Jennifer Ballard Photography » Jennifer

Luke, Isaiah & Family | Toronto Family Photography

Jennifer — Mon, 26 Jul 2010 17:10:02 +0000

Isaiah and Luke are cousins. I photographed each of them before with their moms and dads but it was really fun this time to see how they interact together. One of the things I love about my job is being able to photograph the same children on multiple occasions. I love seeing how they change and grow. These little cuties have so much energy and certainly kept me on my toes!

Stephanie | Toronto Boudoir Photography

Jennifer — Sun, 18 Jul 2010 13:57:39 +0000

Stephanie wanted to surprise her husband with some steamy boudoir photos for their 4th wedding anniversary in September. However, Stephanie is not so good at keeping secrets, at least not one as exciting as this! Thank you Stephanie for allowing me to share a few of your photos here. You are absolutely gorgeous! I had so much fun hanging out with you and all of your fabulousness. A special thank you to Melanie Sivitilli for Stephanie’s hair and make-up.

Lovelee Affairs | Toronto Headshots

Jennifer — Thu, 15 Jul 2010 01:32:16 +0000

A few weeks ago I had the pleasure of hanging out with Jade, Shantel, and Melissa of Lovelee Affairs. They were in need of some fresh headshots and I’m so happy they asked me. These ladies are so much fun and full of all sorts of ideas!

Lovelee Affairs is a boutique event and wedding planning firm offering services in Toronto, Atlanta, and any other destination your heart desires. The company was started in Atlanta, Georgia in November 2008 by Toronto-born Jade Lee and expanded North to Toronto in February. They vow to be different by giving each client a unique and tailored experience.

They have created some truly fabulous weddings. I look forward to see what they come up with next!

Make-up: Kristy Muy kristymuy@hotmail.com

Hair: Simone Finch Hair2Inc

Jewellery: Kurve Jewellery

Hilary & Effi’s Wedding | Toronto Wedding Photography

Jennifer — Thu, 08 Jul 2010 22:53:48 +0000

Hilary and Effi got married on a lovely day in June. The day was perfect, the details were gorgeous, and everyone had a fantastic time. A special thank you to Annie, wedding coordinator extraordinaire, for making the day run so smoothly! Here are a few of my favourites from the day. Hilary, you are beautiful!

Thank you so much for including me in your wonderful wedding celebration! Mazel Tov!

Venue: Beth Avraham Yoseph Synagogue

Cake: Sweet Noshings

Flowers: Lan from Heavenly Flowers

Seba & Chris’ Spectacular Wedding | Toronto Wedding Photography

Jennifer — Tue, 29 Jun 2010 17:33:38 +0000

Seba and Chris are two of the kindest, sweetest people I know. You may remember these two from their rainy engagement session back in March. I had so much fun with them and their massive bridal parties I’m not sure I can call this work. The day started with a little drama but not even a videographer canceling two hours before the ceremony was going to get them down! Yeah, that’s right, I still can’t believe that happened! I don’t usually blog so many ceremony pictures but this one was a little different. About five minutes into the ceremony a man (who I later discovered was one of Seba’s uncles) motioned for me to come with him. I was a little irked at first because the ceremony was underway and the last thing I wanted to do was go off for a little chit chat. I was stationed down in front of the first pew where the priest had told me to remain for the entire ceremony. A moment before I had taken a step into the aisle to get a better shot. I thought he was taking me off to scold me for stepping into the aisle but no, he was taking me right up to the action. This is a very rare treat as most church pictures end up being of the back of the bride and groom’s head. He was a huge help because not only did he drag me up there, thus, releasing me from blame for going against the priest’s request, but he stood with me throughout the duration of the predominately Malayalam ceremony and whispered into my ear what was about to happen next. A special thank you to Seba’s Uncle! Seba’s sister, Sneha and bridesmaid, Lysa, made this beautiful cake.

After dinner Chirs’ sister and friends performed a dance that she had choreographed. It was a beautiful dance that they had obviously put a lot of work into in. Part way through Chris jumped up and started dancing. I totally did not expect that! It was a surprise that they had planned for Seba but it was also news to me. Chris forgot to mention this small little detail Then all the groomsmen joined in. It was quite the production! I wish you a lifetime of happiness. Thank you for inviting me into your lives!

Church: Christ Church Deer Creek

Reception: Le Jardin

Make-up: gina_makeup@hotmail.com

Flowers: Karen from Eternity Floral Design

Elize & Isaac are going to have a baby! | Toronto Maternity Photography

Jennifer — Fri, 25 Jun 2010 11:58:30 +0000

Elize, Isaac, and Lucy (their adorable little pup) are very excited. Lucy is not so sure why she is excited, but she definitely feeds off the excitement that is building and wants to be part of it! Actually, I think she is probably just sort of annoyed that it is harder to sit on Elize’s lap. Just wait a few more weeks dog, you will find out!

In just a few short weeks Elize and Isaac will be welcoming their first baby, of the human variety, into the world. Here are a few pictures of the glowing mom and proud dad to be.

