ALL THE THINGS

Real life is this beautiful.

Wedding Photographer Review - Sarah & Pierre - The Bata Shoe Museum

"Kate and Rudo are both exceptional photographers. Their professionalism, kindness and passion for what they do was evident from the moment we met them. They were presented with a challenging day of shooting at our wedding as we had very limited time for photographs and our venue was a museum with very dim and difficult lighting. To say they exceeded our expectations would be an understatement. The images they captured on our wedding day were not only creative and beautiful but captured every moment of a day that was so important to us.

We feel honoured to have had them not only shoot our wedding but be a part of the day. They put everyone in our bridal party at ease which resulted in very natural photographs. We would recommend Sweetheart Empire to anyone looking for stunning wedding photos and a professional team who work very well together and are very knowledgeable in their field.

Thank you so much!!!!"

~ Sarah & Pierre

Click here to see photos from Sarah & Pierre's awesome wedding at the Bata Shoe Museum in Toronto!

All Written Works, ReviewsKate O'ConnorMarch 25, 2014

Portraits of Jamie Unwin

One of the most incredible parts of my work is having the opportunity to meet interesting and inspiring people from all walks of life. Jamie contacted me because she needed high quality, natural looking portraits to represent herself; she was running for election in a national campaign to be the Canadian Institute of Planners (CIP) National Student Representative. We met at her apartment in Toronto's Annex neighbourhood and spent an hour talking and laughing. The photos below are the result.

Not only did Jamie win the campaign, but she has recently been profiled on York University's planning blog as an outstanding student, researcher, innovator, and community member. Jamie you rock!!

Jamie's shoot demonstrates the versatility of a simple portrait session - she can choose the smile that represents her best and use these images for any type of profile - work, school, or personal. Although Jamie has used different pictures for the campaign, Twitter, LinkedIn and Facebook, they all tie together in their similar style, making her face memorable and familiar to everyone who comes across her work.

All Photography, Lifestyle, PortraitsKate O'ConnorMarch 17, 2014Canadian Institute of Planners, Inspiration, portraits, The Annex, York University Comment

Are you Free?

There are some times in life when I’m honest with myself – maybe I’ve had too little sleep, or it's low blood sugar or PMS – whatever it is… But something clicks over and I let my barriers down enough to be honest. And I hear this voice in my head saying, “I just wanna be free." I ask myself, “Am I free?”

Why do I feel this way? I have all my rights and freedoms. I’m a middle class, white Canadian, university educated, blah blah blah… what do I know about not being free?

But my soul has this craving for liberation, and all I want is to fly high up into the sky and scream at the top of my lungs.

Once in 2005, I went skydiving (okay, I went three times but that’s another story). I stepped out under the wing of that plane, and flung myself into the sky at a measly 4000 feet. All by myself, alone. The static line jump. After the shoot opened and I found myself peacefully floating above the breathtaking view of the greater Barrie area (if you detect a slight hint of irony here, you’re wrong and not wrong all at once – everything looks perfect from far away), I was actually and literally speechless for moments. Moments and moments and moments. Like, whatever – I have no idea how long it takes to do a 4000 foot jump – probably not long. But anyway, I was free. I floated silently for some amount of time and then suddenly remembered that this was worth celebrating.

So I started to scream! I whooped and hollered, and hooted and howled, and felt like I was Jonathan Livingston and that nothing could stop me.

As I mentioned, it’s a whole other story about how I got my feet back on solid ground… But let me ask you right now:

Are you free? Are we??

Because there’s something inside you that needs to be let out; let go; let be; and set free.

Ask yourself at this moment, “What can I do to be free for just one second, right now?” And do it.

'Cause when that craving fades you’ll be back in the Matrix and, not that there’s anything wrong with that but, wouldn’t you rather be alive for just one second (and have everyone around you think you’re a weirdo) than let that feeling pass for another day?

If the answer you said is 'no', just ignore yourself and listen to me instead: yes! Go and strike a victory pose, or howl at the moon, or call your fiancée and tell her you freaking love her, or dance a little jig, or buy that plane ticket. In two seconds you’ll convince yourself back to conformity and you’ll have to wait until tomorrow (/ next week / next month / next year) for freedom to present itself again.

Written from an open place.

Love,

Kate

hello@sweetheartempire.com

All Written Works, JournalKate O'ConnorMarch 3, 2014Adventure, authenticity, Barrie, Face Your Fears, Freedom, Honesty, Inspiration, Jonathan Livingston Seagull, Live in the Moment, Ontario, Personal Growth, Skydiving, vulnerability Comment

Kate & Ben's Enoch Turner Schoolhouse Wedding

What an adventure it has been getting to know Kate and Ben! After their [second] engagement session, I tagged along to the Cloak & Dagger to see Ben's band playing bluegrass to a packed house. They. Are. Awesome. If you haven't heard of The Barrel Boys, do check them out and start fan-girling like me, stat!

Alongside our glasses of cider, the talent was overflowing and I suspected that theirs would be a wedding to remember…. I couldn't have been more right!

Ben and Kate had their wedding at the Enoch Turner Schoolhouse - a gorgeous place for light and acoustics. It was a happy, relaxed event and the entire day was filled with music. A high point for me was when the whole congregation sang Eight Days a Week - I am telling you - my heart swelled. Not only are Kate and Ben talented musicians themselves, but their guests blew us away too!

