Toronto Archives | Page 2 of 5

Rackell & Daniel – Engaged!

May 26, 2014

You know that pickup line, ‘do you believe in love at first sight, or do I have to walk by you again?’ Seems the universe conspired to give Rackell and Daniel that second look! They went to high school together but didn’t actually talk back then. Then years later, by chance, they happened to meet online and realized their shared history. How interesting is that!

We visited Toronto’s Centre Island for their engagement session – it’s a magical, nature-filled oasis in the city. There’s also a super cute and historical theme park there (the carousel is over a century old, built in 1907!), and we had a tonne of fun letting our inner kids out.

When they hopped into the ferris wheel, another neat coincidence occurred – their seat happened to be numbered with Rackell’s lucky number, and she didn’t realize it until she saw these photos. Maybe that number brought her luck after all, since it was supposed to rain that day but the weather held out long enough for us.

Here are some of my favourites from our time together. Aren’t these two just darned adorable? (Scroll to the bottom to read about this love story from our bride-to-be!)

And now, here are some words from Rackell about their love story!

“I knew of Daniel back in High School. He had come to Newtonbrook to finish up his last year (OAC) and I was in grade 11. I remembered seeing him in the hallways, always wearing some type of sports hat and baggy clothing lol

January 2009, my best friend had asked me if I wanted to sign up to Jdate for a 1 month trial, I agreed with her and we signed up together. I did it for fun, little did I know that I was going to meet my future husband!!!

I was scrolling through profiles and noticed Daniel’s picture. I thought he was hot and decided to sent him a “flirt”.
He then a few days later asked me to chat with him and that’s how we got to chat!

We had moved in about 10 months after we met (we met a day before my birthday) and have been together ever since!

Daniel and I are in many ways different, he loves sports (I don’t care much for them), he’s very outgoing with mostly everyone (I am as well but I pick and choose who I’m outgoing with and am slightly shy). I’m a dreamer, he’s not, he has a ton of energy, I usually don’t lol. We both love animals, watching movies and TV shows, chilling at home or outside, mostly just the two of us and taking walks. We love nature and like to explore when we are on vacation.

I do believe in the zodiac signs, I am a Pisces and he’s a Libra. Pisces are very much dreamers, are indecisive and are very sensitive (THAT’S SO ME). I believe that Daniel keeps me in check and balance while my head is somewhere in the clouds :D”

—

Congratulations, lovebirds. Can’t wait to photograph your wedding this July 6th!

Cherry Beach Engagement

April 27, 2014

There’s most certainly a spark between Ashley and Jay – one that sizzles, if ya know what I mean.

This pair is hot together, and it’s evident that they are super into each other. While I photographed them embracing one another I heard Jay complimenting Ashley – it made me gush just a bit.

We went to Toronto’s Polson Pier to photograph their engagement session since the view of the city from there is really pretty awesome. If you haven’t been, go check it out!

Unfortunately it was CRAZY windy, so much of the session involved Jay having to help Ashley move her beautifully done hair out of her face, and wiping the wind-induced tears from her eyes (messing with her also beautifully done makeup) – we joked about how him ‘fixing’ her was the theme of the session.
Despite the wind, however, we did have fun, and we managed to get some really sweet moments captured when the wind took a bit of a break. They even enjoyed playing a quick round of one of their favourite board games – how cute!

We also munched on some really yummy fries and poutine from a nearby food truck whose scent was wafting onto the beach, tempting us to wrap up and eat! Haha. Of course, that lent itself to a fun impromptu photo-op as well.
… Great, now I want french fries again… 😛

Here are some photos from our time together, as well as some words from the bride and groom-to-be at the end!

