Even though Jennifer and Jason live in Southern Ontario, they decided to have their wedding here in Thunder Bay with family. The location, their parents’ camp out on Pass Lake. It was definitely one of the most beautiful settings I have had the pleasure of being at for a wedding. Luckily I was there from the afternoon to the late evening, which allowed me to spend some quality time with everyone.
The day started with Jennifer getting ready in the main house. I could feel the anticipation in the air, but otherwise, everyone was pretty laid back. It made for a great atmosphere to take photos in. Both candid, and of course some posed. The only drawback was that there was cooking going on in the kitchen, which was making me hungry.
Next up were the guys. It was a very small wedding, so it was just Jason and his brother. As you can see from the photos, there was no mistaking that they were brothers. From there, I wandered around the property to capture all the nice details and scenery, along with candids of people as they arrived. It was an overcast day which made for the perfect weather for photos.
The ceremony began a little bit later in the afternoon and it was a short but definitely didn’t lack on sweetness, and laughs. With the backdrop of the Lake behind them, it was pretty difficult not to come away with great photos.
We then did some family portraits and eventually the first set of photos with just Jennifer and Jason. The reception took place under a nice big open tent. The great thing was that everyone wandered around and mingled, which allowed me to continue to get nice candids.
The rest of the night was super fun, with the usual speeches, first dance, cake cutting and just general good times. I got to meet a lot of the friends and family which is probably the thing I like most about these short ‘backyard’ weddings.
The highlight of the day for me was meeting their grandmother. I learned quickly that she spoke her mind, and didn’t hold anything back. Long story short, she told me the they shouldn’t even have hired a photographer. She didn’t believe it was worth it. She then went on to ask me how much I was charging! After telling Jennifer and Jason about this, laughing as I did so, word quickly spread and everyone was not surprised. That was just how ‘granny’ was. I took no offence, and to be honest, it’s those fleeting conversations that I embrace as weddings are adapting to become smaller and more intimate. I just hope she likes these photos!
