Blog

Jennifer & Michael were married at the fantastic Art Gallery of Hamilton. With pops of bright green, grey and hot pink, Jennifer put together the most beautiful wedding, all by herself in just 10 months of planning! She really thought of everything. From the amazingly designed invitations, to the colourful suspenders & ties for the groomsmen, to the different shades of lavender for the bridesmaid dresses, to the beautiful A-line cocktail dress and head piece she wore. What can I say, I’m a huge fan! All of those choices ultimately set the mood for the day and what a wonderful day it was! Despite the temperature rising to a horrid +35 degrees Celsius (40 with the humidity!) these guys were troopers! Thank you Jennifer & Michael for a wonderful day!

We asked the newlyweds a few questions, read on for Jennifer’s fun answers!

XD: “How did you two meet?”

“We met at St. Joseph’s Hospital in Hamilton, Ontario at the young age of 1 day.  Michael was born on Nov 21, 1983 and I was born less than 24 hours later at the same hospital.  We were “re-introduced” 21 years later through Michael’s sister, who was my co-worker at a local restaurant, but really, it was love at first sight as infants “

XD: “Who proposed and how did it happen?”

“Michael proposed to me, after only a quick 7 (SEVEN!!!) years of dating.  We love travelling and one long weekend, we decided to jaunt down to Newfoundland (because we have grand plans to visit every province and territory in Canada).  Michael proposed to me on a cliff overlooking Cape Spear, which is the most eastern point of all of North America”

XD: “What do you guys love to do together?”

“We love seeing the world, we both love food and trying new foods and drinks, and we love napping.  We’re also super close to both of our families and we enjoy a busy social life of friends and family, so lots of hosting get-togethers, dinner parties, and just being around people in general”

XD: “Where do you see yourselves in 10 years?”

“With kids, probably, and happy still.  We love our current home and both enjoy our careers but these could change over time and truthfully, these aren’t that important to us.  As long as we can fulfill that broad statement of “happy” and continue to fill our lives with family and friends, we’ll consider that a success.  Though, I wouldn’t say no to celebrating our 10^th anniversary on a beach in Bora Bora”

The Bride, on her decor & reception:

“Nope, no wedding planner! The wedding was all me, baby! (she said so modestly…)  I truly enjoyed working on all the details, like the paper products, cake topper, favours, etc.  My absolute favourite part was the invitations.  My best friend has graphic design skills and helped me to design all the pieces of the invitation (and menu cards, escort cards, programs, etc) from just random ideas I had or bits and pieces pulled from magazines and Pinterest.  The save-the-date cards, invitations, and rsvp cards were so whimsical and fun, really set the tone of what we hoped our wedding would be.

Would I do anything differently?  No, I don’t think so.  Maybe some minor things, like, we didn’t love our cake but overall, I’m really happy with how everything turned out and the products/people/companies we used.  We had a great day and both worked pretty hard in planning it, so no regrets!

Both of my sisters, 2 of Michael’s siblings, and several friends were engaged/married in the year or two before us. (It’s been wedding central in our social group for a few years now!)  No one had held their wedding at the Art Gallery of Hamilton but when I saw them at a wedding show (attending the wedding show for my sister’s wedding!), I was head over heels in love.  I always knew we wouldn’t hold the reception at a standard banquet hall.  I have this thing where I want everything to be “different”, (there’s something psychological behind that, I’m sure…).  The AGH was a 1^st for most of our guests, it was modern, bright, gorgeous, and simply fun.  The staff and event co-ordinator, Jody, at the AGH were amazing to work with as well. We just used the in-house caterer from the AGH.  In lieu of a late night buffet, we put out trays of Korean desserts called dduk (rice cakes) and Italian cookies and had a hot dog cart (shaped like a giant hot dog!) drive up into the courtyard at about 10pm until 1am.  It was awesome!

