Most of the time my weddings consist of couples I am meeting for the very first time. Everyone once in a while though, I get to photograph an old friend, and in this case, it was Dannielle. We went to the same elementary school way back in the day. Well, when it was time for her to get married to Steve, she ended up contacting me to capture her wedding. Of course I said yes, and that was that.
We did end up doing an engagement session last December and that is when I first met Steve. As soon as I got to know him a little, I could see that they were indeed the perfect fit. It made me all the more excited to eventually photograph their wedding. It also, helped that I knew I would see some old classmates at the wedding too.
My day started at the ceremony which took place at St. Margaret's Church. As soon as I arrived all the guests were there and the wedding party was getting ready to walk down the aisle. I set up quickly and starting getting some candids of the guest and eventually of the family walking down the aisle. Throughout the ceremony I was able to capture some very beautiful photos of not only the guests but so many good ones of Dannielle and Steve.
The ceremony went by pretty quickly for me and before I knew it, everyone was heading back down the aisle to go outside. I like to think I'm pretty quick at packing up but as soon as I got outside, almost the entire party were about to leave to the next spot! Luckily I knew the destination which was Seaman Park, right by boulevard. That is where they decided to do all the family portraits and also the bridal party as well.
It really is a very nice spot which so much room to work with, and also a lot of tucked away spots that are great for portraits. Of course Dannielle and Steve's (and the entire wedding party) outfits made for some truly memorable and fun photos. They even pulled out some flasks at one point!
Once we finished the bridal party portraits it was time for just Steve and Dannielle. We stayed at the park for a little bit and then eventually travelled to Centennial Park to get some more portraits done there. Centennial Park was where we also did their engagement photos. This time around, it wasn't a blizzard though.
The final part of the evening for me was some of the reception, which took place at the Italian Hall in the main boardroom. I had a bit of downtime before the guests arrived so it gave me a chance to take my time with the detail shots of all the decorations. Once the guests started arriving I was back into candid mode, where I just kept into the background and captured interactions and reactions. It was also my first wedding where they had a caricature artist. It was such a neat idea and the guests loved it. I wanted to get one done of me, but sadly it would have taken to long.
I was at the reception for the first dances, the cake cutting and then that was it. It was such a pleasure being a part of Dannielle and Steve's wedding day. It also made me realize just how fast time flies. It seems like yesterday that we were in Grade 6 playing in the school yard. I couldn't have asked for a more laid back and fun wedding couple to photograph!
