Admittedly, I truly don't know what to expect with each and every wedding I do. Yes, there are always going to be similar parts to the day through each wedding but sometimes, there are those brief moments during the day that just catch you off guard, and often for the better. Well, this wedding provided one of those moments as soon as I arrived. As I parked my car and I was grabbing my stuff I heard distant music in the background. I didn't really think anything of it, I just thought it was part of the wedding music. Then, it got louder, and louder still. All of a sudden I had a flashback of the Karate Kid. Before I knew it, there it was, an old camper streaming down the road, arms waving out the windows, blaring the following lyrics.
You’re the best!
Around!
Nothing’s gonna ever keep you down
You’re the Best!
Around!
Nothing’s gonna ever keep you down
You’re the Best!
Around!
Nothing’s gonna ever keep you dow-ow-ow-ow-own
It was just such a surreal moment that I wasn't quite sure that what I was seeing was actually real. It was. Oh, it was. Then it parked in front of the entrance and the all the groomsmen and Steven walked out of the vehicle. My first though was that I needed to get a photo of them in front of the camper. And that's exactly what I did. There you have it, the first photo of the day. That set the tone for the rest of the wedding day and what a day it was.
Once I got that cheesy 80's song out of my head I focused on the task at hand. And that was to capture Janine and Steven's day. Everyone gathered on the balcony shortly thereafter and that is where I started getting a lot of great candids. This was a unique wedding in that Steven and Janine did their portraits before the ceremony. So they actually met on the balcony not to long after Steven and the gang arrived.
The minute everyone was good to go and tall the family members arrived, we took the shuttle bus to the Fort to do the family portraits. I absolutely love doing the portraits before the ceremony because it's not as rushed and it leaves a lot more time to get more photos. Plus, when you are at a location like Old Fort William, you can't help but not want to spend a couple hours there.
There are so many wonderful spots there so I simply chose a nice wall in the shade to work and we were off to the races. That way everyone can stay in one spot and just switch out for the required groupings. After getting all the family photos out of the way we then focused on some of the wedding party photos in the same location. From there, I decided to use a different backdrop for the bridesmaids and Janine. Another great thing about the Fort is that the wall surrounding it is gorgeous. So we were able to get some great shots using the wall too.
It was then off to where the barn and animals were. My favourite moment of the day (aside from the grand entrance by the boys) happened as we were walking to where the animals were. Everyone was greeted by a herd of goats. Well, as Janine leaned down to pet one, he decided to use her bouquet for lunch. I managed to get a few shots in sequence showing the incident. It was so priceless and everyone had a great laugh.
We finished up there and eventually headed back to the shuttle to head back to the ceremony where everyone was waiting. It was about 45 minutes in between so it gave me a lot of time to get photos of guests interacting and arriving. Then it was time. The wedding party made their way to the alter and ceremony took place. All in all it took about 30 minutes or so and it was very beautiful. I just love turning around, facing the crowd, and seeing so many smiles and raw emotion.
When the ceremony was all done Janine and Steven wanted to spend a little more time getting some portraits on the trail so that's what we did. It was the perfect time to do so as the sun was low in the sky which made for perfect lighting. Plus it gave them both a chance to be 'almost' alone with one another. After about 20 minutes we head back to the reception area.
That was pretty much it for me. I spent another 1.5 hours photographing guests, the introductions, getting some great detail shots, the first dance and eventually some of the first speeches. As with most weddings, I'm always amazed at just how many great little moments there are throughout the day and it's up to me to document these moments so Janine and Steven can remember them for the rest of their life. Thank you to both Janine and Steven for a fantastic day!