We also loved how there was a separate cocktail hour area and an outdoor courtyard attached to the main reception hall, so people could drink and mingle outdoors during the reception.  It was great for people who didn’t want to dance, including Michael!  Because we did have a gap between the ceremony and reception, the AGH also provided free entrance for the galleries to all of our wedding guests so a lot of the out-of-towners had something to do/somewhere to go until cocktail hour.”

XD: “Who was your cake designer & we’d love to know where you got that GREAT cake topper?”

“The cake was from Just Temptations in Mississauga.  Thanks for noticing our cake topper! It was one of my favourite details and we have it on display in our home now!  I had that cake topper custom made from Miss Cake on Etsy.  She does mostly “Mr and Mrs…” cake toppers but had one with lyrics from a song, which triggered my idea to pull my favourite lyrics from Living on a Prayer by Bon Jovi.”

Cheers to you both, travelling the world together, a wonderful married life & a 10 year anniversary in Bora Bora!

Jenn’s dress provided by:

“My dress was Snow White by Alfred Angelo, from Taylor’s Bridal Boutique in Elmira,  but I did have the dress altered to be tea length.  I used some of the leftover material to hand stitch Michael’s mother and grandmothers handkerchiefs as gifts.”

Michael’s tux provided by:

“Michael and the groomsmen bought suits instead of renting tuxes.  They were from Moores (no designer in particular).  I had the ties custom made from Tux & Tulle on Etsy.  It was Michael’s idea to throw in colourful suspenders for the guys, which I think he bought from Ebay.”

Flower Arrangements:

Sue Gallo Designs.  The photo charm of my mom on my bouquet was from Ed’s Photo on Etsy.

Dina & Brian had a beautiful wedding at the Manor. It had called for some crazy rain but we were really lucky and the weather was just playing tricks on us. It would drizzle then stop, then down poor, then stop, then the sun came out right before the ceremony! So they were able to say their I Do’s outside under the beautiful June sunlight. What luck! Someone tell me that’s not fate!

XD: “Where did you two meet?”

Brian: “Like most couples, we met in the statistics laboratory at our university. hahah”

XD: “How did the proposal happen?”

Brian: “We were at Waterloo Park, next to a pond with two white swans in the background!”  (uhm, hello picture perfect!)

XD: “What do you guys love to do together?”

Brian: “We love to travel, talk, and play with our pets”

XD: “Have you got any big plans for the future?”

Brian: “Babies!”

I had an awesome time working with these two and their bridal party. They were such a laid back and fun crowd that it made my job super easy. Thanks for the good times guys and wishing you nothing but the best from everyone here at Xero Digital for your future!

Dress Designer: The dress is from Sposa Italia in Woodbridge – custom made top and bottom.

Flower Arrangements: Rachel  A. Clingen Wedding and Event Design |  Brian: Her and her team are amazing!

Invitations/ Printed Material: Paper Damsel.

Cake Designer: Just Temptations.

Caterer: Our Wedding venue – The Manor by Peter and Pauls.

STUDIO UPDATE!

Hello all, and Happy May! I was supposed to be keeping everyone up to date on the happenings in our lovely studio, and I have been slacking. The slacking ends today! May 1st, it’s a time for resolutions right? (who needs New Year’s anyways)

It’s (arguably) the most beautiful day we’ve had in 2013, and we decided it was way too nice to stay inside any longer! So we took a well deserved break from emails and editing to climb the steel spiral staircase in our front entrance, (if you’ve been down to our studio you’ve seen said architectural conversation piece) up to our sunny patio on the roof with a 5D and tripod in tow. We figured we usually correspond with all our wonderful clients through phone and email and now you have our pretty faces to put to the name!

Unfortunately, Matt The Boss is missing from the photos (as he’s away on back to back business trips) so you’ll just have to hang tight on seeing his pretty face until we do another shoot with him. (while the cat’s away the mice will play, am I right?!)

Here’s a few of the fun shots we captured!

Matt, we may or may not be hanging some of these in the studio as I type this…….!)

Ladies only photo!

