Ayah & Milan's Weekday Elopement at the Foxley Bistro

every time we were at city hall this year it came out differently (in a good way)

And I feel like that’s a testament to the couple’s themselves. Case in point: this was the second city hall elopement we shot only a few days apart, both done roughly at the same time of day, both on clear, beautiful days, and they both turned out so differently from one another! As much as we love shooting at familiar venues and learning the ins and outs of a location (where the best sun spots are, the nicest nooks and crannies, etc.) it is actually nice to shoot somewhere for the first time and see it with a fresh, unbiased, perspective. We have been to Toronto City Hall so so many times in our careers, this year especially, and while the chambers remain the same (we’ll be the first to admit that we hate them and they’re nothing special lol) it’s the walk for portraits afterwards that really gets us going.

There’s a terrace outside of the chambers that give such a beautiful overview of the city; old city hall at one end, Nathan Philips Square at another, and then a small green space in another corner. Depending on the time of day the sun can be a bit too harsh, that was the case for Milan & Ayah’s day but instead of shying away from it we actually played it up, and even took advantage all of speckled light from the reflections from the surrounding buildings to create some dramatic portraits. It also didn’t hurt that Milan’s mom is an Art Director and was throwing out some fabulous suggestions for shooting, it became a really collaborative shooting experience that allowed me to focus on what was in front of me instead of troubleshoot with the next spot or positioning people. I wish we could have someone like that for every shoot!

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Nothing thrills us more than a “can we get photos with our dog” comment

So before heading over the Foxley we stopped in at their apartment for a few family portraits. At the restaurant they took over the whole backyard patio with their friends and family, hosting an intimate and celebratory dinner with their nearest and dearest. Though we weren’t originally scheduled to be at the reception, a last minute change pencilled us in and I’m so thankful for being included in their dinner too! It may sound like such an easy thing, “feed your vendors”, but believe it or not, it doesn’t actually happen often so when it does, and when we get an opportunity to actually sit and eat (not take 2 bites only to rush away to shoot something and come back to a cleared table) we are incredibly, incredibly grateful. I also truly love people and families whose love language includes food (it’s definitely my love language lol) and it was so clear that Ayah & Milan’s do because every. single. person. who passed me asked if I was being fed or if I wanted anything to eat. Even when Ayah’s dad came over to say he was going to start his speech soon and I immediately got up, but he sat down and told me to finish eating because he wouldn’t’ start until I was done. What an anomaly!!! The entire evening was filled with so much joy, celebration, dancing, and fantastic food, and it was so clear that everyone was overjoyed for them. It was truly an honour to be there!