It’s with lots of sadness that I officially announce Cheryl’s departure from Katch Studios in 2013.  It’s been an AMAZING ride full of learning, laughter and love, but Cheryl has decided to bow out of the professional photography world so that she can focus more on her demanding full-time career in law, and on her growing family (in fact, she just welcomed her second baby yesterday!)   She’s already been quietly transitioning out of our company over the past year, taking on less bookings, and she’ll be shooting her last wedding with me in September of this year.  It’s been a really difficult decision for her to make, but one that we both feel will be better for her in the long run.  We’re obviously going to continue to be the BEST of friends (going strong since we first met in grade 9!) and we look forward to seeing what the future holds for the both of us.

We started Katch Studios back in 2008, having no real plan at all besides wanting to share something cool together.  Neither of us had any professional training in photography, just a little bit of working knowledge, and a ton of passion.  Two years in, I quit my day job as a makeup artist and focussed my attention full time on photography.  I handled about 80% of our business (everything from photo-editing, book-keeping, emailing, blogging etc) while Cheryl did double duty as a full-time lawyer in Vancouver who moonlighted as a wedding photographer part-time.  Seeing how far we’ve come over the last 4 years, looking back on all the beautiful weddings, couples and families we’ve photographed– it’s crazy to think back to those early days when we were just crossing our fingers that enough people would trust and take a chance on us.  I’m so proud of what we’ve built together, and I’m both sad to see Cheryl move on– but also, really excited for what’s to come.

So what does this mean exactly?  Going forward, Katch Studios will be rebranded with just me as the primary photographer and sole owner/operator, and I will shoot weddings with a second shooter.  I will be working with only experienced professional photographers that meet the standards and style that you’ve come to expect of our work.  When you book a wedding for 2013 with Katch Studios, you will get me and  another photographer that I trust.  There should be no worry that the quality of our work will suffer at all, seeing as how I’ve shot a number of weddings in the past with a second shooter that wasn’t Cheryl.  I’ve even shot a couple of weddings on my own, and these weddings ended up being featured in print publications.  As for the boudoir branch of our business, that won’t change at all, since I already currently run that  on my own.

With all of these changes in the air, I’ve decided to also take this as an opportunity for me to refresh in general!  I’m excited to announce that I’m working on 2 new websites (one for weddings/lifestyle and one for boudoir) which will be launching very soon.  I’m thinking that a draw/giveaway will also be in order, so definitely stay tuned for your chance to win!

But for now, I’d just like to take this chance to wish Cheryl only good things for the future.  We’ve been best friends for 17 years.  We’ve seen Katch Studios go from nothing to something we’re both so proud of.  Thank you for all the love you poured into our business, and for always being the most amazing friend and partner.  We may not be working together anymore after this year, but we both know our friendship will carry on as always~  strong and loyal.

XOXO

And because no blog post is ever complete without a picture, here’s one of Cheryl and I while shooting a wedding and enjoying some fun in their photobooth~

I’ve been obsessed with my iPhone’s camera lately and decided not to bring my SLR for this trip.  With the great quality of the phone’s camera and the all the rad photo editing apps that are out there now, I just love it!  Here’s a sampling of our trip with photos all taken with my iPhone~

We spent one lovely afternoon at English Bay hunting for baby crabs and it was so beautiful and fun!  We spent tons of time with Cheryl and her family too which was great.  She’s expecting her second baby in just 6 weeks and we’re so excited!!  Here, her son Dax makes his appearance with my kids Aaliyah and Kai.

If you’re looking for some new shots of actual clients that’s coming soon!  Until then, hope you enjoy this glimpse into our personal lives

xoxo

Here’s a little collage I put together with pictures from my Instagram account.  If you’d like to follow my personal pictures on Instagram, here’s my username:  ”@katgill_”

We’ve been so busy around here lately that we haven’t had a chance to blog all of our weddings from this past year.  Today, we’re sharing one that we LOVED!

It was a beautiful autumn day in Vancouver for a wedding~ no rain, beautiful leaves, and one lovely and unique venue!   Michelle and Dan’s wedding was absolutely gorgeous from start to finish, and we felt so lucky that they chose us to capture it.  I first met these two when I shot their engagement session last Spring in Edmonton, and right away we all hit it off.  They’re warm, sweet, laid back, and have fabulous style/taste.   Then when we met their friends and family, it all just made sense.  These are truly quality, wonderful people.

Cheryl and I started off the day with Michelle at the ultra modern Fairmont Pacific Rim Hotel.  She had a ridiculously cool (and huge) suite  to get ready in!  Talk about an amazing view of downtown Vancouver!

Isn’t Michelle just gorgeous?  Those blue eyes are stunning.

Dan and his guys got ready at another beautiful hotel– the Westin Grand  (this is actually the same hotel I got ready in too for my own wedding 6 years ago– I got so nostalgic shooting there!)  

