One of my last weddings of the year was another family affair. It was my wife’s niece Jamie and Cory’s wedding. It goes without saying that I was very excited to capture it. I knew it would be a fun day, but that didn’t mean that I wouldn’t be working hard all day, which is exactly what happened.
My portion of the day started first thing in the morning with Jamie and the rest of her bridal party at the Victoria Inn. The original plan was to spend about an hour with them, then head over to the where the boys were at their house. Well, I rarely find that weddings go as planned and I ended up spending a lot more time with the girls then originally planned. It was fine by me though, because there was a lot going on, and I came away with a ton of good photos. To be honest, there is usually more going in when the girls get ready then when I photograph guys.
I photographed the girls while they were doing their makeup, nails and pretty much all else that goes into getting ready for the Jamie’s big day. All the photos below are simply a small sampling of what I captured, it was definitely hard to narrow it down. My favourite part of this portion of the day is when Jamie got a brief moment to say hi and bye to her two little ones. I eventually had permission to leave when Jamie and the rest of the girls were all dressed up, so I rushed to where Cory was getting ready and instantly took a handful of photos. I was literally in and out in 10 minutes. The boys had to hurry up and get to Mount McKay where the ceremony was taking place.
Once I arrived at Mount McKay I grabbed my cameras and got some photos of guests arriving and eventually the rest of the wedding party. It was kind of a unique wedding in that there was a first ceremony for close family and then another shortly after where everyone could attend. As a photographer, I will never complain about being given the opportunity to photograph two ceremonies for one wedding. They both had a completely different feel and the photos I took reflected that.
The main (second) wedding took place in the main grandstand which was quite beautiful with the mountain framing everything behind. I had a lot more room to work with during the second ceremony, and there were more people which meant more opportunity for candid photos which I love to do. As soon as it was over, everyone gathered around the outside of the grandstand and congratulated the bride and groom, then it was off to do some family portraits. It was actually quite a hot summer day so my main goal was working in the shade as best I could. It was hard to do because we were in the wide open, but I did manage to eventually find some. That is where we did all the family portraits, and there were quite a few.
The portraits took a little longer then expected because we had to wait around for a bit, but I was still able to get a few quick photos down at the entrance to the mountain where there is a beautiful swing hanging from a tree. I didn’t even know it was there until Jamie suggested it. I have since used that location one time since then for a portrait session.
It was then time for a short break so I went home, regrouped and had something to eat. Before I knew it, it was time to head to the reception at the Victoria Inn. As usual, before all the guests arrived, I got some detail shots of the decorations and of course cake. From that point on it was just a matter of looking for moments with people interacting and having fun. That was not hard to do. One of my favourite moments from the ceremony was when Jamie was handed a beer outside in the hall, and as soon as she opened up, it started foaming from being shaken. Like any crazy bride would do, she quickly brought it up to her mouth and I drank the whole thing. Everyone around her cheered their approval.
As mentioned in the first paragraph, this wedding included some extended family of mine so the table I sat it included some close friends and relatives. Plus, my wife eventually showed up which was so awesome. Oh, and did I mention, it happened to be my birthday. It was the second year in a row that I was shooting a wedding on my birthday.
I’m not one for attention and especially when I photograph, I try to be discreet unless I’m interacting with people. Well, I got called up to the head table to get a group shot, but I soon realized that it was a trick to get me to the front. Before I knew it, Tony was on the mic getting the entire crowd of 200+ people to sing happy birthday to me. It was a cruel thing to do but greatly appreciated. I can go on record and say that it was the most people at one time that have ever sang happy birthday to me. Suffice it to say, I was a bit taken aback.
After the speeches were done, it was time for the cake cutting and then eventually the dancing. The first dances were very nice and with the huge dance floor I had a lot of room to move to compose some really good photos. Then it was time for the dancing to start and a lot of the crowd do so immediately. Because I was with friends and family I stayed longer then I was required to and hung out for a bit. The good thing about staying a bit later then usual, is that I was able to get some epic dancing photos, the garter and bouquet toss and eventually a huge group of people forming a training dancing through the entire room. It was a fitting end to a long but extremely fun wedding.
Family weddings are always fun to photograph, and Jamie and Cory’s wedding was no different. It was some of the most fun I have had at any wedding all year. They were so kind and generous and extremely easy to photograph. The same goes for all their friends and family as well!
