Julie & Tehl's Wedding

We first met Julie & Tehl back in June of 2017 when Tehl had booked us for a portrait session as a Mother’s Day gift for Julie. Tehl used Facebook to search for a photographer and someone was kind enough to recommend us for the job (always very much appreciated!!).

When it came time for these two to get married, they let us know of their engagement by email and added: “Of course we would like you guys to be our photographers!” And we were thrilled to hear it!!

This wedding was so unique. It all took place in and around their acreage just south of Leduc. Julie got ready at their house and Tehl got ready at a hotel in Leduc. Dave spent time with Julie while she got ready and I was with Tehl. We all met up at a place called The Old Red Barn for their first look. We also took some amazing photos of the couple inside the barn after the first look. What a great space! We all headed to Tehl’s gym for a few more photos as well.

After the gym, we went our separate ways once again. Tehl got his two boys dressed back at the hotel and Julie got her son ready at the house. Then it was time for the ceremony. The outdoor setting on their acreage was just perfect.

Once they were officially wed we headed back to The Old Red Barn to get photos of the whole gang. Luckily the barn was only a 2-minute drive from their house.

With the formal photo portion of the day complete we all zipped back to their acreage for the reception. Tehl did a great job converting the Quonset on their property into a wedding reception space. It looked like it was intended for receptions all along! The camper-turned-bar known as The Old Fashioned (supplied by the same people that run The Old Red Barn) was such a unique touch! So was the fact that dinner featured an actual pig roast!

We cannot say enough about how great it was to work with these two. A true joy indeed!! We couldn’t be happier for them and wish them all the happiness in the world.

Take a look at just some of the images we captured on their big day:

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Neil & Mel

It rained. It stopped. It poured. It stopped. It REALLY poured. It drizzled. It stopped. It shone! It rained. It stopped.

What a roller-coaster of a wedding day for Neil and Mel, and all the while the time was spent with laughs and tears and everything in between. Knowing the weather might throw us for a loop, we made sure to plan a pub stop in the middle of the day so we could grab some food and drink, get out of the down pour and take a breath. This time, the good folks at Biera played host.

What an amazing building! So many different nooks and crannies, both inside and out. From there we headed out to Mill Creek ravine for some mandatory bridge shots, then to Remedy Cafe for another quick warm up before heading to the reception. The added bonus about our quick cafe stop, is that Remedy is where Neil and Mel met when he was a server there. It was fun recreating that moment.

Our evening ended at the Pleasantview Community League where we were witness to heartfelt speeches, tons of laughter, and an off the hook dance floor.

We hope you enjoy this peak at Neil & Mel’s amazing day.

Congrats!

Natalie & Ryan

Our last wedding of the year was a fun one.

We spent a beautiful fall day with Natalie and Ryan starting at the Matrix Hotel for the getting ready and the ceremony, then heading to Local on Jasper for a much needed pub stop, where we got some great casual photos of the bridal team, before heading back to the Matrix to dance the night away. 

Finding all the spots at Local was fun. Because of the cloudy day, we sat at a long table on the patio and used that as a staging area and after getting a few drinks and nachos (our favourite), we ran around the place finding all the cool spots to feature this good looking group of people.

The night was full of great speeches, real emotion, and great food. 

Congratulations Natalie & Ryan! Thanks for letting us hang out with you for the day!

Emily-Anne & Jen - The Wedding

What a day! We had so much fun with Emily-Anne and Jennifer on their wedding day. It was a day full of laughs – just like their engagement session was.

One of the highlights of the day was when we were taking photos around Le Marchand Mansion when two people working in the building came out to speak with us. We were pretty certain they were going to tell us we weren’t allowed to be taking photos on the property, but instead, they asked us if we wanted to go up on the roof to take some photos. Umm…. Yes please??!!?? The view was incredible from up there. The sky was fog-like due to the smoke coming into town from forest fires around Alberta. While we certainly weren’t happy that the fires were going on, it did make for some dreamy backgrounds for their photos.

