Couples' sessions - whether you want to call them 'engagement sessions', or 'day in the life' sessions, or whatever... they can be really fun, even if you're shy or awkward in front of the camera (like me).

There's literally never any pressure to do anything.

Check out this blog to see for yourself how something you enjoy together (e.g. a hike) can turn into a beautiful and meaningful photo occasion. :)

Years ago… two years now… during the first summer after the start of the pandemic, a few of us wedding vendors got itchy to create. We had taken a hit in bookings that year, and even though things perked up a bit in the summer, we were LONGING to get immersed in community and creativity.

Moreover, Christina of KnifeySpooney (and the mastermind behind this styled shoot), really wanted to showcase an eco-friendly, sustainable approach to micro-weddings.

When I meet with folks who’re getting married, and we’re not in a rush (say, the wedding isn’t in like 3 weeks), we always get to chatting about doing a little photo-session before the wedding.

You know, documenting the ‘ordinary’ moments of life.

And the first question that comes up is: “What do you all LOVE to do together?”

Everyone has a different answer. All folks in love like to spend time together in different ways.

This is the story of a secret proposal.

When Ashis (pronounced ‘ah-shish’) contacted me, it was because he wanted to plan the perfect proposal for his partner, Meenu, and needed my help to photograph it.

As a wedding and engagement photographer, the photos would be no problem. But the planning - well, for that, I recruited the help of Heather (of Bowtied Services).

Margaret and Vincent’s story is such a sweet one.

We met ages ago, when I was having a free giveaway for an engagement session. I think this was probably back in 2019, and definitely before the pandemic.

I chatted with the couple on Skype (back in the day this is what we used, believe it or not! I cannot imagine a time before zoom in my life, but there you have it)…

From the moment we started planning Maeve and MacKenzie's engagement photo session, I knew that it would be a really unique one.

The couple wanted to take me to MacKenzie's family cottage near Peterborough, on Stony Lake.

The only way to access this property, they told me, was by boat!

They were so sweet about this: Making sure I was okay with the boat ride, that my camera would be fine, and all.

Today I bring you the story of Nik and Kathlena’s surprise proposal.

What I actually mean is that it was a surprise to Kathlena, not Nik. It would be funny if it was a surprise proposal for both of them…. How would that even work?

Anyway, for this surprise proposal, Nik was the one planning everything.

He wanted to propose to the love of his life, and he wanted to keep it a complete surprise!

When we planned Andi and Tim's engagement session, there was one thing that was on the top of our minds.

We simply wanted make sure their two children could meet me and become comfortable with me before the wedding, so that they wouldn't be stressed out being photographed on their parents’ actual wedding day.

I think that's incredibly sweet: the way Andi and Tim prioritized the children, and included them in their engagement session that day.

So we did a lot of fun things, like visit their cottage in Prince Edward County. There’s a small trail behind the cottage, and just up the hill is a nice forest. We went for a walk up there for about ten minutes. Beautiful candid photographs don’t have to take a long time, you know.

Aw, Denise and Kevin. 🥰

This was such a sweet and meaningful engagement session.

When we were first planning this engagement session with Denise and Kevin, I asked them: what would make this something memorable and meaningful for you?

You know, something where we’re not just going to look for a pretty backdrop and take a bunch of awkward posed photos?

So, we chatted about recreating their first date, in downtown Kingston.

I'm excited to bring you the story Leah and Kwesi, an adorable and kind-hearted couple, and their afternoon summer elopement.

(Kwesi is such an awesome name. When she first said his name, I jotted it down phonetically, as Quacey, before I asked for a correction :P Leah told me that he once had someone at Starbucks write "Weston"... haha.)

You might have first read about this wedding in our Highlights 2021 blog here.

But now I’m going to go into all the delicious details, so read on!

Danielle and Zach’s was a beautiful elopement right in the heart of downtown Kingston.

It was during the last post-winter restrictions in 2021, so we moved the date a couple of times. Luckily, the venue (the beautiful Rosemount Inn in Kingston) were super accommodating.

And Danielle and Zach themselves were the most wonderful, friendly, and easy-going couple. They had to deal with a lot, because of the shifting rules… but they didn’t bat an eyelid, and ended up having a simply fantastic sunny day in June for their wedding, instead of the originally scheduled date in mid-May.

The bonus was that there was so much colour & greenery.

Now let’s get to the photos!

An “Engagement Session” can be anything you want it to be.

Well… this season was certainly one for the books!

I don't even know where to begin, so I'm just going to do it in sequence, to be fair to all the beautiful couples I met and photographed this year…

…and so that I don't miss anything that was super important.

Here we go! 🤩

When I got married, we didn’t tell my aunt’s family (who are very close to us), OR my husband’s family.

It wasn’t a malicious or intentional omission; it was simply that we eloped with like two days “planning”, and we were travelling abroad for it (to my home-country, Bulgaria), so most of those two days were spent on an airplane, at the airport, or jetlagged. The thought of calling family to explain was an afterthought. I was 23 years old and in love, and marriage or wedding traditions weren’t a huge deal to me at the time. Don’t hate me!

After this, we headed to the gazebo, which was a super important place for both of them. They’d shared their first kiss there and later they got engaged there exactly a year ago! It was all too serendipitous. Their engagement story is so sweet and hilarious; but it’s theirs to tell. I’ll just say that Rochelle literally didn’t get it was all for her - despite the romantic lighting and engagement vibes - until the VERY end…

How many engagement photos have you seen in a PARKING LOT? Zero? Well, make that one.

Julian is camera shy, and yet he still wanted to smooch with Helena ALL THE TIME.

And we ended up with lots of kissy photos ❤️

I have no idea! Honestly, I thought I already had… but then when I was trying to show these photos as an example of what kinds of things you could do on your “engagement” session (otherwise known as a day in the life session around these parts), I couldn’t find it.

So anyway, Sarah and Oliver already got married, and we were there to celebrate with them, and we even blogged it (yay us!)

So this story takes us even farther back in time, to a very warm and mosquito-y day in June of 2019, just a few months before their wedding took place.