Toronto Wedding Photographers, Wedding Photography Toronto

One busy afternoon about a year ago, we received a phone call from a very excited newly engaged couple in Tampa, Florida. They were in the process of looking for the perfect photography team to document one of the most important days of their lives together. As we got to chatting, Ankush told us all about how he met and fell deeply in love with his dream girl and soul mate. It was really a cute and funny story, as we listened on speaker phone. It felt like fate had chosen us to meet each other.

Ankush is a Mechanical Engineer and Lina is a Food Engineer. In the bakery where Lina worked the Oreo cookie machine was giving them problem after problem. Much to their dismay no one could fix this troublesome machine! Lina laughs back at it now, but she was not in the best of moods while this little issue was holding back production!! Like a knight in shining armour… Ankush arrived. The handsome young man, designed a part to fix the machine for good and solved a big headache for Lina and the bakery! A little over a year later they were on their way to the other side of the world be married in exotic New Delhi, India. They really wanted to find photographers that knew how to capture their love for each other to last for eternity.

They told us how they scoured the web, high and low, in the USA, India and beyond and that nothing quite clicked until they saw our work! We were so honoured and humbled that they felt this way about our work and the vision we have with our couples. It means so much to us because we really put our heart and soul in to each wedding we photograph. We know how much these images mean to our clients, as wedding day images represent so many different things to you. Not only is it one of the most important days of your lives together, but it also captures so many important moments of your dear friends and family all together in celebration.

When we arrived in the Delhi airport, Ankush’s dad arranged for one cool looking government vehicle to drive us to the guest house we were staying in. How cool is that!?! We felt like the president ~ lol!! Ankush and Lina were so amazing and accommodating to us, we couldn’t have asked for better clients. They really made us feel like close friends and made our experience so memorable.

The following day, after the beautiful mehndi and ladies ceremony, we were prepping for the wedding. Lots of rest to get over the jet leg and lots of amazingly delicious Indian food that really made Dave and I consider staying a bit longer in India… I’m telling you it was fabulous! As we finished photographing Ankush’s pre-wedding Hindu ceremony with his friends and relatives we made our way outside. I grabbed this shot of the men getting ready to light the way for Ankush on his horse- incredible.

One really good thing about Dave is that he is 6″4 so he can get these crazy overhead angles like in the shot below. We’ve had so many people swear that some of our shots are taken on with a ladder… haha, no, Dave’s just really tall!!

The day of the wedding was a visually stunning event! A marching band played big-band music that filled the air as Ankush made his way on the white horse. Drums, trumpets, saxophones, tubas, trombones, you name it, they played it! They danced to the beat of the music and you could just feel the love they had for the groom to be. What an amazing time we were all having.

Here is Ankush with his sarbala. It’s usually a nephew or cousin of the groom who accompanies the groom during a Hindu wedding ceremony as his protector. Pretty cool huh? I think that his little cousin quite liked all of the attention, who wouldn’t, I’m sure you feel a bit like a celebrity up there with all of the singing, dancing, cheering and lights!

I love this shot! All of the Aunties watching as Ankush rides by. This was one beautiful display!

Don’t try this at home kids… This one really caught us by surprise, lol!! One of the band members lit fire crackers to help in the celebrations… I have to say I was sweating bullets when Dave shot this one… Sure it looks dangerous setting off fire crackers in the middle of a 4 lane road with cars and mopeds driving by, but I guess it’s just more laid back in India

I now know how I want to arrive to our wedding (insert sound of jaw dropping)!!! Have you ever seen anything like it, how awesome!!! Lina looked sooo elegant, nothing short of royalty. I absolutely LOVED her Sari as well. It was so opulent and beautifully detailed. It was covered, head to toe with natural pearls and crystals. So stunning…

I can’t begin to tell you how amazing the aroma of flowers was when we arrived. The entire outdoor wedding reception was covered with jasmine flowers, marigolds, rose petals, you name it, they had it!

