This one was for the books! Record books, that is. There are not too many things I won’t do to try and get the shots I visualize, and lately, getting soaking wet has just been par for the course. And so… like my jump in the lake out on location at Quetico — neck-high with the snapping turtles and all — I’ll just jump straight to the good stuff.

Kate + Craig are getting married this Saturday and they are STOKED. Can’t say as I blame them…. they’ve been blissfully in love since the summer of ‘06. But their story actually starts WAY before that when Craig’s parents fortuitously met Kate’s mom while she was pregnant twenty-five years ago {their first formal introduction to the future daughter-in-law!} Fun-loving and full of adventure, our couple is always up to something. They share a passion for riding the quad, hanging out at camp, boating, watching movies and admittedly, falling asleep while watching movies! My particular favourite *Kate + Craig* anecdote is Craig’s quirky marriage proposal… faking a broken leg while skiing in Lutsen, a concerned Kate attempts to comfort him only to realize he’s *just kidding*, but while still on bended knee asks her to marry him. Classic!

For their engagement shoot they wanted to go somewhere completely indicative of them… outdoors, a place that meant the world, with water, boating, casual elegance, private, fun. These were the themes we worked with and could only mean one option: Craig’s gorgeous Quetico camp. Kate being Kate was up for pretty much ANYTHING. We prepared for a change into some more formal clothes and she opted for something a little vintage: her high school graduation dress. Yes ladies, it still fits. Upon seeing said dress — a beautiful white, strapless gown — I thought to myself, “self, this is looking like it could turn into something reminiscent of a Trash-the-Dress shoot!” And so that was pretty much the approach we took as she and Craig made a run off the cliff and went FREEeeeee, FREE-FALLING for several dramatic seconds. I gotta tell you, I was loving it. *It* being this free-spirited take on love.

Guys: enjoy. I’m excited to look after you on this day that means so much. Get some sleep. Ok, who am I kidding… relish the adrenaline! — Alvis

Top of the morning to our trusty blog followers. Some of you may be wondering why we’ve slacked off on the postings. {Sigh.} Life happens! The past three weeks have been insanity between standing weekend weddings and my stint as a single parent while Sam climbed mountains in the South American Andes. Definitely can attest to the chaos that ensues when two little girls become your boss for nearly a month. Crazy. Shout-out to my mom for flying in from Sudbury to help curtail said chaos and for ensuring there was always a hot meal and folded laundry. Love you, Mom! Shout-out to my new assistant, Melissa, for cracking the whip and keeping me focussed (Sam usually does this; it was a welcome bit of relief to be task-mastered by someone else for a change!).

But we’re back in business and excited to post some tantalizing new footage! Speaking of which, allow me to tell you all a little story. Who would’ve thought that a set of stairs could spur an impressive love story?

A staircase at PACI, circa early millennium, was what brought Kat + Cody together as high school loves. After a year and a half of bliss, they parted ways — but fast forward six years, and the dynamic duo found themselves back together and back in love. Throw in a proposal, a three year engagement and two adorable children and this wedding has been ten years in the making! Kat + Cody will be married Monday, September 20th at the White Fox Inn — an uncharacteristic wedding date, but then again, this family is anything but typical. Even their engagement shoot was funky and fun. Of course, we revisited the place where it all began — that staircase o’ love. Full of flair and a real scene stealer, their vibrant daughter Mariah was a real glam queen, vogueing it up for the camera. Can’t wait until your Monday wedding — but also can’t wait to see the unusual heels that Kat will be rockin’! Anyone know what they are??

‘Twas a thing of beauty, really. The only structured thing? The date and time. Otherwise the engagement session for Autumn + Chris was completely off the cuff. And off the hook! In this regard, we don’t mean to infer it wasn’t thought out. Au contraire. The strategy was to employ a guerilla-style tactic to the afternoon… anywhere, just get in the car and go! And impressively, despite the whirlwind location visits, Autumn managed to find time to change her outfit up (and her shoes. Sam is dying. Wicked shoes, she says!).

Autumn, a fundraiser for the Northern Ontario School of Medicine, and Chris, CNC operator for Thunder Bay Hydraulics, did not find love in Thunder Bay. It was a situation of downtown Toronto meets Mississauga, thanks to an introduction by a mutual friend. Their engagement months have flitted by and this October they’ll culminate their last five years of togetherness with a little thing called a wedding. We are so excited to be documenting their Big Day!

Hope you enjoy this sneak peek of images. I have to confess, this is quite the mammoth amount of pics. There are so many awesome ones to choose from! Autumn, aside from the obvious fun you had in front of the camera, you exude such radiant beauty. Chris, dude, you’re beautiful, too. (awkward). No really, for a guy who was not too sure how he would come off on “film”, the pictures are something I hope you’ll treasure. Thanks for being such troupers and just going with the flow. I will look forward to our version 2.0 session out at your camp with the big bonfire. Enjoy!

Bliss is on the brink… of what? Well, something. Something. This tiny little company has grown in leaps and bounds since 2004 when Alvi and I first opened up a notebook and sketched out his dream. If the beginning was our infancy, and goodness knows we stumbled over hurdles and blocks, I guess now you could say we are in our adolescence — a sort of *coming of age*, if you will. The wedding season of 2010 warms us; humbles us; excites us. So many fantastic stories of love, long distance, and lifelong dreaming will culminate in one extraordinary day… and for us it will happen over and over and over again.

