{vancouver lifestyle family photographer} - marshmallow morning

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The first time I met this family, this sweet little girl was just on her way, and her sister hadn't yet figured out what being an older sister was all about.  It's been fun to see them both through my camera lens, growing up and changing and (quite possibly) becoming even more adorable.  The one constant in all of our sessions over the past couple of years has been their favourite stuffed bunnies - they always make an appearance, looking even more "loved" than the time before :)

We decided to do a lifestyle session at their home, which is lots of fun - especially when the home is full of windows and streaming natural light.  So this is their Saturday morning, filled with love and everyday life and big blue eyes and marshmallow bribes, and I love it.

& this was 2014

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What happened last year?

Everything blurs together and then suddenly focuses.  Our son was born, and that was the end of life as we knew it and the beginning of something full of blessing.  This is our Matthias, our gift of God, a few hours after he was born.  Every time I look at this picture, I remember the pain and exhaustion of standing up, of holding my camera steady in the low hospital light, but the knowing that I would want to have taken this photo.  And every time I look at this picture, I am so glad that I did.  He's not wrinkly anymore, or red, and his hair is much lighter and he's twice as big, and sometimes this photo makes me want to cry.  So maybe this is my favourite photo of 2014.

But that's not it.  In 2014, I met so many amazing people, so many happy families that laughed together.  I captured so much joy, and that is what I want to share with you below.  

(Disclaimer: I tried to choose just a few favourite photos of 2014.  Truly.)

{vancouver engagement photographer} boy meets girl with big brown eyes

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I'm trying to update my blog more frequently.  I really am.  And I really thought I was...until I looked at the date of my last blog post, and it was October.  

October was when I photographed this engagement session.  I love it very much, mostly because I love these two people very much.  (Also because Vancouver is spectacularly beautiful on moody autumn days.)  Ger is my brother & Amanda is the Brazilian girl with big brown eyes that he fell in love with; I am so thankful God brought them together, and I can't wait to photograph their Brazilian wedding at the end of January!




jericho beach love story / Lorel & Sean's Wedding

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I don't often photograph weddings, but this one was special.  

Lorelei and I met a few years ago; we were both working at Earls.  I was living with my sister in an attic and missing my boyfriend who was working in Los Angeles.  She was studying acting, she lived just a few blocks away from us & we became friends over slices of pizza.  Throughout the course of our friendship, we have eaten lots of 5-cent sour candies and avocado tempura and Denny's Tsing Tsing Chicken (which they don't make anymore - WHAAAAT?!) & God has given us many crazy adventures together.  

A few years later, I got married and started my photography business; Lorel graduated and became a full-time nanny before going back to school for nursing.  And somewhere in there, she realized that a tall guy who had been her best friend in school (and who, incidentally, loves 5-cent candies almost as much as she does) was the love of her life.  This is the story of the day they got married.

Because they were planning a wedding in Mexico, this was their legal ceremony.  I was pregnant and due just before their Mexico wedding date, so I knew I wouldn't be able to make it for the real ceremony, but this gathering of their Vancouver loved ones was perfect for them: impromptu, delightful, and filled with laughter and hugs and red converse shoes.

It was a little miracle that I was able to photograph this day, because the very next morning, I was at the hospital, giving birth to our son!

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