Have a beautiful afternoon!

xo, Xero Digital Team

What a beautiful winter wedding! I mean, who can resist that lace detailing on Amanda’s dress and the snow covered jackets of the groomsmen?! It’s a good thing Amanda had that beautiful fur jacket because it sure was chilly outside but I have to say, snow always looks incredible in photographs. If you can brave the cold, getting married in December would definitely be beautiful! One thing that stood out the most about Amanda & Janan’s wedding is how much fun everyone was! This was definitely a celebration to remember and one last hurrah in Canada before they move to Beirut, Lebanon. Amanda and Janan are the kind of couple that you would be more than comfortable to chat to for hours even if you had just met them. Trust me, they have some crazy stories!

XD: “Where did you meet?”

Janan: “We have known each other since we were young, our families are very close”

XD:  ”How did the proposal happen?”

Janan: “We had just got back from Niagara Falls and I hid the ring under a pillow “Benji” (Amanda’s dog) was sitting on”

XD: “What do you guys love to do together?”

Janan: “We love to travel to new places, cooking together, and spending time with those who matter most”

XD: “Any big plans for the future?”

Janan: “We look forward to seeing the world together, and are so excited to start a family”

XD: “What was your favourite moment of the wedding day?”

Janan: “We were so fortunate to share such a special day with our family and friends. My favorite moment was when I saw Amanda in her wedding dress for the first time walking down the aisle. That made it all so real.”

Amanda: “It’s hard to pick one moment when the entire day was full of so many amazing memories with everyone. But I’d have to agree, walking down the aisle everything seemed to blur except for Janan.”

We at Xero Digital wish you all the best and hope you enjoy your new life together wherever it may lead you around the world. Congratulations!

Dress Designer: Private Label.

Ring Designer: Zachary’s Jewelers. Annapolis, Maryland.

Flower Arrangements: Precious Flowers and Things. Richmond Hill, Ontario.

Cake Designer: Paradise Banquet Hall. Vaughn Mills, Ontario. Cake Topper: Precious Flowers and Things. Richmond Hill, Ontario

Caterer: Paradise Banquet Hall. Vaughn Mills, Ontario.

Nisha & Raj have been such a pleasure getting to know, From the time we met them at the studio, shooting their fun engagement shoot at the Brickworks, seeing them so full of love on their hot summer wedding day, and the many times we’ve spoken with them since their big day!  We asked Nisha a few questions about the wedding day;

XD: “Where did you meet?”

Nisha: “Raj and I went to school together at the University of Toronto.  We used to see each other everywhere (library and gym) and had mutual friends that introduced us”

XD: “How did the proposal happen?”

Nisha: “He came to visit me when i was living in Boston and we went for a walk down the Esplanade.  We were having a “picnic” and he threw me for a loop by making me think he was unhappy about something in our relationship, when in fact  he was just trying to throw me off and not guess what he was up to (I am bad with surprises) he took out the ring and popped the question when I was least expecting it!”

XD: “What do you guys love to do together?”

Nisha: “Relax and watch movies, and then go for a walk when we watch too many movies and need to get outside!”

XD: Where do you see yourselves in 10 years?

Nisha: “Living somewhere in a house that we helped renovate, having a successful Optometry practice, and travelling the world!”

XD: “Any other fun/interesting info you’d like to share?”

Nisha: “We are cartoon characters at heart.  You will always find us being silly, making funny faces, and taking goofy pics!  It’s rare that we can find a picture where we are both being serious”

XD: “What stands out as your favourite part of the wedding day?”

Nisha: “The photo shoot with the Xero Team! Starting at the hotel when we were getting ready for the reception & having a push up competition. Then driving over to Kleinberg, it was  tons of fun!

