Saturday was the perfect day for Peter and Heather’s wedding. They really wanted to focus on the party… celebrating the big day! The guys started the day off at the batting cages where my wonderful assistant, Carolynn met up with them. What a fun group of guys!

Peter the groom up to bat….

And just enjoying hanging out….

Meanwhile, the girls were enjoying the day at the salon.

Finally time to start getting ready. Thanks to Carolynn for these great images – tough for my short assistant with a super tall groom but she did great!

Meanwhile, the girls were getting their makeup done at Heather’s house and enjoying themselves.

I loved how all the bridesmaids chipped in to help. They were such a great support to Heather!

The results are stunning!

These girls are gorgeous – and a party waiting to happen!

Then it was on to Burlington Golf and Country Club for the ceremony and reception. What a great location overlooking the water. And Mimosa did a great job with all the flowers – loved them!

SO excited to be married!!

Peter and Heather wanted to mainly focus on candid photos – but did manage to sneak in some portraits of this gorgeous couple!

And into the reception – have to say I love their colour choice!

Peter and Heather started the reception off with the right mood!

And then headed into their first dance…

Peter’s dad watching his only son….

The reception reflected their personalities and was a lot of fun!

Peter and Heather, thank you for allowing me to document your day!

Celebrating life and love,

Krista

Can’t wait to blog Peter and Heather’s beautiful wedding later this week! For now… here’s a sneak peek!

Celebrating life and love,

Krista

One of my favourite parts of being a photographer, is being able to offer a gift to people who’ve had a bumpy journey and need to pause… and celebrate their love and live today. I was thrilled to meet with little Jacob and his family this week. Jacob is only three but has already gone through so much. He was diagnosed with a brain tumor around a year and a half (and hearing their story I give a huge shout out to his mom for being so observant and noticing the signs and asking questions!). It turns out that my good friend Cherie (who I have mentioned as riding bike across Canada for cancer) was one of Jacob’s nurses at Sick Kids – small world!

Here is Jacob, big brother Tristan and his family’s smiling eyes! Enjoy!

Jacob and those big brown eyes melts your heart!

Mike and Julie – you were awesome to meet! Enjoyed connecting!

Celebrating life and love,

KRista

I’m bad with impulse purchases… every retailers dream. This impulse buy might top all my previous ones combined though.

Meet Juliette. Our new baby goat. Now I must go google how to take care of her….

Celebrating life and love,

Krista

Phil and Sharon’s daughter purchased for them a “Just Because” session as a gift. When Sharon emailed to redeem her gift certificate, she joked that it was 3and a half years too soon as it’s not their 50th anniversary yet. I explained the idea behind the “Just Because” sessions is to simply celebrate marriage – at every single stage. Well Phil and Sharon are a walking celebration… I loved watching them laugh and interact together. There is such an ease and comfortable familiarity between people who have been through decades of the ups and downs of life. I thoroughly enjoyed my time with Phil and Sharon and by the looks of it they had fun too!

Phil and Sharon are both retired and brought something to represent their hobbies… Sharon does gorgeous painting, and Phil loves to golf!

Celebrating life and love,

Krista

Recently I blogged how one of my best friends is biking across Canada to raise funds for cancer…. love that she is doing this! So proud of Cherie!

This Sunday from 1-4pm there is an afternoon tea fundraiser at the amazing store “Stitch” in Jordan (Niagara area). There is no set admission fee – donations only! And there will be raffles for some great prizes – including a handmade quilt, scuba diving lessons, and even a photo session by me! I’ll be there – hope to see you too! (Even if you can’t go you can still buy a raffle ticket!) Because really – isn’t Niagara region the perfect place to spend a leisurely Sunday afternoon?

For more information visit STITCH.

I just love seeing a family over the years to do their photos… love seeing the changes in the kids and touching base with the parents. It was so fun to re-connect this past week with Kelly and Christine and their boys Owen and Ian. Look at how much they’ve changed from 3 years ago (especially Ian!). LINK This time they came up to my place and it was so fun to watch the boys marvel over the corn fields and cows. Loved hanging out with these guys!