And now, some words from the happy couple:

THEIR FIRST DATE
“It was the night of the Grey Cup Event… After meeting at a local pub for some cocktails after a long day’s work, the two couldn’t wait to kick back and get to know one another over good conversation and some drinks. A local “regular” couldn’t help himself from visiting the table frequently and striking up conversation with the cute couple. J’s amazing sense of humour and ability to kindly tolerate the poor lonely man was admirable. However, his firmness and fearlessness in finally telling the guy to bug off and “allow him some time alone with his pretty lady”, really won Ashley over! From that night on, they were basically inseperable, enjoying any and every minute they could together…”

THE PROPOSAL
When it happened: Sunday, August 25, 2013
How it happened:
“What a better way to start the evening then a night at the Canadian National Exibition! After an evening of fun and entertainment with close friends, Jay was adamant about getting home by midnight. Wondering if they were going to turn into pumpkins, Ashley was reluctant and curious as to why it was so important to be home early on a Saturday night. After heading to the Danforth for a night cap with their friends, the two finally headed home to retire for the evening… or so she thought.

When Ashley got home, she immediately headed upstairs to bed. Jay came up insisting she wait, and come downstairs with him. After she agreed, he took her by the hand and guided her downstairs into her family’s dining room. As she asked “what are we doing?!”, she walked into the room lit with candles, and dressed with flowers. Jay presented her with champagne, sweets and… a small jewelery box! Jay asked, Ashley said yes, and so the story continues…”

Makeup: Shari at Sutherland Artistry
Lashes: Jennifer Couto at Lasholiscious
Hair: Daniel Palacio at Deberardinis Salon and Spa

—

Anastasia Giaouris

Photographer, Olive Photography
olivephotography.ca
OlivePhotographyTO.wordpress.com

Facebook.com/OlivePhotographyTO
@OlivePhotoTO

info@olivephotography.ca

Rustic/Glam Distillery District Wedding

April 16, 2014

Stephanie and Brian got married!
And it was a beautiful day to match their beautiful smiles.

I had a lot of fun photographing their engagement session a while back and was so excited to photograph their wedding!

The sun shone through the windows of Stephanie’s parents’ house as she and her bridesmaids got ready, and the warmth that filled the room was echoed by their apparent ease and contentment. Steph was remarkably composed – no nerves were visible on this bride’s face. Perhaps it was because after a nine-year relationship, this couple was already connected in the strongest way, and getting married, though an exciting and wonderful occasion, was but a way of formalizing what they already felt in their hearts.

Their family and wedding party were all so welcoming – I felt like one of the gang, joking, laughing and dancing as I snapped away – everyone was in such a great mood!

After the lovely ceremony at Leaside United Church (where Brian beamed endlessly) we headed in the stretch limo (with Veuve Clicquot champagne, no less) to the Distillery District for the wedding party photos. The weather was even nice enough that Greg’s Ice Cream was open! Of course we had to grab a cone!

Afterwards we headed to The Vue for dinner, dancing and merriment – the entire dance floor was packed with happy people celebrating this love that’s been almost a decade in the making.

Congratulations, lovebirds! It’s been an honour to document this happy time in your life, and I wish you all good things to come!

And now some words from the newlyweds! (They sent this from their honeymoon!)

What was your favourite wedding moment?
Bride: Walking down the aisle and seeing Brian with the biggest smile on his face ear to ear, just knowing he was as happy in that moment as I was, is a moment I’ll never forget…and the moment we were pronounced husband and wife was pretty amazing too! 🙂
Groom: Having our first dance together as husband and wife and singing to Steph as we danced. At that moment it felt like just her and I were in the room alone sharing a special moment together.

Any advice for engaged couples planning their wedding?

Enjoy the day! You’ve spent so much time planning for your wedding so on the day just remember to enjoy it and don’t sweat the small stuff because no one will notice but you. It’s a beautiful day and you don’t want to miss it because it really does fly by!

