The Spice Factory

I originally met Nicole on Facebook when she was looking for someone to capture her vision for her engagement shoot. She wanted something with a darker halloween theme without being gothic or cartoony. For anyone who follows my work, this is not my style. I’m more festive and colourful. But I do always love a challenge, and my results won her over. Next thing I know, I’m photographing her wedding at The Spice Factory.

Now the original wedding date did get effected due to Covid. And like most couples in 2020, they rescheduled to the following year. And during that time, the darker themes planned out by the bride did get mellowed down a bit by the family. Her dress became white. The bridesmaids’ dresses had some colour added. The reception lighting became brighter. So while I did have a very black on black on black wedding to photograph at the Spice Factory, I still count my blessings on how dark this could have been.

Wedding Highlights

We started out with bride prep at the venue. This was my first time photographing an event at The Spice Factory. When I originally looked it up, I was surprised by how bright and airy the ceremony location was. That was not the case for this wedding. The couple hosted their civil ceremony in the cocktail hour room with no window lighting and all black walls/ceilings. The entire room was candle lit. Normally when I see a space like this, I have a mini panic attack wondering who I can keep my photos and videos bright enough to not lose detail. But knowing this couple, I was fully aware that bright was not the goal of this wedding. Instead I turned into the skid and enhanced all the dark tones of this wedding while maintaining a natural skin tone as best as I could.

The portrait session happened after dark. This late in November, it was definitely cold outside. So the family and bridal party photos happened inside the venue. I only took the couple out for their bride and groom portraits. The couple’s inspirational photos included utilizing city lights, light up umbrellas, and starts. So since Toronto and stars don’t usually go together, I had to use a little photoshop magic.

The rest of the evening was more candid. They had some amazing speeches, romantic dances, and a fantastic dance floor for their guests. It’s unfortunate there are so many formalities when it comes to capturing a wedding day. The family and bridal party combinations are so essential and structured. Yet this group was made for candid. So the second those obligations were sorted, I had no problem switching into party capture mode.

I also photographed their engagement shoot. I also captured bridesmaid Stephanie’s gender reveal, and maid of honour Krystal’s baby shower.