I am not sure how many people out there have the same kind of schedule as a professional working photographer whose target market are families, couples getting married etc. We work on week-ends. That’s the truth. So what happens to family time especially when your spouse and kid(s) are on a regular Monday to Friday 9-5 kind of schedule? If you have the same kind of schedule and have figured this out, please contact me. I would be so happy to learn what others do.

My husband and I have designated Thursday as our Family Day, since I work on Saturdays and Sundays. We started this tradition yesterday. We went to the Jardin Botanique de Montreal to see the beautiful butterflies and we had an amazing time. It was nice to let go of work and deliverables and just concentrate on my family. I don’t know if anyone would believe me if I said that I never gave myself a week-end. When I was a freelancer before I had my child, it was easy for me to work seven days a week. But now that I have become a mother, I see how essential it is to find time for family.

It felt so nice to walk in a warm lush green environment. It made me forget that it is still winter outside and that spring is still weeks away. I will be coming back to the botanical gardens more often this year since we ended up buying an annual membership. It’s an amazing deal at $58 for a family of 4. And even though Lucas is still free, one visit with the butterflies and one visit for the lanterns and it pays for itself. Funny how we never visited the Biodome or the gardens before having a child. He’s actually making us discover our own city and all the wonderful places to visit. I am looking forward to picnics in the rose gardens in the summer.

And then we ended up enjoying an incredible dinner that was a gift from one of my clients. She gave us a groupon for a tasting menu at the Nil Bleu on St-Denis. I love my clients! I brought what I call a “restaurant bag” filled with markers, crayons, sketch pad, toy tractor, big machine book. He lasted for an hour and a half which is a miracle. Then he wanted to run around and climb up and down the steps and then well, our evening was done. But the day was a success. Yay to Family Day. Next week we are going to the Science Centre to catch the last week of the MUSIK exhibit.

And I got my husband to take a photo of me that I actually love! I love it so much I’ve made it my bio photo in the sidebar.

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Dear Summer, it’s been a long time since I’ve felt your warmth. I miss the green leaves in the trees and the warm breeze… I miss blowing on dandelions and lying in the grass. I miss the magical photo sessions with summer dresses and shorts and t-shirts. I’m looking forward to seeing you again in a few months.

These are a few examples of photos taken in the late afternoon Summer sun… dreamy, soft and beautiful, just like my pretty model Emily!

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As I catch up on my blog posts with weddings from 2012, I feel that I need to let people know that I will only be available for small weddings or elopements in 2013. Small means weddings under 50 guests and no more than 6-8 hours. The reason for this is that I want to maintain the level of quality of my photography service during a period when my child is still quite young. I accepted a number of weddings in 2012 and I realized that it was almost impossible to edit the weddings within a reasonable amount of time with a toddler at home and with a semi-full workload of portrait sessions. If you would like to know my pricing for small weddings for 2013, please do not hesitate to contact me.

I will also most likely shoot the weddings alone. So if you are looking for beautiful and intimate images of your small-sized weddings, I’m your gal.

Thank-you!

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 Another wedding on the blog, this time it’s Dina and Joel’s wedding. I really really love these guys. Why? They are the most down to earth people you could ever meet. Dina has to be one of the most detail oriented brides I’ve ever met. This is the kind of bride you want because it means lots of gorgeous touches all throughout the wedding. Every thing was well thought out and perfectly executed. I absolutely love it when you shoot a wedding and everywhere you look, it’s simply stunning.

I co-photographed this wedding with the amazing Mimi Zhou. Although we did the wedding together, the images that I am presenting in this blog post are only the ones I took since I want to showcase the work that I do. If you wish to see some of Mimi’s work, I invite you to visit her website.

I would describe this couple as “Romantic meets Modern”. The rings are classic and timeless from Tiffany. The amazing silver shoes are clearly modern.

I love the floral details from her wedding. If I were to have re-done my own wedding, I think I would hire my bride to do all of the planning for me. She has amazing taste. Honestly. I loved every little detail.

We did portraits in Old Montreal – this was my second wedding with cold rain last year. Normally I am very lucky and it doesn’t rain when I have weddings but for some reason, 2012 was the year of the rains.

We kept the portrait session short as it was grey and freezing and wet, you cannot see the drizzle nor the cold but it was just not ideal for a sleeveless wedding gown and bare arms. I think I managed to capture their playful hearts despite the weather.

The bride, the dress, the bouquet and the hair were all romantic and pretty. The groom was as handsome as can be! The wedding ceremony and reception took place in the attic of the rustic old l’Auberge Saint Gabriel in Old Montreal.

Love the ambiance of the old attic and the little exposed lights in the ceiling. It was romantic and beautiful. There were tears and cheers and so much love.

The reception hall looked incredible! And finally my bride and groom were kissing!! There were lots of speeches and laughs and so much fun to be had.

How much can I say I love this couple? Love was in the air all night long. As well as dancing and photo-boothing!

I cannot post the photo booth images as they are from Mimi’s photo booth set-up but I captured the fun as it was unfolding.

One last photo booth image courtesy of Mimi Zhou and her photo booth. Thank you Dina and Joel for being one of the most amazing Mr and Mrs and for having such huge hearts and allowing us to share in this special day with you.

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A few personal photos of my darling little man, who has been sick these past few days. He is a musical child, there is no doubt about it. He dances whenever he hears music. And he plays his guitar(s) all the time. He is able to strum his guitar, with the correct positioning for a right-handed guitarist, dance and sing all at the same time. He is also able to play piano keys, wiggle his butt on the seat and sing at the same time too. I’m amazed. He turns 20 months in 4 days! I can barely believe it.

He is the reason I have been incognito for so long on this blog. Balancing life as a mother and freelancer has been one of the biggest challenges I’ve ever had to face. I think the biggest one though were the years we were trying for a baby. Every time I think motherhood is difficult, I remind myself that there was a point in my life when I thought it was not possible and it broke my heart… and then I realize how incredibly blessed I am. Parenthood is such a gift, and it is so challenging! We are really lucky to be able to share our lives with this little guy, that’s for sure.

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