When we found out that they had booked Brix Restaurant for both their ceremony and reception, Cheryl and I were SO excited!  We’d never shot there before, but knew that in was not only a beautiful place to get married, but incredibly intimate and romantic!  It definitely didn’t disappoint.  From Michelle’s dramatic entrance in, to the lovely courtyard where they exchanged their emotional vows– it was all so perfect.

We basically strolled around the Yaletown area to take their photos.  There were so many sweet little spots that were perfect, and Michelle and Dan really just made every moment special.  It’s so apparent that these two love each other so much, and we loved just hanging out with them!

There’s nothing more beautiful than autumn leaves!  Such an amazingly romantic setting.  And really, Michelle and Dan looked so elegant and perfect together.

Then when it was starting to get dark out, we snuck inside a cool lounge for a couple quick shots with some fun lighting.

Finally, we headed back to Brix Restaurant for their reception, where their guests had been hanging out and enjoying cocktails after the ceremony. You know what my favorite thing of all was?  All the gorgeous candle light everywhere!  A photographer’s dream!!  Ultra romantic.

OK so those that know me, know I’m kind of a foodie.  One of the perks to our job for me, is that I get to eat such good food all the time!  And let me tell you, the food at Brix was some of the best I’ve ever had.  Not only delicious, but so pretty too! haha.  I don’t often blog wedding food pictures– but I just couldn’t help myself in this instance

And one last bit, that was SOOO awesome.  Their super talented videographers from Capture the Moment Media snuck away with Dan and Michelle towards the end of the night to shoot a little special moment between them.  We tagged along and wound up getting some of our favorite shots from the whole day.

All in all, it was really just a perfect day~ everything a wedding should be.  And the kind of couple Cheryl and I absolutely love to work with.  To Michelle and Dan~  thank you for choosing us to photograph your day!  Cheers to the start of a beautiful life together.

XOXO

And thanks Pinterest for all the great ideas!  Being crafty was a LOT harder when I had to actually come up with these things myself!  hehe.   If you haven’t already joined, DO IT.  It’s fabulous!   Find me on Pinterest HERE.

This was one of those cosmic, stars-aligning kind of things.  We were fully booked for 2011, when Lana and Arafat inquired with us to shoot their quickly impending wedding.  They were keeping the ceremony low-key and private, so they were only looking for coverage of their reception and some portraits of just the two of them.  It was very last minute, but luckily everything just worked out, and I was so happy to be able to photograph their special day.

It was everything a wedding should be in my opinion~ simple, intimate, romantic and solely about the love between Lana & Arafat.  Oh, and  I can’t even begin to describe how unbelievably gorgeous they both looked!  So gorgeous, in fact, that they caught the attention of local luxury wedding magazine Blush who featured them in their most recent issue.  To read more about their lovestory, just click HERE and go to page 40.

Now, here’s some of my favorite shots from their beautiful wedding day~

They make it look so easy don’t they?  Oh, be still my heart.

You know what’s awesome about doing your portraits around sunset rather than in the middle of the afternoon like is usually the case?   The amaaaaazing light!!  Then, throw in these two ridiculously beautiful lovebirds and I was literally gasping at the sheer gorgeousness of it all.

Their reception was held at the always elegant Hotel MacDonald in the Wedgewood Room (one of my all-time favorites!)

Lana & Arafat~  Thank you both for being truly amazing, warm, wonderful people.  I’m so glad I was able to be a part of your day and I wish you both SO much happiness.  Your love inspired me so much throughout the day.

Special thanks to the always amazing Sunita Sumaru for her awesome hair & makeup skills.  I don’t think it’d be possible for Lana to look any more incredible.

XOXO

To read the entire feature on Lana & Arafat’s wedding just view their online copy HERE and go to page 40.     For a list of places you can pick up a copy of Blush, just click on THIS LINK.  And to see more from this beautiful wedding, stay tuned to our blog, as we’ll be featuring their full wedding here soon

And from both Cheryl and I, thanks for all your love & support this year!  We appreciate each and every one of you for allowing us to do what we love to do.

XOXO,

With the holidays in full swing and the festivities well under-way around the Gill household, I thought I’d share some personal pictures we took this past October while visiting Vancouver.  It’s always great when Cheryl and I can get our families together and we always try to fit in a quick photo session (after all, if photographers can’t have nice family pictures themselves, that’s just a shame!)

Our good friends were also with us along with their adorable little girl, Saiyrah.  When I was editing the picture below with all 4 of our kids, it made me remember a shot we had taken a while back on one of our previous visits.  Love looking back at what a difference just over a year can make!

Head on over to our Katch Studios~ Boudoir Blog for details on how to enter our Fab Contest!  Here’s a LINK.

Best of luck and Happy Holidays!