Hello everyone,

We’re back from our brief blogging hiatus and hope your holiday’s were full of friends, family, and love…with a few great presents sprinkled in of course. Congratulations to all the ladies that got engaged over the holiday’s; what an exciting way to start the New Year!  Melissa and I got engaged over Christmas ourselves (2007). We went skating at Bryant Park, in New York City, and I proposed to her in front of a big, beautiful, sparkling Christmas tree. The next night we took a horse drawn carriage ride through The Park (Central). One of my most memorable Christmases.

I always buy myself a few books over the Christmas holiday’s and this year was no exception. I read Bram Stoker’s “Dracula,” Malcolm Gladwell’s “Blink,” Julian Barnes’ “Sense of an Ending,” and Sarah Bakewell’s “How to Live: A Life of Montaigne.” Michel Montaigne is credited with the invention of “the essay.” In its early form the essay resembled something more akin to, what we would recognize, as stream of consciousness: basically, mapping the minds path in its exploration of a particular topic. Montaigne was more occupied with how the mind worked than solving the questions his writings were exploring. Really interesting stuff, but I digress ; )

This morning we have a beauty to share with you. A wedding from this past Thanksgiving weekend. Thanksgiving never fails to be one of the nicest days of the year, hands down. The light is warm and golden, the temperature is unseasonably warm, and there is barely a cloudy in the sky. We hope everyone enjoys looking through the photographs as much as we did taking them. Congratulations Valerie and Luke!

Bon Appétit,

The Violets

FIN

Hello everyone,

This Tuesday is kinda special…it’s my birthday! We just got back from a short trip to New York City. The City is such an inspirational place and our visits there are always a magical adventure, especially at Christmas time. This time we visited the American Museum of Natural History, which was absolutely amazing! We had some world famous New York City pizza at Grimaldi’s under the Brooklyn Bridge, delish! And to top it all off we saw Ryan Adams live in concert at the famous Carnegie Hall.

We were only home for one day before we were off to Toronto to see Ryan again at The Winter Garden theater in Toronto…yes we are that into him. I’ve got to say though, sitting in the Winter Garden theatre was like being transported into the living breathing forest from A Mid Summer Nights Dream. The lower ceilings are draped with silk foliage with small colourful glass lanterns running throughout. The vaulted dome over the stage is painted with beautiful murals that mimic a view, through trees, into the nights sky…there is even a faux moon! But wait, it get’s better. Turns out that The Winter Garden Theater, being one of many theaters in the building, was accidentally sealed off some time around the 1940s. An electrician doing some renovations stumbled upon the theatre, looking exactly as I described it, decades later complete with one light bulb still burning. I love that story…oh! and the show was ridiculously wonderful. Thank you Ryan!

To top it all off, we were featured in Kingston Life Weddings. This is an annual magazine that highlights local wedding culture and also has some great ideas for all you brides to be out there. Be sure to pick up a copy, and keep an eye out for Winding Violets while you peruse : ) Today we have a lovely engagement session, that was shot just outside of Downtown Kingston. We absolutely loved Charlsie’s little dress and how about Andrew’s taste in jewlery? Now that’s a pretty ring…wowzers! Congratulations you two, we hope you enjoy.

Bon Appétit,

The Violets

FIN

Hello everyone,

This Tuesday we just have a mini-post in store for you. This shoot was a collaboration with Cybil Scott, Coquetta, and Nadya Toto. Maria and Joanne, owners and operators of The House of Angelis (Cybil Scott, Coquetta, and Catwalk), were kind enough to get a hold of this amazing Nadya Toto gown from her personal archives! Nadya’s boutique is located in Montreal and her work has been featured in American Vogue and In Style Magazine; needless to say, she is a very talented individual with amazing vision. Be sure to check her out: Nadya Toto.

There are many, many more wonderful photographs from the session, and we look forward to sharing those a little later. In the mean time, here is one of our favorites from the shoot. I just love the vastness of the barren landscape in juxtaposition to the elegant evening gown…minimal and the magnificent. One other aspect of the photograph that I’ll point out, is the way the barren tree works together with the edgy gown to create an almost Gothic kinship. Coupled with the beautiful golden light and our gorgeous model, with her blazing auburn hair, this image is replete with contrasts, I love it! A big thank you to Ashley, our lovely model, thank you for braving the cold…it was so worth it.