Details:

– Dress designer: Paloma Blanca www.palomablanca.com purchased from Mona Richie www.monarichiebride.com

– Suit: S. Cohen Inc. www.scoheninc.com purchased from Gino’s Fashion www.ginosfashion.com

– bouquets: Verdi Florist www.verdiflorist.com

– Centrepieces: Verdi Florist www.verdiflorist.com
– Cake: Eini & Co. www.eini.ca
– Favours: Macedo Wines (bottled by the Bride & Groom) www.macedowinery.ca
– Invitations: Etsy shop – The Best Day Paper Co
– Reception Venue: The Vue by Peter and Pauls www.thevue.ca

Elyse & Andrew – Engaged… Finally!

March 21, 2014

After a whopping 12 years together, this super fun pair are getting hitched!

It was a blast photographing this couple’s session – I’m so glad they won the giveaway contest!

They wanted to keep their session light-hearted and even silly at times, which was more than alright with me because the way they are together is gosh darned adorable.

Congrats, you two!

Porter Airlines – Portraits of Robert Deluce

March 11, 2014

Last week I had the pleasure of meeting and photographing Porter Airlines founder and CEO Robert Deluce for a travel industry magazine that’s re-branding and featuring Porter in their inaugural issue under their new name.

Mr. Deluce was incredibly friendly and it was very fun spending time with him and touring Billy Bishop airport.

I even got to walk on the tarmac and photograph planes as they took off and landed, and was thrilled to be invited inside one of the planes to photograph the interior, including the cockpit!

Thank you very much to the Porter team who was so hospitable during our visit!

I’ll add details about the travel company as soon as I’m authorized to do so!

Another Porter Preview

March 10, 2014

Porter founder Robert Deluce looking super happy standing in front of one of his planes (background). I like this one.

More to come soon!

Porter Airlines

March 7, 2014

Yesterday I had the opportunity to photograph Porter Airlines founder & CEO Robert J. Deluce for a travel industry publication.
More info and a bit about the day to come soon. For now, here’s a little sneak peek:

Neil’s Super Secret Project

February 18, 2014

I’m sworn to secrecy about Neil’s project, but I am allowed to share the photos!
Feel free to have a guess at what this is for… he may enjoy reading the responses. But my lips are sealed!
Kudos to Neil for braving the cold in a T-Shirt! What a Canadian.

Winter Island – Is this actually Toronto?

February 12, 2014

These photos were actually taken in Toronto despite totally looking as though they’re from a Northern territory or the Arctic.

The Toronto Island is one of our absolute favourite places to visit.
We usually go in the Summertime, when the leaves are lush and the colours are vibrant… it’s an incredibly magical place, giving you a sense of calm and ease that makes you forget you’re in such a busy city.

We’d never visited the island in the Winter before, so we thought we’d try it out – something different (yet still of significance to our relationship) for our tenth anniversary.

What we saw was nothing short of awe-inspiring.
It was like the entire island had been white-washed – all the colours had been blanketed and muted with a soft, cool blue/white hue, and where we could normally see out into the horizon close to nothing was visible. We had to squint and double-take because it felt like our mind was playing tricks on us.
You can see in the picture of Kiron (my husband) on the beach, all we could see was white!

If you haven’t visited the island in the Winter we heartily recommend it. The crunchy, icy trip over is a little frightening (to me, at least), but everything about a winter island visit is invigorating!

Here are some of the pictures I took on our memorable trek.

After the island we went for dinner at the Mövenpick Marché in the Brookfield Place (formerly BCE Place) – you may recognize those arches – since it’s where we had our first ever date. We even sat in the same seats!

And this is one of the beautiful architectural details within Union station. You can see it on your next visit there if you just look up!

And, some final portraits we took of each other while enjoying our time out. You can see more photos taken by Kiron on his Instagram @kironcmukherjee if you like!

Stay warm, my friends!
– But also enjoy the beauty that Winter brings!

Lots of love,
Anastasia

May & Kareem – Engagement Sneak Peak

January 27, 2014

It was a chilly, chilly Saturday last weekend but this sweet pair warmed my soul – so much happiness!
I won’t say much about them just yet, but in the mean time here’s a little sneak peek at their engagement session!