Their outdoor ceremony was beautiful. Having their guests form a semi-circle was such a nice touch. The speeches they wrote for each other brought tears to everyone’s eyes, while still managing to make everyone laugh, too. 

After the ceremony, we headed to Red Star Pub to relax, have a drink or two, grab some food, and take some photos. The staff of Red Star was very accommodating to us and we appreciate it very much!

The great day continued with the reception at the Old Timers Cabin. The room was truly breathtaking! Wedding planner Maggie from MB&COMPANY did such a great job making sure everything looked top-notch. Great speeches, delicious food (catered by Culina), a double bouquet toss, cutting of the most amazing wedding cake ever, followed by non-stop dancing to music played by the outstanding DJ Kwake (seriously... the best DJ we've ever worked with - the dance floor is never empty when he's on the scene!) made the evening one of our favourites.

We are so happy for these two and wish them a life of complete happiness together. 

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Liz & Greg's Wedding

My sister got married! At the Calgary Zoo! It was incredible.

A couple of months ago, we shared the fun engagement shoot we did with these two and during that session, we knew that their wedding would be awesome. It did not disappoint. The thing that may not come across in these photos, is the heat, my gawd the heat! Like flames on the side of ours faces. It was +31c in the direct Alberta sun, but they were all troopers. We did try to find refuge in any shade we could both to cool down and also get those non-squinty shots.

I do have to say a huge thank you to Brad. Not that I don't normally appreciate everything he does when it comes to this photo partnership, but in this instance, he absolutely went above and beyond. Occasionally, being a family member, I had to be in front of the camera. Brad easily picked up the slack and got the job done. Thank you sir.

Another cool element of the big day was that we got to work with marriage commissioner, Jacquie Hoare. My wife and I were married by Jacquie in her third ever wedding. Ten years later as she joined sister and now brother-in-law, she crossed her 800th ceremony. Amazing. 

Liz, you looked amazing! Greg, welcome (officially) to the family. I'm so happy with how these shots turned out. It was a magnificent day. Here's top many more magnificent ones.

- dave

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Anne & Joe's Wedding

For whatever reason, we seem to book a lot of nurses for weddings. That works out great for us because they have all been amazing to work with. While Anne is not a nurse, she does work at a hospital and that’s how she heard about our work. She got to see it first hand when the bride or groom brought their wedding album in to show everyone at work. Nothing like some free advertising! HA!

You may remember that we held their engagement session at the same time an Edmonton Oiler playoff game was starting. Well, good news/bad news was that the Oilers were out of the playoffs by their wedding day.

Anne & Joe’s day was filled with many events. Apart from the regular Ceremony and Reception there was a tea ceremony, a first look, and several fun games that the Groom and his Groomsmen had to participate in before the Bride would make her appearance.

The Ceremony and Reception were both held at the Edmonton Marriott at River Cree Resort. Because we did not have to travel from venue to venue it allowed us to get a lot of photos in a shorter amount of time.

The weather cooperated as well. We didn’t get rained on in spite of threatening clouds. It actually got quite nice out!

All-in-all everyone had a great time! We are very happy for Anne & Joe!

Ashley & Adam

This was a wedding for the books!

We loved working with Ashley and Adam. While the original plan had been a warm, fall wedding, that is not something you can bet on in mid-October in Edmonton. We woke up that day to a blanket of snow across the city. What that gave us, was a really cool mix of fresh, white snow and the still green leaves of the river valley.

The ceremony was held downtown in the beautiful St. Joachim Catholic Church. This was walking distance to one of our favourite street art locations in the city. From there we headed to Louise McKinney Park to take advantage of the newly fallen snow on the promenade. Before heading to the reception at the Ardrossan Recreation Complex, we made a quick stop at Local in Sherwood Park for a bite to eat and some casual photos. We say it time and time again, when it comes to weddings, plan a stop at a local eatery. It allows for the day to slow down bit and doubles as a great backup plan in case it rains. Curious to know more? Check out our video on Maximizing Time for your wedding.