Bon Appétit,

The Violets

FIN

Nadya Toto

The House of Angelis

Coquetta

Cybil Scott

Hello,

This week has been so exciting! We had the amazing opportunity of shooting a “surprise wedding.” A surprise wedding is a wedding that poses as an engagement party. Robbie and Kim invited all their friends to celebrate their engagement, under the guise of getting married in a remote location. Half way through the event, Kim walked in dressed in a beautiful wedding gown and was married to Robbie in front of all their close friends…surprise! The best part of all is that Robbie was my best friend from grade 5 until the end of high school. I loved playing such an important part of his day…and just being their was an honour. Can’t wait to share that with you all.

This Tuesday we have a stunner in store for you. Breanne and Fraser put so much emphasis and energy into styling their day, it was an absolute pleasure to photograph. There were tonnes of DIY touches, far too many to share in a single post! I’ll let the images speak for themselves, but I will say one more thing: best garter ever, so pretty! Congrats Breanne and Fraser, your wedding was more than lovely…I look so forward to becoming closer friends with you as the years pass. Congratulations!

Bon Appétit,

The Violets

FIN

Hello,

Yesterday was an amazing day, we had the opportunity to photograph a designer gown by Nadya Toto. We have been so fortunate with the weather, we spent most of the afternoon out in the fresh air roaming through open spaces and enjoying our vitamin D fix. The photographs came out airy and bright, the light was golden and rich, you’d swear it was September. Can’t wait to share…hopefully soon.

This Tuesday, we have a lovely cottage wedding to share with you. Chrissy and Mike decided to have a small wedding at her family’s cottage, a place where she grew up and one that holds many fond memories. Now she can add one more, marrying the love of her life. Congratulations you two, it was a pleasure photographing your lovely August wedding.

Bon Appétit,

The Violets

FIN

Hello,

We hope everyone had a fun, spooky, and safe Halloween. Unfortunately our front door is around the back of our home, so we didn’t get enjoy all the cute costumes; but we could hear all the little trick or treaters having lots of fun collecting their, “candy!, candy!, candy!” to quote Garfield.

This Tuesday we have a beautiful Toronto wedding to share with you. Ashley & Mike were married at Black Creek Pioneer Village. Black Creek is an authentic 19th century country village , replete with wooden plank side walks, dirt roads, and a 5 story mill powered entirely by a large overshot waterwheel. They were married in a quaint little period church, the Fisherville Church (1856). The village itself made for a gorgeous backdrop. Congratulations Ashley & Mike, and thank you for making us a part of your beautiful day.

Bon Appétit,

-The Violets

FIN

Good morning everyone,

This Tuesday were going to share just one solitary image. With all the visual stimulous we all take in everyday, we thought it would be nice to take a moment and just meditate on one moment, one frame, & one idea.

This particular image was taken just minutes before the ceremony during a first look. The couple wanted to pause and enjoy a few reflective moments alone in each other’s company before the traditional motions of their wedding day took over.  What is really moving about this particular image is the combination of motion and emotion. Her windblown strands of hair lie perfectly eskew across her face, suggesting a candour and careless grace that we would associate with an Impressionist painting by Degas or Caillebotte.

Impressionism  arrests my attention more than another movement in visual arts, and I have always sought to infuse my work with a similar aesthetic. Impressionists sought to marry two conflicting ideas: they wanted to capture real fleeting moments in time, but with paint brushes. Obviously painting a beautiful portrait takes much longer than a fleeting moment, so these artist would have to draw from their memories, sketches, impressions…hence Impressionism. They didn’t see this as a limitation, but rather a chance to articulate that any visual representation of “reality” is never entirely objective, but is of necessity always subject to interpretation. The better the painter, or photographer for that matter, the more beautiful the impression.

In this way, Impressionism shares a bond with wedding photography. A wedding is a highly contrived day. Brides seek to create a beautiful backdrop against which their wedding will take place. It is the job of the photographer to interpret the movements of the day against this backdrop to create a genuine wedding story in still frames. Take this moment, the setting in which they enjoyed their first look was chosen specifically for it’s aesthetic value: it was light, airy, and the lamp post gave the setting a distinctly Parisian feel. However, the moment itself couldn’t be more genuine. The result is a beautiful impression of a rich romance being shared between two people on their wedding day.

We would love to hear your impressions of this image. What do you like about it, what sort of feeling does it give you, does this sort of approach to wedding photography appeal to your sensibilities?

Bon Appétit,

The Violets

FIN

The Gananoque Inn

Dress by J.Crew

Happy Tuesday,

I had an extremely exciting weekend, I had the pleasure of shooting a wedding amidst the breathtaking Adirondack Mountains. I arrived early Friday afternoon and spent the evening exploring the restaurants, pubs, and shops that make up the quaint village of Lake Placid. Saturday morning was filled with rapids, unbelievable autumn colours, and views from 2,300 ft above sea level…magnificent! Can’t wait to share Kate and Dylan’s beautiful Lake Placid wedding with all of you.

