Congratulations to Mary and Wilson, who have waited patiently for their blog post, on their wonderful wedding
So, here goes.
Some of my faithful readers will remember a sweet girl named Sandy (be sure to check back in a few months when she launch’s her amazing new website !) on some of my blog posts. She’s one of the girls I have mentored over the years. Well, Wilson and Sandy are siblings ! And if you saw them both in person together, there’s no mistaking of their relation. They look sooo alike !!! They aren’t twins though. They are 11 months apart ! Their parents didn’t waste any time I shouldn’t talk…my brother and I are only 11 months apart…anyways, let’s not go there… I’m getting nauseous…
Once I heard they were engaged, I was really excited to hear that they would bestow upon me the honor to photograph their wedding. With my season being extremely full, we had to look for a venue that worked with my schedule. Thankfully, they were able to find a place on time.
Back in early September, I got together with Mary and Wilson for their engagement session. I was really looking forward to this because weather was not on their side and we finally found a date with decent weather for their photos.
Mary and Wilson, had already had 2 engagement sessions under their belts. Both were photographed by Sandy. I was feeling really good…this session was going to be a breeze. They took me around to the engineering buildings for their engagement session. I’ve been to U of T many times and have yet to explore the entire campus. So it was nice to see some decent contemporary architecture on campus.
We had a blast…maybe too much fun because Mary was getting mad at Wilson for goofing around too much. I guess I’m partly to blame because I encourage it ! We hit some really interesting spots with fantastic lighting and in true JW fashion, there was a lot of making out during their session. Sandy had to turn and look away But it was for their own good. They know why.
Not too long after that session, I found myself with everyone at the rehearsals, just a few days before the wedding.
Oh, the girls….they may look all sweet an innocent to you…but their men need to be on guard, I swear. haha
One person I got to spend a few minutes with was Wilson’s mom. I was talking to her and asked her in my brutal Cantonese, “You must be very happy for the wedding !”. Her reply, “I’m even more happy now knowing you are photographing the wedding !”. Wow, what do I say to that ! That made my day. She’s awesome !
The next morning the boys got ready for the bride pick-up games. Before the wedding, we got together to go through the itinerary to kinda plan out the day. Funny enough, Wilson knew exactly what was going on. I think he even had a say in what games were not allowed to be played on him. C’mon, that’s no fun ! But the girls had plans anyways.
The ‘lamb to the slaughter’. That smile turned upside down in a hurry.
The girls were definitely enjoying scheming that morning.
I can’t read Chinese, but I think this game was about rearrranging all the characters to make up a sentence for Wilson to read to Mary.
I remember Wilson turning to me asking for help ! I’m the most white-washed Asian you’ll ever meet ! I felt helpless, but got some good laughs in watching him struggle a bit haha. Good thing he had his boys standing on the sidewalk instructing him on how to write the characters.
And of course, the games took a turn for the worse. You’re seeing the ‘safe for work’ images from this particular game.
After the games were over, we had Tea Ceremony with Mary’s family before heading over to Wilson and Mary’s new home for his side’s Tea Ceremony.
The girls got dressed in this really funky room. It was made for a princess ! It was only fitting that Mary got ready here.
5 min drive and we were at the church…for the most significant moment of their lives…
We headed over to Unionville for a really, really quick session. It did rain, but nothing a few umbrella’s couldn’t handle. It did stop when I needed it to, so that was perfect ! We had amazing lighting for that time of day.
Mary and Wilson made everything for their wedding. There was so much blood, sweat and tears put into the decor, programs, runner for church, giveaways, etc….everything ! I didn’t realize how big of a task this really was until I watched the slideshow that Mary and Wilson prepared for all to see. Amazing job guys.
There were many games that evening. This one almost took this poor girl’s eye out !
With most weddings, the tradition is to clink the glasses to get the couple to kiss. Mary and Wilson had no problems with thatThey did however ask guests to make any donation to help raise money to purchase an EZ-IO Life Saving Needle for Mary’s workplace, The Scarborough Hospital. What a wonderful idea. Mary and Wilson personally contributed 10% to the purchase and with the amount of kissing that went on that night, I’m sure there was enough money raised to buy a truckload of those devices ! This is where all the kissing during the engagement session came in handy.
Congratulations again to Mary and Wilson ! I vowed never to photograph a wedding that exceeded the 12 hour mark…and considering your wedding was a 16 hour marathon, you know you two are very special to me. It was an amazing day and I hope you two were able to soak it all in and enjoy all the love around you. Many thanks for having Eugene and I be part of your special day.
And of course, I’ll end this post with my signature photo: Eugene, Mary, Wilson, and I.
-Joee
On a side note, I just want to send my congratulations to Cynthia and Ryan on their recent engagement. I recently found out that we are actually neighbors ! They live down the street from me ! I was trying to get these two to kiss for me all day…and I finally snapped one as I was leaving. This, of course, let to the proposal, which took place about a week or so after they kissed for me. Cynthia…you are very welcome ! Be sure to check out Sandy’s blog in the future for a peak into their wedding. Sandy’s going to rock their wedding !
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