I’m finishing up edits on earlier weddings right now but I wanted to post some sneak peek photos for all my upcoming posts as well, and so everyone can have a few photos to see right now! I’m going to try to have all of these posts done and up in the next two weeks, that’s my goal, and also have 75% of all work completely edited by that time (less just the most recent weddings which will take a little longer). Okay, now I’ve put it out there, so I have a deadline!! I’m not doing any baby stuff until I’m finished with photos, and baby is due in 7 weeks so I need to get the butt in gear so I have time to prepare!

With that being said, I’m sooooo in love with every single one of these weddings and shoots below, I’m so excited with how the photos look and I can’t wait to show a bit more of each! You’re all gorgeous and wonderful!!!

Much more next week! Jody’s mom and step-dad are visiting this weekend, I’m so excited for them to see the belly!! So I should have the next post up starting probably on Wednesday. Have a great weekend everyone!

Shawna and Mike were married at St. Andrews River Heights United Church, it was a perfect ceremony with a few tears, some laughter, and lots of love! And I LOVED Mike’s reaction when he first saw Shawna walking down the aisle!! Then Shawn and Mike took off in their special wedding car – a fabulous old Essex 33 Terraplane that was restored by Shawna’s dad and grandpa!! We all headed first to the King’s Head Pub and then out to Evergreen Village, where the reception was held. I loved the big tent at Evergreen Village so much, it’s so warm-feeling and bright and gorgeous! And I love the whole grounds there as well! After dinner Jody and I snuck outside with Mike and Shawna for a few more photos, the sun was starting to set so it was so pretty! And then onto the speeches and dancing! I have to say, the Best Man’s speech was the best I’ve ever heard, it was so funny and so well-done, and accompanied by a slideshow to emphasize each point – so so good!!! And really all the speeches were wonderful, it was one of the most touching and funny receptions I’ve been to!

Here are some of the vendors who helped to make the day extra wonderful ::

Wedding Dress Designer :: Allure
Bridesmaid Dresses :: Dessy Group
Tux Rentals :: Moore’s
Hair :: Breanne Shaw
Makeup :: Angie Lindsay
Florist :: Floral Arrangements by Gil
Transportation Company :: 38 Limo Service
Officiant :: Rev. Marc Whitehead
Cake Artist :: Janine Hykaway
DJ :: Platinum Productions

And thank you so much to Shawna and Mike, and to all their family and friends! You two are both such wonderful people, which was especially so evident during the reception and hearing all the love everyone had for you two! Thank you so much for letting Jody and I be a part of your day and I’m so so so happy for you both!!!

Now here are some of my favorite photos from the second part of the day! ::

I started out in the morning at the Fairmont Hotel with Shawna and the girls, and loved all the wonderful details that Shawna had and all the fun and energy in the room! All the bridesmaids and Shawna were ready I think even early, that was a first – they were so so so organized!! It was fabulous cause then I had lots of time for photos with just Shawna and then with all the girls – and oh Shawna was so cute whenever I’d say “you’re about to get married!” – she would get the biggest smile ever on her face, I loved it so much!!!

Jody started out with Mike and the guys for some getting ready shots, and then they headed to another house for some fun poker-playing, how cool! And then everyone headed over to the church for the beautiful wedding! I’m only including the morning up until the ceremony in this post, and on Sunday I’ll post the rest of the day – ceremony, fun photo session, and reception! I’ll also include more details on vendors and such in that post (and add it into this one as well).

So here are just a few of the photos I love from the morning! ::

These next two photos make me so happy!!!

And meanwhile…Mike and the guys!

I LOVE this one!!!

I guess it’s officially Saturday even though it’s nighttime and I feel like it’s still Friday, so I’ll post the rest tomorrow (Sunday)!