The literal icing on the cake of this wedding was that it was Dave's birthday and these two went out of their way to pick up a delicious chocolate cake at Duchess Bake Shop and sing Happy Birthday in the middle of their big day.

We have THE BEST clients. Enjoy some shots from the day.

Cassie & Scott - Wedding

Cassie was hoping for a snowy day for her wedding. As luck would have it for her, it snowed just enough for it to appear wintery without it being too cold out. It was still chilly, don't get me wrong, but it could have definitely been much worse!

As far as laid back weddings go, Cassie & Scott's pretty much takes the cake! They didn't have a Wedding Party, they were the only ones to give a speech at the reception, and other than a first dance, there weren't any of the typical garter toss, bouquet toss type events. But don't think that their wedding was not amazing, cause it was!

The couple shared a first look moment together in the alleyway next to Malt & Mortar on Whyte Ave, then headed in to the pub to spend some time with their immediate family. After a while the family left and Dave and I spent the remainder of the afternoon with just the two of them. It was great. They got to really experience the whole day together without any distractions.

After the formal photos we headed to the Old Timers Cabin for the ceremony and reception. The ceremony was beautiful, the dinner was fantastic, the dessert was even better. All around a great day for two great people.

We wish Cassie & Scott many years of happiness together, and thank them for letting us spend their day with them.

- brad

Cassie & Drew

What a great day this was!

After the great time we had with Cassie and Drew at their engagement session, we were pumped to get shooting their big day. The day started off at with a First Look at their house, then we headed to Iconoclast Coffee (a favourite hangout of these two), took some photos on the edge of the new Brewery District, before finally heading off to the Old Timers Cabin for the ceremony and reception. 

Thank you Cassie and Drew for letting us capture your wedding. Here's to many awesome years ahead!

Krista & Brent's Wedding

We were lucky enough to shoot Krista & Brent’s engagement session at the amazing Ice Castle here in Edmonton back in January. And we were lucky a second time when we found out their ceremony was being held at the Gretzky Church!! Some of you might know it by its actual name of St. Joseph's Basilica (although, if you Google "Gretzky church" it is the first thing that comes up... just saying).

While most of our wedding shoots end up having a decidedly urban feel, we certainly feel right at home out in the country, too. Krista & Brent are definitely more of the outdoorsy types, so we just had to find a location to fit their style for their wedding photos. Luckily, the day before the wedding, Brent stumbled upon this great location. It had this fantastic old barn (that we thought just might collapse right before our eyes), a beautiful pathway leading to the open fields, and a few great old cars. What a find! Nice hunting Brent!

After our session out at the farm we headed back to the couple’s house in Sherwood Park. It was a nice little interlude between the photo session and the upcoming reception. I’m pretty sure they just wanted to head back there because they missed their dogs too much. It was nice for everyone to have a little downtime. They sat out in the back yard while one of the groomsmen played a few songs on his guitar (he also sang the song for the couple’s first dance).

The rest of the day was also a success and a great time was had by all. We wish these two many, many years of happiness.

Here is a look at a selection of the photos from their wedding day: 

Lacey & Chad's Wedding

We met Lacey at the Bridal Fantasy show back in January this year. We seemed to impress her with our work (and our charm, I’m sure) and she booked us on the spot! I’m sure Chad was a little startled to find out they had booked a photographer without his knowledge, but we met with the two of them a few weeks later and Chad gave his stamp of approval as well.

We spent their wedding day hanging out with their gigantic wedding party (18 people including the couple) and had a blast! For their photos we went to a great, rustic location in downtown Edmonton (where the ladies even managed to get photos in front of a fire truck) then headed off to Mercer Tavern to have some food and drinks and take more photos. The Mercer staff have always been great to us whenever we’ve camped out at their place on wedding shoots.

On a lucky note, Rogers Place arena was set to open about a month after their wedding so we managed to get a few shots of them with the nearly-complete building in the background. As those of you from Edmonton can attest, it is an amazing structure.

