Jason and Marina recently moved here from eastern Canada and chose the gorgeous Golden Ears Provincial Park in Maple Ridge as the location for their engagement photography session. As a native of Maple Ridge I knew that Golden Ears has a wide variety of locations to use for photography, as well as being nice and close downtown Maple Ridge. The park is full of hiking trails, swimming in Gold Creek, and lovely beaches at Alouette Lake. We parked and walked down the trail, stopping for some shots along the creek.
I’m pretty sure I told them (mostly joking) that “if I fall into the water, save the camera first, then come back for me.” Mostly joking… I had the car keys in my pocket so they had to come back for me! 🙂
These two crazy kids are great. It’s awful to have to kiss your fiancé and cuddle with them, but they powered through it. They’re getting ready for the wedding in a couple of months back east, but needed an engagement session photoshoot to use for cool wedding invitations and decorations for the big day!
The beaches at Alouette Lake aren’t super sandy beaches, but still great for photos. There’s lots of driftwood along the way to use as props. There’s also an amazing view in pretty much each direction you look.
Pretty sure this is my absolute favourite photo of these two!… and this is a close second.
The only thing to remember is that because the lake is nestled between the mountains, the sunset will be hidden, and you need to factor in your golden hour about an hour before you think it will be, because you will want to catch the sun before it hides behind the Ears and not the horizon.
As these two crazy kids walked down the path in the middle of what can be best described as “quintessential west coast,” while hand in hand I snapped one final shot (well, after telling them “just walk down together and talk, I gotta fix something back here”).
Tammy and Jason’s destination wedding in Mexico was great, white sand beaches, warm sea, a relaxing all-inclusive resort and a wonderful couple to share an amazing journey with!
I’ve known Tammy and Jason for a while now. She’s helped me on a couple of times with creative photoshoots and projects, but now she’s engaged and getting married in the gorgeous Barceló Maya Beach Resort in Mexico. My wife and I got to spend a time with the couple and 26 of their closest friends and family and truly capture the entire wedding experience.
First of all I had an amazing time. Honestly it’s hard to go wrong with a great couple, open and friendly family and friends, and a beautiful resort on the beach in Mexico. The Barceló Maya is gorgeous, and part of a network of four separate resorts, and if you have access to one, you have access to all (beaches, pools, food, etc). There is an amazing white sand beach, many pools (some adult only, if you want a bit of time away from kids), great food, staff, etc. Really hard to say anything bad about the place.
After a few days of rest and relaxation (and one hell of a sunburn, but I blame the best man for that), however, it was time to work. The day started at the spa, where the girls all had their hair and makeup done by the staff.
I can’t help but share this one as well… right inside the door to the spa is the kids room area. Bright colours, funny decorations…. I couldn’t help but get the girls in there to play around a little. I love the result!
From the spa we headed back to the rooms. The resort had gorgeous green open spaces between buildings that I used for some of the group photos of the wedding party.
For example, check this one of Len and Jason…. Father of the bride and his new son-in-law looked pretty badass!
If you follow me on Instagram (and you should!), or know me from my photography at all, you’ll know I love details. Wedding dresses, shoes, rings… the whole deal. I couldn’t have asked for a better room for the “getting ready” shots with the ladies. Gorgeous, tall ceilings, amazing window light… a photographers dream!
The silver horseshoe on the garter shows off Tammy’s love of horses
OMG WHAT A BRIDE!!!!
There’s was lots of goofing around going on. Just so we’re clear here, Tammy is very nice and was just kidding around…
… and she got the mandatory “is there anything in my teeth” close inspection.
The ceremony took place on the beach… the resort has 3 wedding areas setup, and run a wedding through each every day as far as I could tell. You might think this would make the whole experience feel impersonal like you’re just being inserted into a wedding machine, but nothing could be father from the truth! The wedding coordinator was awesome, dealt with the couple as their main contact and gave them whatever they needed (including a golf cart ride for the group to keep them out of the sun).
Because they run weddings through all the time, they have the advantage of knowing what works. The right places and times to make things look awesome.
He couldn’t keep his eyes off her at the alterA few tears were shed
Tammy and Jason opted for a sand ceremony, and they finished the ceremony with a kiss… and oh what a kiss. Pretty sure that I heard a few gasps from the wedding party, just saying’…
Oh my that kiss!
A beach with the sea and blue sky behind you makes a really nice backdrop for family photos. I wish I could have bottled that all up to bring back with me!
The one tiny little downside was sometimes it was just a little windy. And by that I mean a lot windy. The bride’s hair blew around naturally, swishing from side to side and making her even more beautiful than ever.
Jason however wasn’t so lucky. There was a lot of this going on….
Luckily everyone else was really reallyamused about it. Lots!
“Pure Joy”
Photos on the beach were amazing, gorgeous, wonderful. Pick your adjective!
Dinner and the reception were right nearby. I’m a sucker for the first dance, and pretty sure I teared up a little. Luckily with the camera up no one can tell.
This was an amazing experience, one I’ll never forget and I’m so so happy that I got to be there and spend the time with Tammy, Jason, and their wonderful friends and family!
