They got married at Montreal Chinese Alliance Church – our church where Tim and I watched Sheila grow up – and threw a reception party at the Hall of Mirrors at the Musee de Beaux-Arts. It was a gorgeous, albeit hot, summer day and I give the bridal party much props for standing outside for some photos in their formal attire with the heat reflecting off the concrete and no breeze whatsoever to be had. I think seeing how radiantly joyful Sheila and Mikhail were to be married to each other put everyone in a great mood – heat, high heels and all. Here are some of our favorites from their wedding:

I love Laurin’s (Sheila’s sister and maid of honor) expression when she saw Sheila with her hair done and veil on for the first time:

She then had the limo drive to a Wendy’s pickup window to grab a quick bite before getting ready:

Italians are really big on community and family, so there was quite a gathering at Sandra’s home before the ceremony even prior to Kevin’s entourage (read: close family and friends) arrived to toast her family. In addition to Sandra looking absolutely gorgeous and Kevin looking quite dapper, I loved the touches and details – the pink Kate Spade shoes, the feathery hairpiece, the uber-vibrant flowers. It wasn’t just the details that made the day though – it was the huge smiles all around. Their families were positively beaming throughout the day and seeing Kevin and Sandra break into a smile whenever they were together was inspiring for us as we were shooting. The ceremony took place at the Sacre-Coeur chapel, and the reception took place at Le Madison, with the awesome lighting and overall decor done by Gala Design with entertainment and music by Showtime Entertainment who got the crowd going throughout the night. The gorgeous bouquets, floral arrangements and table centerpieces were done by Sens Fleuriste.

Without further ado, here are some of our favorite images from the day:

When we meet our couples for their consultations, we always take some time to chat them up and see what they’re all about. We’re interested in knowing them as people and gaging what aspect of photography is important to them. So when we met Sandra and Kevin last year and they told us they wanted something different for their photography, we tucked that away in the corner of minds. Its always awesome to work with couples who are really invested it making great images because they’ll go the extra mile. And boy, did they ever!

See, a few months ago I got this zany idea of doing a shoot right under the Turcot Interchange. Its been panned in Montreal as a real mess of a highway in terms of its layout and from an urban planning standpoint. There are those who will call it downright ugly but Tim’s always found it strangely beautiful. There is something fascinating in the criss-crossing concrete, especially since it won’t be around much longer – supposedly there are plans to tear it down. So Tim and I just knew we had to do a shoot there and we knew Kevin and Sandra were the ones for it!

Now Kevin and Sandra deserve kudos not just because they were up for something unconventional but because they agreed to our crazy proposal of starting the shoot at the crack of dawn. That meant a 5 am start! We caught some dramatic sky, soft light and had the streets all to ourselves. After the we left the Turcot interchange, we headed downtown, where it was eerily empty, to capture images that we wouldn’t able to do in the middle of the day.  Kevin and Sandra, you guys rock for agreeing to our crazy ideas! Here’s our favorites from the shoot: