Form submitted successfully, thank you.

Error submitting form, please try again.

Carole & Stephen [A Manhattan Winter Wedding]

As promised, I have A LOT of photos to share from Carole and Stephen’s wedding.

Just a bit of back story before I do.  I’ve known Carole for years.  I’ve photographed her two children, done some family photography for her side of the family, I photographer her brother Chris’ wedding a few years ago … so it was wonderful news that when her and Stephen decided to tie the knot that they wanted me there to document it.  Originally the wedding was supposed to be in October in Ontario, but they changed their mind and decided to have a winter New York City wedding.  Gotta love them :)

So last weekend myself, Darsi and my friend Julie headed to Manhattan for the big event.  The ceremony took place at Belvedere Castle in the middle of Central Park.  After the ceremony and the family photos, we had some fun in the snow, which included a very animated snowball fight with the boys.  We then spent some time in the afternoon going to a few different places for photo, like Times Square and Grand Central Station.  From there we headed to Ruth’s Chris Steakhouse for an intimate dinner with family and friends (only 12 attended the wedding).  And then we closed out the evening with a late night, double decker bus tour of NYC and Brooklyn.  It was awesome.

I had a really hard time edited down the shots, so I’m going to forewarn … this is a VERY, VERY, VERY long post with a boatload of photos. Hopefully you’ll enjoy them.

And before I get started, I just wanted to say a huge thank you to Carole and Stephen.  Thank you for choosing me to photograph the wedding, thank you for being such incredible sports outside in the cold (especially Stephen who was sick) and thank you for making the whole experience so much fun!! :)  You two are AWESOME!!!

March 4, 2010 - 1:47 pm Tricia Bentley - Amazing pictures of an amazing couple!!!! WOW! :)

March 4, 2010 - 3:00 pm Melissa - Absolutely stunning pictures!! Congratulations to you both!

March 4, 2010 - 4:22 pm Michelle - Love them! U must be so pleased. Every one is fab, and u are shining! Looked like so much fun!

March 4, 2010 - 4:41 pm Janine - Wow!! Great pictures Carole! You looked absolutely beautiful! And what a great place to get married! It looks like a good time was had by all. (I love the snowball fight!!)Congratulations to both of you!!

March 4, 2010 - 4:54 pm Scott - Wow, coolest wedding pictures i've ever seen. Congratz!

March 4, 2010 - 6:12 pm Sara McLean - Wow...great pics..you guys all look stunning!!

March 4, 2010 - 7:56 pm Ashleigh - Beautiful pictures! What a great idea - New York City!

March 4, 2010 - 8:24 pm lezlie - wow,,,, those pictures are absolutely fabulous !!! it looks like you captured the true spirit of love !!!! I love the pictures of the four of you,,,, you just look like the perfect family,,, full of fun and laughter ,,, I haven't met Steve, but he looks like a great guy,,, and will be a fabulous role model to those boys !!! Carole, you look stunning !!!!! and the whole wedding had a very vintage feel,,, from the photos !!!! great job !!!!

March 4, 2010 - 9:21 pm Amy Butland - OMG! Stephen and Carole...you both look so beautiful! The pictures are so romantic, creativity and elegant! Unforgettable memories to last a life time. All my love xo Amy

March 4, 2010 - 9:42 pm edie bannister - I love looking at all the pictures, You are a lovely family. The dress is beautiful Carole. I send congratulations to everyone. A winter wedding in New York, first one I have ever seen. Sure hope you were not too cold. Best wishes to all.

March 4, 2010 - 11:24 pm Trynda - The pictures are amazing!! Carole, you looked beautiful :) Congrats to you both xoxo

March 5, 2010 - 10:26 am Stephen Butland - I'd like to send a special thanks out to Judy, Darsi & Julie. The 3 of you truly made our day & the photos are too beautiful for words. The brides not bad either;) Thanks ladies!

March 5, 2010 - 11:04 am Gord - Awesome pictures, looks like you guys had a great day, Carole you look beautiful!

March 5, 2010 - 12:29 pm Holly - OMG! I can't believe how beautiful these pictures are! I'm so happy for all of you! Congratulations!! xo

March 5, 2010 - 1:09 pm Julia - Love the pics.....congratulations to you both! Wishing you all the best!

March 5, 2010 - 1:44 pm Bart - Brilliant! It looks better than I had imagined it. You guys look awesome. Photography is really something as well.

March 5, 2010 - 2:59 pm Vicky - Awesome pix, i especially like the black and white photo's, something about those stand out. And i luv the Olympic red mitts that u all are wearing for the snowball fight! Congrats....

March 5, 2010 - 3:49 pm Dorothy - U ALL LOOK STUNNING!!!! some of the pictures look like postcards - simply beautiful.. thanks for sharing:)

March 5, 2010 - 4:43 pm Gabrielle Horvath - The shots are absolutely incredible... beautiful location and fabulous photographer!