We followed Lina as she made her way down the aisle. As we rounded the corner, we were speechless! This was bigger, better and more beautiful than any celebrity wedding I’ve seen! There must have been 1000 people there. They had food stations set up all along the outskirts of the grounds. Chefs prepared food from almost every country right before your eyes! They had Mexican, Italian, French, Mediterranean, Continental, Asian, Indian and then the desserts… ohhhh the deserts!! The food stations must have gone for 300 metres, no joke!

I love this shot below… The band taking a break. Everywhere you looked fairy lights hung in the trees, sooo magical!

After Ankush and Lina, greeted all of their loving friends and family. We headed inside to begin the beautiful Hindu Wedding Ceremony.

Indian weddings are so visually stimulating. The way the bride and groom sparkle and shine when the light hits them. We love the beauty and traditions of the Hindu wedding ceremony. Each little moment holds so much meaning.

After seeing all of the dolla-dolla bills (or rupis) Ankush was receiving around his neck, Dave quickly noted to me that he wanted to have an Indian themed wedding… hmmm

All I can say is WOW! What a stunning ceremony.

Ankush’s Grandmother looked on with so much love in her eyes for the couple. I was getting a bit choked up myself watching her hold back tears of joy.

The fire under the Mandeep was blowing smoke into Lina and Ankush’s eyes… hehe. I’m not sure if they were tearing up because they were laughing so hard or if it was from the smoke… too cute!

After they were officially man and wife… YEY Ankush and Lina… we took them outside for some time alone together. It means so much to us to be the first photographers to capture such an important moment for them. Still glowing from their wedding vows and so happy and in love!!!

Isn’t Lina GORGEOUS???!!! What a classic beauty. I couldn’t resist taking full advantage of her big brown eyes in this shot. I love our Canon EF 50 mm F1.2L USM lens it makes everything pure magic. Look at the way her Sari sparkles in the light, gotta love it!

It was a trip and wedding of a lifetime for Dave and I. We can’t even express how thrilled we are that Ankush and Lina searched the globe for their photographers and chose us to document their day. We will always remember this trip and their incredible Indian wedding in our hearts, we can’t wait to go back to India again soon.

Ankush, Lina and little Mariana, we know you will be our friends for a lifetime and wish you all the best as you continue on your journey together.

Before we sign off, I wanted to share a beautiful note that Ankush and Lina sent to us soon after the wedding, it really touched our hearts…

Hello Dave and Charlotte,

How are you guys doing. Hope exploring the world full of colors and happiness.

News from our end is that we are doing fine—Lina watches her pictures online 10 times a day, Mariana gets excited to see herself and asks for you.

You guys have changed our spectrum of life—from being realistic and practical—for the past few days we have predominantly imaginative and would like to relive our moments spent in India again. We have been able to share the photos with friends and family and the response has been immaculate. People are stunned and so are we. Not to mention that the idea to be able to see the photos online on your website is wonderful.

We are very satisfied with the quality of the pictures shot and they are just magical moments frozen in time. The level of work is just beyond our expectation and feelings.

Both of us spend our weekends choosing which will be the best suitable ones for our albums and to be honest with you guys it has been a challenge to select the best from the list of best—but we will put together a list for you guys soon.

On a personal note, I feel you guys are a amazing couple. The way you handled your trip to India with patience, enthusiasm and immense hard work is not only truly touching but very professional.

We appreciate every effort that you have made so far and will be making in the future to keep our memories wonderful and unforgettable. Hats off to you guys and CHEERS!!!

Have loads of fun and spread the fragrance of your talents everywhere you go.

Lina and Ankush—with a small and tiny Mariana.

We are so excited, it’s finally here!! The blog posts from Ankush and Lina’s amazing, extravagant, incredible wedding in New Delhi, India!!! What an awesome time we had away with them. We were soo stoked to get the blog post up right away but with soooo many fabulous images to choose from it was not an easy task. Plus you through wedding season into the mix and selecting our faves was even more difficult.

We figured we’d sit down Thursday night for a few hours to go through the shots before we left Friday for Jay & Audrey’s wedding at Taboo in Muskoka and then Jessica & Faruk’s wedding at Graydon Hall back here in Toronto on Saturday!!

