Ohana means family….and family means that no one is left behind : )

I hope that you all have the opportunity to spend time today with your family and that you take a moment to reflect on how blessed you are and what an amazing gift you have been given.  Family is certainly precious and close to my heart and something that I think we often take for granted, yet shouldn’t.

Well the day has finally arrived to announce the winner of the Celebrate Family Contest that was started about 5 weeks ago.  The entries that I received were fabulous and several of them brought tears to my eyes. Thank you so much to all of you who took the time to write and share a bit of your family with me and why you love them so much!

Up for grabs was a family photoshoot, the disc of their images AND a canvas print! 

I am excited to announce that the winner of this prize is…….(insert drumroll!)……. Lindsay & Ryan, along with their daughters Jaryn and Emry! (of Sylvan Lake)

This is what Lindsay wrote:

I love absolutely love pictures….especially of my family and friends. In the past 5 years since Jaryn has been born I have been convinced by my friends to start scrapbooking. I am not great at taking pictures but creating memories for my girls and my family has now become very important to me. Ever since I was pregnant with Jaryn I have wanted to actually get professional pictures done but honestly we have never had the money to pay for a session with an actual photographer. Honestly for me, being able to raise my kids and not be out of the house working has been way more important then spending hundreds of dollars on photos with money I could be using to buy diapers and food for my family. We have always taken the girls to Superstore to get their photos done but still have not actually gotten someone who knows what they are doing when taking pictures take a picture of our family. I would love to be able to finally have a photoshoot done of my sweet little family that I love so much and be able to get pictures printed for our Family so that they can also show off how incredible my little family is. 

I’m not sure if Lindsay knows this or not, but her sister also submitted an entry for their family.  This is what she wrote:

I would love love love for her and Ryan to be able to have their beautiful family captured by you! They are such amazing parents and are raising such caring and thoughtful little girls with huge personality and the biggest hearts! I always tell her that she has set the bar pretty high for my brother and I with such great kids!

It’s not very often that Ryan and Linds take the time or the money to do something for themselves, yet they never complain about it. They are simply parents that will always put there kids first and would never even dream of doing things any other way. For them to be able to have the memories of their little family photographed professionally would mean the absolute world to them!

Congratulations to such a fabulous family!! 

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…..and if you thought the contest was over…..it isn’t!  I decided to expand it and hopefully bless two more families on this fabulous Family Day!!  The following two families will get a family session and a disc of their images.  They are…….

Leanne & Duane (and Kallen) of Edmonton! 

Leanne wrote:

I would love to win to bless Duane. He is such a hard working, loving husband and father. He works hard so that way I can stay home and raise our son. His love for both of us is so apparent. He adores Kallen and is an awesome father. Every day we he comes home, Kallen goes crawling to him as fast as he can with the biggest smile on his face.He can say mama and dada, but continues to call both of us dada. lol.  Kallen is growing up so quick and I would love to capture the love we have for each other with your talent, before his too big!

Jen (and Aiden, Jacob and Kian)of Fort McMurray!

Jen gets extra points for her creativity!  She wrote:

F -   is for forever; families stick together, fight for each other, and love each other.

A -   is for amazing; despite the many obstacles my boys face due to their special needs, they continually amaze me with their humor, intelligence and love.

M -   is for men; my goal is to raise my boys to be men of God; loving, compassionate, Christian husbands and fathers.

I -     is for interesting; there is never a dull moment when you are raising three passionate and energetic boys!

L -    is for love; during the good, the bad, and the ugly.  My overwhelming love for these boys is a gift from God.

Y -   is for Yahweh; who gives me the patience, the strength and the joy of being a mom.

Congratulations!!!  I hope that you have a fantastic Family Day!

Christine

This has got to be one of the coolest families in Edmonton! 

I love getting together with them and we always have so much fun!  When doing their family picture this year, they mentioned that they wanted to not do “the norm”. Perfect!  Uncontained!  I’m in!  My thoughts were to do something “urban” – and they carried it out to the hip hop look that you see.  I loved it!  This was the first time that a family shoot came with a box of props : )  You will notice that various people are wearing the glasses, hats, etc.

This whole shoot could have been posted as my favorites as they inspire me and I love working with them - however I narrowed it down.  Take a look……

Ellis family – I can’t wait to see you all soon!

Christine

  This beauty is one of my cousins.  I seriously have been blessed with a gorgeous family!

Photoshoots are one of the things that I love doing with my cousins – and have done with them for many years now.  We have found that it is a fun way to connect and spend time together…among other things of course!  We get to create fun pictures that have captured them growing up and their personalities and are usually trying to figure out a way to outdo our last photoshoot!