March 6, 2010 - 10:58 am Minnie - Awesome pictures Especially the ones with you & Stephen and the boys having a snowball fight. Congratulations.

March 6, 2010 - 11:19 am Krijna - All the best .. Photos where great ....

March 6, 2010 - 2:58 pm ALEX AND BETTY [ENGLAND] - Alex,Betty and family send all there love and all the best for the future. The photos are magnificent. Lol Alex

March 6, 2010 - 5:57 pm Nicole - Beautiful pictures! Can wait to hear all about it!

March 8, 2010 - 11:54 am Ryan - Great Photos! Well done capturing the amazing moments of this amazing celebration. Congrats to everyone!

March 8, 2010 - 7:31 pm Leanna - Pictures are amazing. You look great.

March 8, 2010 - 10:47 pm Sally - Seriously drop dead gorgeous photos! What a way to truly capture the magic of your day. Awesome Canadian Mitten wearing and absolutely LOVE the b&w on the bus! Simply beautiful! Congratulations :)

Lynette - The Real Estate Queen

I’ve known Lynette for quite some time.  However, generally whenever we met it was in relation to her job and me looking for space.  So it was a nice switch that this time she needed my skills to help her out :)

Lynette is building a new website and needed a photographer to go out and shoot a bit around Toronto.  Her theme was one door at a time, so I did some shots of cool doors, but I didn’t include any of those.  I did include a few shots from all of the locations that we visited.  And then the last thing I did was a headshot session in my studio.

We had a lot of fun together with my assistant Darsi.  I don’t know if Lynette will recover, but even so I know she enjoyed herself :)

For anyone looking for a fantastic real estate agent be sure to call:

Lynette Fiorucci, Sales Representative

HomeLife Local Real Estate Ltd., Brokerage

1058 Bloor Street W., Toronto, Ontario M6H 1M3

Phone: 416-537-2441  Fax: 416-537-6871

A Wee Taste of Manhattan

Courtesy of my iphone.  I REALLY need to get a point and shoot!!!

… the best is yet to come :)  Stay tuned for Carole and Steve’s fabulous winter wedding in NYC!

March 2, 2010 - 11:46 am Carole - Looks great!!! Thanks again for coming, you three were amazing!!

… now Grand Bend’s Turn

I gave everyone a tour of Toronto through my eyes in the last post.  So now howsabout a little peak at the small town of Grand Bend, where my dad lives, from my trusty iPhone camera.  Can we say … SNOW!!!! ;)

February 13, 2010 - 4:39 pm Susie Machemehl - Beautiful, Judy! Absolutely beautiful!

February 17, 2010 - 8:29 pm Caroline Ross - wow, that is a pretty impressive iphone camera! Beautiful Pictures!

Toronto at its Finest!

Last fall I was contacted by a client whose wedding I’d shot at the beginning of the year.  His one year anniversary was fast approaching and he wanted to create a very special gift for his wife. So he asked if I would take on a very special photo assignment.  Now I’ll admit that it was very different then what I was used to, but I was definitely up for the challenge :)

So in October of last year, I set out to photograph various locations of importance to Lisa & Jeff and their relationship.  These were places where they lived, shopped, would meet up regularly … locations that played a significant role in their relationship before they were married.  And boy, I haven’t had that much fun in a long time.  For me it was like seeing Toronto from a very different perspective.

Well Lisa has since received her one year anniversary gift, which was a book containing these images, so now I am free to post my favourites :)

First a little trip to Rosedale and the Summerhill Market.  Just at the right time of year and close to where Lisa & Jeff once lived.  They used to walk by and shop there regularly.

Next is the Finch Subway … particularly the Kiss ‘N Ride.  You wouldn’t think most people would consider that significant, but it was the place where Jeff picked up Lisa in the evening after work.

Then another one of the few locations where Lisa & Jeff lived. Just a couple of the little things I noticed right outside their apartment.

Next we headed to the Spadina area of Toronto, where Lisa & Jeff visited this little “hole in the wall” traditional chinese restaurant frequently. Can I just say that there really must have been something special about this place because in the short time I was there photographing it, a boatload of people were in and out :)

Then the last place we stopped was probably my favourite place of all … The Lettuce Knit in Kensington Market. Now I actually wasn’t sure what kind of shop it was. To be honest, I thought it was food related. So when I arrived, I was a little excited to see that it was in fact a “knit” store with some really unique blends of knitting wools. It was splashes of colour everywhere you turned. I could have spent hours in there :)

Lastly I want to say HAPPY ANNIVERSARY to Lisa & Jeff who just celebrated their one year anniversary a a little over a week ago. I’m so glad I was able to be a part of your lives again!

February 10, 2010 - 7:14 pm scott williams - What a great idea Judy. Great pictures too!

