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Pender Island Intimate Wedding // Katie & Jeff

If Pender Island is made for weddings, then Poet’s Cove is where you will find the most intimate of them all. For Katie and Jeff there was nowhere else.

This is where her family built their weekend home 19 years ago, and of course this is where she got ready for their big day.

When I met these guys, I knew their wedding was going to be fun. Katie is gregarious and funny, above all else her friendliness shines through.  Jeff’s dry wit and humour are always evident, as is his innate kindness.  Knowing Jeff is a photographer  – no pressure, then, to make sure the images were perfect!

Surrounded by her friends and family, there were tears and laughter as Katie got ready to start the next chapter of her life with Jeff. Make up artist Amy, with Artisty by Alexa was on hand to apply, and reapply, Katie’s make up as everyone made her laugh and cry in equal parts. Vahn swept Katie’s hair up beautifully. Getting ready for a wedding is always a highlight, and we all had a great time. Especially when she slipped on her Theia Couture Dress.  In a word, stunning.

If you are going to a host an island wedding, then of course it has to be a weekend affair.  Friends and family gathered for the drinks reception on Friday evening and celebrated right through the weekend. From personal vows at the ceremony, to the departure in a Triumph T4 restored by Katie’s dad, it was one to remember.  Especially for Jeff: this was the first time he was allowed to drive the T4!

It was the personal touches that made the weekend so special. Bill, a good friend of the couple, was the officiant.  Who else would make reference to the Hot Breakfast Memorial Fan Club?  Katie and Jeff wrote their own vows, which were equal parts heartfelt and moving and funny. “Accomplice in mischief,” was a particularly memorable quote from Jeff.

The reception kicked off in style as friends and family made emotional toasts and speeches.  There were tears, but it was the cheers that you could hear for miles.  This couple is clearly well loved! It was the song, though, that Jeff had written for Katie and sung by both Bill and Jeff and accompanied by a group of friends, that brought the house down. It was incredible. Only to be followed & surpassed by Katie joining the band for the “rock star” moment that Jeff had promised her. Long live CCR, especially when you are taught by your husband-to-be. As Katie quipped, “Find someone who makes you a band band of ten of your best friends, teaches you a CCR song and cheers the loudest when you crush a life goal in front of 100 of your best people.”

The attention to detail was amazing.  A photobooth was in high demand as everyone had their photos taken.  It was run by the Hemingway Project, a charity that Katie co-founded. The flowers by Platinum Flower Designs were exquisite. Pink, peach, red and white tones decorated the room, and of course the white tiered cake, created by Rain Bake Shop. And the dancing!  It was one of the best bits of the night, seeing everyone getting out on the dance floor, letting loose.

It is the cheers and tears that left me knowing that these two were off to the best start.  Love was definitely in the air.

 

 

 

 

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Intimate West Vancouver Wedding / Aly & Nick

West Vancouver Photo shoot

 

I knew from the moment we all met at a coffee shop in North Vancouver that capturing Aly and Nick’s wedding was going to be fun.  Both were full of Ideas and had a great sense adventure but were also quite relaxed, so I knew their wedding was going be chill.

The ocean holds a special place in Nick and Aly’s hearts, and it was with that in mind that we decided on taking pre-wedding portraits in Whytecliff Park. This setting was ideal for Aly, Nick and their close family members to enjoy a quiet moment before the festivities got underway. The three of us moved from the park and made our way to Horseshoe Bat, where they had their boat waiting to be launched. The combination of the sun, the mountains in the background and the Howe Sound Inlet was spectacular and brought out a playfulness between the two. They even brought their fishing rods out for the photos (or was it a friendly bride vs groom challenge?!).

A huge cheer went up from the guests gathered on the viewing dock of the West Vancouver Yacht Club as Aly and Nick jetted in on their boat. What an entrance! The yacht club, where the ceremony took place, is nestled in a stunning setting with views out to the ocean and Vancouver Island beyond. And it was here, with Eagle Island as their backdrop, that Nick and Aly met at the end of the aisle to say their vows.

The couple had given the day many heartfelt and personal touches: decorating the tables with flowers, driftwood and shells, each one personalized with the name of a lake that clearly had significant meaning to the two, and handing out handmade candles at the end of the evening. From a blissful start to the day to a rocking dance party at the end, this was such a special celebration to be a part of.

 

 

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Vancouver Wedding Photographer // Dionne & Ryan’s Downtown Wedding

West Vancouver Wedding photography

Vancouver Wedding in Gastown

So I may have taken a while to blog about this Vancouver Wedding…..so a touch too long…..I don’t know why, because it is definitely one of my favourite wedding days to date and Dionne and Ryan were magic to work with.

I first met them in a sweet little cafe in North Van, where we chatted about their upcoming nuptials and their little guy Buzz, shared his chocolate chip cookie with me. (cutest dude ever).  I felt connected to this couple right away and super excited to photograph their big day in downtown Vancouver.  We decided to do their engagement shoot at Whytecliff Park in West Vancouver; a gorgeous, gorgeous place to photograph a couple in love.

Captured in the picture below, having a sweet, intimate moment; standing on top of the little island at the park.