With Melissa’s shoot we started with her grad dress from a few years ago and then moved on to something a bit more fashion and funky feeling!  She definitely turned a lot of heads as we were shooting : )

This girl has one of the best laughs, a beautiful smile and a gorgeous heart.  She is ready to help and love on those around her.  I am so proud of her and the woman that she has become.

Miss you my beautiful girl!

Love,

Chris

While in Edmonton I had the opportunity to hang out with Maria and a few of her boot camp ladies as we did a shoot for FitFAMILIEZ.  These ladies did a fantastic job!  If you think that boot camp is hard – you should try boot camp on a photoshoot where you may have to hold various positions longer and do more reps in order to get the desired shot.

If you are wanting to get in shape, Maria is most definitely the woman to call.  She works hard at what she does and not only guides and instructs people through different exercises, but is often doing them with you.  Furthermore, she makes it fun and is continually encouraging and motivating people to go further than they think they can. She is an incredible woman who is passionate about fitness and nutrition and loves pouring into the lives of those around her.  

There is always something new and exciting going on with FitFAMILEZ so please check out their website at www.FitFAMILIEZ.com or their facebook page. 

Just a few of my favorites!

Christine

After the boot camp Maria and I went to the gym to take some more pictures. She does a great job of making working out look good!

This Edmonton wedding has been one that I have been looking forward to for a long time!  It has been so awesome to see Ruth and Derek meet, fall in love and then to have Derek wisk her away to the winter Olympics in Vancouver with plans of creating something memorable of their own.  There have been several emails exchanged between Ruth and I over the months and it seemed that with each email the excitement and anticipation for their big day grew! 

The morning of their wedding day began with the sound of crashing thunder, flashes of bright lightning and POURING rain.  Not exactly the start anyone wants to a wedding day.  However, the rain stopped and the sun came out just as Ruth was arriving at her parents place to get ready.  It was absolutely perfect!

The plans were in place for there to be a special meeting between Ruth and Derek as we were doing their formal pictures before their ceremony.  This was such a special time and the looks on their faces as they saw each other for the first time were overflowing with love and excitement.  The ceremony and reception were held at the beautiful Santa Maria Goretti Centre – the chandaliers in there are absolutely beautiful!

Their wedding party was amazing and so much fun!  They were all such troopers as the rain came and went throughout our time of taking pictures and the rest of the day.

I had the honor of having Katie Krebs work with me as a second shooter for this event.  She did a fantastic job creating beautiful images.

One of the things that continues to stand out in my mind from this beautiful day is the impact that these two have had on so many.  There were people from all across the country – and further (one of the groomsmen came from Perth, Australia) - that came to be a part of such a special occassion.  I think that Ruth has such a precious family whom love each other dearly – and to see Derek be loved and respected by so many and fit in with Ruth’s family was just so…..perfect.

There are several moments and memories that will be treasured from this day. 

What a joy it is to know that the long distance relationship is over and that you two are together…. forever!

Christine

When your shoes are this hot – they need two pictures!  

For the new Mr & Mrs H

Waiting for his bride….

Isn’t she gorgeous?

The rain was pouring during this shot!

One of the great parts about having a second shooter at your wedding…..while I was shooting this:

…Katie was taking this…  love it!

Just Married!

112 cups of Rice Crispies + dad who loves you + husband who loves Rice Crispie squares = wedding cake!  Ruth’s dad was the talent and love behind this creation.

Cindy, one of Ruth’s beautiful and talented bridesmaids, wrote and sang a song for the wedding couple for their first dance.  I’m not sure if there was a dry eye in the room.

I love shooting engagement sessions and capturing two people that are in love and almost overflowing with excitement for their approaching wedding day. The way that they look at each other is special and is unique to just that time in their lives.

This Edmonton session was extra special to me as I have grown up with Dimitri for years. How wonderful it was to meet the woman that he has fallen in love with and that he is about to wed.  Jamie is absolutely beautiful and has these gorgeous blue eyes that were just stunning!  I can’t wait to see these two on their wedding day! 

So excited for you two!

Christine

check out how strong this girl is!….

Oh I am excited about this blog!  It is going to be bigger and better than ever!  Not only is it featuring images that I took during this family session – but it is going to also have images that they took of me during this shoot!  Crazy! – but I love it! 

When I photographed Ruth & Derek’s engagement pictures in St. Albert, I knew that I needed to come back to that spot and photograph my uncle & aunt and cousins.  They live in St. Albert and with a lot of our family heritage taking place on the farm…the elevator was a must!  The trestle I absolutely love with the dark rich colors and the assortment of textures.

