This carnival/beach engagement session by Erin Leppo is so much fun! Unfortunately for me… this past long weekend I stayed in by myself watching the fireworks from my apartment window. I really wish I could have been on the sand watching them from a closer distance, and eating sugary cotton candy like this happy couple. A perfect date night for me always includes sweets and exploding lights in the sky.

So job well done, Erin. This set certainly made me swoon. What a perfect summer date night.

{photos from Erin Leppo’s Flickr stream}

This lake themed shoot by Seattle photographer James Moes has captured my heart. The photos are simple, tender and serene. James works under the name Holy, Holy Matrimony and carries both Canadian and U.S. passports, shooting from the beautiful British Columbia to California.

This shoot has me set on a picnic boat date this summer. Now I just have to get someone talented with a camera to capture it. ;)

Be sure to view the rest of the shoot here, and follow other current works on his blog.

{images from the blog of James Moes}

“Before geeks marry, they merry!” – I am so jealous of how much fun this couple had in their pre-wedding photoshoot! These photos were taken of a couple before their wedding in Singapore. The geek theme was funny and well played out.

It’s silly, it’s playful and I’m sure it’s also uniquely them :) This fun-loving couple just puts a smile on my face!

{photos by Koh Sze Kiat on Flickr}

This series of photos, shot in various Parisian cafés and nightlife have me wishing I were living and in love in the 60’s. The vintage photos capture the mood of a romantic city like Paris so perfectly. They are all candid, but look like stills from a classic romance movie. Sigh!

{photos by Tom Palumbo on Flickr, found via Rifle Blog}

This is the cutest set of polaroids I have seen in a while. Each group of 9 polaroids, give a warm and fuzzy feeling while telling a love story.

The compositions capture the details and intimacy between a couple. A perfect snapshot of the moment :)

{photos by Juan Filipe Rubio on Flickr, found via designworklife}

I was floored when stumbling upon the photography of Max Wanger, particularly this dreamy engagement shoot of Joanna and Alex with a pretty pink balloon. And just when people were beginning to say that balloon shoots were getting tiresome, I see something like this and it makes me swoon!

You can swoon too by seeing the rest of his collection here or following his blog.

{photos by Max Wanger}

I met Rachel through my friend Victoria (featured previously in our Real Weddings section). I helped complete her stationery set with Thank You cards, which was a complete pleasure. This is her story…

Rachel and Evan were married at Deer Creek Golf Club in Ajax, Ontario on August 22, 2009. The couple don’t actually live anywhere near Ajax, but picked it because they wanted a place that none of their guests had been to and they just happened to fall in love with the spot after taking a tour. Even luckier, the building coincidentally matched their wedding colours: green and white.

I’m not usually a big fan of green, but I adore how light-hearted and sweet it comes off by using the various shades (as seen with the cupcakes and candies below).

Speaking of cupcakes…

…it was extremely apparent at the wedding that Rachel and Evan both have a huge sweet tooth. They featured two different desserts following the meal (one for men and one for ladies)  and had a candy station that Rachel put together herself in green and white tones. It featured rock candy, Jelly Bellys, gummies, Hershey Kisses etc.  Guests were even witnessed using the rock candy as microphones to sing with while dancing at the reception. How fun! And if that weren’t enough, they even had a late night sweet table with tons of cakes and pies and cookies, as well as a chocolate fountain. Perhaps followed by some gut ache (but so worth it).

Rachel’s big goal for the overall event: being able to look back at the pictures in 20 years and not go ‘OMG, what was I thinking?’ Mission achieved? I think so. :)

Congrats again guys! Hope you’re enjoying the newly-wed phase.

UPDATE: Just wanted to mention that more of Rachel & Evan’s lovely wedding photos can be viewed here at the HRM Photography blog.

{photos by HRM Photography}

I guess I really like the bokeh effect, dots and circles. I loved speckled expired film, and now I’m here to show you some other circle-y photos.

These double exposure shots are by Snare Creative, who are a group of three photographers located in Brisbane, Australia. They shoot with a film camera, and play a lot with light. I am in love with the bright colours and overlaps which give such a nice effect. I guess the best part is not knowing what to expect, which would be a great way to capture a party atmosphere :)

{photos by Snare Creative}

Paris-based photographer, Neil Atherton, makes me really happy and inspired with his series of photos, Speckled.

Without any digital manipulation, these film photos were taken as part of a larger series, Expired. The expired film gave unique qualities to the photos, and in this case, a very fun and whimsical one. I love the random distribution, and bright colours contrasting backgrounds of everyday life.

{photos by Neil Atherton}