I often rave about “all in one” locations/venues for a very good reason. There is something to be said about a location where the wedding celebration takes place but also where you can easily access the photo location for both the main and sunset sessions.
Deer Creek Golf Course in Ajax is one of my favourite of those “all in one” locations. I’m at Deer Creek a few times a year and when I learned that Jonna and Darren were getting married there I was excited to share a few of my favourite spots at the venue.
Deer Creek is an expansive Golf Course and provides many photo locations. Generally because most wedding day shoots start when the sun is still very high in the sky I prefer to start on the east side of the venue. The shade of the building provides a great and fairly wide spot for group photos, whether bridal party of family formals. The shade can make a huge difference in comfort and generally about 10 degrees Celsius in temperature compared to the direct sun.
From there my favourite spots are across the driveway to the stones and around the path into the green not too far away from the venue.
After we finished all of the bridal party and bridal portraits we headed back into the venue where the party started early with a special performance put on by Darren and his groomsmen.
After some heartfelt speeches and dances I briefly stole Darren and Jonna away for some sunset photos. My favourite spot for those is on the main green where there is a direct line of sight to the sunset. Because of the way the green is laid out there is a sweet spot as far as timing for the sunset, too early and the sun will still be too high up and too late and the sun will be hidden behind the tree line (before the official sunset time).
Time and schedule permitting I also like to include a few late night photos. Those can take place in the gazebo (if we haven’t been there already) or inside the venue and just in front of the main doors makes for an ideals spot for some late night images that doesn’t take the couple too far away from the action.