These are the types of couples who we have felt completely comfortable around since day one & were such a blast to photograph! I mean it wasn’t hard, check out how photogenic they are! (and I swear we didn’t bribe Nisha on that last question!!)  Nisha & Raj’s entire day was beautiful, so touching to see her brother’s walking her down the aisle, and her father’s tears of happiness (& maybe a little sad at her little girl all grown up) after the ceremony. The array of colours of saris was incredible, the words said in their ceremony were perfect & I don’t think their family & friends ever stopped dancing! From morning to night they were all movin’, it really was a big celebration! The end of July is hot in the best of summers, but oh my we were cookin’! Of course the two of them didn’t even bat an eye, even with Nisha in over 20lbs of beading and clothing I don’t know how she was still standing & Raj in that dark suit! We had plenty of time for photos, which is a photographer’s dream of course! So when Nisha & Raj gave us a few hours and 3 locations for photos our love for them was solidified! All that time in the heat sure paid off, have a look at their amazing photos! We loved working with you guys, and keep in touch!

Nisha’s outfits provided by: Chetan in Delhi, India     |     Raj’s outfits provided by: Heritage in Delhi, India

Ring Designer: We designed the rings together!

Flower Arrangements: Friends of Nisha! They bought the flowers from a wholesale florist, and Nisha’s wonderful friends made all the arrangements! Nisha:  ”Shout out to my best friend Ruby for my homemade bouquet!”

Invitations/ Printed Material: Gogia Cards- Delhi, India

Cake Designer: La Creme Cakes – Brampton

Caterer: Food was from Cuisine of India & Dessert from Golden Chef

We met Jacqueline & Sean on a chilly day in early November at the Homewood Suites by Hilton in Vaughn. Jackie and her six amazing bridesmaids were all smiles while they were having hair done and finishing touches on makeup. Sean on the other hand, was no where to be found! While we waited for Sean and his groomsmen to arrive, we had such a fun time hanging out with the girls while they got into their stunning dresses, uploaded lots of photos to Instagram and gave a beautiful toast to Jackie. Once the boys showed up, they were actually completely ready, apart from getting Sean’s tie done up to the correct length (which took a couple tries)! These boys were even more giddy than the girls and we managed to wrangle them together for some great shots downstairs in the lobby. We then headed to the Evergreen Brickworks for Jackie & Sean’s first look, it was a beautiful one, the bridesmaids were all wiping tears and Sean didn’t want to let go of his soon-to-be-bride!

Jackie had been in Indiana during most of the wedding planning stages, while Sean was in Toronto meeting with people and getting vendors. Together, even through long distance they put together a beautiful & heartfelt wedding. I didn’t think it was over the top or too much, it was absolutely perfect and really was a celebration of their love! This was one of my most favourite weddings of 2012, Jackie & Sean were such naturals in front of the camera, they were just so happy to married and barely required any direction from us. In fact, at some points I think they may have forgot we were even there! Congratulations to you guys, we love you & wish you all the best!

Dress Designer: Vera Wang White Label for David’s Bridal

Flower Arrangements: a friend of Sean’s mom who sells flowers whole sale

Invitations/ Printed Material: BRQ Quickprint (in Valpariaso, IN)

Cake Designer: a little Korean bakery in North York

Where did you meet? Seoul, South Korea

What do you guys love to do together?  ”We love to go to the movies, check out new restaurants and travel together.”

Any big plans for the future?  ”We plan to begin a family after we enjoy a little more time together as a couple.”

Any other fun/interesting info you’d like to share?  ”Out of the 3 years we have been together, we spent half of that time in a long distance relationship. Sean surprised me at school and used my 5th grade class to help him propose to me!”

The Gladstone Hotel

Location: 1214 Queen St W  Toronto, ON M6J 1J6

The Gladstone Hotel was once a Victorian Hotel, now the historic building as been transformed into a contemporary Art Hotel. Stay in one of the unique 37 hotel rooms each created by a Toronto artist or designer. All different kinds of rooms are available from Victorian replicated rooms to ultra modern & minimalist rooms. These rooms can serve as an excellent backdrop for engagement photos or even “morning of”/getting ready photos. There is a large art gallery on the second floor as well as a cafe and bar in the building. As Toronto wedding photographers we love finding and using unique spaces like this to shoot creatively in. The Gladstone Hotel is already such a creative use & transformation of a building that it would create a great atmosphere for a wedding or engagement photo shoots. 

