Ashley’s most anticipated moment of her Big Day? Seeing Kevin’s expression as she walks down the aisle. Kevin’s enviable romantic proposal? A letter to Ashley outlining in great detail the moment he realized she was the one… and her having to read it three times before she finally understood, all the while he was getting down on one knee. {sigh}

Classic. Corny. Love. These two have it all… Mutual respect for each other. A deep appreciation for their strengths and talents. Unending laughter and inside jokes {the electrician gaffs aside, Ashley keeps Kev in stitches}. Passion. Commitment. Friendship. It’s a thing of beauty, really. And so this past August 6th, Ash + Kev put it all on display for their family and best mates to cheer on. Who’d have thought that her casual *saunter up* that fateful night of the 80’s party at the Outpost would result in the rest of their lives? And though when she asked him to dance he politely declined on account of *needing to hold his sweater*, in true Ashley form she grabbed the sweater, his hand and her nerve and headed out to the dance floor. The rest, is history!

It’s a wedding we won’t soon forget, if for no other reason than feeling Ashley’s effusive joy warm up every square inch of space she occupied. {This girl was brimming with happiness. Kev: you must be doing more than just something right!} Thank you for approaching us at the wedding show. Thank you for your faith, your ideas, your low-stress/carefree attitudes. There are hundreds of stunning images and just room for a few select in this wee post. Kevin you will note that it is a heavily-slanted *Ashley* post and we simply could not help that. Rest assured there was ample coverage of you posing it up with your groomsmen… I know they mean the world to you. Thanks for your patience, guys; congratulations again and we’ll be in touch! –Alvi, Sam + Melissa {the Bliss Team}

At Bliss we are continually surprised by the stories of sweeping and original romance that surround our wedding couples. Take Summer + Myles. They truly are one in a million… make that a billion! On August 1st, amidst a crowd of adoring fans, friends and family, they exchanged vows and became husband + wife. Each little detail of this big day was carefully chosen to showcase their uniqueness both as individuals and as a couple. From weaving in Summer’s absolute favourite colour {purple} into the palette of their reception {sidebar note: when recently asked to describe her wedding, Summer’s response was an enthusiastic *purple!*}, to stealing themselves away to a local *Einstein* building for their photo-shoot… every aspect of this wedding had their DNA footprint in it. And we absolutely love this. The concept of being true to who you are — 100% authentic — is what we hang our hats on {and, quite frankly, what we thrive on!}.

Before we get to the good stuff, I always like to share some background as it gives greater significance to the imagery once you know a little bit more about the happy subjects. Thanks to a classic case of exam studying *boredom*, Summer was propelled to log-on to an online dating website, something she had never done before, and something she found to be wildly entertaining! Once she discovered Myles {a computer engineer with a penchant for the board game *Settlers of Catan*}, their first messages to each other were in the form of Einstein quotes. This little exchange would prove incredibly meaningful and would ultimately play a lead role in the elaborate engagement Myles had planned. But I digress…

Eventually these two intellects decided to meet and chose Mooney’s Bay beach as a backdrop to their sunset picnic at Hog’s Back Falls {editor’s note: Summer + Myles live and work in Ottawa}. Mooney’s Bay has a huge hill which would serve as the official meeting point and which, in fact, was once an old trash hill. Myles notoriously jokes that he found his beloved Summer in a trash pile… usually after she does something that makes him shake his head and mutter, “what else can I expect from a girl from the trash hill ha ha.” Their first kiss wound up being under a shooting star {hence the starry night constellation theme of their wedding} and it must have been powerful, because not long after that while gazing into Summer’s big green eyes he realized he was hooped. 100% gone.

When it came to proposing, Myles put his creative, romantic energy into devising “The 7 Days of Summer”, with an activity each day for a week incorporating something that Summer loved doing. On the 6th day, Myles re-created their very first picnic at Hog’s Back Falls {though it very nearly did not happen as Summer just wanted him to take her grocery shopping instead of picnicking!}. Complete with the same food, exact same location and a book of Einstein quotes to read together, it was a resounding *yes!* when he finally proposed with a ring he had custom designed for her.

Guys: Hopefully married life is treating you well. We certainly enjoyed every aspect of your free-spirited, open personalities and are delighted we had a role to play in preserving these cherished memories. Summer: best of luck to you as you look to secure your dream teaching job; and Myles: we don’t know how you juggle your full-time gig as a computer engineer while simultaneously completing your MBA {insanity!}. To the both of you: your wedding was a perfect reflection of you and the love you have for each other. It was full of character. It was elegant. And so we leave you with these final words, we know you know who said them! — xo from the Bliss Team {Alvis, Melissa + Sam}

“Not everything that counts can be counted, and not everything that can be counted counts.”

Out of the vault we are bringing you this blockbuster double post: Melany + Kyle’s dreamy wedding day (see previous post) along with a smattering of shots from their engagement session. Enjoy!

On July 31st, we had the distinct honour of shooting Kyle Shaen + Melany Kucherka’s Midsummer Night’s Dream wedding. It was a stunning affair complete with twinkling fairy lights, butterflies, velvety moss, draping black chiffon and most notably, one incredibly good-looking wedding party! Truth be told, it was also and one of the most idyllic backdrops we’ve ever shot at {Stepstone}. This shoot involved our entire Bliss team and at the time I departed the cuban cigars were just coming out. We are thrilled to {finally} share their love story with you along with a smattering of images taken from their Big Day.

Kyle + Mel first met during the fall of 2002, when Mel’s best friend was dating Kyle’s brother at the time and introduced the pair to each other. The story goes that he wasted no time in asking for her number, but Mel was quite insistent that if he really wanted it he would have to find a way to get it. Lo and behold, he must have gotten it somehow because a few days later he called. As excited as she was to hear from him, Mel was suffering from a horrible bout of laryngitis. But they set a date nonetheless and began immediately e-mailing while she nursed herself back to good health. Two weeks of e-mails unravelled much in common and a sense of closeness they could barely explain. As their official first date neared it already felt as though they had known each other for years. And Kyle, well, he is one determined man. There was no way a massive snowstorm was going to keep him from this magic moment, and he arrived with a huge grin on his face.

Over the years they have shared so many amazing experiences together. When asked what they “know for sure” about each other, Mel replied unequivocally “we are best friends, one smile can make everything feel right and no matter what we always have each others’ back.” Sounds like the recipe for a fulfilling marriage.

Mel + Kyle: Congratulations to you both on this wonderful journey you are beginning. We hope your honeymoon in Cape Cod was as picturesque, romantic and fun as your wedding turned out to be. Hope you made some more amazing memories together! Please enjoy this sneak peek of images which have been edited to reflect the theme of the wedding… ethereal, romantic, vintage: Midsummer Night’s Dream-ish. {Quick shout-outs to Bethanie of You’re Invited Certified Consulting for her cool head and uncanny knack for taking the bride’s vision and helping bring it to life; to Maggie at Maggie’s Magicals and Miranda and her team from the Flower Shed for transforming the tent into a truly stunning creation.} — Alvis, Melissa + Sam