Justin Ho Photography 2015 in Review

Well, 2015 is gone, and 2016 is here! After completing my first wedding season this year, I’ve experienced many firsts and can’t wait to share and relive some of those moments with you. I’ll be sharing some of my favourite photos, to some of the craziest moments. Without further ado, let’s go ahead and start from the beginning!

One of the first weddings I shot this year was for Lesley and Alex. Entering the household, I was greeted by a life-size Legoman and needless to say he was the life of the party. Legoman also makes a reappearance for Jen and Lorne’s wedding as ( Lorne and Lesley are siblings). As you can tell from below, he’s a ladies man!

Legoman with the Bridal party before getting dressed!

One of my post wedding shoots at Terra Nova Park with some more life size props.

Having life size props always makes for an interesting shoot as they bring out the personality of the couples!

Speaking of life size props, brings me to an engagement shoot I did with Amber and Trevor over at Trout Lake Park where they decided a 5ft love ball! This one was a special one as I recall having Amber mentioning they were going to jump into the lake after their shoot. I thought I had misheard, but later found out they were indeed jumping into the lake. Talk about pressure…. only one shot to do  get it right.

Continuing the trend of large props! 3,2,1 JUMP! Love the sequence of these photos at Trout Lake Park!

Now, I guess I should’ve learned to start taking my couples seriously when they talked about jumping into waters. However, I made the same mistake when I went on a scouting date with Jen and Simon where she mentioned she might go for a dip on her wedding day if it was hot enough. During the one of the hottest days in August, we made our trek down to Wreck Beach. If you’ve ever been to Wreck Beach you probably know it’s quite a trek down the steep flight of stairs, especially carrying camera gear or if you happen to be wearing a wedding dress. After the first look, Jen went through with the idea and went for a quick dip. I think these photos are a few of my favourites. Jen’s fun and loving personality really shines through these photos!

One of the reasons, I love doing weddings, is the unexpected. Much like Jen and Simon’s wedding, expect the unexpected. Now, when Shannon told me she was going the non-traditional route, with a red dress, I was so excited to capture this! Her dress was a perfect match with the UBC Botanical Garden as a backdrop. One of my favourite dresses of the year belongs to Shannon’s non-traditional wedding dress.

          Shannon in her non-traditional red wedding dress!

Jumping photos were also in!

Along with jumping photos, some of the best group shots belong to the guys and their best boy band looks…

Quick tip for the guys: Learning how to tie a tie on Youtube is harder than it looks. Or if your lucky you can just get the Maid of Honour to do it! During the rush of the wedding day, sometimes you just have to go…

One of the most memorable speeches, was perhaps not a speech at all. During Jen and Lorne’s wedding, Jen’s mom asked Tyson a 9 year old to perform instead of a traditional speech.  Jen and her mom first met Tyson at Pan Pacific Hotel where they first saw him live. Tyson is the next Bruno Mars, just check out his style! He’s got one of the greatest voices, and I was so glad to be there to witness his performance where he sang two songs. Check out the Youtube link to here a sample!

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YfTaHJhKp54

Now we’ve gotten some of my crazy moments out of the way during my wedding season, I want to go back and share some of my favourite photos this year! I’ve met some great couples, shooting weddings, engagements, to capturing proposals, pre-wedding, and post wedding shoots. Let’s take a look back at some of my favourite photos from 2015. Besides capturing weddings, capturing proposals is always a thrill. Planning with the groom to be, is such an honour. On the day of the proposal, staking out and anticipating the proposal is always an adrenaline rush and some of my favourite moments. My first proposal took place, at English Bay, where Amar proposed to Jas with the sunset as a perfect backdrop.

The stake out!

One of my other proposals was quite the crazy one! We were expected to take a helicopter ride, in Whistler where Navi was going to propose. However, due to the fog, the flight was cancelled and we had to come up with a plan on the fly ( no pun intended). Well long story short, we setup a photoshoot as a “gift” and Navi later proposed during dinner.

Have you ever wondered how 100 roses looks like?

The last proposal was with Jake and Emily at the Rosewood Hotel Georgia! After celebrating their anniversary, Jake planned a beautiful proposal overlooking the Vancouver Downtown core in the Lord Stanley Suite!

Vancouver proposal on the top of the Rosewood Hotel Georgia. Congrats Emily and Jake!

One of the best things, you can arrange is a post or pre-wedding shoot! It definitely relieves some stress during your actual wedding day. The shoot allows you to get some additional photos in your wedding dress in a more relaxed enviornemtn. I was fortunate to do some this year. You already saw one with Vanessa and Jeremy, but here’s a few more from their shoot along with Katrina and Scott’s pre-wedding shoot!

Richmond Olympic Oval post wedding shoot!

My last shoot of the year was with Katrina and Scott as they wanted to get some pre-wedding shots done before getting married in Taiwan. Scott lived here for a while before moving away. These were some of my favourite shots, from their shoot at Vanier Park. I’ve never had the chance to shoot here, but love what it offers.

Last but not lease some favourite photos from 2015…

Fraserview Church for Iris and Trueman’s wedding!

Love this group shot of everyone!

Richmond UBC Boathouse! Shaughnessy Golf Course for Jen and Simon’s first dance! UBC Botanical Gardens! Some crazy shenanigans going on with the Shannon and the groomsmen. And sometimes the job requires you to take selfies with the clients. … or sometimes the bride asks you do a face mask the night before with the bridal party.

2015 ended with a huge surprise! After submitting some work, to different publications and awards, I received a WedAward, an international wedding photography award! An early start to the Christmas break! Thanks again Lesley and Alex for embracing the cold and rain!

2015 has been an exciting year and I can’t wait to see what 2016 brings! It’s been a blessing meeting every one of my clients. Thanks to all my clients who I can friends! I’ve also wanted to take the time to thank some special people along the way. Many thanks to Serendipity Event Planning who I’ve had the chance to work with a few times now. Barb and Cindy are some creative people whom have planned some great events. Thanks to Mika for giving me the opportunity to shoot along side her last year. It was through her I’ve learned so much, and had the chance to shoot some of my first weddings and gain the experience I needed. This year, I’ve had the pleasure of working alongside Will my second shooter, who has taught me so much about everything photography. None of these accomplishments would’ve been possible without everyones help and support! Well 2015, you’ve been a blast, but looking forward to what 2016 will bring. Looking forward to what the year has in store for me!