Meet Owen….

And Ian….

There’s just something about little brothers… ha ha!

Love the boys faces here!

Those eyelashes!

Such a stinker!

They brought a kite along as they love to do that as a family – so fun!

And I’ll sign off with some classic black and whites!

Celebrating life and love,

Krista

Sometimes my girls will ask if they can draw on themselves with washable markers. “It comes off, no harm done, go for it.” is my thought. Today Eden took it to a whole new level… I should have known when I heard her announce “I’m an avatar!”

I’m sad to look at the calendar and see it’s almost time for the girls to go back to school. It’s been a great summer of “nothing-ness”. We have always tried to teach the kids to be happy with little, so they can always be entertained. This summer they have spent hours colouring, making clothes for Barbies with material scraps and tape, riding bikes, collecting caterpillars, making homes for their toys in the tree roots, making doll houses out of empty boxes… and just being kids. The perfect summer full of nothing. And everything.

Celebrating life and love,

Krista

Years ago Tara and I went to school together. Fast forward 15 years and we re-connected on Facebook, and discovered that I now live around the corner from her childhood home. When Tara came to house sit for her parents this past week, she scheduled a photo session of her and her girls. When I received her email requesting a photo session I swooned as I read it…

“Ideally a sunny day: dawn or dusk, or simply during the day. (I haven’t truly decided that part) So long as we are dancing with sunshine and shadow! I haven’t thought about the details beyond location, only that I want to capture beautiful intimacies with my daughters. Reading together, playing, laughing, chasing.. August holds special meaning for me. It is the month when my grandmother was born and the month she died. It is the month I recreated a life for my beautiful daughters and myself. There is a beautiful glow to the earth in August. Crickets sing, the air is fragrant with the weight of summer. I begin University in the fall… A dream being fufilled! My daughters are beginning a new school, and this feels like my last summer with them before life picks up at an incredible speed and their childhood transforms into the the next phase. So you see why sooner has its benefits in charting time. It hit me like lightning.”

We met at her parent’s home and simply let the kids be kids and celebrated life. Tara let the girls choose their clothes, and there was no “sit still and smile” moments… it was about laughing, running wild, climbing trees, catching fogs… and I loved it. As I drove away I felt like THAT was the type of photo session I adore. Where it is telling someone’s story – how they actually look and act. So I invite you now, to sit back and have a glimpse into the wonderful summer joys of Tara, Maeve and Ellie.

When I arrived, the girls were busy catching frogs in the creek. Ellie would catch them in a net – but Maeve would hold them.

The girls would then place them in these baskets they hung up in the trees. I love random kid-ness.

Let me introduce you to these two…

Ellie is the younger of the two – but being only 12months apart these sisters seem more like twins! Ellie is outgoing, wild and loud. She is fun and loves life!

And Maeve… she is a beautiful girl – a quiet confidence, full of spunk and ready to grab a frog or climb a tree in a heartbeat!

I love all the moments of childhood… racing, playing hand games, picking fruit, throwing grass in the air… all “just because” it popped into their head!

Maeve laid out a picnic of books under the tree. It was perfect! At first Ellie read while Maeve collected grasshoppers….

Maeve reading a book Tara’s uncle illustrated!

I love watching Tara with her girls – it is so clear how much she adores these gals!

But how could you not be smitten with these two?

celebrating life and love,

Krista

I recently posted Lisa’s maternity photos and shared how the very next day she had her baby girl – Brooklyn! One week later I got to meet little Brooklyn and what a doll she is! Lisa is just a natural mother, and Mike a doting dad. It was fun to visit with them again!

I love when they’re this new and still curl up like they’re still in the womb!

And Lisa’s mom had come to help her after Brooklyn was born. When Lisa came out of the shower – she found little Brooklyn in Nana’s arm wearing this hat Nana had snuck in – too cute.

And I love black and white images – and wanted to share a series of them here…

Celebrating life and love,

Krista