The reception was a fantastic event (Lacey did an amazing job with all of the details for sure!). One of the best things was that they ensured their son was a part of the day. He seemed to quite enjoy himself and he looked pretty darn cool too!

Lacey & Chad, we wish you all the best!!!

Take a look at some of the moments from their special day:  

Fiona & James

Fiona is a long time friend and I couldn't be happier that she asked us to be a part of her big day. When Brad and I arrived at the Hotel MacDonald to get photos of them getting ready, the sky opened up and threw down the hardest rain we have seen all summer. As they dressed, the rain pummeled the outside of the hotel and didn't seem like it was going to let up.

But it did, and we got some shots around the hotel before heading to their beautiful ceremony at the amphitheatre at Hawrelak Park.  From there, we hit a few awesome spots around town before landing at the Muttart Conservatory for a fantastic reception.

It was such a beautiful day. We just wanted to share it with you.

Jill & Brendan

We loved working with these two. 

After an awesome engagement session in Hawrelak Park we knew their big day was going to be a great one. The bright, sunny day started out at the Nova Hotel, then we headed to a beautiful ceremony at the Grace Lutheran Church.

When we met them before the wedding, Brendan mentioned he had a friend at Parlour, a fantastic Italian restaurant in Edmonton. After the ceremony, we brought the wedding party to the restaurant where they opened early for us and served some delicious pizza. Places like this always lend themselves as fantastic backdrops for wedding photos. 

After the photos were done, we headed to the Italian Cultural Centre for a wonderful reception and great music. 

We are so happy with how these shots turned out. Congrats Jill and Brendan! 

Grace & Mark

It’s a small world. I think we can all agree on that. But when we book a wedding with a couple from Toronto because the bride-to-be happens to be great friends with a girl from Calgary whose sister (that lives in Edmonton) happens to be not only a great friend of ours, but was the bride of one of the first weddings we ever shot as a team, it makes the world seem even smaller!!

Grace & Mark are awesome – let me just get that out of the way. We enjoyed being with them on their wedding day a great deal. They were so laid back and rolled with the punches that were thrown their way. That includes changing the VENUE for the wedding ceremony the MORNING OF the wedding!! That’s right! The weather was not going to be good enough to have the outdoor wedding they had planned for, so they arranged to have the ceremony at the same place they were having the reception. And truth be told, if you didn’t know that fact, you would not have known it wasn’t supposed to have been held at the Matrix Hotel all along. Everything came together so perfectly, it was awesome to be a part of.

Luck was also on our side that day though. We spent our time between the ceremony and the reception at Rocky Mountain Icehouse having some food, drinks, and lots of laughs. The luck I speak of is that we JUST made it to the pub before it started to pour down from the skies. And then we lucked out again when the rain stopped just long enough for us to go out to the alleyways around the pub and get some beautiful shots of this fantastic couple (and their awesome wedding party too!).

Grace & Mark made their way back to Toronto a few days after the wedding but we recently had the pleasure of meeting with Grace when she came back to visit her Edmonton family. Once again we realized why we love doing what we do. We meet some truly fantastic people and love it when they appreciate what we do for them. Grace is certainly appreciative of our work and that makes us grin gigantic smiles!

We leave you now with a selection of the photos we captured on that day in June… enjoy! 

Teresa & Bruce - New Year's Eve Wedding!

Teresa & Bruce are as in love with each other as I've ever seen with any other couple! They are just so cute together. When they asked me to photograph their New Year's Eve wedding I was honoured to do it. 

Dave had prior obligations (with it being New Year's Eve and all) so I enlisted my girlfriend Nicole (who has a fantastic fashion design business called Vertigogo Designs) to help out with lighting for the evening. 

Teresa & Bruce were married at their home here in Edmonton. The house was converted into an amazing wedding venue! Teresa's daughter Andrea made some amazing artwork from literally thrift store finds! Lots of candles lighting the home made it so cozy. With only approximately 40 guests present, it was a very intimate affair.

We found some time to venture outside for a few photos after the ceremony. Teresa was quite a trooper and spent our time outside without a coat on. Luckily it was one of the nicer evenings we've had in a while so that helped, but she was still shivering but tried not to let it show.

