One of the reasons I love photographing weddings is that often times it takes me to a different city. In the case of Arthur and Katherine, their wedding took place in Wawa, Ontario. Now, anyone who has driven from Thunder Bay to Toronto has stopped in at Wawa which I definitely have done in the past. Surprisingly, I never really explored Wawa or gone any further then the standard gift shop. So when my wife and Anne arrived in Wawa for the wedding, I was super excited to actually see a lot more of Wawa.
Once we got settled into our hotel, Nichola, who was the maid of honour and also very good friends with my wife and I, showed us where all the venues of the wedding were and also a little tour of Wawa. I didn’t realize who beautiful of a city it actually was. Being a small city did mean that almost all of the wedding took place on the main strip, which did make my life very easy. I only had to travel a few minutes here and there for the different spots during the day.
The wedding day started at the salon with the girls. I spent almost 2 hours there just hanging out with them and documenting them relaxing and getting their hair done. I then met the boys down the road where they were washing some of the vehicles and also decorating them. Aside from being quite hot out, I had a fun time snapping candid photos of everyone doing their thing. It was a very relaxed atmosphere.
Once I was done there, I went back to the girls who where now at the house getting dressed. Again, it was super chill and, as I always do, I looked for moments to photograph. Before I left, we stepped outside for a few minutes and did some portraits of all the ladies. The last stop before the ceremony was again with the boys getting ready at the cabin. I only had about 20 minutes with them but it was enough time to get some keepers. Although, the firecracker they set off right by Arthur before I left scared the living crap out of me. I was not expecting it.
The ceremony took place at the church and it was amazing to see how many people showed up. It was your standard ceremony but quite beautiful. I did my best to stay in the background and do my thing. The one thing I like about ceremonies is that I can kind of look around and pick out subjects while they aren’t really paying attention to me.
After the ceremony, we did the wedding party and family portraits at a friends house on the Lake. It was quite sunny out so we found some shade and knocked off al the portraits. It went by fairly quick, but looking back, I was amazed at how many different combinations we actually did.
The last stop of the day was the reception which I believe took place at the recreation centre. Whatever it was, it was really big and decorated exquisitely. There were drapes hanging everywhere from the walls and the roof and the decorations were perfectly done. It was nice to have my wife there with me. I still worked most of the time but to be able to take breaks once in a while and talk with her was a nice change from the usual wedding where I’m all alone. All the various components of the reception were a joy to photograph, the first dances, speeches, cake cutting and of course bouquet toss.
I’m so glad I finally had the opportunity to photograph a wedding in Wawa. I couldn’t have asked for a better couple to do with in Arthur and Katherine.