The wedding was so much more than we ever could have imagined in our wildest dreams and we’ll get to that post next. The celebrations started off with a mehndi ceremony for all of the ladies. Mehndi is made out of Henna and is used to create gorgeous designs in celebration of the couples soon to be marriage. They say the darker the pigment gets, the more your Mother-in-Law loves you

All of the ladies along for the ceremony were given unique designs for their palms and for some the back of their hands as well. Even I had a chance to have a little mehndi done!

Ankush and Lina’s little sweetheart Marianna, kept us giggling through out the party. She was so careful not to smudge her design. It just looks so cute on little fingers, doesn’t it?!

Lina waited patiently for hours as she had her wedding day mehndi application done. It was so perfectly applied, it really is a work of art. It was so beautiful and she had it applied to her arms and legs for an absolutely stunning result.

After the mehndi party, we made our way to the Ladies celebration. There were so many colours and so much fun, singing and laughter- A true celebration for the couple!

Ankush and Lina’s friends and family, including their Mothers, Aunties, Grandmas, Cousins and Nieces took part in welcoming and blessing the new marriage.

They acted out humourus skits for Ankush and Lina, danced and sang. Everyone was having an incredible time!

I love this shot below. Hindu ceremony’s are so beautiful and every ritual has such meaning.

After the Ladies Ceremony Ankush and Lina had a good time with everyone partying to the music and even asked Dave and I to join them for some dancing to celebrate! We had a good laugh at our rusty dancing skills. It was so like Ankush and Lina to ask us put our cameras down and join in for some of the fun! They were always so accommodating making sure we had everything we needed and welcomed us like a part of the family. Such a sweet couple, they truly have become our friends!

You can see a bit of Ankush’s sense of humour here. He was always getting a giggle out of Lina and such a charmer with those dance moves!

At the end of the celebration we took the couple outside for a few quick shots on the grounds of the reception hall. Little fairy lights were swinging in the palm trees, so romantic! It was a nice chance for them to have a bit of time together before the Hindu wedding ceremony the next day.

Check out the blog tomorrow for Ankush and Lina’s gorgeous wedding in New Delhi, India.

The Taj Mahal is one of the Seven Wonders of the World – and it’s no surprise. Spectacular – Incredible – Awe Inspiring. I can’t explain the feeling you get as you approach through the south gate… but of course, I’m getting ahead of myself.

First things first – It’s Tuesday of last week. It’s HOT. Really hot. We’ve all woken up early to make the drive out to the Taj, do some shopping, then get back in time to make out 11pm flight. We’re all very excited – albeit tired from a busy few days of gorgeous wedding ceremonies. Ankush and Lina arrive to pick us up looking bright eyed and bushy tailed (that may be an Aussiism!?). Charlotte and I on the other hand were still trying to re-align our body clocks to Indian time.

The roads are very clear early in the morning, so the drive to Agra went smoothly, with just a couple of stops – one to pick up fresh cut bananas and another for breakfast – Mmmm… We ate these amazing – non-spicy – paratas… the equivalent of a pancake lightly filled with mashed pieces of potato… I chose to spread jam on mine (hey, it’s breakfast right?) and it was goooooood.

Check out this cutie who danced while her brother played a citar style instrument. So sweet.

While the others were buying bananas, I nabbed this shot. We’re both big fans of trying to keep the environment healthy so it was a bit unsettling for us to commonly see this much litter piled up in places. So much of it was plastic water bottles.

With of population of over a billion people in a country that would fit 3 times into Canada, it’s no surprise that there is a waste problem (fellow Torontonians know what I’m talking about with our city workers union on strike this week!). I’m not sure how issues like this are dealt with in the long term, but I certainly hope there is a clean up at some point.

As we were traveling on the highway, we captured this rather endearing image of a little girl looking comfortably wedged into a taxi riding on 3 wheels… hold on everyone! Just amazing.

We got a giggle seeing a bullock going through the toll gate! He wouldn’t have to pay on the 407 ETR unless he’s got a transponder somewhere.

We also captured some pretty cool “happy accidents” along the way. I love this one Charlotte took. Cool composition!

And this interesting character… awesome right?!

