Ottawa is a city that will forever hold a place in my heart. It’s where I went to college and where my journey as a wedding photographer began; therefore, it’s always extra special when I book a wedding there.

In a few short weeks, Alex and Lili will be hosting a super intimate wedding at Alex’s childhood home, a place where he and Lili spent a lot of their teenage years together. Because of this, I won’t be sharing their wedding images; I want to respect A&L and their family’s privacy. Sometimes I think we as photographers forget how intimate wedding photography actually is; we capture these moments that are only seen by a select few, moments that—as corny as it sounds—are life-changing. Sometimes these moments happen at dreamy wedding venues, and sometimes they happen in places that are near and dear to our hearts, places we don’t necessarily want on the Internet.

For Alex and Lili’s engagement session, we hit up two iconic Ottawa locations, the Gladstone Theatre and Dows Lake, during Ottawa’s Tulip Festival. The two wanted to incorporate their love for movies and Dow’s Lake into their session, and I think we nailed it.

Now you may notice something missing on Lili’s finger… This happens more than you'd think; Lili's ring was in the shop, which in turn caused me to focus more on them rather than a focus around the ring. It was a good reminder that wedding photographers are there to capture the emotion and love that's shared between two people, how they look at each other, tease each other, and their genuine connection; the ring is just a fun little bonus.