I started out the day with Rina and the girls, they were all so relaxed and laid-back and just having fun! Then some sweet tears fell when Rina put her dress on – she looked so beautiful and was so excited to see Brad! My wonderful friend Dorian Senkow started the day with Brad for both some getting ready photos, and some very cool posed photos of Brad in the wheat field and around his parents’ yard, and then they headed over for Brad to see his bride for the first time that day! Rina was so cute and was peeking out the window at Brad, and she kept exclaiming that he looked like James Bond! And then they had their First Look and I absolutely love the expressions on Brad’s face, and emotion in his eyes, when he saw Rina – I love those moments so much! We headed off then for lots of photos of Rina and Brad, and then met up with the wedding party for lots of fun. Then it was off to Brad’s parents’ house for some relaxation before the ceremony began. And the ceremony – there was emotion and laughter, especially when Rina almost put Brad’s ring on the wrong hand! It was so beautiful! And then the fun and beautiful reception, and there were some seriously funny speeches, especially by Rina’s brother who had the whole crowd laughing so many times!

Here are some of the vendors who helped make the day so beautiful:

Wedding Dress Designer :: TBA
Bridesmaid Dresses :: JCrew
Hair :: Casey Cochlan
Makeup :: Claire McKay
Florist :: Academy Florist
Officiant :: Robert Warkentin
Cake Artist :: Tracey Wiebe
DJ or Band :: Christy Kim Band

Thank you so much to Rina and Brad and their families and friends, the day was so much fun and so beautiful and you two are so wonderful and cute together!! And thank you so much to Dorian for second shooting for me and helping to make the day even more fun for me!!! And now here are many of my favorite photos from the day!

Here are the wonderful Kathryn & Steve and their amazing wedding day! I love this couple so much – they’re both so cool and so fun, they’ve been together for 11 or 12 years and yet their love still seems so fun and fresh, they have the best laughs, they had my favorite wedding ceremony to date (complete with bridal party walking down the aisle to “Eye of the Tiger” and a huge dip at the first kiss), and oh I could just go on and on I think – but yes, they stole my heart and I think they’re so fabulous in every way! Oh and they both love cats just as much as I do, that makes them extra fabulous in my book!

Their wedding day started off with an ominous forecast for storms and heavy rain, and there were a few quick showers during the morning and we kept watching the alternating dark clouds and then bright skies. Steve and Kathryn were planning an outdoor ceremony and after some analyzing of the skies, Kathryn decided to go ahead with setting it up outdoors – I’m soooo glad she did, it was such a magical location nestled in the trees right next to the old St. Norbert’s monastery. As I was driving from their house to St. Norbert’s, I could see really dark clouds over Winnipeg and even rain coming down in the distance (and indeed we heard afterward that Winnipeg had a huge storm and very heavy rain), but it stayed completely dry where we were!

The ceremony outside St. Norbert’s Art Centre was personal and perfect, we had so much fun taking photos on the grounds afterward (despite those mosquitoes I hate!), and then the reception was intimate, fun, personal, hilarious and poignant. It really was such a wonderful day!

Here are some of the wonderful vendors who helped make this day so beautiful:

Wedding Dress Designer :: Just for You
Bridesmaid Dresses :: JCrew (I loved the dresses!!)
Tux Rentals :: Moores
Hair :: TBA
Makeup :: 2 Chicks and a Bag of Makeup
Venue :: St. Norberts Art Center
Officiant :: Rev. Pat from the Center of Conscious Living
Cake Artist :: Top Chop Catering (cupcakes)
DJ :: AJ the DJ

Kathryn and Steve, I’m so happy for you both and loved getting to know you better, and also getting to know your family and friends. I was so touched many times throughout your day, I had so much fun with you both, and I loved witnessing all the love during your reception. You two really are such special people, that was obvious throughout your wedding day and by how much love was shared by your family and friends. Thank you so much for letting Jody and I be a part of your day. And I wish you the absolute best in this sort of new chapter of your life (I say “sort of” just because I know I won’t be a huge change for you)!

Here are some of my favorite photos from your day!!

Meanwhile, Jody met up with Steve and the guys and they obviously were having quite a good time!

Married!!!

Thank you again, Steve and Kathryn, and to all your family and friends who were so wonderful as well! I’ll add a link to this post when all the photos are ready!