Obzessions by Elementz is Live!!!!

Finally I have completed a separate blogsite to feature all of my obzession and sizzle sessions.  It was getting a little crowded over here on the wedding blog :)

So be sure to check out the new site … http://www.obzessionsbyelementz.com

The Pro Photog Mentor Marathon for Haiti

The Mentor Marathon 4 Haiti will be held on WEDNESDAY JAN 27 to raise money for charitable organizations that provide relief for Haiti earthquake victims.

For a $100 donation, photographers receive unlimited access in a day-long mentor session held online by badass photographers from 7 am - 10 pm Central USA time. Mentors will be conducting portfolio reviews, image critiques, answering questions, etc. Of course, the amount of 1-on-1 interaction depends on the number of photographers participating.

Mentors include

David Murray
Amy Deputy
JVS
Anna K.
Tyler Wirken
Michael Mulvey
Sergio
Brooks Whittington
DQ Studios

and more to be determined

THIS EVENT IS OPEN TO ALL PHOTOGRAPHERS, NOT JUST FOUNDATION FORUM MEMBERS. ANYONE CAN MAKE A $100 DONATION AND OBTAIN A DAY PASS.

Participants will be given a password for access to the session which will be held through …

Read more here!!

Armita & Afi [Wed]

After many, many, many months of waiting, Armita and Afi finally did it!!!!

On New Years day, myself and Darsi were there to be a part of this wonderful day.  I joined their friends and family in what turned out to be a truly crazy celebration of their marriage.

We started the day, as usual with groom, then headed off to the bride’s. The tradition for them is for the groom to come and pick up the bride, present her with jewelry and her flowers.  Of course, for me it was all worth the look on Afi’s face when he first saw Armita.  Then we headed downtown to Union Station for photos with the couple. Next it was onto Bellvue Manor for family photos, and then the much awaited Persian wedding ceremony.  Lots of details and fun customs to photograph, which is definitely a bright part of the day for me :)

After the ceremony, the bride & groom and all of their guests definitely got their “groove” on!!!

And now onto the photo highlights of their day :)







February 5, 2010 - 2:56 pm Katrina - what a gorgeous wedding, Judy! I love how you've captured all of the details and expressions.

2010 has arrived!!!

So here I sit this cold Saturday afternoon (its bloody freezing okay), and wouldn’t you know its already January 2, 2010.

Its like … wholy crap … new year’s eve came and went, and then I spent yesterday shooting a wedding, and here we are already.

That’s okay though because its going to be a great year!!!  2009 had its whole set of challenges, a few changes and maybe a few touch and go moments, but overall it wasn’t bad. Considering the state of the economy, I faired well and came away stronger, and meaner (okay, I mean in business not personally alright ;) LOL) and ready to take on whatever 2010 throws at me.

So I move forward with a new look to my blog, in case you hadn’t noticed ;)  My website is getting a facelift.  Nothing major, but I’m branding with a fresh new look and colour scheme to match the blog.  I’ll be launching Obzessions by Elementz at the same time.  Then I’ll be announcing some new workshop details for 2010 by the end of January.  For photographers that have been waiting for my DVD, I’m actually going with an online downloadable format instead and hope to have that finalized for the end of January.  It’ll be featured on my workshop website and I’ll be adding new items regularly … so hopefully something to appeal to a lot of people.

I’d say 2010 looks to be a busy year with lots of weddings, engagement shoots, obzessions and family portraits too … lots to keep me out of trouble.

So HAPPY 2010 to everyone.  I hope you all have a wildly successful and fulfilling year ahead of you.  Next up on the blog in a couple of days will be Armita and Afi’s wedding photos that I shot yesterday, but for now, here’s one of their engagement photos from last year … imagine, saying last year already ;)

Happy New Year!!!

I wanted to wish all of my friends, family and customers from 2009 a very Happy New Year.  2010 is just around the corner … so the question is “Have you made your resolution yet?” :)

My resolution is …. hmmm haven’t decided!!!! LOL

I do have one thing that I want to mention.  For all of you avid wedding magazine readers out there, don’t forget to pickup the latest issue of Wedluxe Magazine.

Its a really beautiful issue with a ton of great wedding planning ideas, gorgeous Real Life Weddings and lastly my ad …

Many thanks to Michelle for letting me use her fabulous image in this ad.

See all of you next year!!!!

December 30, 2009 - 9:28 pm Mark - Sexy ad! I have one this issue, too, though I don't think it will be in your copy over that side of the country.

December 30, 2009 - 11:05 pm Judy Cormier - No, unfortunately I wouldn't get a chance to see your's ... I'm sure its awesome though :)

March 4, 2010 - 1:51 pm Mary Rix - Hey Judy: You did a fantastic job of the wedding as usual. It was a real pleasure to see you again.