In the mean time we have a very pretty wedding we are excited to share. We love photographing weddings in Prince Edward County and this wedding was no exception; East Lake is a lovely little area just south of Picton – clover filled fields for miles! Needless to say, Alison and Mike’s country wedding provided us with some breathtaking backdrops, lush natural hues, and of course their day was bathed in golden sunlight – perfection! Alison got ready in the cutest little country home you’ve ever seen. The farm, on which the wedding took place, was formerly used for harvesting apples. Alison, Mike, and their lovely friends and family helped transform the barn into a little church for the ceremony: something they coined as “The Apple Chapel”…so cute! Their wedding had great style, a beautiful location, and lots of personality. Congratulations Alison and Mike, your wedding was an absolute pleasure to photograph.

Bon Appétit,

– The Violets

FIN

Hello,

Today is going to be a great day, Ryan Adams’s long anticipated (at least by us) “Ashes & Fire” was released today! When we got hitched just over three years ago we had a very small wedding with just our closest friends, 25 people all told. Upon reflection there was really a 26th guest; we hired a local guitarist to play Ryan Adams songs through the entire ceremony and have come to consider the spirit of Ryan Adams music our 26th guest, a welcome and soulful addition to a beautiful day. Since we’ve been married we’ve been to 6 Ryan Adams & The Cardinals concerts:

September 19th 2007 Theatre St. Denis, Montreal; October 31 2007 The Hammerstein Ballroom, New York City; September 7th 2008, Boston; September 27th 2008, Rochester; October 31 2008 The Apollo Theater, Harlem NYC; March 9th 2009 Florida Theater, Jacksonville.

Needless to say, Ryan Adams is near and dear to the heart of our relationship. For those that aren’t familiar, Ryan Adams is the single most prolific singer songwriter in America…full stop. He has officially released 13 records in the last 12 years; his unofficial releases are somewhere in the 20s!  Ryan Adams writes music compulsively; he is a throw back to the days when singer/songwriters actually concentrated on writing music for a living, and were so much more than just an image.  Ryan is a singer/songwriter’s singer/songwriter; in other words, if you enjoy honest songwriting straight from the heart you’ll love Ryan’s jams. He has certainly had some ups and downs along his career path, nobody’s perfect. To us though, he is a beautiful soul and has an incredible gift for sharing the beauty and pain of love.

Quality and quantity are an unusual combination, but they come together beautifully in Ryan Adams’ 13 diverse records: anything from Rock & Roll, folk, Alt. Country, to yes even Pop (see “Alive”). “Ashes & Fire” has been a long time coming, we’ve been waiting a whole year and a half! We have our tickets for December 6th at Carnaige Hall NYC and December 14th at The Winter Garden Theatre here in Toronto, looking so forward to hearing Ryan solo for the first time. Ryan Adam’s music has come full circle in “Ashes & Fire”and resembles his first record “Heartbreaker” (critically acclaimed). Ashes is filled with soulful and emotive country/folk jams, a welcome addition to the anthology. I’m on my second listen…just heavenly, can’t wait for the vinyl to arrive in the mail! Thank you Ryan for providing the soundtrack of our lives, much love.

The songs from our Ceremony, August 24th 2008

Desire from Demolition 2002

Follow the Lights from Follow the Lights EP 2007

Dance All Night from Cold Roses 2005

*you can stream the entire new record, just click here

FIN

Good Morning,

It’s Tuesday again, that means time for another beautiful blog post chalk full of wedding goodness. Thanksgiving weekend is quickly approaching, and I am about to cook my first full Thanksgiving meal for my family…yikes! Today I’m going to do my best to reserve a fresh local Turkey for Sunday, and finalize my meal. I am thinking a butternut squash soup to start, followed by fresh garden salad , Turkey and roast potatoes, and for dessert a beautiful apple pie…yay apple picking. So along with your lovely comment, if you could leave a link to a great thanksgiving recipe that would be fabulous! Anything from Turkey to Apple Pie, share your favourites…I need all the help I can get.

As for this weeks wedding, what a beauty. Kelly and Andrew’s celebration took place at her family’s home in their beautiful backyard on Treasure Island. Backyard weddings are perfect for creating intimacy; not only are you surrounded by good friends and loved ones, but you are surrounded by familiar things. Now that Kelly is living with Andrew in London, England, I am sure that intimacy was a top priority for her wedding and greatly enjoyed. Congratulations Kelly and Andrew, we had so much fun photographing your beautiful wedding day and it’s been a pleasure  getting to know you both. Without further ado…

Bon Appétit,

The Violets

FIN