It always makes me happy, waking up on a day that I have a wedding.  Beautiful dresses, flowers, hair, makeup, a wonderful couple – giddy with excitement, maybe a little nervous, people that love and support them all around – It’s such a beautiful time.  It’s amplified just a little, when the bride and groom are family.  Courtney is my cousin-in-love and I was so honoured when she and Eric asked if I would be their wedding photographer.  Family usually asks, after hiring me, how I feel about working at a family wedding.  To tell you the truth, I really kind of love it.  Most other guests are vying for the attention of the bride and the groom for a few minutes of the day, but I get them, pretty much to myself, for a great deal of the day. It’s pretty awesome.

I was able to join the girls as they finished up getting ready.  There was such a great fun, relaxed feeling among all the girls as they did their final makeup touches and got their dresses on.  I was happy to see last year’s official colours of the year as their wedding colours.  They may be “last year’s” colours, but I hadn’t yet had a wedding with these soft, romantic beauties and I just loved how Eric and  Courtney worked them into the details of their day.  Neil’s Flowers knocked it out of the park with the stunning arrangements for the bride and her attendants.

Courtney and her mom are very close.  The time that the two of them spent together while doing this pretty monumental moment in both of their lives was so lovely and sweet.  They chatted, just like it was any other day, but there were also beautiful memories shared and talk of future plans.  Courtney chose one of her mom’s pearl necklaces to wear – a perfect accessory to this stunning dress, that she chose from Lovebird Bridal, for this classic bride.

I have already told you about Courtney’s relationship with her mom, but she and her dad also share a beautiful bond. They didn’t particularly have anything planned for Courtney and her dad to see each other for the first time, but I knew it was going to be special and emotional and I wanted to create a beautiful memory for them to have so we did a little first look for her dad.  I was entirely correct with my assumptions.  It was perfect.

Eric and Courtney are pretty traditional in many ways, so they opted to save their first look for when Courtney was coming down the aisle.  I love a first look before the ceremony, but the anticipation and the unspoken interaction between a bride and groom that haven’t yet seen each other is something pretty remarkable.

Eric and Courtney’s ceremony, was perhaps one of the most meaningful and moving ones that I’ve ever witnessed. They chose a slightly “unusual” wedding text: Psalm 90:1-2.  The text speaks of the faithfulness and greatness of God through all generations. Eric and Courtney come from families of beautiful, extraordinary faith so looking back at God’s hand in their past and declaring and speaking that into their married life together was something that they wanted to celebrate and share with their friends and family.   Their ceremony included songs that supported their wedding text and aligned with their hearts and even included a part where they tied their hands to a bible to reflect their commitment to keep God in the centre.

After the ceremony, we moved to the dreamy property that is the Queens University campus.  Not only was this location beautiful, but it also just “fit” so well with Eric and Courtney and the details of their wedding.

The importance of family and strong, Christ-centered love through the generations was a huge theme for their whole day, which I totally loved and wanted to make sure that I was able to convey through the photos that I would deliver to them.

Wedding parties…seriously…I always have fun with them.  Everyone is just so genuinely happy for the bride and groom (much like everyone else at a wedding) and excited to be a part of their special day.  The groups of people I have had the privilege of working with just make it so easy-peasy and these guys were certainly no exception.

it really just brings everything back to what the whole day is really all about – a beautiful love story between 2 people.

So it may seem that I just love every part of a wedding day, and for the most part, that is very correct.  The time that I take with just the bride and groom to do their formal photos, though, is probably my very favourite part.  It’s sweet and easy and usually some of the only time that just the two of them spend together all day and it really just brings everything back to what the whole day is really all about – a beautiful love story between 2 people.  It’s a chance for everyone to just take a breath and soak in and relish in what just happened.  It’s magical.

I LOVED the thought and effort put into the details of Eric and Courtney’s wedding.  They had a little area with photos of marriages of their parents and grandparents and interviews and stories and it was seriously so beautiful.  Their decor was stunning, vintage tea cups and books decorated with beautiful roses and greenery and baby’s breath, adorned with dreamy quotes about love.  It was all very romantic and soft.  Their venue, the Vimmy Officer’s mess, on CFB – Kingston provided such a beautiful back drop to the stories, friendship and love that was being shared between the bride, groom and all of the guests.

In very “true-to-me-fashion”  I grabbed Eric and Coutney for a couple more photos as the sun was setting to cap off their night.  There’s something magical about a sunset – especially on the water!  I went on to cover some of their dance, but I’ll leave you with this final image, because I think it symbolizes the perfect end to a beautiful day and the beginning of a marriage that I’m sure will be even more beautiful.

Congrats, dear family members of mine, it was an absolute honour to spend the day along side you taking care of this special part of your love story.  It sure was one for the books!!

Take a look at Eric and Courtney’s social media highlight reel here: