A couple of weeks ago, Anne, Dave, Jeff and I went to Niagara-on-the-Lake to photograph Melanie and Adam’s wedding.  For those who have not been there before, it is a very beautiful place close to Niagara Falls, Ontario – a quaint town filled with vineyards, gardens and lots of scenic beauty. Our friends at Occasions Niagara planned this lovely event – and like every wedding we’ve seen this summer, Mother Nature gave us an amazing (or downright bizarre) assortment of weather – everything ranging from sunny, blue skies to torrential rainfall and high winds.

Melanie and Adam currently  live in Vancouver, British Columbia but decided to come to Ontario for their wedding.   They also chose to see each before the wedding ceremony  – and after their first glimpse of each other (in a lovely ivory wedding dress and a designer suit respectively), we  then headed out to the Niagara Botanical Gardens, which is one of the nicest gardens/parks I have seen in Ontario.  After  we finished the bridal party and family photos there, we ended up at Chateau des Charmes (another really beautiful place) for their evening wedding service and reception.

To the delight of their guests, Melanie and Adam also arranged for a spectacular fireworks display at the vineyard… plus they closed off the evening with a duet they composed.

Melanie and Adam:  We send you our best wishes for a happy and prosperous life together.  You chose a really beautiful place to get married at and we hope your wedding day was everything you wanted it to be.

If Melanie and Adam have given you access to their online gallery, please visit www.roelphoto.com and click on “online gallery”.

p.s.  For those of you who are regular readers of this blog, you might have noticed that this is the first complete black and white slide show I have ever posted here.  As Melanie loves black and white images, I decided to feature their wedding on our blog as such.

One of the honours Anne and I have in our business is that over time, not only are we wedding photographers, we sometimes become family photographers )

We headed out to Fonthill (in the beautiful Niagara region of Ontario) for Alexandra and Jonathan’s wedding. Alexandra was the maid of honour (and the sister) of Marianne who we photographed a couple years ago. We were *really* happy to hear she and Jonathan got engaged… and chose us to photograph her wedding!

We spent some time before the ceremony at the Lookout Point Country Club (if you are a golfer, definitely check this place out) having a little quiet time with the bride and groom.  The happy couple had their ceremony at the chapel in the *scenic* Balls Falls Conservation Area.

One of the great things I loved about their wedding was the “coming together” of all of the different cultures, customs and languages present – Mexican, Estonian, Scottish, English… and good old Canadian (eh).  Add a little music and you have one really great party!

Alexandra and Jonathan:  Anne and I wish you lots and lots of happiness in your lives together.  Thank you for the honour of photographing your wedding.  Congratulations again!

If you have been given you access to their online gallery, please visit our main site at www.roelphoto.com and click on “client galleries”.

Susanne had a most different and stunning dress… the lace work was actually black and absolutely gorgeous!

After a very touching ceremony, the guys (including Neal) decided to have a little fun!

There were so many (cute) kids at this wedding … and as you can see, Susanne and Neal totally enjoyed their company at the reception.

Susanne and Neal – your wedding was fantastic and thank you again for sharing your day with me. I wish you nothing but joy and happiness!

Christina and Jason are yet another fantastic couple who tied the knot recently… and two of the most organised people I have met. If I could summarise their wedding in one word, it would be “fun” – they set out to have fun and they accomplished it at their wedding.

They were married at the White Oaks Resort in Niagara on the Lake and after they were prounounced “husband and wife” (following the prerequisite first kiss), they were more than happy to show their excitement…

Christina’s uncle made sure that he had a “man to man” conversation with Jason… (yikes)…

As most of you know, I just adore children… especially at weddings. Shayla, the flower girl was no exception and enjoyed dancing with the bride and groom…

Chrissy & Jason: all the best to you both and have a lifetime of fun and joy. Somehow, I know I don’t need to tell you this…

I had no idea there were so many varieties of butterflies. From really small to … HUGE. And so many colours!

So, if you are ever in the Niagara region, it is well worth a visit. I know I’ll be back again…