When we find ourselves backlogged with editing, or even just dealing with the everyday curveballs life throws, we remember the whole reason we got into this business in the first place: because it’s personal. What other job can dish out so much satisfaction and happiness each and every time we click the camera? It is the greatest honour in the world to get a glimpse into your story. We are on this planet for a nanosecond in the grand scheme of things… to find love, to live it, to cherish it is perhaps what IT is all about.

Many of you may have seen this little video floating around facebook or vimeo. I just stumbled on it tonight and it got to me. Big time. Thank you to the production company One Small Instrument for documenting such an intimate and life-changing moment. This is *Casey Proposes to Amy*.  Enjoy {find kleenex, first}.

One of the things we find most interesting about our couples today is that a very large percentage live elsewhere in Canada; quite frankly, elsewhere in this hemisphere!  And yet there is always somehow a Thunder Bay connection.

Case in point: Summer + Myles. Our current lovebirds call Ottawa home; and recently we found ourselves back in our old stomping grounds for an artsy engagement shoot at Canada’s National Arts Centre. We are floored at all the connections here. Sam spent six years of her life working in Development at this premiere national treasure. Not to mention the NAC is where we first met {at a wedding, might I add!} and where we shared our first kiss. But I digress!

When asked if we thought it might make a nifty backdrop for photography, immediate {and enthusiastic!} ideas came to mind. Now, Summer and Myles have a passion for the arts and are frequent patrons of the NAC. Needless to say they seemed quite at home during our shoot. And despite the challenges of low-light and red carpet everywhere, the imagery comes off as fun, quirky and dramatic; superlatives we hope they are cool with! To soften the drama just a wee bit, we opted for a sepia-chic edit on a few of our fave images.

Summer + Myles: we are excited to document your Big Day this summer. Knowing some of the awesome ideas you have in store for your reception makes us smile oh-so-smugly. Congratulations, again!

Here in Antigua, Guatemala, excited to post some of the *engagement* imagery from our shoot with Jonathan + Shalem a few days ago. Antigua is a charming, progressive-yet-old-world Central American town in Guatemala. It is surrounded by volcanoes (several active ones), lush tropical forests, cobblestone streets and boasts the most genuine people we’ve ever met. Needless to say there was no shortage of inspiring backdrops for this particular shoot.

And yes, though we know they are already married (those pics to come!), given geographical proximity and timing these shots were done after the fact. It is worth noting that Jonathan is not a fan of seeing himself in photographs, though he will happily gaze for hours at his stunning new wife… Enjoy!  (p.s., still working out some coding kinks… in an ideal world the portrait pics would be aligned to the centre!!!)

Lucie loves Kevin. Kevin loves Lucie. It’s as simple as that.

This engagement shoot will go down in history as one for the books… that is for sure. Our happy couple drove to Thunder Bay from Sioux Lookout with their faithful companion, Mika, in tow. As intrepid Northern Ontarians, neither was too concerned with the looming clouds and random snowflakes. And then it started to come down in earnest. Like big time! But nothing like a good ol’ fashioned January snowstorm to use as a very practical [insert *romantic*] excuse to stay off the roads and hunker down for the night in a hotel. And that’s just what they did!

We are excited to post these images because one thing that jumps right off the page — in our humble opinion — is the love that you can clearly see Lucie + Kevin have for each other. Bliss will be joining them on St. Joseph’s Island in October 2011 for their dream wedding, and we can’t wait!

Lucie + Kevin: it was no small feat getting up here for these shots. And despite the storm, we hope that you had a blast and are excited about the path that lies ahead. We are honoured to be working with you. Happy planning! –Alvis + Sam

Is there anything more symbolic of love than a heart? I’m thinking possibly not.

Yesterday’s engagement photo session with Josh + Samantha was rife with wickedly-cool symbolism… hearts for love, their own monograms in the snow, and relevance in just about every nook and corner we shot in. To keep things light-hearted and inclusive, Josh + Sam invited a special guest to tag along — their exuberant best pal Cocoa. The trio headed out to beautiful Oliver Lake to tromp through the snow and cut trail at Sam’s family camp. This camp was built by her grandfather and obviously is near and dear to her. We could not have asked for better conditions, a more relaxed couple to photograph or a better behaved little Cocoa.

Though we don’t like to wish our life away, we are eagerly counting down to June when Josh + Sam take that giant leap of faith into marriage. Hope you “♥” these few shots we played around with!

Not up for acronyms? O.K.  We cave.  That would be “soon to be wedded Bliss.”

Renee + Ryan are taking that giant leap this year and over the holidays we caught up with them and their adorable little boy (Luc) for an engagement photo session. Temperatures that day were hovering around – 25 with windchill (which, of course, now seems downright balmy compared to the frigid offerings Mother Nature has recently handed us!).  In spite of this, the e-session was hot, hot, hot! These two are deeply in love and it is palpable in the imagery below. We love the shot of Renee *putting her foot down.* Thanks for braving the cold guys.  You would never know how freezing it was!

Happy New Year from Bliss Pictures!

Very recently these two lovebirds flew in from Alberta to celebrate the holidays with friends and family; to our good fortune we were able to snatch them away for a few hours of camera-clicking and goofing off {translation: their engagement session!}.  And now that 2010 is upon us, their August wedding seems just moments away! Mel + Ryan: we can’t wait to stand alongside you when you exchange vows this summer. Married Bliss here you come!  Hope you enjoy this smattering of images — we feel they really capture the essence of your love and your personalities.