Melisa did such a lovely job with Elize’s make-up. Thank you for asking me to document such an important part of your life. I can’t wait to meet your impending arrival.

Karen & Yunong’s Wedding at the Mandarin Golf & Country Club

Jennifer — Fri, 18 Jun 2010 14:02:46 +0000

It began six years ago at the University of Waterloo when Karen and Yunong lived down the hall from each other. Six years later, they are more in love than ever and married! Karen and Yunong now live in Seattle but chose to get married close to friends and family at the beautiful Mandarin Golf and Country Club in Markham, just outside of Toronto.

I first met Karen and Yunong two days before their wedding when I was invited for lunch at her parents’ house. I had returned home from India less than 24 hours before and was still trying to adjust back to reality. They were all so warm and friendly it felt more like I was catching up with old friends than a first time meeting. I knew it was going to be a fantastically fun day, and boy it was! When Yunong and his best man, Puneet, arrived at Karen’s house the ladies in Karen’s family sure gave him the gears. Yunong was subjected to a whole slew of “Door Games”. I love this tradition in Chinese weddings. It is so much fun! Yunong was promptly handed a guitar and told to sing Karen a love song. Karen and her Dad were inside at the top of the stairs. Judging by the bright smile on her face I think she approved Then Yunong and Puneet had to dance the Macarena and answer a bunch of Karen related trivia. Finally Karen’s cousin, Maria, who was acting as the gate keeper, deemed Yunong worthy and let the boys in. The night was filled with all sorts of fun games. In this next one Karen had to correctly identify her groom while blindfolded. She did remarkably well and knew pretty much the moment she laid hands on him!

Thank you so much for having me along on your truly special wedding day. Next time I’m in Seattle I’ll be sure to let you know!

Karen’s reaction to the photos: “LOVE LOVE LOVE them. Thanks, Jennifer! You managed to capture the moments we didn’t want to miss!”

Vishnuka & Ruban’s Wedding in Chennai, India

Jennifer — Tue, 08 Jun 2010 02:04:49 +0000

When Vishnuka first contacted me about the possibility of shooting her and Ruban’s wedding in India, I was overjoyed. I had first fallen in love with India on a trip I took a little over three years ago and have since been looking for an excuse to go back. Hindu weddings are so colourful – a photographer’s dream.

The auspicious date that was picked for the wedding was May 19th. May in Canada is a lovely time for a wedding but May is the hottest time of the year in Chennai. I don’t think I truly understood just how hot it would be. The books say 38 – 40 °C (100 – 104 °F) for May. This sounds hot but add some intense sunshine and 100% humidity and you get HAWT! I spent 2 and a half weeks traveling around Kerala and Tamil Nadu which were equally as hot with my friend Debra before the wedding (more on that in another post). Every day was sunny except for 5 minutes of rain one day. That was, until the day of the wedding when Cyclone Laila decided to swing into Chennai! When we came down to the lobby of our hotel at 1:30 am to meet Vishnuka’s dad it was pouring. In fact, pouring doesn’t begin to describe how hard it was raining. The wind and rain were so strong that the front doors to the hotel were being blown open and the only thing that was stopping the lobby from getting completely flooded was the doorman who was standing on the inside holding the doors shut with all his might. Yes, you did read the time correctly a few lines back. The ceremony started at 6 am so she started getting ready at 2 am. I could go on for hours about this wedding but I know you are here for the pictures. Vishnuka, you are stunning! There is something about the photo below that I absolutely love. This is the procession on the way to the temple. The sun was just beginning to rise and the rain was kind enough to back off for a few minutes. Part way through the ceremony Vishnuka changed into her red wedding sari. I love Ruban’s expression as he caught a first glimpse of his beautiful bride. Have a look at the rain in the background of this next picture. Thank you both so much for inviting me to be a part of your amazing wedding. Your love is so beautiful! xo

Maggie & Jackie | Toronto Engagement Photography

Jennifer — Sun, 30 May 2010 17:16:50 +0000

Maggie and Jackie are the cutest. So lovely and all smiles. I think we might possibly have hit the perfect day for the cherry blossoms in High Park as well. Here’s the happy couple. Maggie and Jackie met online many, many years ago. They had this adorable idea to bring along their laptops for a few shots in honour of this.

Lee is Preggo!

Jennifer — Thu, 27 May 2010 12:41:53 +0000

My dear friend Lee-Ann is expecting her first child! I love Lee. She is honestly the funniest person I know. This is quite a lofty claim because I am fortunate to run with a pack of pretty funny folks, but if you know Lee, you know what I mean. I took these photos just over a month ago when Mike and I went down to visit her and her husband Theo at their home in London, Ontario. I can only imagine how humongous she is now

We found a lovely quiet wooded area just across the river from the University of Western Ontario campus. Here are a few of my faves. For these next pictures you need to click here and listen to this. She is totally channeling the scene from Dirty Dancing when Johnny teaches Baby to dance on the log. Except Baby wasn’t pregnant, but you see what I mean, right? Lee, you are such a beautiful person, inside and out! Lee and Theo, I can’t wait to meet your little one.