Wedding Heritage, Culture & Traditions
Photography and video for the traditions, people and celebrations that make your wedding yours.
Your family, your faith, your wedding
SIGS Photography & Video has documented weddings across Toronto and Southern Ontario since 1996. Jean Marcotte and Marianna Kogan work with couples whose days bring together different cultures, religions, languages and family histories. We begin by listening to what you are planning and what you want remembered.
Heritage and religion are connected for some families and separate for others. Couples with the same cultural background may choose very different ceremonies. Mixed-heritage and interfaith weddings may bring several traditions together. Your own choices guide the photography and video coverage.
Italian weddings
Family is part of the story you ask us to tell. We plan time for the people you want beside you, the ceremony you have chosen and the celebrations that follow. Tell us which family customs matter to you, which moments need special attention and how you want your wedding day to feel.
Read the italian wedding traditions guide
Portuguese weddings
Your wedding photographs and film should preserve the people, words and celebrations that make the day yours. We ask about your ceremony, family traditions and reception plans before the wedding, then coordinate portraits around that schedule. Speeches and conversations in Portuguese can remain part of your film, in the voices of the people who delivered them.
Read the portuguese wedding traditions guide
Jewish weddings
We work from the ceremony and celebration you are actually planning. Before the day, we discuss your observance, the people leading the ceremony, any separate preparations and the moments you want covered. That conversation helps our photo and video crew anticipate the sequence while respecting the guidance of your officiant and your family's wishes.
Read the jewish wedding traditions guide
Greek weddings
Tell us about your ceremony, the family photographs you want and the celebration you have planned. If you are marrying in a Greek Orthodox church, we coordinate coverage with the church's photography rules and your ceremony schedule. We also plan reception coverage around speeches, music and dancing, so your film keeps the energy and voices of the day.
Read the greek wedding traditions guide
Indian weddings
We begin with your family's own wedding plans: your faith or secular ceremony, the events you are holding, the languages being spoken and the people involved. Share the order of events, outfit changes and any celebrations on separate days. Together, we can plan photo and video coverage around the parts of your wedding that matter most.
Read the indian wedding traditions guide
Canadian and non-denominational weddings
A personal ceremony can bring together family customs, new rituals and vows written in your own words. We ask how you have arranged the day and which people and moments you want remembered. Coverage follows your ceremony and celebration, with time for portraits, speeches and the quieter exchanges that happen between the scheduled events.
Read the canadian and non-denominational wedding traditions guide
Spanish weddings
Your language and family traditions deserve a place in the record of your wedding. We ask about your ceremony, meaningful customs and the relatives you want photographed together. Tell us about speeches, readings or songs in Spanish so we can plan audio coverage and preserve them as part of your wedding film.
Read the spanish wedding traditions guide
Filipino weddings
We ask about your ceremony, sponsors and the family traditions you have chosen to include. If sponsors have individual entrances or a role in the ceremony, we plan coverage for those moments and time for their photographs with you. Filipino traditions receive the same attention in our planning as every other part of your wedding.
Read the filipino wedding traditions guide
Plan the moments that matter
At your consultation, tell us about the order of events, meaningful customs, important relatives, ceremony rules and the languages used in readings and speeches. Include any moments outside the usual wedding-day schedule. We can then discuss the coverage, family portrait time and audio recording your day needs.
Bringing two families and traditions together
You do not have to fit your wedding into one category. Tell us what each family is contributing, what you are keeping and what you are making your own. We plan around the day you have chosen, with attention to both families and the people who matter to you.
Explore wedding stories and planning resources
Explore the Wedding Event Dictionary
Read the Ukrainian wedding traditions guide
See real weddings photographed by SIGS
Find parks and portrait locations
Tell us about your wedding
Meet with Jean and Marianna in our Toronto studio or by Google Meet. Bring your ideas, your questions and the traditions that matter to your family.
From the archive
Ceremonies we have photographed
Churches, parishes and ceremony sites across the Greater Toronto Area and beyond. Every wedding below has its own story on this site.
Sara & Rocco Saint Padre Pio Parish · Kleinburg
Alexandria & Derado Club Roma · St. Catharines
Laura & Alex Cambridge Mill · Cambridge
Vittoria & Vince Immaculate Conception Parish · Woodbridge
Lisa & Eduardo Holy Martyrs of Japan Church · Bradford
Sarah & Alessandro Embassy Grand Convention Centre · Brampton
Myrelle & Randy Spencer's at the Waterfront · Burlington
Danielle & Michael Mississauga Grand · Mississauga
Morgan & Aaron The Royal Ambassador · Caledon
The traditions themselves, explained
What each ritual is, who takes part, where it sits in the ceremony, and what it takes to photograph it without interrupting it. Written for couples planning the day and for the families who will be part of it.
Jewish ceremonies
- The chuppah wedding canopyThe setting for a Jewish wedding ceremony, and planning to photograph the people beneath it.
- Badeken: wedding veilingA pre-ceremony sequence included in some traditional Jewish weddings.
- Breaking the glass at a Jewish weddingUnderstanding the ceremony moment and the celebration that immediately follows.
Greek Orthodox ceremonies
Italian traditions
Filipino traditions
Hindu and Sikh ceremonies
Ukrainian traditions
Catholic ceremonies
- Catholic wedding ceremony guideUnderstand the parts of a Catholic wedding, with or without Mass, and plan respectful photography and video coverage with your parish.
- Wedding ring blessing and exchangeThe blessing, spoken promises and giving of rings in a Catholic wedding ceremony.
- Arras: wedding coinsA chosen coin ritual in some Catholic weddings, shared across several cultural traditions.
Personal and non-denominational
- Personal wedding ceremony traditionsA glossary of optional rituals and spoken moments for personal, secular and non-denominational ceremonies. Choose the elements that belong to your own wedding.
- A first touch before the wedding ceremonyTime together without seeing each other, with photographs or audio only if you want them.
- First looks, private vows and quiet wedding momentsPlan the exchanges before the ceremony that you want remembered, including moments you choose to keep private.
- Wedding reception and family momentsA glossary of personal tributes, surprises and celebrations that can shape the story of your wedding film and photographs.