Annie and Oneil •August 16, 2008

So this is the Sunday of the weekend and the second wedding of the weekend for me.  What a great day for Annie and O’Neil to tie the knot!  It was really a pleasure to work with both of them as well as the bridal party.

We started the morning at Oneil’s place in Thornhill.  I was shooting with my trusty Sony FX-1 (as usual) and as per form, all of my standard gear.  I also brought along the Fig Rig to really get some interesting shots while at both pre-ceremony locations.  O’Neil and the guys were as cool as ice at the house and we shot some really nice footage of everyone getting ready, getting nervous and eventually getting into the limo.

Everything was just as smooth at Annie’s house.  Her dress was very elegant with a full lace up back (which took 3 girls to tie up).  We set up the jewelery that Annie was to wear, and Roger (the photographer) and I took pictures and video of it as well as the beautifully decorated house, the girls getting their hair done, family and guests arriving, Annie’s decent down the stairs and of course…the look in her parents eyes as their daughter got ready to get in her limo and go to the church.

Speaking of the church…WOW!  This church was huge!  The architecture, stone work, stained glass, and paintings were amazing.  The lighting from the skylights cast almost an angelic spotlight down on the couple which looked really nice for the video.  I was able to have a conversation with the minister that was officiating the ceremony as I usually do, and he told me where he didn’t want me to walk of shoot from.  I was pretty shocked when he told me that I could basically do what I want as far as shooting locations.  This meant that I could get whatever shots I wanted…and I did.  I don’t know if it was because it was warm in the church or out of sheer nerves, but thanks to my trusty wireless microphone attached to the grooms lapel, I could hear him whispering to his best man to daub the sweat from his forehead just before the vows and rings.  Don’t worry O’Neil, I’ll edit that part out.  Man! Do those mics pick up audio.

After the ceremony, we hit Edwards Gardens for some park photos and video.  Edwards Gardens (for those who have never been), is a really nice park with lots of different areas to shoot.  My favorite places there are the Well, the bridge and the staircase…and yes, I used them all.  The bridge shot was especially cool just because of the sheer size of the bridal party (15 in all).  For this shot I like to go quite a distance back and shoot some really wide shots, as well as some closer shots with some nice camera movements.  I also do this shot where the bride and groom kiss (they are in the center of the group), and the whole bridal party is looking at them, cheering.  By this time, all of the spectators are ohhing and ahhhing, so I tell them to join in with the cheering.  By the time the shot is done I’ve involved the whole bridal party and whomever else is standing around and wants to “give it up” for the couple.  We finished off with some very slow, picture-esq walking along a path that’s lined with flowers, trees and other really nice foliage.

My favorite part of the day…the reception.  We celebrated the last part of the day at the Venetian.  I really like this place.  John at the Venetian is amazing!  If ever there were a bride who needed someone to make sure that everyone sticks to the plan, then John is your guy.  We ran a Live-Eye system so that everyone could view the grand entrance of the couple, the dances, speeches, cake cutting and the engagement video on 4 large screen in the hall.

The decor was done very well, with center pieces containing water that was tinted to match the bridal party’s dresses.  The head table was spectacular and (as usual), I was equipped and ready to shoot all of the fine details right up to the grand shots of the hall.  After setting up my lights and audio we were ready for a great night.  Everything went very smoothly…the speeches were recorded with the cooperation of the DJ (he let me plug my wireless gear into his mixer), the dances were shot with the soft light from my soft boxes and not a moment of importance was missed.

Annie and Oneil, thanks so much for choosing us to do your wedding, thanks for letting us share this amazing day with you both.