This is what you call a traffic jam or “pile up” on the highway. Faster cars, mopeds, 3 wheeled taxis would just weave in and out, around them and give them a little honk.

As the driver was paying some type of toll, there was a monkey performing tricks for us. I have to say, we were pretty impressed with the backflip. He seemed like he was having a great time doing those tricks and got a bite of a banana for his effort .

Around the Taj Mahal, there is a no vehicle perimeter now to prevent further discolouration of the white marble. We all jumped in rickshaws and headed in to check it out. It was a downhill run going in, but coming out was a tougher trip. It was hot and he worked so hard we were happy to give him a huge tip!

As we entered, we were provided an English speaking tour guide that gave us an amazing synopsis of the incredible story behind the building of the Taj Mahal. I will surely mess up the facts slightly, so will quote Wikipedia instead:

The Taj Mahal is a mausoleum located in Agra, India, built by Mughal Emperor Shah Jahan in memory of his favorite wife, Mumtaz Mahal.

The Taj Mahal is considered the finest example of Mughal architecture, a style that combines elements from Persian, Indian, and Islamic architectural styles. In 1983, the Taj Mahal became a UNESCO World Heritage Site and was cited as “the jewel of Muslim art in India and one of the universally admired masterpieces of the world’s heritage.”

While the white domed marble mausoleum is its most familiar component, the Taj Mahal is actually an integrated complex of structures. Building began around 1632 and was completed around 1653, and employed thousands of artisans and craftsmen.[3] The construction of the Taj Mahal was entrusted to a board of architects under imperial supervision including Abd ul-Karim Ma’mur Khan, Makramat Khan, and Ustad Ahmad Lahauri,[4][5] although Lahauri is generally considered to be the principal designer.

And it’s quite a feat of architecture indeed.

Charlotte grabbed this amazing shot as you walk through the gate shown above, you get THIS view……….

When we arrived through the tunnel she grabbed this shot too… What an amazing power this place has!

We were snapping shots of each other there too, and the gardener offered to take one for us – how nice was that?

Hey, he knows how to use my 5D Mark II… who knew ??

This is Lina’s cute little girl, Marianna she was so much fun and kept Charlotte and I laughing while away. Isn’t she adorable?? I grabbed these while she was playing tag with me, you can almost here her giggling!!

This is the view from the grounds of the Taj. If you look really close at the shot below you can see some cattle crossing the river, pretty cool eh?

On our way back from the Taj, Ankush took us to a great joint on the side of the road, nothing fancy, but boy was it good!!

As the sun set, we headed home and grabbed this one on the way back. I love this shot of the baby riding along shotgun! Something you don’t see everyday… Thanks to Ankush and Lina for the great trip to the Taj, we had a great time. More pics of India and of course their amazing wedding shortly.

The phone rang, I answered (as I’m prone to do), and within moments it’s was clear that Ankush and Lina wanted us to be part of their wedding in Delhi, India. Lina’s excitement that we had their date available was evident – she’d seen one of our recent Hindu wedding slideshows online and from that moment knew we’d be the right photographers for her wedding. Ankush and Lina’s story is a beautiful one – they are both engineers – Lina works in food production and Ankush with the machinery used in food production… A machine broke down in Florida, Ankush was flown in, and the rest is history.

Charlotte and I are still finalizing the editing on their wedding photos, and we’ll have another post up very soon, however we’ve had many friends and family members asking to see our trip photos… So we’ve put together the shots from our arrival and a day trip to India Gate… The Taj Mahal trip will be a post shortly following this one

I was raised with bedtime stories told by my mum – of finding snakes in her bathroom, being held up a lone elephant while travelling in an open jeep on a lonely mountain road at night, helping her dad hand out medications at village leprosy clinics, and of amazing 2 day journeys she’d taken to commute to boarding school by train each semester. You see, my mum grew up in India. Her parents were doctors who ran a couple of mission hospitals there, one in Andhra Pradesh and another in Tamil Nadu. They were based in South India for a total of 17 years and my mum grew up speaking Telegu as well as English, from when she was a toddler. She, her sister and brother returned to Australia to complete their high school years in Melbourne.

