「 sde 」CECILIA & DANIEL

The best part of life is the unexpected. I think everyone likes to act like she or he knows what to expect and how to handle any situation. But we live for curveballs.

Having filmed quite a few Chinese weddings I thought I had seen it all. The groomsmen busted down the door, just like all the other groomsmen. But then a twist, not shown in the video: they turned around and locked the bridesmaids out of the bride's room, winning back some of their red pockets in the process! Hilarious. Definitely a good moment when every person in the room is smiling.

Cutting this SDE was pretty exciting and threw me quite a curveball itself. I met Cecilia and Daniel once before the wedding and they seemed very loving but also quiet. And so I chose two songs for their video to reflect what I thought the wedding would be like. I was totally wrong and had to scramble to find a better song. I stumbled across Soar by Gyom and immediately licensed it from the Music Bed. It's a huge rush that evolves into something deeper and more gentle. Perfect!

From that point on the video just came together. Such a great feeling to show an SDE for the first time, it never gets old.

「 highlights 」TINA & MIKE

This is the second time I’ve captured a wedding where it seemed like the tent would get picked up and tossed by the powerful winds. The extreme weather was on everyone’s minds and in the background of many of my shots. It gave me a great excuse to shoot some slo-mo as well as a slew of time-lapses. In the end, Vancouver just put on a show for us, as the rain stopped just in time for the photo shoot and the day closed with a gorgeous sunset.

Tina and Mike have been together for a long, long time, and they’d known for much of that time that they would get married. So at first they just wanted a simple wedding. In the end Tina’s vision and attention to detail came together in Science World’s Patio overlooking False Creek.

Their families are filled with love and now so is theirs!

「 sde 」RHODA & CHRISTEPHEN

Rhoda and Chris shared their amazing story with me when we first met. It was truly cosmic how they came together, and Coastal Church played a big part in that. Naturally, they wanted to hold their wedding there as well. It’s a unique space with a lot of angles you don’t normally find in a church.

I love details, annd I tend to overuse close-ups, and sometimes wish I captured more wide shots. On this occasion, I saved the big wide for their kiss, the only shot that shows the impressive view from the back of the church.

The family traditions on display in the morning were a joy to capture. Rhoda was happy to let her mom be in charge of each step of the process, and I think enjoyed being able to be a part of it as I did.

The day ended back at the Four Seasons, with an amazing choreographed dance that I scampered around to properly capture. Chris is a pretty calm and quiet presence, and I didn’t see those moves coming!

「 nde 」JENN & MATT

If there's a family I'd like to be adopted by, it's the Lams. Mom and dad Lam had three lovely children, who all inherited their father's knack for telling a good story. And who all grew up and hired Love Story Media to film their weddings! It was an honour to be able to tell their stories. It has been a blast to hang out with these folks three times over, and I'm kind of sad that it's over!

I met Matt for the first time on the day of the wedding. It takes a wonderful guy to match someone like Jenn, and that he is. You can see it in his eyes when he listens to her. Her world is his.

Lam weddings are an outpouring of love, thoughtfulness and togetherness. It's basically a group of friends and family who all love each other. Everyone seems comfy and at home. The handmade signs - beautiful calligraphy by Jenn herself - enhanced the homey feel.

Weather has been on everyone's mind here in Vancouver, with a giant cloud of smoke covering the city for over a week. Gradually, winds picked up and a bit of rain here and there started to clear the air. But Saturday July 11th was the day it really rained. But not all day. The weather cooperated. Just enough rain to clear the air, but of course not enough to put out the fire.

「 feature 」STEPHANIE & JEREMY

What a journey with these two! And to think, it was only a small part of theirs. Very excited to see what amazing things Jer and Steph will do in the future. I'm happy to count them as friends. Please take a look at their CONCEPT film here.

「 highlights 」JENNY & FAN

Just one shot was set up in this video. I won’t have to tell you which it is. Right after shooting it, Fan asked my second shooter not to include it in the video. “Jenny won’t like it.” This was not communicated to me and it went in. Later I apologized, but Jenny said, “That HAS to stay in!”

Fan gets “revealed” to us quite quickly, but for Jenny, getting to know him was a long and wonderful process. She describes him as a treasure box. I'm sure there's even more for her to discover about this underwear model.

Mr. Treasure Box is a Porsche-sponsored racing driver who grew up on 90’s music. Jenny understands him well, but his musical tastes baffle her. I wonder who chooses the music when he drives her around?

Jenny and Fan knew exactly what they wanted from their video. Details, Vancouver scenery, and the Rolls, all with a romantic/fairytale feel.

Harumi Suzuki put this wedding together, and somehow had time help to coordinate the filming on top of everything else. I’ve said it before, but I do appreciate a fellow workaholic! This time, her “Dream Team” included photographers flown in from HK. They fell in love with Vancouver and told me they just wanted to stay.

That’s the reason for the first part of the video. It’s beautiful here. Especially when you’re in love.

ALYSSA & JASON º Circles of Life º

The Mitchell trilogy concludes!

I read some Jim Carrey tweets last night. Aside from being a hilarious person, he believes that in our lives we are only able to experience a fraction of existence. "As we get older, we feel smaller." I don't have children, but I imagine that having children - three amazing daughters let's say - brings home this truth.

(In case you haven't seen it, here's that other gorgeous Mitchell wedding, from Whistler BC.)

Luckily, as time passes, the Mitchell family keeps getting bigger! The circle grows. Thinking about this stuff can make you crazy, so it's nice to have some outstanding wine, whiskey and live music to remind you of the present moment. And someone with a camera to capture it all!

We are so grateful to the Mitchells for making us a part of their unforgettable celebrations. We feel like part of the family!