Posted by eaphoto on February 3, 2011 – 10:40 pm
I love flowers, love them. All summer I tried my hand at various arrangements from my garden. I became very very good at the bed-head equivalent of floral design. “Oh I like it looking a bit messy” I would tell myself. Not quite true, I just didn’t know what I was doing. One recent friday afternoon I had the great delight of stepping behind the scenes at Victoria’s newest and I have to say cutest floral design boutique Rook & Rose. The shop is owned and directed by the lovely Erica, who studied floral design in Australia, and she has a team helpers like Cara and Nora to assist. I was so excited for this shoot because I always see the finished product but have no idea how it all comes together. The day of my visit was quite busy with buckets of ranunculus, tulips, anemones, and peonies all being turned into beautiful little teacup centre pieces and bouquets for a wedding. Erica’s inspiration comes from a lot of different sources – little inspiration boards in antique frames highlight vintage, retro, high fashion – all with her own twist. Erica puts so much heart into her work. Like us, she has an old Smith Corona handed down to her and aptly named Daphne – she hand types the little price tags and notes for around the shop and for clients. I loved looking at all her little fabric swatches and style articles pinned up on cork boards – if I had a flower shop I would imagine it just like this and with these exact people. I had such a fantastic afternoon watching them create, listening to The Shins, and laughing. I am so happy to be sharing these images of this little shop – and for all you brides out there – if you like what you see you better call her quick because word has gotten out about the unique style of The Rook & Rose and wedding bookings fill up fast! Many thanks to my new friends Erica, Cara, and Nora for letting me share the afternoon with you!!
Posted by eaphoto on August 17, 2010 – 12:51 pm
Jessica and Dusty love music, tattoos, their pup, and each other! Surrounded by all the people who love them the most they got married on the beach under a driftwood arch that Dusty built. It was a perfect breezy sunny love filled day and we were so excited to be there to witness it. We knew that this wedding would have style when we first met Jessie and Dusty with their tattoos of trees, roses, and gypsy wagons. Their ceremony was held at a family friend’s property in Deep Cove and the cocktail reception was at the fabulous the Sea Cider Farm and Ciderhouse in Saanichton. We didn’t do a prep session with these two and Aaron was up at the road waiting for Jess to arrive so the first time I saw her was as she came down the aisle and I think everyone gasped with me at how gorgeous she was. Her Martina Liana dress is stunning and so perfect for a breezy day. Her gorgeous flowers, that are so stunning and filled with daisies, poppy heads, and luscious greenery were done by friend Claudia Logan who really should sharing her gift with everyone! Their something blue was a cool vintage ride in a Plymouth GTX. The very sweet Mr. McKay of Deep Cove let us use his gorgeous Garry Oak meadow which held a most perfect lone tree that was just waiting for us. We then headed to a beach to catch the late day calm of the inlet before the tide came in. I was in my wellies focusing on not getting too low on the water with the camera when I heard Aaron running and scuffling behind me as he rescued my floating dress shoe and our reflector from a trip on the sea! The night ended with views over the Sea Cidery’s orchard, cigars on the patio, delicious appies, chilled cider cocktails, and the best dessert bar ever created by the lovely ladies of Jam Tarts. I think Aaron is still daydreaming about the oreo truffles! These two had the most unique and personal guestbook – a painted tree filled with the fingerprints of their guests turned into art. Jess and Dusty were so happy on this day and we could just feel it in the way they looked at each other. We also saw why these two are so loved by their friends and family – all the best to such a sweet couple!
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Posted by eaphoto on July 24, 2010 – 11:16 pm
I don’t even know where to begin with this wedding! We are being seriously spoiled with fantastic weddings this summer, such a treat! (get ready there are a lot of exclamation marks coming up 
) We knew that these two were our kind of people from the very first email. Jess wrote that she and Rob were getting married “under a LONE TREE IN A FIELD!!!” If any of you have read the E/A Who? page on our main site you will know that I, Emmy, have a thing for making photographs of lone trees in fields, bit of an obession really. Anyway Jess and Rob really do live a dream life. Jess is a lover of horses and what better life than to run Foxstone Stables at Glenora Farm and also live right above the stable with 300 acres of Cowichan Valley paradise including your own natural spring swimming pond, meadows with lone trees, and gorgeousness everywhere you look! There is so much beauty here that we are going to head back up there in the fall for a day of photo making because we felt like kids in a candy store with not quite enough time to fill our pockets. This dreamy day was a hip-nouveau-country-handle-bar-moustache-ray-ban-sunglasses-with-a-dash-of-vintage perfection! There were so many personal touches and such wonderful details that the result is that I have a lot of images to share!! To start with Jess’ dress is stunning and so perfect for a vintage country wedding. Her rings, carried in little leather pouches, were Rob’s Grandmother’s and her vintage bracelet has been worn by the other women in Rob’s family on their wedding day. All through their home are old family photos and antique treasures that I couldn’t help but photograph. These old photos were inspiring so the tintype looking shot at the end is a shout out to American Gothic and old family images. The ceremony seats were bales of hay with Jess’ baby quilts made by her mom, the bridal party entered through the field with Jess’ first man in her life, her old pup Jackson, looking so so proud in his bow-tie, the flowers with daisies and sunflowers and red gingham table clothes were so perfect and the weather was hot and sunny! Many of the guests set up camp in a nearby field with vans and tents to make a weekend of the event. In honour of Rob’s ‘stache many of his friends grew their own and the groomsmen bought stick ons that you could shape in different styles. The sun set really low on the horizon leaving the reception drenched in buttery late daylight. Instead of a wedding cake these two ordered a table full of pies!!!!!! Best idea ever! It was really hard to photograph them and not sneak a taste. After the ceremony we headed up the hill to the old red barn for some shelter from the heat. You have heard the famous saying don’t work with kids or animals – well we usually love working with both and the kids were fantastic it was the darn goats that couldn’t take the hint that it wasn’t their day! One really wanted his picture taken, after he tasted a bridesmaid’s bouquet of course. At first it was funny until I had to push him out of the way by his bottom, goats are stubborn. We left the barn via tractor and at dusk the music started, the lanterns came on and man could these folks dance! I have never seen grannies with such moves, so so much fun. Jess and Rob are so in love and their wedding day was perfect from beginning to end. We know we will see them and Jackson, and probably the goat many more times in the future. At the end of the day we were still hot, a little sweaty, and so so grateful to our new friends Jess and Rob for sharing their sweet day with us!