During my first trip to India back in 1999 – I was visiting my brother, Mick who was living there at the time – I’d seen the poverty and lower standard of living that’s experienced by the majority of people. That experience had a huge affect on me – I no longer took for granted my suburban life, my hour long commute in an air conditioned train to university, or the fact that I had to work long days to pay for school. Simple things like being able to drink water from a tap, or have access to clean public washrooms were things that are considered luxuries to many people in the world. Even to have access to a car is an extraordinary thing to people in much of the world.

During the writing of this post, I thought it might be cool to show you some old India photos that I’ve scanned from my mum’s collection of slides. Here’s a cool old slide taken in India circa 1956 showing my mum, granny, aunty and my great grandmother (my Grandad’s mother), who visited the family in India that year. They were dressed up for a formal event I guess – all looking very cute in their saris.

Poor mum really must have stood out with her height and pale skin eh! Lucky she wasn’t a blond too! I love this shot of her chatting with the locals in the village.

So… on with the post! We arrived after a relaxed flight to 40+ degree weather in India. Even though it was 11pm, the humidity was incredible! Check out the fancy wheels we got picked up in!!! Ankush’s younger brother, Arapum, and his Dad, B.M, picked us up and helped us arrive safely at our hotel room. Thank you to both of you.

During our short stay, Ankush and Lina were kind enough to show us quite a bit of Delhi – both the street markets and some of the cool monuments – like the Presidents house, India Gate and The Taj Mahal. Below are a few shots we took while were checking out one of the local market areas. Isn’t this shot of Charlotte’s amazing. Transporting a load like that on a bike is incredible!

I love these used appliances! Previously owned blender anyone?

This guy was sitting in front of his store doing the hemming on some trousers. We chatted a little broken English with him and asked if we could take a picture – we just smiled, gave us a gentle head tilt and went on working. Very cool how easy going people are in India.

The reactions to the camera are always different. The guy on the left was being quite funny and playing up to the camera, whereas the dude on the truck was striking his best GQ pose! This worker on the right was chilling out and was pretty cruisy about Charlotte shooting him.

We often saw cows in herds of 3 to 10 cruising the streets. In most of India, cows are revered as sacred, and are therefore free to go where they please.

I interrupted this card game to ask if I could take a photo – and they all laughed as if to say “why wouldn’t you be able to?!”

Later on, we caught a cab with Ankush, Lina, their daughter Mariana and Lina’s parents to see India Gate as well as some of Delhi. The ride there was a little hectic, but we had lots more to learn! Wait till we show you some of the shots on the way to the Taj.

No matter how many people had to get some place, it seemed like they’d all take the one vehicle. Makes sense, but did make for some interesting photos.

The shot below shows the typical layout of the traffic in Delhi – cars in the right lane, 3 wheel motorbikes, cabs and scooter in the middle, and bikes on the outside edge.

Isn’t this a sweet shot of another taxi driver, taken as we were stopped at the lights. I turned the camera and showed him this shot and his smile was ear to ear!

These three wheel taxis are all run on compressed natural gas/propane. Notice the little bumper car style wheel protectors… you’d be surprised how little use those actually get considering the traffic conditions!

So after circling to take a look at the President’s house, we drove to India Gate – a memorial for fallen soldiers. It was so grand and beautiful all lit up, we had a lot of fun exploring the area.

As you can see, Mariana had a wonderful time blowing bubbles with Ankush, then chasing and catching them all! Ah to be a kid again.

Mariana may turn out to be a film maker I think. Every time we’d turn around she had taken the camera from her mum and was filming something or other! And she’s only 3!

Charlotte saw these two girls selling bracelets and thought it’d be cute to make a collar for Greta (our puppy). You should have seen how quick they were – we were so impressed!

They loved the camera and were so excited when we showed them their pictures.

The huge spotlights that lit India Gate itself provided some pretty cool lighting on the vendors surrounding it. I really like this shot of the necklaces catching the light.

The pic below is actually a snow cone machine… I opted not to invite trouble by having one, although believe me when I tell you – it was very tempting!

More pics to come, stay tuned to the blog for Ankush & Lina’s incredle Hindu Wedding coming soon!!