This is Krista.  Pretty girl huh?

Many of you already know, that Krista is a big part of a “William Ainsley Wedding”.  She is my second shooter, my assistant….but most importantly, she is my wife.  That’s right, for those who don’t know - we are a husband and wife photography team!   Krista has such a great eye for the details going on around - and is crazy with candids.

I recently was told that I had to was lucky enough to do some headshots for Krista, for a few of her fitness projects that she does as well.  I am not sure if she likes my work, or if she likes my prices…..either way, I am pretty happy with the results from this quick shoot.

It also a great opportunity to show you guys my better half, and a large part of the images that you will receive on your special day.

I’m filing this post under “Hottie”.

I just thought I’d toss out a quick blog post, as I am thick into editing the past couple of weddings that we have had this month.

It’s just something that hasn’t left me since our last wedding, this past Sunday for Holly and Shaun.  We have witnessed many breath-taking moments through the lenses we use, but this past weekend we watched and felt something so incredible - I just had to throw it into a quick post.

As I have eluded to in previous entry’s - I always get choked up during the father/daughter dance.  I rarely take the camera away from my face during that moment, because there is usually a lip quiver or a little watering of the eyes behind there.  I mean, who wants to hire a cry baby for a photographer?  But the thing is, I am a Dad - and it simply makes me think of my daughter, and all of the emotions that I am going to feel watching her grow up….and eventually have that final moment with her on her wedding day.

But then Holly’s dad rocked me.  I still have the frog in my throat from his speech…and more so the slide show of images of Holly growing up.  We have all seen a thousand slide shows of baby pictures before -  but what Mr. Thorne did was write the most beautiful song, sang it himself, and had it cued up with each corresponding image as we watched Holly go from newborn, to bride through the projector.

Just to be clear…..it was the most beautiful song, and watching Holly get up from the head table - walk ever to her Dad and sit by his side with her arms around him was the most beautiful moment I have yet to experience in any wedding I have been at.

She hugged him - and I broke.

I am getting a bit of chills just thinking about this post.  I am obviously here to talk about Meg & Dave’s incredible wedding that we were fortunate to shoot at Cullen Gardens a few weeks back.  However, there is SO MUCH other stuff to say!  Where do I begin?

First - what can I say about Meg & Dave?  I am amazed by them.  I don’t know a tonne about them - but I feel like I know them so well.  I am not sure if Dave wears boxers or briefs - or if Meg is a Tragically Hip fan.  I don’t have the low down of Dave’s football picks for next year, or if Meg is into extreme sports.  But what I DO know - is that not often you see two people that fit together as well as they do.  They are just GREAT people, that I really hope we cross paths with again. 

I loved our brief meetings leading up to the ceremony - that never felt like meetings.  We would just chat, and talk about details, kids, work, etc - and then I would race home to tell my wife about all the things we talked about.  (True story).  Hearing about their wedding, made me so excited…as there were many similarities to my wedding to Krista.  We even shared the same caterer (Kings Court Catering) and the same “food stations” theme!  One of my best memories of their day is on the drive home - talking to Krista (my wife, and second primary shooter) about all the details of the day and reminiscing about our big day a few years back.   

Their day was just amazing - beautifully HOT weather, and the gorgeous punches of red in Meg’s flowers and shoes.  In fact, Meg invited all their guests to wear their best red shoes - as Meg is a huge fan of the Wizard of Oz.  How awesome is that!  I swear that one guy went out and bought red Crocs…just for the wedding.  Because come on - who buys red  Crocs? (:P)  Just a beautiful day, with a great venue and an awesome couple. 

Okay - I will shut up now, and get to the pictures.  But just to be clear….Meg and Dave are amazing people, and this wedding is officially one of our favorite weddings.  (Stay tuned for Meg & Dave’s photobooth post too!)

All the best to you guys - we can’t wait to see pictures from Spain!

Not much to say about this beautiful wedding - that the pictures can’t tell you.  What you will see here, is Diana and Damien - andbehind that -  a whole lot of family and friends, and a whole lot of love.  I have been anticipating this wedding for over a year - and it didn’t disappoint.  It was full of fun, charm, culture, tradition and gorgeousness.  (Yes, that is a word - I think). 

I will always remember this wedding, (and the wedding of her friend Dorothy) as the two weddings that have made me a little bit teary.  Those father-daughter dances always seem to strike a chord with me……thank God I have a camera in front of my face to hide the waterworks!

Thanks so much for letting us be a part of your special day!  It was such an honour to get to know you both, and be a part of your beautiful wedding. 

If the wedding is as stunning as the invitation from Tammy and Zac - we are in for something special. 

I was so excited to see this invitation in our mailbox for their big day.  I am not sure if it is customary for the photographer to receive an actual invitation - but I was very honoured to receive one!  It is so special to be thought of in this way - that I had to blog about it (and to show off these awesome invites!)