Nicole and I were thrilled to experience this evening with the lovebirds and will remember this New Year's Eve for decades to come!

Check out a few of the moments from the night below.

- brad

Christine and Roy

The trick with winter weddings is to not look cold. 

While Christine and Roy had their actual wedding in warm, warm, Hawaii, they elected to have their hometown reception in December. Quite the contrast! These two were troopers. This happened to be the first day of the year where it felt cold outside. The session involved a lot of "1,2,3,... coat off!", shoot, shoot, shoot, then "coat back on!".

The other cool (pun intended) element of this shoot was the history here. In a former life, Christine, Roy and I had all worked at Starbucks together. In fact, that's where these two met. I was honoured that the asked me to shoot their home gathering at Violino Italian Restaurant. We even hopped across the street to take some meaningful photos in a Starbucks. 

This was such a fun night. Congrats you two! Here's to many years of happiness.

Amanda & Jason

Downtown weddings. Our favourite.

While Brad was off shooting a wedding in Ireland, I had the pleasure of shooting Amanda and Jason's big day. We started by running around 104th St, finding all the awesome nooks and crannies that our city has to offer. Then from there, we headed to a beautiful ceremony at the Yellowhead Brewery followed by awesome music spun by Chris Bullough, dancing , and even a makeshift photo booth.

Thanks you two for having me as part of your day. I really had a great time and can't wait to see where your adventures take you.

Laura & Glen - A Wedding in Ireland

I have always wanted to travel to Ireland. My family heritage is Irish and I have longed to visit the place where my ancestors came from. Well, I was able to make that happen thanks to Laura & Glen this year!

Laura & Glen met in New Orleans while Glen was on a trip from Calgary with his buddies and Laura was visiting from Ireland with her girlfriends. The stars truly aligned for these two to find each other and fall in love.

I used to work with Glen at TELUS many years ago and when he messaged me to discuss his wedding in Ireland and the opportunity to be their photographer arose, I was over the moon! Not only would I get to capture the moments from Glen's big day, but I would also be able to tour Ireland. Dave was not able to make the trip with me, but my friend Brian came along to hold lights and camera bags etc. He did a fantastic job and I know he had a great time... and they enjoyed having him there as well. I'll be writing about my Ireland adventures in an upcoming post, so for now, please take a look at the gallery below to see some of the photos from the wedding held in Killarney, County Kerry. The reception was held at the Dunloe Hotel which had a castle on their grounds - and yes, I know there are several photos below with this castle but come on, it's a castle! How could I not take a million photos of it??.

I'm so very happy for Laura & Glen. And I am honoured that I was able to be there to photograph their day. Thanks for having me!

brad

Lauren & Tim

The big day has come and gone.

What a fun wedding this was and we knew it would be after the awesome engagement session we had with them a month before. The great thing about Lauren and Tim's wedding was it featured two of our favourite elements during a wedding photo shoot. A return to the place where the couple first met, and a place for the wedding party to sit, get a bite to eat, and something to drink mid photo shoot. In this case The Keg Steakhouse at South Edmonton Common satisfied both of those elements.

After photos, we headed to the Derrick Golf & Winter Club for a fantastic dinner and a great party. The night wrapped up with the bride bringing the house down with a karaoke 'Sweet Child of Mine". Such a great night. 

Hears to many great years ahead Lauren and Time.

Jasmin & Andrew's Wedding

Andrew, the groom from the wedding we shot on July 4th, has been in the wedding party of TWO previous weddings we've been part of (Robert and Melissa, and Rob and Alicia). Finally we were able to shoot HIS wedding (the phrase "always a groomsman, never a groom" came to mind of course). It goes without saying that we adore Jasmin & Andrew. They are so fun to be around. Their whole group of friends made for a great day for Dave and I. All we can say is that we hope another member of this group gets married soon so we can be around them again in a wedding setting.

Take a look at some of the photos we were able to capture from Jasmin & Andrew's big day.

- brad