Toronto Lifestyle & Editorial Portrait Photographer Jessica Blaine Smith

Family Portraits are Important

Family Portraits

Here’s the thing about kids: they grow really fast! They’re born and it feels that with a blink of the eye they are mini adults living their lives. It’s wild! When my niece Li’l K was about four, I said to her, “You’re growing too quickly! Cut that out!”. Her reply to me was, “Well just stop feeding me, Auntie Jess!” No matter the age of your kids, you should always have family portraits done. Often Mom and Dad are the ones hiding behind the camera taking the photos. It’s important to also get in front of it once and a while (I recommend at least once a year!). Here is a fun portrait session that I did at my studio and in a park nearby. I love how the personalities of all the family members shine. Family Portraits

Steph & Matt’s Country Wedding | Private Residence, Ontario

Steph and Matt are married! These two got married at a private residence located two hours away from Toronto. Their ceremony was held at the owner’s apple orchard and guests were taken there in a classic yellow school bus. The view from on top of that hill was stunning. Later everyone was ushered back to the property for cocktails in the repurposed barn before settling in for a family-style dinner that was ridiculously delicious. There was so many awesome details that Steph and Matt included to make their big day that much more special. Steph’s jewellery was made from pearls that belonged to her grandmother and great-grandmother. To stick with their apple-theme, they had two signature cocktails – the Bride and the Groom cocktail – and both involved different ciders from their favourite cidery, Beaver Valley. Their wedding favour was also a bottle of cider, perfectly dubbed Happley Ever After. For dessert they had a self-serve pie station that included pies of every kind. When it got dark, we did our best attempt at sparkler portraits. They didn’t turn out perfect, but we sure had some fun making them! Congratulations, Steph and Matt! Thank you for choosing me to be a part of your awesome day.

Hair & Makeup: Code Red Salon
Flowers: Neon Amazon
Bridesmaids & Flowergirl Dresses: Made by Josephine
Coordinator: Samantha Gibson of The Best is Yet to Be
Officiant: Lynda Legge
Caterer: The Flying Chestnut
Pies: Williamsford Pie Company

Sara & Matt | Skyloft Ski Resort Wedding

Sara and Matt are married and I am so excited to share some images from their Skyloft Ski Resort wedding! The last time that I had photographed at Skyloft in Uxbridge was way back in 2004 so I was pretty pumped to see it again. September is my most favourite month to photograph weddings in Ontario. I love the tall grasses and flowers that are growing at that time. I love that sweet September light. Everything is golden. For Sara and Matt’s wedding, we didn’t get much sun and we did have some raindrops. But the weather did not stop us from having an awesome day. I always assure my clients to not believe the weather forecasts and that it usually always works out for us, and this wedding was no different. The clouds cleared and we were able to get some beautiful portraits in a neighbouring field. When a bride agrees to climb through an electric fence with you, you know you have the best clients around! While I absolutely love urban weddings, you cannot beat a field of goldenrod and long grasses complete with hay bales and a barn off in the distance. Throw in a long veil and it’s perfection! Congratulations, Sara and Matt! I loved documenting your day.

P.S. How stunning was Sara’s bouquet by Mint Floral?

Photography for Misfit Studio

About a month before my own wedding, I discovered Misfit Studio. It was through Loversland that I took the plunge and started taking classes there. Loverland and Misfit had partnered up for Sunday morning yoga classes geared towards brides to help them mentally (and physically) prepare for their wedding. After my first class at Misfit, I was sold and since then I haven’t looked back. This studio is all about movement and strength and encouraging your personal best. Amber who is the woman behind the studio is nothing short of magical. Not long after meeting her, we planned a portrait session at her home. A couple of months later, I was back behind the camera, this time photographing the studio and the instructors at Misfit. The images are for their new website that they recently launched and I am loving how it all turned out. I love Misfit, Amber and everyone involved here and am so happy to be a part of the Misfit gang. (I suggest that you join as well to see what it is all about – you may even see me there in a Pilates or Essentrics class!)

Fara & Ben | Wedding at Chateau de Lisse, France

Just what does a wedding at a chateau in the South of France look like? Let me show you!

But first, a disclaimer: if you are a photographer, please look away now for there are way too many images in this blog post and I do not want any of you telling me that this is not how a blog should be done. This blog post is for the people – for the bride and groom and for all of their beautiful guests – and everyone else who has been begging me to see more images. It’s not for you.

Fara and Ben. Ben and Fara. BFF. Oh those two. I have known Ben for about a decade and have photographed him a few times but photographing him on his wedding day was definitely the best of them. When he called me from Los Angeles back in December to say that he was engaged and that they were planning a destination wedding in France, I was thrilled. I didn’t actually believe that I would end up photographing their wedding because all of it just sounded like a dream. And it was. These two got married at the absolutely stunning Chateau de Lisse in Gascony, France and I was there to capture every moment of it. Before traveling there, I had looked at photos of the Chateau on the internet but nothing prepared me for seeing it in real life. It was full of countless beautiful nooks and crannies which made it a photographer’s dream.

The day started with Fara and Ben getting dressed in neighbouring rooms which I found adorable. I then photographed their “first look” and we did some portraits inside the Chateau before the ceremony. I instantly fell in love with the pink Rococco Salon and could have photographed these two all day there. We then headed to the 12th century chapel for their ceremony. There is nothing like getting married in such a historical location. Can you imagine just how many other wedding ceremonies have taken place there before them? I found that thought pretty magical. After the ceremony, the guest threw flower petals on the couple (even from the turrets!). We then did more portraits on the Chateau grounds before they joined their guests for cocktails. The guests drank cocktails from teacups and ate fresh oysters while an accordion played. We then had the wedding breakfast in the shadow of the Chateau and ate until the sun set and that crescent moon made an appearance. Dessert was a Croquembouche which is traditional for French weddings and was adorned with sparklers. Fara and Ben did a tango as their first dance and from there, the real celebrating started.

Congratulations, Fara & Ben! Thank you for taking me along on your adventure and for trusting me to be the one to document such a magical day. I had a blast.

Venue: Chateau de Lisse
Bride’s Dress: Vintage 1930’s from Didier Ludot (Paris)
Hair: James Galvin
Groom’s Suit: Reiss
Flowers: Faith Brennan at Le Coeur Sauvage
Caterer: Soren Hawes at Le Barbacane