Wedding At The Bellvue Manor | Danielle and Cosimo

“Normality is a paved road. It is comfortable to walk, but no flowers grow on it.” — Vincent Van Gogh

I admit. For wedding photographers, sometimes it’s better to just go with the least complicated plan to get through portrait sessions at weddings. Find a shaded area, preferably in a quiet spot, away from people other than the wedding party. Easier to compose without having to worry about cloning random heads sticking out in the bushes in the background. Use the same tried and trusted poses over and over (and over) again. It is repetitive, yes. But it does the job especially when time works against your favour. When you only have five minutes to shoot portraits, your safe route should already be an autopilot option you could readily rely on. Your clients will still love their photos.

But when your clients trust you enough to give you more time to work than usual, then that’s different. You better bring it.

Danielle and Cosimo were wedding photographers’s dream clients. Aside from being so easy going, they were also one of the warmest people I’ve ever met. The way they interact with their families and friends were endearing to watch. And they made sure they were able to go around each and every table to have a moment with everyone who attended their wedding.

They had a three-hour break between the end of their wedding ceremony to the start of their reception that I figured,  we had some leeway to take risks.  So, I took them along with their wedding party to Yorkville on a beautiful, Saturday afternoon. In the summer. Where there would be lots of people. I thought that if the Yorkville idea didn’t pan out, we would still have time to do photos at their beautiful venue, Bellvue Manor, before their reception started.

Now, I wouldn’t recommend going to Downtown Toronto’s public areas  for wedding party photos if you only have limited time to stay there. But for me, it was worth it. It was challenging, yes, but I enjoyed the process of creating images in non-traditional places. Their portraits in front of the Royal Ontario Museum is still one of my favourite photos I’ve shot. No flowers grow on paved road indeed.

And besides, if we didn’t roam Bloor Street that day,male promotional models wouldn’t have served us yummy Magnum ice cream. I can still remember how it taste. On a hot day, that was quite a pleasant surprise!

Here are a few photos from their wedding at Bellvue Manor!