A couple of weeks back, I was able to spend some time in Wasaga Beach with Katie and Jeff for their engagement session. What I love about these sessions is that it really helps me to get to know my wedding couples and it helps them to get comfortable with me and my style of shooting. I call it a trial run for the wedding day!
I met up with Katie and Jeff at Katie’s parents place so we could get some shots with their new puppy Halle. Halle ended up posing for only a couple of shots, but the main thing is we got a few shots with all of them together! Having fur family members included in engagement shoots is so much fun and I so glad we were able to get a few of them all together.
Katie and Jeff have a long love relationship with the beach. Both Katie and Jeff grew up on the beaches of Wasaga and Katie’s grandparents home backed right onto the beach (and we were able to get a few pics there!). They also purposely bought a house together close to the beach! Naturally, they chose the beach as the spot for their engagement session. I was so excited when they told me, because any session that I can be shooting barefoot is perfection!
When I emailed them asking if they could share their love story with me so I could share here on the blog, I got a response from both of them! I love dreading the story from two different perspectives. Rather than combine them, I’m sharing them both here!
Our Love Story told by Jeff:
I met Katie in our home town of Wasaga Beach at our local Foodland grocery store. Katie was a cashier there and every time I would go in to shop and see her I would get so nervous I wouldn’t know what to say but I knew I wanted to pursue a relationship so I had to get her number. After years of talking I finally was able to convince her to let me take her on a date and our relationship began.
After being with Katie for a short while I realized this amazing person was the girl I wanted to marry and spend my life with. One of our favourite spots to spend time together is at the beach. I decided that I was going to propose to Katie on the beach during our upcoming vacation which we take every winter. We went for a sunset walk on the beach and I was a nervous wreck but was finally able to get down on one knee and ask my best friend to marry me.
I look forward to our wedding day and to celebrate our relationship with our friends and family. The thing I look forward to the most is standing at the alter and seeing her for the first time walk down the aisle. At that moment I’ll be the happiest and most grateful guy in the world watching the love of my life walk down to aisle and to become her husband.
Our Love Story told by Katie:
Jeff and I met around 8 years ago while I was working as a cashier at our local grocery store where Jeff did his shopping. Jeff was (and still is) a pretty shy guy so after a few months of me cashing him out, he finally worked up the courage to talk to me and we exchanged numbers. We spent the next couple years getting to know each as friends while Jeff patiently waited for me to agree to go on a date with him. I finally agreed to go on a date with him in 2011 and our relationship began shortly after.
Jeff and I both grew up on the shores of Wasaga Beach so naturally, the beach is where we spend most of our free time as a couple. In December of 2015, we escaped the snow for a holiday in sunny Cuba. While walking along the shore of a beach at sunset, Jeff suddenly stopped, got down on one knee and asked me to be his wife. I couldn’t think of a more perfect way to propose, and I couldn’t dream of a more perfect man to spend the rest of my life with.
I am looking forward to so many things on our wedding day, but what I am most excited for is the moment that Jeff and I get to see each other for the first time as I walk down the aisle. Being able to vow our love to one another in front of God, our family and friends is going to be the best day of my life and I cannot wait to marry my best friend!
Katie and Jeff are looking forward to committing their lives to one another in front of their loved ones on September 2 at Drysdale’s Tree Farm. I’m really looking forward to sharing in their day and capturing lasting memories for them for generations to come! Congratulations again to you both and many blessings to you as you continue to plan for your wedding day!
Here is a selection of photos from their final gallery. I had so many images from this session– a beautiful couple combined with a beautiful location equals lots of images!!
Joyful and beautiful lifestyle family photography, wedding and branding photography for the individuals who are passionate about documenting their story.
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Wedding days are full of many macro and micro moments. Often on our social feeds we are only shown the highlights and the must insta shots! But every day is filled with many little moments that really are the big ones that matter most.
Reception speeches are some of my favourite moments as they always reveal more layers of depth to my clients. I get to hear childhood memories, proud accomplishments and those early days of love blossoming.