Vancouver Wedding Photographer, couple, love, vancouver engagement, photography, couples photography, married, fiancé

 

Their wedding took place downtown at Steamworks in Gastown, Vancouver.  It was a perfect setting with 20′ floor to ceiling windows behind them as they said their vows.  So beautiful, intimate and unique.  The reception was in the restaurant on a private floor that felt cosy and luxurious.  Every detail was thought of and every guest felt the love and care into the day.  Dinner & speeches had everyone feeling good with the wine & happy tears flowing.

Steamworks is right in Gastown, so we were able to  troop around and grab some gorgeous images in neat settings.  So much fun.  Dionne and Ryan were keen to try out anything for a great shot, and it totally paid in dividends.  From images with perfect light and reflections, to pictures including the spectacular background of the city.   Most importantly, it was easy to capture their connection and their love for each other.  It was a dream to photograph a couple like these two; so sweet and easy with each other, so in love and so aware of the other.

Such an honour to photograph weddings for wonderful couples like these.  Check some of my favourite images from the day.

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Squamish Valley Wedding

Groom and Bride

Squamish Valley Wedding

R & C got married on a gorgeous winter day last December.  The wedding took place in beautiful Squamish, BC.  The bride and groom found a perfect spot along the river for bridal party pictures, with a stunning backdrop of snow capped mountains and a pastel sky.  It was a the perfect day and the weather cooperated wonderfully to create special images of this special day.

The nuptials and reception took place at the Brackendale Art Gallery, a cosy, rustic venue.   This small intimate spot, with a log cabin feel, is perfect to host a small wedding with your closest of family and friends.  R & C transformed it into a magical, romantic space for their day, complete with twinkly lights and soft candlelight. The stage where they said their vows was decorated with rustic pallets behind them, interspersed with glowing bulbs to create a warm, romantic atmosphere. It felt like being in a fairy tale and was amazing to document.  There is a perfect balcony at the Art Gallery to capture a unique view of the event.  Looking down on the stage and dance floor and shooting from there, really highlighted the incredible scene that R & C created.

There were may incredible and heartfelt moments during their wedding, from teary speeches at dinner, to the first dance, to their favourite band, The Paperboys, playing their favourite songs.

Thanks for having me be a part of your big day and capturing your love for each other!

 

Lets chat about your upcoming wedding!  Please check out my portfolio 🙂

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Wedding at Bodega Ridge

Bodega Ridge Wedding

This Bodega Ridge Wedding was amazing, beautiful, fun, emotional and so much more.  A weekend long, wedding event that embraced and celebrated, Tessa and Matt’s love, but also family and friendships.  

Nothing is more meaningful to a photographer than being invited to shoot a momentous occasions.  It is a huge responsibility to capture authentic moments of emotion, and when Matt and Tessa called me to ask if I was available to photograph their wedding day I have to admit that I was incredibly honoured.  I have shared several special moments with the two of them over the past few years, including capturing their two exquisite babies, Madelyn and Luke, as newborns & toddlers. Both children are growing into gorgeous, friendly and engaging children and I have loved having this beautiful family in front of my camera as it grew from two to four.  It was with great excitement that I boarded the ferry to Galiano Island, an incredibly beautiful island on the West Coast, where Tessa and Matt were getting married.    

Galiano Island, and specifically Bodega Bridge, is, in a word, spectacular.  The vistas of the soaring mountains in the distance, sunlight dancing on the water and the mesmerizing sound of the ocean set a stunning stage for Tessa and Matt’s weekend-long wedding. Even the little details, like the fairy lights twinkling in the marquee, the colourful flowers and the dazzling blue sky, helped to create an enchanting aura.  And yet, all paled in comparison to the radiance emanating from this happy couple, who wanted nothing more than to gather family and friends to celebrate this very special day.  As Tessa said in her wedding blog, they were, ”Beyond honoured and excited to share our special day with all of you; the people we love the most.” 

As with most brides and grooms, the wedding day itself seems to pass by in a joyous blur and sometimes they don’t always catch every moment.  I love capturing all of those: the images that they imagine prior, the candid moments that they weren’t expecting, the spontaneous laughter, and the joy.  Most importantly, capturing how the day felt is most important to me. I want Tessa, Matt, and theirs friends & family to look at the pictures and be brought back to the day, to the moment of the “I-do’s” ,the crowded dance floor, the laughter and the love.  The moments they may have missed, but now have to look at and remember forever.
 
When Matt and Tessa walked back down the aisle to petals being showered over them, I felt the joy and elation that radiated from them both.  I had felt it from the moment I arrived, until I left the island.  The photos I took that day encapsulated all the uninhibited delight that I had witnessed. I am so excited that they will have these images to look back on and share with their children, family and friends.  To see how they were celebrated; how they felt that day.  I am so grateful they invited me to photograph the day for them, to trust me and my camera and let me preserve their memories forever.
 
This wedding, for me, was incredibly special as they were allowing me to photograph the start of another momentous chapter in their lives.  Thank you, Tessa and Mike, not only for including me but also for trusting me to capture your stories.  
 

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