The Canadiana Room (photo from www.gladstonehotel.com)

The Tower Suite (photo from www.gladstonehotel.com)

The Faux Naturelle Room (photo from www.gladstonehotel.com)

The Blue Line Room (photo from www.gladstonehotel.com)

The Xero Digital crew would love to shoot here, so check out www.gladstonehotel.com for more photos like these.

Call (416) 531-4635 for information on rooms. 

Lina and Massimo were married September 2012 at St. Luke’s Parish in Thornhill. It was a beautiful ceremony and I absolutely loved all the details that were put together so beautifully. With Lina being a graphic designer, I wasn’t suprised in the least. From the bridesmaid dresses, to the colour of the flowers, the headpiece Lina wore to the ties of the groomsmen, everything was picture perfect. For those of you looking for a great rustic look with your wedding photos, check out  Phyllis Rawlinson Park in Richmond Hill. It’s very similar to Markham Museum and Kleinburg but it’s in a more central location. It was a perfect place to take photos for this couple and their bridal party! Congratulations Lina and Massimo and thanks for letting us be apart of the celebration!

Another beautiful wedding from October 2012! This month was a busy one for us this year, particularly on the day these two lovely people got married. You can see why though as you just can’t beat the colours of the trees at that time of year. We first met Denada and Igli a few months back and they were nothing but big smiles and jokes. They were super excited to get married and their happiness was so infectious you couldn’t help but smile right along with them. Their love for each other definitely shows in these photos and it looks like these guys know how to party and have a good time. Thanks for the memories Denada and Igli and we wish you nothing but the best for the future!

Wedding Dress Designer: Kenetth Pool, Roman (Strapless) & Vera Wang (with Strap)

Flower Arrangements: Anthi Floral Boutique

Invitations/ Printed Material: Online

Cake Designer: The Wedding Cake Shoppe

Caterer: The Venetian

What do you love to do together?

“Make babies shop, take long walks with our dog, cook together (I eat, she cooks) laugh and travel.”

Any other info you’d like to share?

“We are high school sweethearts and have been together for nine years! And expecting a baby boy very soon!”

Nikki & AJ were an awesome couple to shoot.  Their savvy sense of style and desire to be unique set the tone for this wedding. We absolutely loved Nikki’s headpiece and the bright splash of hot pink throughout the entire decor. It was in all the right places including AJ’s jacket for the reception. We’ve known AJ for quite some time now. He is the very talented singer/owner of a band called Saturday Night Jive and we’ve worked with him on numerous occasions. There’s something about working with a client who knows the business that makes communication all that more efficient. There’s a mutual understanding of expectations that we, as professionals, will not only do the job we’re hired to do, but that we’ll do it well! This understanding allows us to have the creative freedom we’re looking for and, as Toronto wedding photographers, that’s all we ask for. We tell our clients that we get a lot of our energy from them. This allows us to capture each couple’s unique personalities. We all know that every couple interacts with one another in a different way. Some couples love to be romantic with one another, other’s love to be quirky, funny or silly with each other. Some couples love to look like they belong on a VOGUE magazine cover. Whatever it is that makes a couple connect with one another, that’s what we want to capture. Xero Digital definitely has a certain look and flare that we incorporate into every shoot. Our expert knowledge of special lighting techniques keep our work looking consistent. That being said, we ultimately love our job because of our clients and the trust that we will capture the uniqueness of their wedding day with a Xero Digital touch. Congratulations Nikki & AJ and thanks for being you!

Wedding Planner: Jodi Vogelhut – friend of the Bride & Groom

Dress Designer: Pronovia

Headpiece Designer: David Dunkley KC’s Hats

Invitations/Printed Material: DIY by Nikki

Cake Designer: Olivia & Tyrone – friends of the Bride & Groom

Caterer: The Doctor’s House