Shin`s message to his parents transcended the language barrier and we all felt his words just by witnessing his parents reaction to his speech. Having lived away from his family for a number of years, he shared his appreciation to his parents in the sacrifices they made for him. I don`t think there was a dry eye in the room!
These are the memories I know will mean something to my couples as the years go by. It`s about their love but it`s also about the love shared for those surrounding them.
As photographers we get to be documenters of these moments, the important ones! These are the moments that continue to inspire and bring me joy! ❤
I probably have said it before, but no wedding is the same. Yeah, we may pin the same pins and see the same trends everywhere, but in the end, your wedding is YOU!
There are many factors that go into each and every single wedding day the light, the time of year, the setting, the venue, the people and I could go on!
And here’s the truth no wedding should look the same. There’s so much joy in celebrating you and your uniqueness.⭐️
Over the years, I’ve had the privilege of photographing so many different weddings, and even though the same events happen at weddings, it it’s always different.
I love the joy, the expressions, the unique elements to each wedding day!
My one piece advice would be don’t stress in trying to make your wedding like everyone else’s! Just focus on what brings you joy!
This compilation of photos represents different weddings throughout the many years that I’ve been able to photograph weddings. 💗 Each of them is unique, and each of them brings their own joy!
When I bought my very first camera about 16 years ago, I never dreamed that decision would have impacted my life in so many ways.
From a simple decision to wanting to document my daughter growing up, morphed into preserving all my children in their early years and now being able to serve so many other families.
If you are new here, I’m Kristin 🤗 Time passes incredibly quickly and I believe photos help tell your story of what life is like right in the here and now.
Life can change in an instant. I’ve found that out through hard experiences and through joyful ones.
Photography has the power of telling stories years after the moment occurred. I’m so incredibly grateful I have thousands of those memories of my own family. 💗
Being able to serve others is something that brings me so much joy!🙏
Is it time for you to create those beautiful memories with your family? Don’t wait!!
Comment below if you want to say YES to telling your family story this season!💗
Can I share something with you?! Actually, I’ve shared it before but it’s worth sharing again. 😉
Growth after life altering events is possible! I can go on about how this applies in so many ways but I want to share how it was made possible in my photography business.
After moving half way across the country, I wasn’t sure if my business had a future. I had to find all new clients, I had to learn an entirely new landscape (hello wind and dry prairie grass!) and I had to build from the ground up.
I decided to do what I’ve always done, just share and to keep doing what I love- taking photos! ♥️
When I received my first wedding inquiry only weeks after living in Alberta- I was shocked (and incredibly humbled!) it gave me hope and joy to know that can make this work!
Fast forward two and a half years later, I’m so so incredibly grateful to the many of you who have allowed me to photograph some of the most important milestones of your lives! It is not lost on me how you all have helped me to continue to do what I love! 🙌
So here’s to all that is to come! If you are looking for a joy filled photographer who finds beauty in the everyday, that’s me!💗
There’s not much more beautiful than the miracle of a new baby. Yes there’s so much work, pain and tireless days that come with a newborn but there’s also wonder, joy and exhilaration. Newborns prompt curiosity. “I wonder what their personality will be like when they grow?” They prompt growth. They morph us in ways we’d never dream of. New life is the best gift.
Josie & Harrison recently welcomed their sweet son into their family and they are already so smitten with him. They are deep in the trenches with little sleep and attending to needs but they have also been filled with much joy and love!
Here are a few favourites from our session together!💗 They are saving all the sweet face pictures for only their closest loved ones but I love how all these images still evoke the new joy in their lives. Even Zelda the corgi is enjoying the new addition!💗
This beautiful #jekyllisland sunrise deserved a permanent post on my feed. Whenever I’m on vacation somewhere by the water, I always make sure to get up early for one sunrise. I’ve never regretted it and some of my best memories are watching spectacular sunrises.
This one at #driftwoodbeach did not disappoint! While I was taking in the sunrise and photographing all its different stages, Leah scoured the beach for shells! See if you can spot her in some of these photos!
What do you prefer, sunrise or sunset? Let me know by voting below!!
