The morning was relaxed, and we spent it between a few houses on the property. The girls were getting at this beautiful barn, with downtime in between hair and make-up spent catching up with friends and family.

Someone’s a little monkey!

All the girls looked gorgeous, the make-up was amazing!

It was hot..wait scratch that.. remember the heat wave we had in the summer? I know it’s probably a distant memory for you right now, but it’s a day that will be forever scorched in our minds, yup it was that hot. I remember wistfully looking at the pool and it calling to me.. I resisted, but these guys didn’t! Lucky ducks

Meanwhile preparations for the ceremony & reception were fully underway. We stopped by to grab some detail shots and check out the progress. A beautifully decorated tent was set up in the middle of a wide open field surrounded on all sides by stately pine trees.

Inside:

The food was indescribably delicious, I can’t possibly even try to do the dishes served justice here… can you read the menu?

Le me help you with that, here’s a few of the options that have my stomach rumbling in memory:

Pasta with wild boar bolognese, truffled woodland mushroom risotto, ratatouille, wild boar with caramelized apples & more tantalizing canapés, salads, sweets and deserts that sent our tastebuds to heaven and back.

I’d better stop there… I’m touring myself enough! lol

Ok soooo lets get back to the guests getting ready, we checked in on the guys:

As the time for the ceremony was drawing closer the weather played games with us, raining, stopping, raining, stopping. Everyone watched the skies and held their breaths…

Finally mother nature got her act together and we had sunshine + clear skies for the ceremony and rest of the day!

More photos coming in a second post

Cristina

Just wanted to post a quick update to let you know that we’ve been super busy this past season and have lots of photo goodness planned for you! We’ve decided to nix our flash site and incorporate all our galleries and work into one presence, so we’re excited to unveil the changes by the end of November. I’ll be posting less around here because it just seems kind of silly when this blog is on its way out… but I did want to share a few shots from a recent wedding:

The awesome Julie + Peter at Gairloch Gardens in Oakville: (you might remember them from their first blog appearance here)

It’s a busy park and a lot of couples choose to have their photos there, so we decided early on that we wanted to change things up a bit and really focus on capturing unique images. I love this one, so quiet intimate and romantic

OK so now that you’ve been filled in on the newest happenings around here, please stick around! If it gets too quiet for you, come check out the fan club! : Geminie Photography Fan Page

xo
Cristina

I put together a little slideshow, let me know what you guys think! It was my first time using Animoto and so far I love it! If you want to see the video larger, you can do so here.

xo Cristina

It was threatening rain all day, so we started their session a bit earlier to catch some sun and some relaxed portraits before heading to the drive in theater.

Here’s a few favs:

They were a bit nervous, but they rocked it! Seriously how amazing do these 2 look!

I love this set, Jill you are glowing!

This was a quick shot before changing outfits and driving to location number 2, I’m so glad we stopped to get it, I love it!

By the time we arrived at the drive in it was raining outside… that didn’t stop us though

Well for a little while anyways… once it really started to come down we had to call it a day!

Guys we had such a fun time, and are so excited to see you again at the wedding

xo

Cristina

A quite moment:

Details and the beautiful bride!

10+ points to anyone that can guess how this one was taken?

Not to be outdone, here’s Peter looking oh so dapper beside his sweet ride

I love the ceiling of St. Christopher’s Church so beautiful!

First kiss

Ending with new favourite bridal portrait of the year. They didn’t know I was taking this, I love candid moments

xo,

Cristina

P.s. more coming soon!

Here’s a few of my favourites from her session:

Just before we packed up:

-Laszlo

This drive that we all posses is like a fire inside us. We’re born and our fire burns so bright, you can see it in all children, their happiness their wonder, that intangible special quality that we’re drawn to, it’s their fire.

Life experience (or lack of) can either fuel that fire or attempt to suffocate it. I know this first hand from numerous painful experiences that have left me feeling empty inside. Like my fire was extinguished. I was drifting for a long while, moving through life at a slower speed than everyone else, stuck in the monotonous shuffle of a 9-5 job that I grew increasingly dissatisfied with.

With time I found my footing again (a lot of that was thanks to my incredible husband), and through his eyes I began to see myself in a different light.

He inspired me to become an entrepreneur, to risk the security of a steady paycheck in exchange for deeper fulfillment, and for that I’m grateful. He supported my decisions in the beginning and he continues to support me today.

