This chill and intimate wedding at Hotel Ocho in downtown Toronto was the perfect way to kick off this wild summer of weddings. Hotel Ocho is situated in Chinatown right in the heart of the downtown core of Toronto, surrounded by iconic and quintessential Toronto landmarks and neighbourhoods, it was the perfect area for Lauren & Phillip to hangout and soak in their wedding day. The vibrancy of the urban cityscape that Toronto has to offer is almost a character in the photograph which added a unique and fun layer to the photography and allowed the bride and groom an interesting environment to explore without having to walk more than 5 minutes from the wedding venue. Truly ideal and an extremely good setting to burn through a few rolls of film.

We kicked things off with a no-fuss first look on a quiet street around the corner (yes they exist in downtown Toronto!) Where the bride and groom got to show off their extremely cool and fashion-forward wedding day styles that included a dark green toned suit with pleaded pants and a vintage 1990’s wedding dress that made reminded me of an iconic look that Madonna would probably pull off. The combination of their stylish presence and down to earth attitudes made photographing Lauren & Phillip an absolute breeze as they oozed coolness and fun as we walked around the neighbourhood casually taking photos. If you needed a sign to be a little bit extra on your wedding day look, to bring out the sunglasses and high fashion aesthetic, these two are the archetypes that all brides and grooms want to model themselves after if they’re looking to add a little something and create a real vibe for some cool wedding photos. Toronto is one of the coolest cities on earth so I really appreciated the bride and groom’s attitude to really lean into the overall vibe and energy of having a wedding in the grungy corner of Chinatown in the heart of the downtown core. I loved every second of it.

The ceremony was intimate and beautiful, surrounding themselves with their closest groups of friends and family members to witness the exchange of vows Lauren and Phillip didn’t hold back on the emotional magnitude of their written words. Both the bride and groom infused elements of their individual personalities into their vows while genuinely embracing the moment, Phillip even got to showcase his talents as a writer and utilized those skills to bring tears in the eyes of everyone in attendance. The sun was sunshine through the windows as they shared their first kiss and the audience roared with excitement at the sight of the newlyweds as they walked down the aisle and geared up for what was to be an eventful and fun-filled party.

The mood of the reception mirrored the rest of the wedding day, low-key, fun and intimate. Guests were treated to a series of impactful speeches and a fun trivia game that tested their chops in how well they truly knew the couple. The setting for dinner at the upstairs portion of Hotel Ocho provided a romantic setting that felt like an elevated candle-lit dinner party hosted among friends but in reality dinner was just a stepping stone for what was to come as the fun (and stylish) group of guests were ready to thrown down on the dance floor and what better way to set the tone and kick things off than with piñata? Both Lauren and Phillip took their swings at the piñata (Lauren nearly clipping my head in her first attempt haha) and as it burst at the seams and unleashed a series of candy, chips and other goodies, things got going and got rowdy in the best way possible. One of my favourite moments of the night was when the bride and groom stole a few of the masquerade masks from their photo booths and started to show-off some dance moves while looking like extras from Eyes Wide Shut, it was truly amazing and I’m glad I documented those candid and in-between moments.

To cap things off I took the bride and groom outside to finish off a roll of film and essentially treated it as a cool fashion shoot, letting the rush of the day sort of take over and unleash a more laid back and fun mood for the photographs. But as you’ll quickly tell when sifting through the photos, these two weren’t exactly difficult to photograph ; stylish, cool, down to earth, the epitomized the terms “anti-bride” and fashionable groom by just being themselves and giving me the opportunity to uninhibitedly capture a rawness and realness that was a reflection of their true selves.

2022 has led me to connect with the most like-minded couples I’ve ever had the privilege to work with and Lauren and Phillip are exhibit A of how lucky I truly am to work with the coolest people in Toronto.