This past weekend Jody and I went to Kenora to a friend’s cottage, it was a wonderful weekend away and a fabulous way to celebrate my birthday!! And now this week I’m headed home to see my family in Michigan for a long-planned little reunion, I’m leaving on Tuesday morning, and on Thursday both Jody and my brother and his family arrive. It will be the first time we’ve all been together and the first time my brother and my husband will meet – yes, for real, they haven’t met yet! I’m so looking forward to it!!! And we’ll all also be celebrating my grandparents’ 90th birthdays together! My uncle, aunt and cousins from Chicago are driving over for a day as well, and I hear from a little birdy that there will be a small little family baby shower for us – yay!!

Jody and I this past Saturday in Kenora, on my birthday!

I had planned to bring my laptop along to Michigan with me, and although I knew I wouldn’t have much time, I figured I could do some work in the evenings, at least at the beginning of the week. Then on Monday it appeared that my laptop’s hard drive died. We can’t be certain until we take it to visit the Apple store, but it’s not turning on or doing much of anything. So frustrating!!! I do most of my work on my iMac (and have multiple backups of course!), but of course I can’t take the iMac with me!

So anyway, this will be a bit of a hodge-podge post, and will have the sneak peeks and also a couple personal updates!

First an update on my James! As many of you know, and as I talked about at the beginning of my last post, little James had a blockage in his urethra two weeks ago and spent 24 hours in the emergency vet. It happened three years ago as well so I knew really early on that 1) something was wrong, and 2) it was probably this. So we caught it extremely early but my poor little guy was in pain when he finally did try to go pee and couldn’t, and he jumped out of his litter box and started wailing, I can’t forget it, it was so awful. Anyway, it took him a good 5 days to get back to normal and start seeming like himself again, and I was so worried the whole time both that he would block again and also just that he didn’t feel well – he’s my baby, I want him to be happy and healthy and having him other than that was so so so awful! James and Emma had a vet appointment last week, as both a follow-up for James, and just a general checkup. James needs to lose 2 pounds, and they want him on a special diet. Unfortunately he and Emma both hate the prescription food, even when I mix in their old Fancy Feast (and honestly, after a couple hours the food smells really bad so I can see why they don’t like it). So I’ll give it a little longer and then look for something else. No more dry food either, and I mix water in with their wet food to give them extra hydration. Yesterday, when we came home from Kenora, James seemed like he was mad at me – probably for going away, but also for not giving him tasty food! It was awful, he was avoiding me! Today he’s been more cuddly so I feel a little better. I’m trying to find a good balance though, between health and taste, because I want him to be healthy and don’t want this to happen again, but he also loves his food and I hate taking away any joy he had with eating. So bottom line is I don’t know yet exactly what I’ll do there. I may end up ditching the prescription stuff and just feeding them high protein wet foods only. We’ll see.

Here are photos of James and Emma at their vet appointment last week! James was first really curious and explored the room and counters and then hid under a chair but was still looking all around so cutely and curiously. And little Emma was not happy at all and cocooned her little self into her blanket and was barely peeking out, she was so adorable and pitiful!

And my scared little Emma!

I wanted to share a few photos from this past weekend in Kenora as well! All these (and all above photos as well) were taken with my iPhone, I’m soooo loving that and the fun apps for personal and fun photos!!

Ferd sunning himself and wanting to sleep

It was a wonderful and beautiful visit! I’d really love to explore the whole area much more, too! Anyway, one more personal thing and then I’ll get to sneak peek photos! So I’m sure some people have noticed that I’ve slacked in my weekly pregnancy updates. Yes, I’ve been bad. I’m now in Week 27 so almost to the third trimester, which seems so crazy cause 1) I feel so good, and 2) it seems like there’s still so much time left (which really there’s almost three whole months left, so it’s not like it’s right around the corner!)! So this obviously isn’t a weekly update, but I’ll do a mini update, and I promise next week, during Week 28, I’ll get back on track with my regular weekly posts!

