This day started with getting ready at Karen's parent's in Markham, moved our way to Glendon College in North York for bride and groom portraits and bridal party photos, then circled back to Scarborough Chinese Baptist Church for Karen and Wayne's wedding ceremony. Lastly, we're back in Markham for the wedding reception at Crystal Fountain banquet. At times, it's nice to have a wedding at one place, from getting ready to ceremony to receptions. Other times, I felt special to drop by these different places and make photograph to document our footprint. These locations - parents' house where one grew up in, home church, etc. hold special places in people's heart. This brings up something unique about documentary wedding photography - the wedding photos, the documentary of the day, the authenticity in the images are irreplaceable on the inside. On the outside, some or even many wedding photos taken by a documentary wedding photographer or a photojournalistic wedding photographer or whatever one calls them, might not be the most eye-catching, picture perfect image. They're, however, the most valuable memories to the marrying couples. It'd be as simple as a getting ready picture at home or a ring shot by one's parents' wedding photo. It'd be an awkward expression on the groom's face during first look or a tear during father and daughter or mother and son dance. A documentary photograph captured a moment that's forever gone, a moment that can mean so much in 30 years. Karen and Wayne wanted to capture their wedding day the way it was. The tears, the laughters. The romance, the stupidity. The love, the friendship. Their wedding day started with a quiet morning with Karen's bridal party to a formal church ceremony and gradually eased up to a fun and laid-back reception night. My biggest wish is for Karen and Wayne to see their changes in emotions, from nervous to blissful to amused in these wedding photos and may these images always be with them and remind them of this beautiful day.
Lots of love,
Ally