You have heard me say before about how much I love family and it is so very true.  Having the opportunity to photograph members of my family is absolutely amazing and such a gift.  I am so thankful for them and will take any reason to spend time with them! 

As I was editing this shoot there were times when I laughed out loud at different images and expressions – and also times where I was reflective and feeling so very blessed by this family and my family in general. (tears are filling my eyes as I write this).   I thought about the pictures that we have done over the years and how much my cousins have grown and the incredible people they are with hearts that I am so very proud of.  I thought about the many movie & latte nights – that I know several of you have heard me talk about – and how I spent the majority of my Friday nights for a few years with this amazing family.  Oh how they have poured into me, encouraged me and blessed me. 

And lastly, I tried not to think about the distance that seperates us and how much I miss each one of them.

Love you guys so so much!

Chris 

And just because we like to have fun…..   : )

How wonderful it is to watch two people fall in love! 

It is even more special when you know one of them and can watch as just the right person enters their life at just the right time and their life love begins to grow. 

This has been the case with Ruth & Derek and I have loved watching them fall in love and grow in excitement for things to come and their future together.  These two just seem to be absolutely perfect for one another.  It was an honor to meet Derek for the first time as we got together for their engagement session in Edmonton. 

How fun it was to watch these two together!  The love that they have for one another is so obvious and evident in all that they do.  May that love continue to grow and flourish in the days, months and years ahead! 

Derek, you have one amazing women (as you are well aware) and she is a blessing and joy to so many.  Thank you for adding an extra sparkle to her beautiful blue eyes  : )

73 more sleeps until the big day!  Can’t wait!

Christine

“Hi, my name is Christine and I am a flower-a-holic”. Its true. I love them! I never grow tired of giving them, receiving them, picking a bouquet, watching them grow or trying my hand at floral arranging. I have had this addiction since I was a little girl and have no plans of ever attending a FAA (Flower Addiction Anonymous) meeting any time soon!

In 2005, I had the opportunity of creating and organizing a fundraising gala for the Stollery Children’s Hospital called The Masterpiece Gala. Through this amazing event I had the privilege of meeting and working with one of Edmonton’s finest floral artists, Kristi Kingdon of Off Whyte Floral Studio.

With my love for flowers, creativity and people that are passionate about what they do - Kristi quickly became a friend. She played an intricate role in making The Masterpiece Galasimply stunning and I have since witnessed arrangement after bouquet after arrangement of her talent at work that simply is stunning, uncontained and where each piece that she does truly is a work of art.

I had the honor of photographing her store a while ago for a magazine feature that she was chosen for and also got to sneak in a few shots of this beautiful woman while I was there!

Kristi, you never cease to amaze me with your talent and abilities!

One of your many fans!
Christine

How does one adequately express 5 days of sights, sounds, tradition, symbolism and emotion in one simple blog?  I have struggled with that idea and still am not quite sure how to manage it. However I will dare to make an attempt.

I was absolutely blessed to be a part of the 5 day wedding celebration for my dear friend Ameeta and her now husband Danny.  With each day having a special event and meaning – it was touching to be given the opportunity to capture it all – not to mention to be a part of it.  The pictures below are simply scratching the surface of thousands of images from this special week.

Ameeta – you looked absolutely radiant and were so exceptionally beautiful.

I am SOOO happy for you two newlyweds and wish you both years upon years of smiles and joy.

Christine

Day 1: Mehndi / Henna…. The creativity, art and beauty of this is amazing!

The groom’s name is written on the bride’s hand….

The groom’s mom displaying her henna…

Ameeta’s henna is done!

Day 2: The Sangeet

The evening begins with the women in Ameeta’s family giving Danny a hard time..

Day 3: The Bracelet Ceremony

Day 4: Wedding Day!

This is the first wedding where I have taken more pictures of the groom’s shoes than the bride’s!

They privately exchanged rings at the end of the ceremony…

Day 5: The Reception

The theme for this event was “ice”.  There were diamonds sprinkled on each table, their wedding cake had snowflakes on it, the room was lit beautifully with blue spotlights and Ameeta was wearing a gorgeous blue and silver sari…..complete with the following….

Their wedding outfits from the day before…

Ameeta (isn’t she gorgeous?!) with her two beautiful new sisters…

Now…any reception (at least not in Ameeta’s world) is complete without a tribute to Michael Jackson. Yes, there was a glove!  What an amazing job these two did!!

And that concludes the 5 days of wedding celebration for an amazing couple!