Week 27
My belly has gotten nice and round and perfect over the past 3-4 weeks! I love it, I feel like it’s so pretty and perfect!! I finally look really pregnant but it’s not yet too big that it’s causing any problems. I do now get uncomfortable when I’m leaning over while sitting up or when I’m bending down, and I can’t just bend down and pet our babies for long anymore, I need to actually sit on the floor. My hips have started to get sore while I’m sleeping now, too, cause I can only sleep in two positions – on one side and then on the other side. Sometimes I put a pillow between my legs, it doesn’t really help with the hip soreness but feels good. My feet and ankles are still regularly swelling and looking gross! I feel the baby move many times a day, still not any super strong kicks (probably cause of the anterior placenta) but I can see my belly move a little during some of them, which is so cool and weird at the same time! I read that this week, the amniotic fluid reduces by half so I’ll be able to feel more movements and also see and/or feel individual body parts more – and I think this may have already started cause this morning when I woke up, it felt like there was a foot or elbow sticking out in one place! Oh, one thing I’ve noticed is that sometimes when I’m sitting up straight, like when I’m driving, it feels like the uterus (or really the baby in the uterus) is being pushed up under my ribs on one or the other side and it’s quite uncomfortable, I definitely feel better when I’m reclined a little more. Hmmm, anything else? Other than that I feel good, my weight gain is supposedly perfect, I’m still not having any strong cravings, and (knock on wood) everything is going well! Oh – two weeks ago I had the amazing experience of seeing our baby in 3D! A friend of mine is training to become an ultrasound tech and needed guinea pigs, and I was so happy to volunteer both to help her and to see our baby again! It was so cool, and I loved hearing them tell me that everything looked healthy and normal! The 3D was surreal – it was so amazing and cool and I can’t stop looking at the photos, and yet it’s also a little weird cause the baby looks like a little old man and not so much like a baby, so of course it worries me a tiny bit and I’ll be so happy when it comes out and (hopefully!) looks like a wonderful little baby!

So here are a couple photos from Week 25, and a couple photos from the ultrasound, and then a photo from this past weekend of me during Week 27!

Okay and now for a few sneak peeks! When I get back next Monday, I’ll be working on getting the posts up for all three of these wonderful weddings!!

(I apologize for taking so long, one of my babies (cats), my little James, had a blockage in his little urethra about a week and a half ago. Luckily I knew something was wrong right away, and suspected this because it happened once before three years ago, so we caught it early and he spent 24 hours in the emergency vet with a catheter and then with them making sure he could pee on his own. He came home the next day but it took a week before he started acting normal and like himself again, and I was terrified the whole time that he would re-plug so I was constantly watching him and the litter pan, and giving him love and cuddles the other half of the time cause that fear of something happening to him was so awful. I’m SO happy he’s back to normal, and we’re changing some things to hopefully prevent this from happening again – no more dry food, special wet food, water added into the food, and he’s going on a diet so he can lose at least 2 pounds (this will be harder on me than on him, cause it breaks my heart when he licks his little lips, looks at me, and cries – granted he’s not starving, but he’s sort of hungry or at least thinks he wants food and I hate seeing him unhappy!). But anyway, he’s good, I’m starting to feel better, and I’m getting back on track!)

So now back to the beautiful Jill and Ian!! Part I covered the morning through the ceremony, and now here we have lots of sweet and gorgeous photos of Jill and Ian, and some of their fabulous and hot wedding party as well! Between the photos, everyone hung out at Jill’s aunt and uncle’s house in St. Andrews, and their backyard was SO incredible – tiki bar, pool, gazebos, and such amazing landscaping everywhere you looked, it was such a dream! And then onto the reception at the amazing Fort Garry Hotel, which was so elegant and so beautiful! And there were some very memorable moments – the MC serenaded Jill and Ian, it was so amazing, she was such an incredible singer and the song ended with a reminder that England had already lost the Cup, which I thought was so funny (sorry to Ian and all the British guests!)! The two best men gave one of the best speeches, too, so incredibly funny and filled with cuteness and wonderful British humor, and they delivered it so perfectly! We also all got to see who Ian’s childhood idol had been – I don’t even who the person was, but he looked like some greased up and tanned body builder, so there were lots of laughs had over that! All in all it was a perfect reception filled with wonderful food, a few sweet tears, lots of love, and so so so many laughs!