It was simply a magical day full of the laughter and love that surround Kate and Ben. I feel so incredibly privileged to have been there with every single one of their friends and family cheering them on…

Check out Ben and Kate's video testimonial here!

The groom jamming with his bandmates on the wedding day.

Personal details on the wedding day - everything has meaning when it's a life milestone.

I am so happy for Ben and Kate. I can't wait to share images from their reception - an incredible night of impromptu [uber-talented] singing, and a wild / hilarious / surprisingly successful live square-dancing lesson. Until then,,, check out their at-home engagement session here (with more music!) and their Christie Pits/Bickford Park engagement session here and their short-story video testimonial here!

Photographers: Kate O’Connor and Rudo Vacula

Thank you to the creative team!
Caterer: Herrera's Fine Dining and Catering
Dress: David's Bridal
Hair & Makeup: Do My Hair
Invitations: Paper Ideas
Favours & Gifts: Kelly's Candy Apples
Flowers: Beachwood Flower
Men’s Attire: Moores
Officiant: Michael Lafleur
Venue: Enoch Turner Schoolhouse

Tell me about your wedding and find out if we're a good match:

Email: hello@sweetheartempire.com

All Photography, WeddingsKate O'ConnorFebruary 27, 2014Abbey Road, Enoch Turner Schoolhouse, Fall Colours, Featured Wedding, Music, Musicians, Purple, The Beatles, The Grand Hotel, Toronto, Toronto Wedding Photographer, wedding, Yellow Comments

2013 Year Review… Prepare Yourself - it's Emo.

So it’s mid-January and I'm finally writing a 2013 year review... There is much to say. A year ago I was obsessively researching websites for Sweetheart Empire's portfolio. For those of you unfamiliar with the phenomenon of “obsessively researching” I'm talking about Procrastination. I studied all sorts of stuff until finally – for whatever combination of reasons – I snapped out of the fog and took action.

I started even though I felt I wasn’t ready… And everything began to fall into place. A year later I have experienced the following list of awesomeness.

Neither chronologically, nor in order of importance, in 2013 I:

Launched my own website and had to stand by my work all on my own
Experienced weeks and months [on and off] of debilitating fear of rejection and failure, self-torture, doubt, excitement, and more fear
Flew to Las Vegas (first time) alone for eight days, and attended WPPI – the world’s largest wedding photography conference
Had a portfolio review by José Villa (I was starstruck, and had to concentrate so hard on controlling my facial expression that I almost forgot to listen to the feedback)
Attended a Jesh de Rox workshop, had my mind blown, and felt that I had found “my people”
Meditated and worshipped the new moon with belly-dancers, yogis, philosophers, MBA students, and other such wandering souls
For the first time, a couple booked their wedding date based on my availability (and sent me a delicious babka to boot!)

Celebrated my mum’s 70th birthday in the same week that I found out my sister was pregnant
Experienced, from afar, the death of my nana and my uncle
Had a broken heart
Faced things about myself that I had been trying to ignore for many years
Experienced moments of self-acceptance so profound that words couldn’t explain the shocking peace of it
Relapsed back into judging and then judged myself for being judgmental
Began to work with some of my favourite photographers in the city, and was astoundingly lucky to learn and grow both professionally and emotionally from this
Co-produced my first video testimonial
Photographed my first magazine cover (and spread!)
Shot my cousin’s incredible wedding in Manhattan, and got to know family members who have lived in Ireland all my life
Assisted in the delivery of my sister’s beautiful daughter - indescribably life-changing.

Manhattan, Persian Tribune & Elle Daftarian, Baby Aisling

Met several new soul-sisters and reconnected with old ones
Made many mistakes, stayed up late nights, relapsed into perfectionist-procrastination, doubted my decisions, let down my loved ones, over-booked and over-worked, missed many birthdays, hunched over my computer for too many hours
Started doing yoga again, dancing more, singing louder in the shower, going for walks around the park, and making green smoothies
Forgave
Took another Jesh de Rox workshop and consequently started training in Beloved Technique
Had my first interview published online
Made the commitment to only work with people I feel a connection with
Doubted my commitment and felt scared
Read Seth’s opinion on choosing who you work for, and felt good again
Then booked several awesome new clients who I totally feel the connection with!

Silverline Studios, Jasper Savage, Jesh de Rox, Sunset

...and finally, the topic to which this website is dedicated… In 2013:

I got to know amazing couples who put their faith in me, and allowed me to witness their strengths, vulnerabilities, and unique expressions of love and family.
And felt so overwhelmingly grateful that there was no appropriately powerful hashtag… so I kept it for myself, in my heart.

No doubt this is the same year most people experienced. Possibly with fewer bouts of neuroses – though really it’s just the "normal" neuroses, I like to think. Anyway, come on - the emotional roller-coaster is pretty okay!

So. Now is not the time to list my resolutions – you're all listed-out for today. But I do hope to start posting some of the many beautiful moments that took place, here on the blog, and I hope you will join me for more adventures this year.

Follow @SweetheartEmpire on Instagram to catch a glimpse of the Empire, or just reach out to me and let's have a chat. Happy 2014!

Sincerely,

Kate