What a ride 2018 was for us here at Mocha Tree Studios! There were lots of firsts. It was our first year where we offered both photography and videography. 2018 marked the first year where we had not one, but two main photographers headlining weddings! We also had our very first same-day edit for videography! We would like to take this opportunity to express our sincerest gratitude for your continued support and love on this amazing journey. To our family, friends, fellow vendors, and our amazing couples thank you so, so much! Thank you for letting us do what we love everyday.
A year in review would not be complete without some amazing stats, so here are some notable successes from 2018:
65 couples for both photography and videography combined.
32 engagement sessions.
26 venues (I am sure we are forgetting to count a couple).
3 wedding shows attended.
1 AMAZING award from Ottawa Wedding Awards
Bonus: joined the mirrorless gear club (for the gear-heads out there!).
If you're feeling nostalgic and would like to check out the stats and photos from 2017, click here.
Without further ado, here are some of our favourite images from 2018. Some you may have already seen, some we have been waiting for the right time to show! Quick caveat, we are still finishing some weddings from the November and December, so many of them will be included in the next year’s year in review instead.
Engagement
Last year’s engagement photo for the “year in review” was a photo taken at Princess Louise Falls. This year, we have this photo of Rory and Cortney also taken at Princess Louise Falls. No engagement session is complete without a piggyback ride and these two nailed it!
“Getting-Ready” Photo
The quintessential “getting ready” photo. The bride surrounded by her bridemaids! We often say that your getting ready sets the tone for the rest of the day and Tamara’s getting ready shown here did exactly that. It was intimate, emotional, and super relaxed!
Wedding Detail
Laura wore this beautiful floral crown made by her bridesmaids. Of course, we couldn't resist using it in their detail photos! This floral crown complemented that gorgeous ring box and provides a contrast to the simplicity of their wedding bands.
Wedding Dress
We thought we’d separate the wedding dress category from the wedding detail just so we can show this shot of Chelsey’s dress hanging on their bedroom wall! We want photos to be personalized and this wall of photos and mementos made her already-gorgeous dress at home.
Wedding Ceremony
Jill and Donny’s walk down the aisle after saying their “I do’s” at Saunder’s Farm was perfect. We love everything about this photo: the elation of the couple, the excitement of the crowd, the petals being thrown their way, the warm summer tone. Fun fact: it rained after this ceremony, making this photo even more precious to us.
Bridesmaids’ Portrait
How can you not love this photo of Laura and her bridesmaids? You have beautiful women holding adorable husky puppies. These puppies were a surprise from the Maid of Honour to the bride! This has been one of our most popular photos of the year. It never fails to get a comment at wedding shows!
Groomsmen’s Portrait
This is usually a pretty easy category for us to pin down since the gents don’t often like posing for the camera. In 2018, though, the guys brought their A-game making the selection of this photo one of our toughest. In the end, Daniel and his groomsmen’s photos at the renovation site of the National Art Gallery won out!
Bride’s Portrait
We picked this photo for the details shown by the close up shot. For bridal portraits, we don’t often shoot so close like this, but with all her jewelry, the stunning make up, and the serene expression, Hira’s portrait is one for the books.
Groom’s Portrait
There is a photo of Paul outside look up at the sky as the snow is falling that everyone loves (one of the most liked photo on our instagram!!). For us though, this is our favourite portrait of Paul, holding that exquisite wooden cuff-link with his and Amanda’s initials.
Couple’s Portrait
When we first saw this photo right out of the camera, we knew we had a fantastic shot of Nancy and Jovan. With both under the veil, everything just faded away with just them enjoying each other’s presence. The smiles, the closed eyes, the wind tugging the veil, everything is just perfect.
Emotion and Humour
One of the things we love about weddings is that we get to see such a range of emotions and expressions throughout the day. The first photo (on the left) is Roxy’s mom getting emotional seeing her only daughter get in her wedding dress. Once a tear comes out, you just have to let it all out! The second photo (on the right) is of Aprile and Artigas enjoying a much needed (and deserved) sustenance after their wedding ceremony and photo session. Weddings are serious business, yes, but you have to have fun and you have to be able to laugh at yourself and Aprile and Artigas did exactly just that!
Reception
Many of our favourite photos of the reception in the past have included photos of toasts. This year, we are including a photo of Kate and Clay's MC who demonstrated to the crowd how they can get the couple to kiss. Essentially, if you wanted Kate and Clay to kiss, you'd have to approach the dais and do your best grizzly bear impression!
Dance Floor
Gents, we have a lot to learn from Anh-Quan! After their first dance, Anh-Quan surprised Jessica with a Michael Jackson performance! This groom had all the right moves, and his moonwalk brought down the house!!! You want to open up the dance floor to the crowd? This is how you do it!
Cake
This is a cake made out of cheese wheels. Need we say more?
Videography
To close off this list, we picked Ben and Stephanie’s wedding video as easily one of our favourites, from the tea ceremony, their adorable dogs, their hilarious wedding party and all the wonderful scenes from their wedding day!