Location: Glenora Farm, Duncan BC. Dress: Priscilla of Boston. Flowers: Leaf and Petal
Posted by eaphoto on June 4, 2010 – 1:54 pm
Jennifer and Aiden were born on The Rock of the east coast, met on a sunny vacation, and got married on The Rock of the west coast last Saturday! We have been looking forward to this Metchosin wedding ever since we spent a fun afternoon with Jennifer and Aiden last fall on their engagement shoot. The ceremony and reception were held at The Lodge at Weir’s Beach and ended with a surprise for Aiden from Jennifer when a jazz band appeared playing The Beatles’ All You Need is Love. They had their first dance on the lawn overlooking the water to my new favourite song “Nothing Like You and I” by The Perishers. There were a few tears on many faces, even Jennifers’ Dad which was very sweet. The chilly weather was a good intro to the west coast for all of the out of town guests but no one seemed to mind. We had such a great time getting to know their families from Newfoundland and hanging out with Jennifer and Aiden as they laughed and cried their way through the day. Thanks to Jennifer and Aiden for including us in your day!!
Posted by eaphoto on May 31, 2010 – 10:52 pm
So for the past couple of weeks we knew a secret, a big secret, and we are so excited to now be able to share it!! Sarah + Travis made a run for the border, well flew actually as they came by float plane, from Seattle to Victoria to elope!! They met at a wedding and both knew instantly that it was something special and years later here they are. This is our first elopement so we were so very excited for it and then when we arrived at Abigail’s Hotel and met Sarah and Travis – who were so excited and beaming and teary and cute – we were a little beside ourselves with happiness for them. It felt very special to be some of only a few people to be with them on this day. It was a little rainy and pretty chilly but nothing was taking the megawatt grins off of these two! Days and couples like this are the reason that we photograph weddings. You could just feel the love between them and they were so happy to be promising forever. Their little ceremony was held at the hotel in a little nook of the garden and was complete with a chocolate cake and bottle of champagne. The bubbly made the trip with us for the perfect toast in a field of lupins and poppies. We are amazed that in the middle of the city there is a hill exploding like fireworks in purple, orange, pink and red – all the colours that fit this occasion perfectly. Whenever we walk by that hill I know that we will remember the little champagne picnic and Sarah and Travis so in love. We had such a wonderful time trekking through the field and over the tracks talking about old movies, how they met and how we met, and what they love in life. To our new friends Sarah + Travis thank you so much for spending your special secret day with us and we know that you have many years of love ahead. xo emmy + aaron
Posted by eaphoto on December 10, 2009 – 1:10 pm
We love that living here on the West Coast means that there are some people who have the courage to plan outdoor weddings year round! For those locals reading this you know that this November has been windy, wet, and cold!! Admittedly we were feeling a bit nervous about the weather for Tamara and Adrian’s outdoor ceremony at the beautiful Sooke Harbour House. The morning of the shoot we were checking out our planned locations and the wind nearly blew Emmy over! There were dramatic clouds, swirling winds, and white caps on the water – all the makings for some beautiful images. Luckily Sooke Harbour house is tucked in a little wind free nook and seeking shelter from the wind led us to explore the less travelled areas of the property – like the wood pile! Tamara and Adrian are both very sweet and warm people and that warmth really comes through in the images. The day was filled with so much love. Their intimate wedding with just a few family and friends had such a close and connected feeling about it. There were two young show stealers running about creating sweet scrabble messages and pretending to be the bride’s bodyguards! The evening ended with a very moving piano performance by one of the youngest guests, the family all gathered together around one table with the fire warming the room, and Tamara and Adrian were married! There were many special moments that we were so honoured to witness and here are a few we wanted to share. Congratulations to a very lovely couple!
Posted by eaphoto on August 6, 2009 – 8:49 pm
While we were in Kelowna we had the great pleasure of doing a photoshoot with our little friend Ayla at the Gellatly Nut Farm. We hadn’t seen her since her first shoot with us last September and wow has she grown up into a precious little character. If interviewed we are pretty sure her favourite things are her stuffies – especially Sock Monkey, painting her face with flower pollen, rockin’ out in her mini pink converse allstars, and based on facebook some hardcore dress-up sessions. She comes by the tutu and theatrics honestly as her mama runs the Lake Country School of Dance in Lake County, BC. We just let her run around doing her thing as we tried to keep up! Thank-you to Ayla for a very fun session and we can’t wait to see you again!!
Posted by eaphoto on July 14, 2009 – 11:16 am
Posted by eaphoto on June 8, 2009 – 1:05 pm
Recently we had the great pleasure of capturing Eileen and Kevin’s big day. They are the last couple to have their ceremony on the deck of The Ward Room at CFB Esquimalt. There is a history of proud service in the family and that was definitely represented in those who attended. We had a great day with Eileen and Kevin; they are a very sweet couple and we wish them all the best! Here are some highlights from their day.
