Julie and Sean, you outdid yourselves. What a fabulous evening party wedding event last night! And what can I say – you both looked stunning. I don’t know if you know, but I’m super excited about editing these photos. Just take a look at the sneak peek… wouldn’t you be?? More to come soon soon soon….
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!
2011 has marked the year of the hottest and driest summer weather since I started shooting weddings – but there was one day where we got a bit of rain, and that happened to be on Katie and Graham’s wedding day. But I think they hardly noticed the rain – these two were having so much fun that nothing could stop them!
I first met Katie and Graham last year and when I heard that their colour scheme was going to feature pink I was getting excited to see the many ways Katie was going to incorporate hot pink into her day. (yes, even pink ties for the guys!… much to Graham’s chagrin) I must say she pulled it off, even her shoes were hard to miss! And the guys looked great too! (this coming from a girl whose husband had his groomsmen wear hot pink shirts on our wedding day. OH YES!)
Katie and Graham were so much fun to be around – we laughed a lot that day and there was never a dull moment! It was really special seeing the way that Graham cracked up Katie with all his jokes and silliness. I think he really is a kid at heart, and he definitely knows how to be the life of the party – and more importantly, the light of Katie’s life. Katie was radiant in her beautiful wedding dress – and there was a spark in Graham’s eye every time he looked at her. He truly adores her and she’s so madly in love with him!
We did a lot of our photos at Fort Whyte Centre – a place that holds a lot of meaning and memories for these two. I always love being there, and taking their photos there was definitely a highlight of the day for me.
Katie and Graham – I wish you all the best as you continue on your journey of life together – you are definitely meant to be!
Katie and Graham also asked me to take a photo of each of the guests at the reception, so I set up some lights at the end of the receiving line, and snapped a photo of each guest as they came by. Here are some of the great highlights:
After rushing back home from Ontario Friday night (and getting a good night’s sleep!) I was up and ready for Laura & Chris’ much anticipated wedding on Saturday at St. Charles Country Club. The setting was gorgeous and the bride – well, she was bridal-magazine-model-stunning! And together, they make an amazing couple to photograph. The wedding photos are now piling up from this weekend and I can’t wait to start editing! Here are a few gems from yesterday’s wedding. I have a huge (and fun!) family photo shoot to photograph today, and after that, let the wedding photo editing begin!!
Congrats you two!
On Friday I had the pleasure of road tripping to my wedding shoot — all the way in Ontario! Joanne and Sam flew over to Canada from England to get married at Joanne’s dad’s house on the lake, just East of Fort Frances. I had never seen the property nor had I met Joanne and Sam in person yet… and what a wonderful surprise was in store for me! Both the location and the couple were even more amazing than I had expected! I have much more to blog about, but for now, here’s a sneak peek from Friday’s wedding.