Here are some of the vendors who helped make the day so beautiful:

Wedding Dress Designer :: Mikaella
Bridesmaid Dresses :: BCBG (two of the dresses, the other two custom-made)
Tux Rentals :: Moore’s Tuxedos
Makeup :: 2 Chicks and a Bag of Makeup
Florist :: Elizabeth’s Florist & Gifts in St. Andrews
Ceremony location :: St. Theresa’s Catholic Church
Officiant :: Father Michael Wollbaum
Reception location :: Fort Garry Hotel
Cake Artist :: Tricia Geurts (Jill’s mom!)
DJ :: Platinum Sound

Thank you so much to Jill and Ian and your families for having me be part of your day, I absolutely loved it and I’m so so happy for you both!! I can’t wait for your Day After session, too!!! Now onto some of my many favorites photos!!! I’ll add a link here when all the photos are online!!

She was smiling and laughing just a few minutes later, and her dress was dry again by the reception! So cute!!!

This was such a fun and gorgeous wedding to be a part of. Jill is absolutely stunning, and looked even more so in her amazing dress and birdcage veil, I loved it! And Ian is quite dapper – they make an amazingly beautiful couple! I also fell in love so quickly with both of their parents, who were so warm and friendly and wonderful (and I loved how Jill’s dad got emotional a few times during the day, so touching and sweet!)! And their wedding party was so fun and beautiful, and there was so much love and joy and anticipation throughout the whole day! Oh – and it was also Jill’s birthday, now Ian only has to remember one date!

I started out with the girls and had so much fun that morning, and we watched as a little mini storm would come through with rain lasting a few minutes, and then blue sky and sunshine would follow, and then repeat that all over! I’m so happy we had some intermissions from the rain, but oh I would have loved to take more photos in Jill’s parents’ amazing yard!! Jody (my husband) started out the day with the guys and I could tell they had some fun! Then off to the church to get married! It was a very hot and humid day, and that continued into the church, but a little sweat never hurt anyone, right? (I say that now when I’m sitting in a cool house, then it was really, really hot!)!

Enjoy the little peek into the first half of their wedding day, and I’ll post Part II with fun wedding party photos, lots of gorgeous Jill & Ian photos, and the fabulous reception in a couple days!

The two best men were SO funny!! And I think the right-most photo is demonstrating the work of the terrible mosquito population in Winnipeg!

Married!!!

It was really hot, Jill needed to air out a bit before going back outside!

I started out the day with Lynn and her girls getting their hair done, and then back at Lynn’s parents’ house for getting dressed and some fun photos. Jody popped in on Jonah and the guys getting ready – I always love seeing his photos of the guys after the wedding and seeing all the silly fun they have! Then it was off to Pineridge Hollow for the gorgeous outdoor ceremony! I absolutely love how Jonah looks at Lynn with so much love and there were so many sweet and gorgeous moments between the two of them during and just after the ceremony – right afterward the two of them went inside for a few minutes and were alone save for Jody and I, and it was SO CUTE how they kept saying “what just happened?!”, “we got married!”, “that was so fast!”, and calling each other husband and wife for the first time – seriously, it was so so so sweet!!! Then it was off for some fabulous photos in Birds Hill Park, and then back to Pineridge Hollow for the fun reception! The whole day was so fun and so beautiful!!

Here’s a list of the wonderful vendors who helped to make the day so beautiful:

Wedding Dress: Cassiopeia Bridal
Bridesmaid Dresses: Cassiopeia Bridal
Tux Rentals: Tip Top Tailor
Makeup: Provici Cosmetics
Hair: Ken Cori’s Studio 103
Florist: Sabyna Sawka
Venue: Pineridge Hollow
Officiant: Rev. Boyd Drake
Cake Artist: Sweet Impressions
DJ: Platinum Productions

Thank you so much to Jonah, Lynn, your families, and your wedding party. Jody and I had such fun and we’re so happy for you both. You and your families and friends were so wonderful the whole day, so fun and nice, and I have such great memories and feelings when I think of your special day because of all of you!! And now here are a few of my favorite photos from the day!! ::

Buddy, the ring bearer, heads down the isle! He was soooo cute and excited!!!

I LOVE how happy Lynn looks here!!!

We had so much fun during the photo session in Bird’s Hill Park – such a fun and wonderful wedding party, and then so many gorgeous images of Lynn and Jonah!

It was REALLY hot that day, these little fans were fabulous!

And finally, a few details and then some moments of the fun at the reception!