my honeymoon is over

i am back at home, back to work, back to feeling a tiny bit overwhelmed at the work load staring at me on my to do list. (note to self... move the to do list from head to paper, helps in remembering) but seriously, my weekend away with my family to celebrate my brother's wedding was nothing short of perfect for me. besides being surrounded by brilliant family we also had just amazing service on our mini trip. the four seasons in vancouver was really just too good to put into words for my family. it is like a mini dream vacation. the tiny little luxuries just make me smile. i highly recommend a deluxe suite. don't ask how we got it. believe me it's not about to happen too often. 

and then there was the listel hotel on robson, where steve and jodi had rented the penthouse. it was beautiful. the after wedding party was in their room and it was just so pretty, the rest of the family also stayed at that hotel. also fitting that my brother is a jazz musician and plays at odouls restaurant. the hotel staff were just wonderful at that hotel too. it is modern, full of beautiful art. a true example of a boutique hotel. and seriously even the mini bar comes fully stocked with more than what you might think!

there was jodi's sweet hair dresser, rosie zollinger, from the coup salon in shanghai alley, totally worth the trip to the funky neighbourhood if you live in vancouver.

and really, the highlight for everyone was the venue for the reception. steve and jodi asked the owners of one of their favorite restaurants, two chefs and a table, if they could rent the whole place for the reception. it could not have been more perfect. it was like being at the most amazing heart warming kitchen party you have ever attended. being able to watch the chefs prepare the amazing food was also a wonderful treat. as we talked, drank wine and ate the perfectly prepared food, we laughed, we spoke of the wonderful flavours we were eating, we spoke of the love steve and jodi shared, we spoke of how many of us had roots in saskatchewan. we spoke of how brilliant a guest list of 21 people at a wedding is. how intimate, how perfect. we spoke we listened and we got to know each others families.

and we ate. 

and we left so full and so happy. and seriously we are all still talking about the food and the wine. i can not say enough good things about the restaurant.

here are just a  few more images so that jodi's mom and dad can get a feel of the night. because they could not share. 

xoxo

something old ~ something borrowed

well i was hoping to get to the ceremony, but i fell in love with a few too many images of our ten minute portrait session. some may think i am telling a lie when i say ten minutes, but seriously, ten minutes on the beach is what we had. the sky was bright but just for the few minutes we were outside. it was just a perfect moment.

jodi is wearing a shawl her grandmother knit, and her older sister jan also wore to her wedding many years ago. it was beautiful and was perfect for the cool winter day. i think it is so sweet that jan brought it for jodi to wear.

i have a few stories to tell, but those i will get to in the posts coming up, but just a tiny little one to start off with... my brother steve has known jodi since he was in a marching band a LONG LONG LONG time ago. jodi was a cute little colour girl in the regina lions marching band, and my brother steve played the sax. well fast forward many many years later and my brother goes on a date with jodi, a beautiful red haired girl. both have ended up living in vancouver after years of being away from regina. they had not spoken through most of their grown up life. i hear about the date right away, i keep hearing about their day together. then after a few weeks or so i am with my brother and my mom in a vintage shop in vancouver and we see my brother wander over to the jewellery case. he sees a ring. he loves it, he thinks it will look beautiful on jodi's finger. it is pretty, and he buys it. he has no money. none, just moved back to canada after living in europe for many many years and he buys a beautiful vintage diamond ring.

crazy, one might think so, but then again. my husband bought my ring for me after only knowing me for 4 days. its true. and we are happy. we are in love, it was perfect, so steve.... you are crazy, but sometimes crazy people get the most wonderful gifts. look, you got jodi and tim got me!

these photos are dedicated to jodi's mom and dad. i am so sorry we could not have met. i am wishing you very warm, positive and fast healing thoughts so that our family and your family can meet soon. i loved meeting jodi's brothers and her sister. you both must be amazing people to have raised such great kids. 

xoxo

the wedding - part one

only my brothers wedding has the honour of getting a three part blog post. part one, a few images of getting ready and a quick first look prior to the ceremony. i had the most amazing morning before the wedding hanging out with jodi while we went and had our hair done, at the most awesome salon in shanghai alley, had make up done by her wonderful girlfriend denise, and then off to the penthouse of the listel hotel on robson.

in wonderfully cute steve style, he showed up at the hair salon with a hot dog and rootbeer, so that jodi would not forget to eat...  

the wedding was set to take place well after sunset, so thankfully steve and jodi agreed to see each other prior to the ceremony so we could take advantage of a few minutes of natural light for some photos. they had a very romantic first look on the balcony of the penthouse on robson street and then we ran to english bay for a 10 minute portrait session prior to sunset. it was fun, there was a lot of laughter. 

i will post more about the amazing ceremony in the next post, and then the dinner in the following. i might just have had time to come up with a few words by then to describe the unbelievable evening that we had. 

steve and jodi, i love you both so much. you are both such beautiful people and i truly wish the most amazing future for you and your family. have an amazing honeymoon!

the snowberry

i really can come up with no reason for my love of snowberries. i have always found myself drawn to their beauty. i love how just one berry can be sitting on top of a bare thin branch, or sometimes huge clumps hang. i love how my children grab handful after handful and have berry fights with them while we walk through the forest. i love how they find their favorites and then ask me to put the special berry in my pocket. i oblige their wish, and a day or two later i feel something in my pocket and i squish it and it pops. and i find myself laughing in a sort of, annoyed at myself, sort of way. seriously, why wouldn't i just toss it onto the ground when they were not looking. as if they are going to ask me for their berry an hour later. it has never happened. but i have a gooey squishy berry now in the pocket of my favorite jacket...

i found these berries two days ago, when we took the kids to mt doug park to drop our pumpkins into the pumpkin grave yard. it was snowberry heaven. the path was covered with a gorgeous layer of leaves after the windstorm. i have truly come to appreciate the true beauty of each moment, each season. i miss the light airy feeling of the summer sun, but i love the complex rich tones that fall photography brings. 

a boy and his dog

yesterday was another remarkable fall day in victoria. the golden colours and the seeds on the ground. the berries that are still on the branches. left over blackberries, red berries and of course my favorite the snow berries. it all just makes me happy. what also makes me happy is this family. i love this family. i love that we moved down the street from them 7 years ago. that while walking my stroller of babies by their house, a girl about my age stopped and asked me how old my kids were. we realized we both had a son the same age, and the same name. we joked how neat it would be that they would grow up together, go to the same school and become friends. 

they are friends. they are both wonderful boys and they have been in the same class since kindergarden. i love this boys mom. she is a wonderful friend and they are an amazing addition to our neighbourhood. we have shared more than a few after school glasses of wine, discussing our solutions to our childrens biggest problems. all while our four children and her dog run around the house screaming. we don't notice. we have our wine, we are making important decisions.

my friends dog, became two dogs. they added a puppy to their home a few months ago. gosh he is cute. so now they have two yellow labs. one older gentle sweet dog and now a playful happy go lucky shoe eating puppy. both came to the photo session, with the special reason that casey is nearing the end of her life. and its important to have some memories and photos of her and the kids. so i think we managed to capture a few images of a boy and his dog.