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Sarah and Amjad’s Toronto Wedding

My favorite part of every wedding is photographing the bride getting ready. I feel so delighted to be in the midst of the dresses, makeup messes, pretty shoes and excitement during this time. I call myself a bridesmaid photographer (inside my head) to make myself feel extra special :p I feel privileged to be wherever the bride is and witness the emotion, anxiousness and sometimes stress during this time! My job is a lot more then taking photos. It is important for me to walk into the room and be very calming toward the bride and her family and friends. This particular day was extra special for me. It was my dear friend Sarah’s wedding day. Sarah’s sister Walai drove Sarah to her hair appointment to prepare her hair and veil. It was so adoring watching Walai making sure everything was going smoothly. All girls usually wear something comfortable as they’re getting ready for the big day. I will never forget Walai’s camouflage onesie and her glasses! So cute!

Palestinian weddings are full of adrenaline. I thought Italian weddings were big until I witnessed this one. This was a full packed day of excitement. Every single minute literally was used to it’s full potential. After Sarah’s hair was complete, I ran off with the videographers to Amjad’s house to snap photos of his preparation. I must say, the calmness of his family was so admirable. The children in his house were SO well behaved. I just remember the feeling of contentment in his house. I am still overwhelmed with gratitude that I was offered so many things for breakfast. I definitely took advantage of “menaeesh ba jibne”. I was able to get some very emotional shots of Amjad and his mom during this time. I really wasn’t surprised that all the men’s hair were on point. Amjad owns two very successful barber shops in the Durham Region called Shear Brilliance Hair Studio. He is super talented. After the groom’s house, I was off to the bride’s house to photograph last minute touches, dancing in the living room and of course the Palestinian folklore dance group that came to take the bride out of her house. We were then off to Toronto for an intimate couple photoshoot! I did not anticipate such heavy traffic this day. I have never taken photos downtown before on a wedding day. I was really hoping to get some TTC buses in the background, but instead I was able to use the fashionable stores and busy streets as a refreshing background for my bride and groom.

Final Thoughts

Wow what an exciting wedding day! I did not anticipate so many people at this wedding! I think there were 400+ guests. I absolutely LOVED the decor Sarah picked. I had never seen such tall and majestic looking centerpieces. The Emerald green color palette was so fitting. Her best friend (who’s name is also Sarah) wore the most beautiful Moroccan Emerald green outfit. It was called a Kaftan. Her dress, and the bride’s sister in law’s dress (Her name is Souraya) (She wore a beautiful lace red fitted gown) were the two dresses that really stand out in my mind. The bride Sarah, as always, made my photographs look good. I was able to pull each of the bride’s close friends, mother, mother in law and sister aside for single portraits using window light. I was happy to emphasize the beautiful makeup artistry done on the girls. They definitely made beautiful canvases! Overall, this wedding was one I will never forget. As MASSIVE as this wedding was, every detail from Sarah’s hair and makeup, her flowing beautiful dress, the giant gorgeous emerald green backdrop, music, drums, food, giant cake etc was perfectly on point. I definitely needed a few days after to recoup, drink lots of tea and relax. I’m so honored to have been the photography for this day! And as always, I managed to make a few new friends, who since then, have already joined me for tea on several occasions. I love tea 🙂

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