Congratulations Tai and Tanya!

How often do you wish you could relive the best day of your life when you married your spouse? That's exactly what good friends Tai and Tanya Lee did on Valentine's Day. We were privileged to be invited, and I had the honour of photographing their ceremony!

One thing that really struck me about this ceremony was the great sense of community. Weddings are so often centred around the million and a half things that need to be done. Getting the chance to do it again meant Tanya and Tai were able to focus on what really mattered - a renewing of a covenant made before God in front of his people and their community.

Friends, family from past and present showed up to witness this incredible event.

Congratulations Tai and Tanya on your vow renewal!

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Here are a sampling of the photos (and some of my thoughts) that I took during the ceremony:

I really like this photo above. A good photojournalistic photo shows context. As Tanya and Lucas (her son) walk down the aisle, family and friends are delighted to see her evident in the MANY digital cameras pointed at her... including mine! In case you're wondering how I took this photo whilst taking another one, I had a camera with a wide angle lens mounted on a tripod at the back of the sanctuary. It was triggered via PocketWizard from that camera I was holding at the front. I chose a slow shutter speed to show the motion of Tanya.



Loved the BIG open diffused windows in the sanctuary. I had to persuade the ushers to keep these open, but it provided the wonderful contrast you see here.


A shot of Tanya's extended family. This vow renewal ceremony was a reunion of sorts for them.

Congratulations Mr. and Mrs. Johnston!

Two old friends from university got married today at a chapel near Stanley Park. Congratulations Mr. and Mrs. Johnston! We are so happy for you two.

Congratulations Renee and David Yang!

Congratulations to the newly wed couple Renee and David. Renee (nee Cheng) is Karen's cousin. Over the past ten or so years, we have gotten to know her well through visits to LA and her visits to Vancouver. We are so happy to see her finally get married to the love of her life!

The wedding took place in Santa Monica at Shutters on the Beach - a beautiful and romantic hotel set at the beach. The ceremony, set atop the balcony overlooked the water during sunset. It was extremely picturesque. Three photographers stood by to capture the moments. Several of us family photogs also tried to get in on the action, but at the same time trying to be courteous to the professionals. 'Twas most definitely a difficult balance!

As with many of such gatherings, it was also a time of reunion with Karen's side of the family. Aunt Mabel and Uncle Michael hosted us at their house. We were grateful for their wonderful hospitality. It was also great meeting some of Karen's uncles, aunts and cousins for the first time - particularly those that live in such far away lands as Australia.

Among some of the highlights of the ceremony was watching my niece (Emily) be one of the flower girls. She is the middle one in this photo. The first time I met Emily was shortly after she was born, so it was quite amazing watching her grow up so fast. She is talking so much now and with such eloquence. It was quite the funny conversation we had one night while I was rather tired: she had actually managed to convince me that she was in Grade 2! I had myself second guessing how old I was! In actual fact, she's only 4 of course....

Erich had a great time with all of his cousins. He took particular affection to Emily who took him around like a younger brother. That was very cute to watch. Here he is posing with the girls. Check out the immense smile on his face! :-)


A few other notable pictures from the wedding:

The three flower girls sprinkle the aisle with flowers.

Renee's father escorts her down the aisle to be
greeted by an eagerly awaiting groom.

The wedding ceremony as seen from the back.

Congratulations Robin and Yoonjeong!

Karen, Erich and I had a crazy fun weekend up in Kamloops at the end of July. We had gone up there (along with my photographic assistant Danila) to do a wedding shoot and to attend Robin and Yoonjeong's wedding. For those of you that know Robin, you will know that this is a long time coming this was the event of a lifetime! :-)

Caption: Robin and Yoonjeong walk together across a crosswalk in traditional Korean wedding garments.

Congratulations to this beautiful new couple. We hope your new life together in Korea will bring wholeness to you and your family. May your marriage be holy - set apart for God's purpose. May you walk together in His truth and by His grace appreciating each other's differences, strengths and weaknesses.

I had a particularly fun time tagging along as the embedded photojournalist. Although this is not my first wedding I have done this, it is the first one for which I have spent so long preparing. We witnessed moments of joy, of anticipation, of frustration, of surprise, but most of all moments of memory making. Wait till I tell your grandkids about the mice! In all seriousness though, thanks for giving me and Danila this opportunity to document your wedding day.

I will be posting up more pictures but not until I have finished processing them and not until they have passed through the bride and groom's eyes.

Congratulations Danielle and Josh!

After Healthy Kids' Day, we dropped off Erich at Grandma and Grandpa's place before heading off to our first wedding without Erich! It was situated on top of Grouse Mountain, with the beautiful scenery of Vancouver as the backdrop.

The ceremony was very moving, particularly when Danielle and Josh said their vows to each other (as shown in photo). It is great to see these two married. We wish them the very best and look forward to encouraging them in their marriage. They are currently in Greece for their honeymoon. You can follow their adventures here.

Congratulations Fouad and Isabella!

We attended our first wedding celebration as part of the Bridge family today. It was a joyous occassion and one representing the true ethnic diversity of our church - bringing together a Moroccan, and a Chinese from Hong Kong who met in Turkey officiated by an American and MC'ed by a French Canadian! Pretty cool huh? And yet, we all one in the body of Christ.

The funny thing was that we had thought that the days of us attending a translated wedding were over! Were we proved wrong! (God has a real sense of humour sometimes...) Once again, we were delighted to hear the sounds of alternating English and Cantonese at their wedding.

Fouad and Isabella, thank you for letting us share in your very special day. May God continue to use you two to bless others.