Earlier this year I got an e-mail from a couple in England asking if I’d want to come to Fort Frances this summer and photograph their wedding at the lake. It didn’t take much convincing on my part – road trip to Ontario? wedding at the lake in the Canadian Shield? two wedding photographers who want ME to photograph THEIR wedding?? It was a huge honour to have been asked and I’m so excited to say that the wedding and the couple exceeded all my expectations.
Joanne and Sam met with me via Skype a week before their wedding – our first face-to-face chat. I’d never photographed for someone without first meeting them, and Skype was the best way to attempt a “real” meeting! But when Duncan and I actually showed up on the wedding day at Joanne’s father’s house on the lake – I was blown away! The property was gorgeous, their friends and family were absolutely delightful and Joanne and Sam were the sweetest, friendliest couple ever! We were only there for 4 short hours, but I wish we could have stayed much longer. But with 10 hours of driving in total and another wedding to shoot the very next day in Winnipeg, there was no time to stick around!
We made the most of it, and this was one of my most memorable wedding shoots ever. Joanne and Sam have been shooting weddings for 5 years now, so they knew what they liked and what they didn’t like. And because of this, and also because of their creativity and love of beauty, their wedding day was planned out wonderfully, to the very last detail. Where to begin? They had heart-shaped birch bark cutouts with stitched edges hanging from trees, fun fabric garlands, birch bark vases filled with wild flowers, a lovely live performance with ukelele, flute and singing by some family members, a 67 ford mustang, custom-made waist coats by Joanne’s mother, a vintage pocket watch, wild flower confetti, Pimm’s (a traditional English celebratory wedding drink), a live band for the outdoor reception (featuring blue grass music!), a super-fun boat ride on the lake to finish off the photo session…. and the list goes on…
Needless to say it was a photographer’s paradise, and I absolutely loved photographing it all!
Now on to Joanne and Sam – I wish everyone could have witnessed their ceremony. Sam wrote the most eloquent and poetic wedding vows ever that he and Joanne said to each other. I’m pretty sure they got everyone teary-eyed (including me)! It was an honour to have been a witness into a short window of time at Joanne and Sam’s celebration of love. Just being around them reminded me of the deep roots that love plants in two people. They’re intertwined and connected – and it was such a treat being able to photograph them together!
Now, enough with my blabbing, here are the photos!