I feel like I’m finally starting to find my voice and what I want to say, I still have such a long way to go, but at least I’m now on the right path, well the one that finally feels right to me. I can now recognize the fact that no one, and nothing can extinguish that fire inside you. Some experiences and people you encounter will try their best to snuff it out, but it’s simply impossible. It’s a special kind of fire that I’m at a loss of words to describe, and can only speak from experience when I say that although it can get so small as to make you think it’s gone altogether, the truth is, it never really leaves you. No one can put it out.

Once you realize that, you being to crave people and situations that fuel your fire, that enrich your life, inspire you and support you. Letting go of the ones that don’t. Slowly you start building it back up and with that a sense of fulfillment develops. Photography for me, is that fulfillment. Discovering something that you’re passionate about, something that contributes to the greater good and happiness of others is key to feeling fulfilled, but it’s something that so many sacrifice in favour of that 9-5, that security that a steady paycheck brings. A sacrifice at what cost? What are you losing by not fueling your fire?

I’ll be the first to admit, that it’s scary, very scary and hard, but so worth it. What are you passionate about? What do you love to do? Don’t sacrifice your fire, recognize it, and do something today that fuels it. You can start small, as long as you just start.

Does any of that makes any sense? Yes, no, maybe? Let me know what you think, don’t leave me hanging people, I want to hear from you!

Its easier than ever to jump into something new, to create something and to reach your potential clients/customers. Every day the world gets smaller and smaller, and we all become so much more accessible to one another.

Etsy is a fantastic example of a community of people with a shared passion for creating and fueling that fire that pushes you to do more, be more. If you’re craving some happy stories, etsy “Featured Seller” blog posts are a great place to start.

Here’s a few:

Twigs + Honey
ISWAS + WILLBE
Morning Calm

Maybe you’d like to write, or sing, or dance, or maybe you’re more likely to orchestrate great things, to bring people together, I don’t know, but if you don’t ask yourself you won’t know either. One website that never fails to inspire me is Playing For Change, go spend a minute or two there your ears will thank you I promise!

So if you need someone to say you can do it, I’ll say it, YOU CAN DO IT! You can, you just need to believe you can (and work, work work at it, whatever IT is) maybe you need a little push or a kick in the a** if you were here and needed I’d do it, lol because I’m crazy like that (not a real kick thats mean.. but you know what I’m trying to say right??). For everyone that’s pushed me, and encouraged me, thank you! I hope that I’ve given a fraction of what I’ve received back to you (my blog readers). If this little rant of mine has helped you let me know, or pass it on to a friend

And just because a post is not complete without photos, here’s a few recent ones of the spicy little fire that burns outside of me:

It was rainy and gray outside (or you could say fresh and misty like Niagara Falls!) .. either way we ventured outside for a quick photo before heading back to their condo.

Time to get cooking!

Although they live in the city they garden! A secret herb garden on the roof top patio. I love it Kelly grabbed some fresh herbs for the steaks:

Love the view, and the CN tower with his head up in the clouds (yes the CN tower is a male)

The rosemary smelled incredible!

This looks delicious… thanks guys, now I’m craving steak. *Note to self* don’t edit photos of yummy food on an empty stomach!

Love this:

And this:

Ok now I’m off to go appease my grumbling belly… Kelly + Rob thank you for introducing us to the St. Lawrence Market + Balderson cheese! Can’t wait for Part II of your engagement session on a sunny day

xo

Cristina

Meet two of the sweetest smiliest people ever! (smiley people are our favourite kind of people.. just saying!) + George.. well George’s legs in this case

There may have been some twirling involved here!

Ending for tonight with a fav:

Stay tuned, I’m planning on adding a few more photos tomorrow!

xo Cristina

Loved the warm light filtering through the leaves:

Vicky you are so beautiful!

xo,

Cristina

P.S.

We received the sweetest note from these 2, and I just had to share:

“Dear Cristina & Laszlo.

Thanks for putting so much thought and effort into our e-session. Planning for this has been so much fun; we can’t wait for the big day! We are grateful to be sharing this special occasion with the two of you!

xo,

Vicky & Mark”

And on top of it all.. they gifted us the hammock used in their session. Seriously awesome right?? Vicky + Mark, thank you both so much, so so excited for your wedding!

& We’re totally enjoying the hammock

Amina loves making it swing.. by jumping up and down on daddy of course!

My fav: