This time we stayed at the fabulous Chateau Frontenac in Vieux Quebec. This is probably my favourite hotel of them all. What I find truly fascinating about it is some of the people who have stayed there, like Kings and Queens (Grace Kelly), even Alfred Hitchcock filmed the movie I, Confess there. We walked around the hotel picking out scenes from the movie and trying to figure out where Hitchcock would have sat while directing them. This is the 6th Canadian Fairmont we have stayed at thus far, so we are well on our way to our two year goal of staying at all 21 destinations over the next 2 years. It was a short trip. Actually it was too short so we are planning another trip to Quebec City for new years!

So excited to watch the fireworks over this beautiful city.

Happy New Year everyone!

Erika & Ryan

We hiked to the top of the fort for a amazing view of the Frontenac.

Quebec City is the best for night time photos. Every building is so creatively lit. Makes for some romantic cityscape photos.

I love this photo.

This is a time-lapse of a few vantage points around the hotel. Its short but pretty. If you would like to have us photograph you in Quebec City or Montreal in 2012 send us an email to email hidden; JavaScript is required to book your destination photo shoot or so we can put you on our list and send you the dates and times of when we will be in each city next.

We look forward to photographing you!

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Cheers

Erika & Ryan

When you arrive into PEI off Confederation Bridge immediately you get a glimpse of the lighthouses and red sand beaches. We stopped at the tourist information and got a map of lighthouses close by and took the most beautiful route through little towns to find this little cutie. It was extremely windy that day.

I have a photo of my feet in every city and country I’ve been too in the last 5 years. I know its weird, but its just something I have always done since we started traveling.

Pepper celebrated her first birthday while we were in PEI. We bought her a blue ball to play with on the beach. She loved running while the tide was out, and loved covered covered in thick red mud of the ocean floor. She was not a fan of me giving her a bath in a freezing cold waterfall we found just off the edge of a cliff that over looked the beach.

This is my awesome family! From left to right: Ryan, me, Jackelyn (my sister) her boyfriend Shaun, my beautiful mother Della, and her man Keith. Don’t we all look amazing! We were on our way to a party. If you are wondering what the giant pipe is in the background, its actually part of the Irving Oil refinery. Irving is everywhere in Saint John. Still one of my all time favourite family photos.

No, wait, this is my fave!

Here is one of Pepper with her fur cousins.

Ryan took this the night the tropical storm came through the East coast. We were in St. Andrew’s New Brunswick at the time. It was really windy, and cold and rainy. But Ryan in true photographer form, carried his tripod and camera out to the beach to catch this stunning photo. So worth it!

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   Chris & Winnie- Engagement – Montreal, QC

Travel to us isn’t always about visiting new countries or cities, sometimes its about visiting the same city again and again and finding new corners, heights, cafes, and points of view. This is going to seem silly to the Montrealer, but, in the 10 times we have been to Montreal for photo shoots or for pleasure we had never been to the top of Mount Royal. We know, we know, its a crime, especially if you are a photographer. Mount Royal is the most beautiful view of Montreal, and the most unique in our opinion. It reminds me of the view of Paris from Sacre Coeur. In so many ways Montreal reminds me of Paris, and that’s probably why we love it so much.

Earlier this month Winnie and Chris travelled from Vancouver to Montreal to have their engagement photos taken by us. They chose Montreal for their engagement photo shoot because its the city they met and went to University in (McGill woo woo!). Winnie and Chris took us on a tour of the city, hitting up all their favourite locations. So next time you are looking for some awesome views of Montreal come back and visit this blog for some inspiration.

Thanks to Winnie & Chris for coming all the way from Vancouver for your Montreal engagement session. We had such a great time hanging out with you both and exploring new parts of the city we had never seen before. Congratulations on your upcoming wedding!!!

Erika & Ryan

The amazing view of Montreal from Mount Royal.

McGill University Campus. Actually if you look at the panoramic photos above of the cityscape you can see the giant circular building up front. That is pretty much where this part of the engagement shoot was taken.

This is Old Montreal. This alley way is just one block from the port.

Finally this was our view from the Fairmont Queen Elizabeth Hotel downtown Montreal. If you look right between the skyscrapers you will see a hill. That is Mount Royal.

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   Quebec City in winter

Cheers

E & R

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The following day was a big day, and not just because we planned to eat at 21 Club but because Tim was going to propose to Karen. He had told us weeks go and I had been keeping the secret ever since. Well at least trying to keep it. I was pretty excited to watch a live proposal, mostly because I knew Karen would say yes  and also because Tim asked if we would take a few pics all paparazzi styles. Ryan was hiding on the front steps of the New York City Public Library (also the spot Carrie and Big were going to get married the first time around on Sex and the City) I was wearing sunglasses and a scarf over my head to cover my hair so they wouldn’t recognize me and was supposed to signal to Ryan when I saw Tim and Karen get out of the cab. Then right there in front of about 100 by standers Tim got down on one knee. I was watching from the distance, and there was kissing and hugging so I knew it was safe to come out. It was so exciting to watch.

That night we got our table at 21 Club, right next to Donald Trumps personal table (Donald wasn’t there). The food was amazing. The next morning we rushed to 30 Rockefeller to experience Top of the Rock. 78 stories up and the elevator I swear took only 30 seconds. The view were perfect, we had the most beautiful last day in the city.

Check out these photos below and the photos of Tim & Karen, the city and a few of Ryan and I. Be sure to leave lots of comments congratulating Tim & Karen.

Congratulations Karen & Tim, thank you for asking us to be a part of your engagement story.

Erika & Ryan

P.s- All photos of Ryan and I together were taken by Tim. Thanks Tim.

The view from our hotel room in Chelsea, the green building on the right is the Empire State Building.

Us at Times Square.

THE PROPOSAL !!!

Top of the Rock, Rockefeller Center.

On our first night in the city I had to go to NBC studios, there were tons of people sleeping in the street waiting for Saturday Night Live the following night. I put us into the lottery this year to see if we could get tickets for the trip. Hopefully our names get called. 5 years ago they were called but we couldn’t make it. Hopefully we get a second chance.

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10 days, 2 cars, 8 bed and breakfasts, and so many photos I am going to have to buy more hard drive space!

I am going to start with my favorite photo, it gives me goosebumps just looking at it. It turned out exactly how we envisioned it. This was taken at Goðafoss its like a mini Niagara Falls only there are no guard rails or cheesy tourists shops. You can stand on the edges, its actually a little terrifying, one of the best parts about the entire country is that all their natural sights are free, even their parks.

Greg & Lisa have a thing for waterfalls, so this was a must shot for them. There were at least 60-75 tourists watching this impromptu destination honeymoon photo shoot.

This next location is called Námafjall it is my 2nd favorite place in Iceland. The home of boiling mud pots! It smells like sulfur non-stop, the earth is bright orange and blue gray, and the holes in the ground make weird squishy noises as the mud bubbles. Steam is rising out of piles of rocks. It is like another planet! Its located in a town called Lake Mývatn. It reminds us of our Muskoka. Lots of lakes, tons of campers and even more flies. But its absolutely stunning.

The black sand beaches at Vík pronounced “veek”.

During our entire 10 day trip it rained only twice. Once in the West and once in the East. The first day it rained was in the west. We decided to go a local museum inside these cute, ancient Icelandic Turf Houses.

On the day it rained in the East we were on a quest to see Puffins. Now there is a place in Iceland where they say millions of Puffins live and you can see them. It was 1.5 hours of the beaten track. We actually found out later that Icelanders don’t even drive those roads we drove down because they are too dangerous. Damn GPS! The drive was brutal, white knuckle, face pressed up to the windshield in thick mountain fog, rain and cliff edges so close we had to drive 15 km/h. But we did manage to get to our destination. An old fishing village hidden behind mountains. In the rain we drove out to the look out spot, and as we climbed up the steps to the look out only to read a sign that said Puffins are here from April to August 15th, the date was August 14th. But they were gone, not a Puffin in sight, everyone was really bummed out. For a place that is supposed to be the home of millions had none.

Then suddenly in the distance we saw one last lonely Puffin. The photo below is really zoomed in.

If the weather gets too bad at the top of the mountain you can stay here. It has a little bed and supplies inside. Note: this was not one of the places we stayed at. At least the option was there. If it were dark outside I would have been cuddled up in this hut.

The lava field & church at Búðir.

This is the base of Seljalandsfoss you can walk in and behind this waterfall. It is the closest waterfall to the volcano Eyjafjallajökull. If you are wondering “foss” does mean falls.

Greg & Lisa in a trolls cave at Dimmborgir. From the outside this cave is actually shaped like a church or “Kirkajan”

Krafla Volcano.

This is my favorite place in Iceland Jökulsárlón, the glacial lagoon. We spent 4 hours here just shooting,  looking and being an awe of natures wonders.

Lisa had some cute rubber boots on and she wanted to do a shot standing in the water. Greg did not have cute rubber boots on. He is bare foot. You should have heard the tourists all gasp when Greg ripped off his shoes and joined his wife in Arctic waters.

The Icebergs you see in the lagoon break off of the Glacier Vatnajökul. They hang out in the glacial lagoon for a while and then float on over to a mini waterfall which pushes them out to the ocean. Sometimes they get stuck in the shallow water and beach themselves. Here is Greg & Lisa on an iceberg!

That is the end for now of our trip and Greg & Lisa’s honeymoon adventure in Iceland. Greg & Lisa have had a nice stay here on our blog but it is now time for us to start preparing their wedding & honeymoon albums. Thank you so much for having us along for the ride, I don’t even have words to describe how much we love the images from this trip. This week Ryan put up a 20×30 print in the meeting space at our studio of 3rd image in the Jökulsárlón set of images from this blog post. It is so interesting and detailed, just to see it printed so large is captivating. You guys did such an amazing job!

Cheers

Thank you or Takk fyrir

E & R

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10 days driving around Iceland, staying at bed and breakfasts and experiencing the culture and landscapes. We were traveling with Greg & Lisa (who you will see very soon again on our blog) for their destination honeymoon sessions. We had 2 cars, hotels and bed and breakfasts booked all over the country. We chose the best locations to visit together for photos, and the rest of the time we had to just explore.

Here are some portraits Ryan and I took of one another along with a a bunch of our travel landscapes and cityscapes.

This is us at the Glacial Lagoon called Jökulsárlón. These icebergs break off of the glacier Vatnajökul. It is the most magical place I have ever seen. Just driving up to it took my breath away. It is one of those moments I will remember for the rest of my life.

Icelandic Horses and sheep roam free for half the year. We often saw them hiking up mountains.

Búðir is a small hamlet surrounded by lava fields. The first time I saw a photo of this church over a year ago I knew I had to shoot a wedding, or a couple there one day. The colours of the mountains and volcanoes around it are so intense, and even though they skies are overcast, the clouds are always a blue grey colour.

I love this photo below, this whole park was really interesting, it is called Dimmuborgir. Dimm meaning “dark” and borgir meaning “cities”. It is said to be the home of many trolls. We didn’t see any. But there were tons of rock formations to climb around in.

This is Ryan standing right outside of Krafla volcano. It erupted in 1989. The smoke you see is not it erupting now, that is just gas escaping from the ground, it seems to be happening everywhere in Iceland. Ryan hiked all the way through a lava field to get there.

Sometimes we would just be driving through a beautiful mountain range and all of a sudden we turn a corner and it looks like we are on another planet! Lava fields they are everywhere. The older they are the less black rock you can see. The one in this portrait of us seems to be pretty old because moss has grown on all the rocks. These volcanic rocks are really sharp and pointy so walking on them is pretty dangerous. In this pic we are standing in front of the highway with our camera rigged to the car with a clamp.

These next few are taken in Akureyri, the capital of Northern Iceland.

I love these 2 pics, first the one on the right because the red light is shaped like a heart. All red lights in Akureyri are. Then the left photo. I am really proud of Ryan and I for learning so many Icelandic words and city names, but that top word is just crazy!  Can you imagine saying “Meet me at Uppysingamiðistoði” ? (Oh and the funny “d” is pronounced like a “th” sounding like “the” in English) Good Luck!

Now these next photos are straight out of the camera, I only edited fly away hairs on my face and bags from Ryan’s tired eyes. The sky really did look like that. It was that blue.

My feet in Reykjavik & at Vik the black sand beach.

Icelandic Turf Houses

Here we are at the base camp of Vatnajökul Glacier. Its covered in ash because it is right beside the now famous volcano Eyjafjallajökull (which I still cannot pronounce). They had sherpa’s for hire to take you up the glacier. We were so close to the volcano, but because it was so deep in the mountains and underneath a glacier there are no remnants of the explosion except for this ash.

This is a panorama taken from the top of a rock fortress in West Iceland near Grundarfjörður. (Pronounced Groon-dar-fee-your-thur)

Finally the capital of Iceland, Reykjavik. I love this city, its about as big as Barrie, with only 200,000 people, and more places to buy Pylsurs than anywhere else I’ve ever been to. Pylsurs are an all beef gourmet hotdog with no filler. Tastes awesome, although their idea of mustard is a bit different. It is the most popular restaurant in Reykjavik.

This church on the right towers above Reykjavik and is quite stunning at night. Its called Hallgrímskirkja. Kirkja means church.

Anywhere and everywhere you go in Iceland you can find someone who can sell you a traditional Icelandic wool sweater. Seriously you can get them at gas stations, book stores, coffee shops, hotels and any major tourist attraction. They are expensive, but they are all made in Iceland and mostly by hand. The last photo below is us wearing our cool new threads. People of all ages wear these traditional sweaters.  We also treated ourselves to some fun North 66 hats. North 66 is like our The North Face company but better.

This photo was taken on our last night, we wanted a night time shot of us over looking Reykjavik. The sky that night was unbelievable, the colours, once again were amazing. We walked up to one of the highest points in the city and started taking photos of the night sky. Since the sun stays up until almost midnight, the sun sets take a lot longer. People started gathering from side streets up the hill where we were to watch the sun set. It was a pretty amazing night. Our trip was so surreal, Ryan and I just look at these photos and we can’t even believe we took them, or believe the things we have seen. Seeing this much beauty is almost overwhelming, but I am definitely not complaining. I am just thankful that I have been able to experience it.

Erika & Ryan

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Greg & Lisa are teachers who get to work alongside one another everyday (much like Ryan and myself) they are fun, adventurous, best friends and so much in love. We had such a great time shooting this wedding, and getting to know this amazing couple over the last year. We can’t wait to share their destination honeymoon photos from Iceland with you all very soon.

Congratulations Greg & Lisa !

Thank you for choosing us to photograph your wedding.

Stay tuned to the blog over the next week to see images from our trip to Iceland!!

Erika & Ryan

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   Capitol Theater Wedding- Toronto, ON
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Wedding Day Time Lapse Capitol Theatre Toronto from Rowell Photography on Vimeo.

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Its been 2 years since our last destination engagement session in Montreal, and even though we have spent days walking around Vieux Montreal, we are still finding brand new (to us) locations to shoot and inspire us. Its one of our favorite Canadian destinations. Here are images Laura & James, who will be back on the blog later this year when we shoot their wedding in Toronto. These two were so adventurous, and were up for any creative ideas we had. We started their photo shoot around 5pm and with dinner and all the walking around we didn’t end until 9pm, so we were able to get images at the most beautiful parts of the day; sunset and early evening. We are so in love with these images, and we hope you all enjoy them too.

Thanks to James & Laura, we are so happy we have gotten to know you both, and we are so stoked for your upcoming wedding!

Cheers

Erika & Ryan

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This is just a short little post. We were pretty excited when one of our images was featured in a Russian Wedding Magazine. We have no clue what it says, but we are in good company, from what we can tell it talks about a few wedding planning companies and has a few images from some great photographers in Russia and Eastern Europe. We think its the coolest thing ever! Canadians like us don’t get images featured in Russian wedding magazines everyday.

The image comes from Ryan and Tara’s Prague wedding.We only have a scan of the magazine, so if anyone out there can read the words off the images below and let us know the name of this Russian wedding magazine so we can order one online, that would be wonderful, we would appreciate that so much. Just leave your translations in the comments section below. Online translators are not very helpful.

First is the photo they featured from Tara & Ryan’s destination wedding in Prague, Czech Republic.

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This is our dream list! We are thinking BIG. Nothing is unachievable (well maybe the rooftop wedding in Toronto, I would love to see someone pull that off)

If you or someone you know is getting married or honeymooning at any of these locations in the next year or so, please leave us a comments below or contact us.

We would love to hear all the details about your big wedding adventure and take some photos along the way.

Here is the list:

St. Lucia, Jade Mountain

Barcelona, Spain

Prague, Czech Republic

Paris, France

Marbella, Spain

Ice Hotel, Quebec City

Niagara- on- the- Lake, vineyard

Lake Louise, Alberta

Prince Edward Island

Rooftop wedding in a big city (Toronto preferably)

Venice, Italy

Bali, Indonesia

Iceland

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Before this weekend we have never even heard of The Couples Resort just outside of Algonquin Park, its beautifully refinished cabins and upscale suites, that sit on the edge of Lake Galeairy. Which would make for a very dreamy wedding ceremony. Amber Luckasavitch is the wedding coordinator there and she has her own website as well called Algonquin Weddings.

Destination weddings are such a fun experiences, and its nice to know you don’t have to travel that far to have one. One our way home we passed by a few stunning resorts that would be perfect for a Muskoka wedding: Deerhurst Resort and Delta Grandview so check them out if you are planning a wedding up North.

Enjoy these images from Shauna & Shane’s Algonquin wedding.

Cheers

Erika & Ryan

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Happy 6 year Anniversary babe….TOMORROW!!!!
Erika

Enjoy my favourite image from Tara & Ryan’s honeymoon session in Paris, Fr.

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Dear Erika & Ryan

Dave and I wanted you to know that when we remember what a great time we had in Mexico, you two stand out as an important part of that. We were so impressed with your professional, get fun work ethic. The photographs you took were so perfect and lovely that is still takes our breath away when we look at them. And we look at them often.

Take Care

Josephine & David

One year ago last week almost to the date, David and Josephine’s son Brett had a destination wedding in Mexico. We photographed that wedding. We have received many thank you cards from couples in the past, but this was our first 1 year anniversary thank you card from the family.

It means so much to us.

Thank you

E & R

Josephine, Kristin, Brett & David on the beach for their family portraits.

Brett & Kristin at their destination wedding in Tulum, Mexico March 2009.

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