Bonjour Montreal!

I wish I had paid more attention in high school french, instead of being such a delinquent trouble-maker. Three years of french, and the only thing I had to show for it was my (in)ability to order a hot dog at a corner bistro in Paris. Shame on me :).

Karis of Ben Lau Photography sits inside a restaurant in Montreal.
The last time I visited Canada was in 2001: Niagara Falls for our family Christmas vacation. My lips were chapped for nearly three months. A visit in the late spring however, has been an entirely pleasant experience.

Old Montreal, captured by New York City Wedding Photographer Ben Lau.

Per the bride’s request, we visited Old Montreal in preparation for the bridal session on her wedding day.
Scouting is one of the most favorite parts of my job :).

Old Montreal. Captured by awesome New York City Wedding Photographer Ben Lau.

I’ve always wanted to photograph a solitary red bicycle on a street corner. Thank you, Montreal :).

Old Montreal, captured by awesome New York City wedding photographer Ben Lau.

Listen lady. If you don’t see me with my gimungo camera trying to take a picture for the last 15 minutes, you got yourself a one-way ticket to my blog :). On a slightly different note, I loved everything about this street. We don’t get many cobblestone streets in New York City that are clean with graffiti-less walls.

Old Montreal. Captured by New York City wedding photographer Ben Lau.

Not sure what I loved more – the narrow, winding, cobblestone streets, or the architectural splendor that surrounded us.

Old Montreal. Captured by awesome New York City wedding photographer Ben Lau.

I’ve always wanted to have one of my brides running around a fountain with her soon-to-be husband, while a flock of pigeons flew off in a confused chatter. We were going to totally rock these bridal portraits!

Cup of coffee in Old Montreal. Captured by New York City wedding photographer Ben Lau.

But nevertheless, we never did make it to Old Montreal on the wedding day afterall :). Lesson learned? There’s no such thing as ever being too over-prepared for your clients, especially when it comes to scouting locations. Wedding days are living, breathing, and malleable events that have minds of their own. We ended up doing their portraits elsewhere, but I’m a firm believer that spontaneity is the spice of life. Then of course, there’s another positive to come out of this: my next Montreal bride (and groom) are going to have some pretty frigg’n awesome locations for their bridal portraits :).

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We hear the coffee's pretty good here :)

Northern NJ, NYC documentary Wedding Photographer, Educator & All-Around Nice Guy

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