality Entertainment 

Photography - elizabeth&jane Photography

Have a wonderful day,

Liz – Contact Me, I would love to speak with you!

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They met on a bus. Honestly, they did. Curtis saw Melanie one day on the bus on the way to work – he was running late and she was there. He immediately knew that she was special and from then on, he was purposely late for work, just so he could ride the same bus as her.

Little did he know, but Melanie noticed Curtis as well and it turns out that her sister went to school with him. One day Curtis got up the courage to talk to her, and the rest is history!

These two have a very special four-legged family member that we, of course, included in their engagement session. Their adorable dog, Poopsie, is such a loving ball of fluff and he really enjoyed the treats I was dolling out.

Melanie and Curtis will be getting married this summer and I can’t wait for their big day!

Have a wonderful day,

Liz – Contact Me, I would love to speak with you!

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