As we pulled up to Cathy’s house for the first time, Hubi was beside himself with excitement. My assistant for this wedding was visiting from Germany, and for him, the suburbs of Vaughn were full of visual pleasures typifying North American life on a single street: low bungalows, wide side streets, and trucks parked at every fifth house.
When I first sat down with Cathy and Gianmarco, they told me they were planning a “big Italian wedding”. Never again will I under-estimate the meaning of those words. If I could describe the feeling of a wedding of this scale in a word, I would choose “whirlwind”. When I stepped into Cathy’s house, the basement was in a flurry of makeup and mamosas. Even getting Cathy into her dress was a whirlwind of arms: bride, maid of honour, mother, and grandmother. And with Hubi’s photos showing a full house of family and friends, it seems the groom’s house was also full of activity and cheeseburgers and bourbon. With 478 confirmed guests, the 9 groomsman and 7 bridesmaids were needed to get a myriad of tasks done on the day of the wedding.
For me the highlight of the day was pressing pause to step away from the flurry and into the quiet oasis of the Kortright Centre for Conservation. Before the wedding, Hubi and I had scouted some great shooting locations, so it was just a matter of guiding the wedding party throng to the preset spots. With 18 bodies, setting up a visually appealing group shot took some time to tweak. With the soft light filtering through the canopy and tall pine trees in beautiful shades of brown and red filling the background, the composition and lighting on the group resulted in a great shot.
We stayed in this location to capture the individual portraits and one-on-ones with the bride and groom. With the trees swaying gently in the wind, the light filtering on the clothing and faces kept changing. It took some patience and some trial and error, but amidst a few over-exposed shots, Hubi and I managed to get some solid portraits and shared moments amongst the wedding party.
As we pressed play and walked through the doors of the Universal Event Space, the whirlwind continued with the evening’s activities: the first dance, blessing of the meal, speeches, and cake cutting interspersed with mouth-watering courses and lemon gelato. The evening was capped with the tarantella, a traditional Italian dance. A three-piece band equipped with accordion, hand symbols, and song played a never-ending song with Cathy dancing with all the guests.
Tech Specs
Locations: St. Roch’s Church, Kortright Centre for Conservation, Universal Event Space, Vaughn, ON
Date: April 16, 2016
Equipment: Canon 5diii, Canon 24mm II, Canon 35mm, Canon 85mm, Canon 24-105mm, Canon 70-200mm II, Canon 580, Sony Alpha 7 II, Minolta 28mm, Minolta 50mm, Zeiss 35mm
Videography: Jason and Alex at Boundless Weddings
This Life by Selena Photography article about Wedding Photography was written by Montreal wedding photographer Selena Phillips-Boyle. Here you can see a Toronto Island Wedding and this Toronto summer wedding. The second photographer for this wedding is Münster photographer Hubertus Huvermann. You can see more of Hubi’s work on his website or connect with him on Instagram.
Selena and Hubi are teaming up for international wedding projects. To make an inquiry about booking a wedding, click here.