Monica and Graham got married last weekend at Gaspereau Vineyards which is an absolutely stunning location! It was a beautiful ceremony with lots of laughter and the reception decor was gorgeous! I can’t wait to blog the rest… but until then, here is a sneak peek of the newly married couple.

I booked Alison and Frankie over the phone and never met them until the evening of their engagement session. When I arrived to their engagement session, I was thrilled to meet them and find out how much fun they are! They brought their two doggies to start the session, which were two of the most well behaved dogs I have ever met (Frankie, I seriously need you to train my dog when I get one someday!!!). We had fun going through the trails of Shubie Park and I know the wedding day will be just as great.

Without further ado, here are their images!

Such sweet and playful labs

The light was stunning!

Love this, its my favorite from the session

You are perfect for each other

I can’t wait for October and the hilarity that will ensue at the Westin!

Over the last little bit I have been thinking that I need to get more personal on my blog an help my readers and clients get to know me more. I love to show up to a session or wedding and already be friends or at least know some of the commonalities I share with the couple or person I am shooting. So, here are a few fun facts about me. Feel free to laugh!

1. I love to cook and bake. One of my favorite things to do is to spend time in the kitchen. I am always up for trying new things so if you have a recipe you love, send it to me!

2. I do not eat mushrooms. I have always disliked their taste and texture, no matter the kind or how they are cooked even though I have tried so hard to get used to them.

3. Growing up I always had lots of pets. I had guinea pigs, cats, dogs, fish, chickens and even a pig (named Wilbur of course!).. and no, I didn’t grow up on a farm. None of the pets were allowed to have names longer then 2 syllables and that stuck with me through adulthood. My orange cat that I have now is named Maverick.

4. I get lost all of the time even with my GPS turned on. I have no idea how I can manage that but I sure do. I can perfectly imitate the “recalculating, recalculating” that my GPS says almost every trip.

5. I took a road trip from BC to Mexico in 2009 for purely photographic purposes that was so much fun. I would do it again in a heart beat. I loved stopping in California and Arizona (both places I would love to go back to) for a bit and even got to photograph the Grand canyon at sunrise.

6. I love shopping at Winners and buying random pretty stuff. This past Friday, I bought a bottle of Ceries Griotte Elixia Limonade Artisanale just because it was so pretty (and looked delicious too).

7. I love to wear dresses but I do not wear them often enough. I find that I revert to wearing jeans or comfy yoga pants all the time.

8. I love having fresh flowers in my living room, even if it is just one stem.

9. I am currently taking a cake decorating class and it is so much fun! We are mainly working with butter cream and piping bags. Tonight, were decorating cupcakes.

10. Ask me anything in the comment section and I will answer as #10.

Here is a picture of the basil that I am growing as well as some bruschetta I made with the basil… yum!

As you can tell from the number of engagement posts lately, I have been photographing many lately. I include engagement sessions in the majority of my packages that I offer because they are a wonderful way to get to know you, get you used to being in front of the camera and to capture some really cool, casual images of you as a couple.

I love it when my couples come up with an idea to make the session unique and totally them. Kathleen and Rick love to cook so we started the session where else, but in their kitchen and eating a meal together. Yum!! Homemade croutons, red wine, prosciutto- delicious!

Kathleen and Rick both went to the University of Guelph but were a few years apart in their schooling. Having even lived in the same building as each other they still never met until they started Medical School together at Dalhousie University. They quickly realized they had cemistry between them and fell in love. For Rick, he had to have a surprise proposal. He planned a camping trip and picked out Kathleen’s ring from the jeweler on the way out the door. The water levels were higher then anticipated for canoeing so they had a few mishaps like flipping over an getting their gear soaked. Rick proposed that evening and as soon as Kathleen realized what was happening she said YES!

It was such a lovely night to meet you and hear about your details and love story. I can’t wait for the second part of your session!

I could shoot on your huge balcony every day of the week!

They sure are lucky that they finally met, they are a couple who go so well together, just like ice cream and waffle cones.

We had once chance to meet up for their engagement session when Collin was in town for the July long weekend, on a quick trip here from Texas. We even set two dates, just-in-case one was rained out and of course, just before the first date, I came down with a bad summer cold. A few days later, I was feeling better and could go on with the second date.

Dayle and Collin have had a long distance love for a good portion of their relationship, so I am so excited for that to come to an end this October. They knew each other when they were younger but never found anything romantic between them. Fast forward a few years when they see each other again and there was an instant connection between them causing sparks to fly. With these two, there is no shortage of fun and adventure. The day of their session they were jumping off cliffs and swimming in the frigid Annapolis Valley water.

I had so much fun getting to know you as a couple. I can’t wait for your wedding, which I know will be completely stylish and incredible.

Love!!

