Jimmy+Donna

Wasabi. Tobasco. Soy Sauce. Liquid Sweetener. These just might be the secret ingredients to a great marriage. If nothing else, they make for a good laugh at the expense of a groom and his loyal groomsmen, who have come bearing gifts of Lucky Money, seeking to pass the trials set down by his bride’s gatekeepers. This is the time-honoured tradition in Chinese weddings known as the door games (this wedding is Chinese/Korean, to be specific). For the uninitiated, in Chinese weddings, like the myths of old, the groom must pass certain tests in order to reach his princess locked away in the tower. In this case it entails drinking a whole lot of horrid condiments straight-up. Jimmy and Donna’s wedding at the insanely beautiful Graydon Hall Manor started with a bang, and kept that giddy energy all through to the end.

Earlier this year we shot a portrait film!

Jimmy+Donna // Portrait Film

It’s always fun to premiere a video in front of a big, invested, live audience. And that was the case this past Saturday at Jimmy and Donna’s Graydon Hall wedding in Toronto (wedding video coming soon!). They had spent a beautiful afternoon earlier this summer hopping around the area, getting ice cream, roller-blading, and revisiting a park with special meaning to them. I love the spontaneity and energy we found at Kenneth Parkette, something that’s hard to plan for and nearly impossible to force. Heading to the location was a last minute addition to the plan—it wasn’t scouted, and we had no idea what we’d find there—but it evolved into one of the main threads of their story.