Hey everyone! Last year I posted several “TOP 25″ lists of my favorite images I shot in 2008, which was an absolute riot, but this year there’s a bit of a problem… I have 260 favorites. :) To fix this I have put my personal favorite images  of 2009 into the form of a slideshow!

*ahem* ok, so because of the volume of images I kinda had to split it into 2 equally cool slideshows! I selected all of my favorite images and placed them in chronological order as if it were all one wedding day (getting ready images with getting ready images, ceremony images with ceremony images etc). I have personally watched this slideshow three times already, and I still can’t believe how lucky I am to have such amazing people in my life. Every image has a story that I hold near and dear to my heart, and will remain with me forever.

Tonight I am posting Slideshow 1 of 2. I will post the other tomorrow. I literally took every second image from my list of favorites and put it into another slideshow, so both slideshows will have a full “wedding day experience” from start to finish. You will see what I mean.

The song choice for this slideshow is my little homage to the late and very great Haydain Neale of Jacksoul.

P.S. Don’t forget to leave a comment! Every comment until this Friday  = One can of food I will donate to the food bank!

If you would like to purchase this slideshow on DVD please contact me via email.

I’m a wee bit nervous posting these because this was my first ever Trash the Dress session. I am very happy with how they turned out, so its maybe just the fact that I’m eager to show everyone the images!

The day after the wedding (also known as the day of my very first experience with an earthquake) Amy + Octavio, Grit and myself, and a handful of friends and family hopped on a bus (that I believe was owned by Octavio’s Uncle?) and set out for a great day of sunshine and shooting! We had already planned a route the day before the wedding so we knew where and when to be there!

We started off with a little kayaking around the hotel…

Then we went to Bahía de Puerto Marques and walked around a few side streets.

When we arrived at Acapulco Bay we kicked everyone off the bus and took a few photos of the lovely Bride and Groom. I LOVE the colors in this bus!!

A few in Acapulco Bay

Our Final Destination for the day, a GORGEOUS beach where the sun goes down right over the water! I loved it!

My favorite!!

Kabooooooom!!!!

This is a quick snap of the friends and family that came with us on the Trash the Dress trip! (except Jimmy, who was busy trying to get the coconut he bought cut into smaller pieces so he could eat it… thats another story altogether!)

Look at that sunset!! Are you kidding me?!!?!?

If you would like to view images from Amy + Octavio’s wedding, click on the following links:

Amy and Octavio’s wedding: Part 1

Amy and Octavio’s wedding: Part 2

Here are a few more ‘moments’ from Amy + Octavio’s Destination Wedding in Acapulco, which took place at The Grand Mayan Resort. 

This was the first time Grit and I combined our efforts and offered a Wedding Photographer AND Wedding Hairstylist Package. We had an amazing time and I think it went extremely well, so I am pleased to announce that this is something we are now offering on a regular basis! If you are a bride-to-be and are looking for a Wedding Photographer AND a Hairstylist for your wedding, please contact us at 778 878 4531 or by email.

You can also see a more detailed view of the hairstyles Grit used for this wedding by clicking here.

Up next, Amy + Octavio’s Trash The Dress session!! :) See ya soon!

You could feel it. You didn’t have to look or listen for you to know, with absolute certainty, today was the day. It was like the deafening silence one only hears about where your dreams, ones you never thought possible, come true right before your eyes as if by magic. A gentle, soothing vibration, where you know deep down that everything isn’t just alright, its perfect.

This isn’t animated. This isn’t a movie. This is the beginning of a True Life, 100%, in-the-flesh “Happily Ever After”.

This is Amy and Octavio’s day.

Amy and Octavio chose to do a “First Look”, which allowed them to see each other before the ceremony. This is a very special, intimate moment that is becoming quite popular with brides and grooms. I have read that some people are worried that it might take the ’surprise’ out of the traditional First Look as the bride walks down the aisle, but many couples that have done it say it actually makes the ceremony more special and wouldn’t have changed it for the world!

There are many more photos coming in the next while, including more from the wedding, and the following day from Amy and Octavio’s Trash The Dress session all around Acapulco!

Thank you for looking! Please feel free to leave a comment and let Amy + Octavio know what you think of the images!

Michael

There are SO many images I want to share with all of you from Amy + Octavio’s destination wedding at The Grand Mayan Resort in Acapulco this past Sunday, and it pains me to only show you one for now, but it’s isn’t called a ‘Teaser’ for nothing! ;)

Over the next little while I will also be sharing some personal photos from our trip to Mexico and our tales of how we survived an earthquake and the swine flu virus! 

I hope this photo will wet your appetite for now!

…soon. :)  I find it so funny that no matter how prepared you THINK you are for a trip, you still find +90 things to do in the last few hours before you leave!!! 

Grit and I are heading down to Seattle in a few hours and flying out on the red-eye to Acapulco for our Destination Wedding we are shooting for Amy & Octavio on Sunday! I am SO stoked for this not only because its a killer destination with a killer couple, but its also our first wedding of 2009! What a way to ring in the 2009 wedding season!!! (RING…WEDDING season… yup, I’m PUNNY!)

We’ll be back in Vancouver Tuesday night (April 28th, 2009). My phone will be turned off but I will try and check my emails periodically, and if I am in a wireless hotspot you can also skype me (name: michaelwachniak).

I can’t wait to show you all the photos!

Have a great weekend!

p.s. Don’t tell me what happens on the Season Finale of Heroes on Monday. I’ll hunt you down. ;)

(temperatures are in Celsius not in Fahrenheit lol)

I was sitting at my computer today browsing over wedding sites and came across this awesome article over at bride.ca, explaining in great detail every little bit of the ‘What to Do when Planning A Wedding”. I really thought this would be something that EVERY newly-engaged couple would NEED to read, so I sent out a few quick emails, asking if I could post it on my blog, and a few hours later, here it is! 

Here are some more photos from Brian & Yari’s October 10th wedding at the amazing Las Caletas in Puerto Vallarta Mexico!!

The Rings!

Look at those puppy dog eyes, this guy’s smitten !

This photo makes me smile, its so sweet! I also love Brian’s wet feet, we were all dancing on the beach! :)

The beautiful bride!

Now, this isn’t the best exposed shot, but I just LOVE the expression on Yari’s face! You can almost hear the “Awwww..Daaaaaaaaaaaaaad!” through the grit teeth. Priceless!

A special moment between Brian and his mom.

I loved the Fire Dancers! Brian and Yari were SO brave! :)