With a few small weddings under my belt this year, Heather and Jordan’s special day was my first big one of the season. The weather was absolutely perfect so I knew it was going to be a great wedding. (Not that there are ever any ‘bad’ weddings’) The day started at a small little church just off of Oliver Road. As soon as I arrived I got my usual candid photos of the guests, the church itself and just the usual moments leading up to the ceremony itself. You can always feel the anticipation the air and I just love that feeling. I guess that will be me in August when I get to marry my beautiful Fiancé Anne.
Once the ceremony began, that’s when I really went to work. The good thing was that there was a a lot of room to move around so I was able to get some great creative angles and photos without being a distraction. That is one of the main challenges when shooting inside a church of any kind. As a photographer you want to get the ‘shot’ but you have to do so quietly and discreetly as possible. I’d like to think I have become a pro at it.
After the ceremony, everyone gathered in the church lobby and congratulated the couple. We then decided to do the family portraits right outside the church. I found a nice shaded area in front of the trees. Although it was mainly family group photos I never stopped looking for this spontaneous moments. This goes on throughout the entire day.
Heather and Jordan were very smart and left plenty of time for portraits which meant we were able to travel to a few different locations. The first stop was the Marina. We got some fantastic expansive photos at the firepit area along the water. From there we simply chose different spots and just went with the flow. I came up with some ideas and so did they. It was very relaxed atmosphere and the resulting photos showed that.
Once we left the Marina, it was time for me to just focus on Heather and Jordan. We made our way to Friendship Gardens. I had forgotten how pretty it is there. Some of my favourite photos of the entire day took place there. One of them being the one with the windmill in the background. I also found a nice little spot nestled in the trees. It was then time to head on over to the reception, which took place at the Valhalla Inn. Before everyone settled in, I was able to get a lot of detail photos of the decorations and table settings, as well as the cake.
From there, it was just a matter of walking around and documenting the ceremony. I only had a little bit of time to work with so we decided to do the ‘cupcake’ cutting before hand. I did get the opportunity to photograph the first dance and a fun game they did with the crowd. After that, my day was done. All in all, I came away with so many great photos. Thanks as always to Heather and Jordan. It was a very fun wedding to photograph and everyone was fantastic to work with.
