The warmest of people, and the most encouraging of photographers! I usually hate having my photo…read moretaken and am about as photogenic as soda cracker left out in the rain, but Noelle managed to get some photos that I'm actually happy for the world to see--thank goodness, because I needed something to send to my friends and family so they still recognize me after the pandemic. They had me laughing throughout the shoot, so all of my smiles were actually real (not a creepy fake grin in sight)! 10/10 would recommend a photoshoot with Noelle, even if the thought of a photoshoot makes you want to bury your head in the sand.

I worked with Katie many times :-) I love how passionate she…read moreis and how easy going she is. She is by far my favorite photographer! She is amazing, easy to work with and she made my photos dreamy and beautiful. I can't wait to work with her more! Thank you Katie.xoxo Mary

Konul found the light within each of us and made our family shine! We never met in person before…read moreour outdoor shoot but when we did she was so wonderful and easy to work with; like having coffee with an old friend. She made all of us feel relaxed and the kids loved her. Because of her journalism training her photos really tell a story and ours was so beautiful it brought tears to my eyes on the first viewing. We had a great day and now have the memories in print forever....I would definitely recommend her and her amazing talent!

BEAUTIFUL MATERNITY photographs by an extremely talented artist, KONUL. My partner and I entrusted…read moreTHE LIGHT WITHIN PHOTOGRAPHY with the very special task of taking maternity photographs at my 33rd week of pregnancy. This is our first child together and we wanted some personal, heartwarming images to share with our families back home. Konul did a wonderful job! She helped us scout out the perfect location and was very helpful throughout the entire process. We (and our families) were thrilled with the results--some of the comments we received: Your photos are "stunning"... "erethral"..."gorgeous". I highly recommend the Light Within Photography for anyone looking to celebrate any special life moment!

I was so impressed with the photos. She was so kind and creative and worked so well with my family…read more She captured great photos of my kids but also my husband and I. I will be using her services again!!

Loved Christina! She was everywhere where we wanted her to be and the pictures are fabulous. She…read morewas a breath of fresh air during the wedding as well and always smiling and happy to do anything. She was never frustrated with anything we wanted or didn't want her to do. Christina was one of my main reasons for choosing Costa Rica as the location for my destination wedding. I saw her photographs online and loved them and decided that I should choose Costa Rica because that was where Christina was. I am so happy I did! Thanks Christina!

Definitely worth the 8 hour round trip. She made me feel really pretty in my maternity photos,…read morewhich was worth every penny. As for our Newborn photos she was extremely accommodating and took all the time needed to get the perfect pictures. She even surprised us with a few that left us speechless in their Anne Geddes quality. Definitely would recommend.

Toque Catering has catered a few little events for our office (including individual popcorn…read morecontainers for an in-house VIFF film screening, and outdoor picnic packs for safe covid gatherings!) and we have been extremely satisfied with the quality of food and service they provide. Definitely our go-to caterer in town!

I want to share my disastrous experience with Toque catering. I booked Toque several months ago to…read morecater my moms 80 th birthday dinner last night. I confirmed 2 days before the party that everything was set and organized for the 630 pm hot drop off of food. They never showed up, never called, nor answered emails. I still still have not received a call or email nor and explanation or apology. We finally had to get take out at 8 pm. When my husband went to their physical location this morning after 10 am it was unlocked but there was nobody there. The place was a mess with cooked and uncooked food everywhere. Finally a very unkempt person arrived. My husband calmly asked for a full refund. The owners "excuse " was he had a bad day on Saturday and he forgot he had to prepare the dinner for Sunday. From their recent Google reviews I see I am not alone.

I first stayed at this stately hotel many years ago, when my youngest kid was a baby (so....24-25…read moreyears ago. Wow!). I remember having to order a crib for our hotel room, and how accommodating the staff were at that time. Our family had a wonderful stay here, so long ago. And since then, whenever I've visited Victoria, it's been impossible NOT to pass this gorgeous hotel by, as it sits on a huge chunk of prime real estate, on Government Street, overlooking the inner harbor and across the street (kitty corner) from the majestic Parliament Building. And the hotel itself is quite majestic, reminiscent of a castle, really. I think it is one of the most famous and most beautiful hotels in all of Canada. The hotel is known for its high tea service on the weekends, and for its posh hospitality and service. Of course, one must expect to pay top dollar for all this, plus this prime location, but to many, it is worth it. I recently returned to this hotel for a wedding and boy, I was impressed. The ceremony was held on the south lawn and it was gorgeous. What a fabulous venue, with a view of the harbor and the Parliament Building, with all the flowers and chairs on the impeccable green grass, surrounded by all the well-kept bushes and trees, with the stunning hotel as our backdrop. After we were all ushered through the gorgeous main floor and by the stunning lobby to a ballroom for cocktails and dinner. The room was large enough to accommodate all the tables for us diners as well as a large dance floor, plus room for the live musicians and the dj too. Yet despite the open and spacious configuration of the space, it felt intimate, thanks to the lighting and lay-out of tables. And the hotel staff were unbelievable. Seriously, if you plan on hosting an important and/or formal event in Victoria, you should definitely consider this venue. There is not one aspect of the event or evening I could find fault with. I thought the washrooms were beautiful. I loved the high end shops on the main floor (bummer that they were closed when I was there. I would have loved to check out some of the kick-ass purses and clutches on display in the windows). I loved the hotel lobby with the stunning organic mesh art installation suspended from the ceiling. I loved the genteel wood-paneled, gentlemen's club-like lounge....I really loved it all.

Didn't stay at the hotel, but paid a visit to the hotel lounge. Beautiful view, historic building…read moreand excellent service (the host went above and beyond to make sure we got the seating we liked in order to watch a sports game. Thank you for the accommodation.!) Two complaints 1) lounge was understaffed. Between services. there were not enough cleaning, and the couch and the table were greasy and dirty. 2) I didn't enjoy the cocktails. Didn't like the gin & yuzu cocktail (too strong and lacked flavor) or the leechy cocktail (too sweet and heavily syrupy). It was a pity that I tried two out of five signature cocktails, and wasn't happy with any of them and they were pricey.