Annika is one of the cutest babies I have ever photographed. She has the sweetest disposition an awesome parents as well. I got to photograph two sessions with them:  one that was all about Annika and the other for family photographs.

Carolyn and Geoff, thanks for getting up so early to meet me at sunrise for the family photos. I know it was super early but sooo worth it!

Here is one of Annika that I just love

She recently learned how to wave goodbye and put it to good use during the session

Her parents love her so much!

What is a mini session: 30 minute sessions designed to get some great shots of your immediate family (up to 4 people).
They are perfect for when you need to mark a moment in time such as:
•     Maternity portraits
•    Baby & Child portraits
•    Bridal portraits
•    Senior portraits
•    Head shots
•    Engagement session
•    Just need that *one* picture for your holiday card

What is included:
•      Choice of set of 25 holiday cards or 1 8×10 standout image (mounted, ready to hang) or 6 images on DVD ready for you to print. No substitutions.
•      Option to purchase additional prints (fully retouched, wall or desk prints, canvas images, albums, etc.) at 10% off for duration of online gallery.

Mini Sessions are not: like full sessions with Emma Poliquin Photography. Although I will do my best to get you as much variety as possible in the amount of time provided, minis differ from full sessions in that we do not have the time flexibility to get as many unique shots. Because of the time constraints, only one outfit per person is appropriate.

When and where: Mini sessions will take place on October 2nd. The time slots will be 4:15, 5:00 and 5:45. The sessions will take place at a natural location within the HRM. Rain date is October 3rd. If I have any more interest, I may open another day of minis.

How much do the Spring Mini Sessions Cost: $250. The fee must be paid at the time of booking to secure your slot.

The week leading up to Kelly and Mark’s wedding looked as though it was going to rain on their wedding day. By the time I arrived at the cottage for the getting ready photos, there was nothing but a few puffy, white clouds, contrasting against the bright blue skies. When Kelly and her bridesmaids arrived from Thumpers Salon, the excitement was palpable. Kelly pulled out beautiful detail after detail for me to photograph all the while doing her makeup with the girls on the back porch, overlooking the beach. After a relaxed early afternoon, I headed over to the ceremony site- a stunning location, overlooking the ocean.

Their ceremony was so personable and emotional. The look on Mark’s face when he saw his bride for the first time was full of both awe and love. Both wrote their own vows that made tears in my eyes as well the vast majority of the guests’. The reception was relaxed as live fiddle music greeted everyone as they arrived and full of Maritime flair as many of their guests traveled all the way from Europe to celebrate with them. The entire day went smoothly and was stress free for everyone involved thanks to Patricia Pardy of Its your Event. After some emotional and funny speeches, as well as a Oprah style Give-a-way, the night gave away to dancing to Merimac who knew how to keep a crowd going on the dance floor.

Kelly’s stunning Maggie Sottero gown. It had the most beautiful brooch ever on the front and back of the dress

Kelly wore Mark’s ring on her pearl bracelet until the ceremony

I love this series- the reaction on the bridesmaids faces in the second are the best!

Practicing her vows just before going down the aisle. I love how you can see Kelly’s Grandmother’s ring and her husbands ring in this image.

Kelly you look fabulous!

The next two images are taken by my second shooter, Christine. There were 3 Mark’s total in the wedding party, including the groom.

There were so many personal touches throughout the day, including these pink elephant suspenders.

The look on Mark’s face when he first saw his bride- priceless!

The beautiful decor at Hubbards Barn, put together by Patricia Pardy and her amazing team.

We quickly went outside of the barn after dinner and took a few minutes to take a few more portraits of the bride and groom alone in the beautiful light

Love!!

Thanks for all the vendors who made the day run so smoothly and beautifully.

Coordinator: Patricia Pardy of Its your Event

Reception: Hubbard’s Barn

Salon: Thumpers

Photographer: Emma Poliquin Photography

Cake: Sarah Drummond

Caterer: Al Johnson of MacAskills

Band: Merimac

Flowers: Sevenga Dee

Kelly an Mark’s wedding has gone past so now I can share some images of their engagement album and guest sign in album in one.  There are lots of your engagement images in the album for you to show off to your guests and plenty of room for your guests to leave messages for you to cherish. The images are from their engagement session in Queensland, Nova Scotia.

Before the album was delivered, I was sure to take some images of it to show off on here. Their album is an 8×8, black linen cover, flush mount album for guests to sign in lieu of a traditional guest sign in book. If you are interested in a guest sign in album for your wedding, contact me for pricing and we will get started on it for you!

The album is delivered in this beautiful bag to protect your album for years to come.

So cute!

The flush mount pages have no gutter, so images can be panoramic and beautiful!

Kelly and Mark were married last weekend, at a stunning ocean-side ceremony. Here is one picture until the full blog post goes up and it will be a big one!