Check these out!  Aren’t they beautiful?  I love the print and the font, the classic colours - and the layout.  If you could feel these, the paper is incredible - and these puppies have some weight to them!  (Be sure to click on the images to make them “big”.

Tammy and Zac live in Las Vegas, and are getting married in Lake Tahoe in December.  Tammy and I connected via my Twitter and facebook, and thankfully she likes my images!  They are flying us out to shoot their wedding in Tahoe in a few weeks - and we cannot be more delighted and honoured to be a part of their special day.

Way to go guys!

A few weeks ago, while trolling facebook….I saw a callout for something I had always wanted to do. 

Months ago, I had met Leanna Gosse at a workshop that we attended together in Toronto.  I remember sitting at the workshop eating my lunch, and this girl was wandering around - just taking funky detail shots.  She was looking at every corner, every wall, every ledge - looking for optimum spots to shoot with.  I was instantly impressed with her passion to get every last awesome shot.

So her status on facebook one day was that she was looking for a second shooter for an upcoming wedding.  September was going to be a busy month for me - but I had to act fast, and see if she would let me second shoot for her.  I had never second shot before, so I was a bit nervous - and totally would’ve understood if she had wanted someone with more experience in that respect.  But she said yes!

For those of you that don’t know - a “Second Shooter” is simply another photographer that helps the primary shooter for event coverage.  This usually includes splitting up some of the required pictures, taking shots of the details of the day, or candid moments that the primary photographer might not be able to grab because of his/her other duties.  Further, it is important for the second shooter to make the day easier for the main photographer.  Carry bags, get things that are needed, make arrangements behind the scenes, or hold lights and set up gear. 

It sounds like a bad job, eh?  All the grunt work?  NO WAY!  I had a blast with Leanna.  She lined up amazing pictures, had everything organized and easy to use - and was so great to see her work.  I think we collaborated well, and covered the day very well.  We shot alot - I think we went through almost 45 gigs of pictures!   I was so lucky to be able to work with her - I learned a lot, and loved seeing another photographer at work.  The one thing that I learned the most was to get more comfortable shoes!  (JK)

Also - we included a photobooth, which was a blast….and is defnitely something that I am going to try to incorporate more of.

So check out Leanna’s stuff - she is amazing!  I am currently trying to wrangle her up to do some shots for us…so get in line!

I was so excited to cap off a very busy week with a beautiful little wedding at Toronto’s Old Mill.

I met Diana and Glenn as a referral from another great photographer, Jeremy Sale.  When a referral comes from another photographer, it is extra special.  I love the camaraderie and network that is shared among photographers.  Thanks Jeremy!  (Check out Jeremy’s blog here, when you have a chance - Jeremy = awesome work!)

Glenn and Diana have a great story.  Simply, they have been married for 15 years to each other and decided to get re-married to each other.  For a second wedding, they pulled out all the stops -  It was gorgeous!  What a great looking couple as well.  I was very impressed with the whole evening - and the atmosphere of being completely surrounded with your closest loved ones. 

Diana had a special request for the day, which was so thoughtful, that I couldn’t say no.  Diana had asked me to print portraits for her guests, and have them back to her before the evening was over.  That way, she could include these individual portraits (of her guests) inside a custom portfolio, along with a poem, to give to each one of her guests.  It was so great to see everyones’ reaction when the prints arrived! 

Here is a few shots from the evening.  Thank you so much Diana and Glenn for including me in your day.

Although the weather this summer has not always felt like summer - for this shoot, the weather was our friend.

Erin and I got together for a great bridal session, using some great locations that I will definitely use again!  I love the contrast of beautiful Erin in a beautiful wedding gown - against the really rustic and simple backgrounds.  This was such a great shoot, that it was REALLY tough for me to pick my favorites to post here.  If you have time, and curiosity - check out the rest of the initial edits/set here:  www.williamainsley.com/erin

Isn’t the red wall, and the old fire/rescue truck awesome???

I love your comments, let me know what you think!

Time flies!  It has already been a month since the gorgeous wedding of Deanna and Michael.  Happy 1 month anniversary guys!

Deanna and Michael contacted me through the great people at Bliss Events, who coordinated their wedding for them.  (Check out Bliss Events at www.blissevents.ca!  They do great stuff!)  Deanna and Michael had found me by checking out some baby pictures that I did for a coworker of his, and wanted to check me out.  (The baby is actually the picture that is at the top of my blog, the one with the tounge sticking out.  So cute!  Hi Ainsley (and Jaime and Kyle)!)

We met last year, and had a great engagement session at the Royal York Hotel in Toronto.  I must say - it will be hard to find a nicer couple than Deanna and Michael.  They are great people, and we were so honoured to be able to shoot their day.  I look forward to keeping in touch with them as they continue their lives together.

So, without further adue, check out some of the snaps from their special day at the Estates of Sunnybrook!