Lara Eichhorn Photography Blog - Victoria BC Documentary Wedding Photographer Lara Eichhorn

Kirsten and Berne are Married

December 28, 2018 by Lara Eichhorn

Kirsten and Berne are all about the love, not just for each other but for their family and friends. These two are very in touch with their emotions and aren’t afraid to share themselves with the ones they love. So, of course, their loved ones were happy to share their skills and effort in making their Pearson College wedding the best day possible.

Kirsten’s mom made her dress, which looked gorgeous and classic on her. Their friend, who’s a florist in Hawaii, designed all their florals. An uncle made the wood altar and Kirsten’s mother and aunt made a Danish wedding cake, which is basically a bunch of rings of marzipan. Their friends officiated the ceremony, which was even sweeter because they’re married to each other. And a guest played DJ and rocked the dance floor.

The ceremony kicked off with Kirsten being rowed around in a canoe by three young guests. The rest of the guests and Berne gathered around the fence to watch, then Kirsten and her father walked across campus to the ceremony site. There were a lot of emotions flowing as their officiants and guests spoke about the nature of love and marriage.

After a brief portrait session, they entered the reception and led their guests in some circle dances (check out the video below). The toasts showed how well their families and wedding party know them and how happy everyone was to see them find each other. Kirsten’s sister surprised her by asking Kirsten to sing with her as their brother played guitar. Kirsten was a great sport and studied the music before giving a beautiful performance of “Annie’s Song”.

The night continued with impressive first and father-daughter dances and one of the liveliest dance floors of the summer. They took a break for dessert and to “cut” the Danish wedding cake, which basically consists of them breaking the top several rings off the cake. They both went around and handed out pieces for all of the guests to try.

I created a fusion slideshow for them including some audio, but they wanted to keep that part private, so I made a mini video for you all to check out the boat trip and some of the fun circle dancing. If you want to get your guests involved in your wedding and kick the dance floor off, this is a great way to do it.

Venue and Catering: Pearson College
Florist: Della Peacock from Dellables Maui
Tux Rentals: Capital City Tuxedo
Officiants: Ellen and Jeremy Clark-King

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Renée and Matt are Married

December 22, 2018 by Lara Eichhorn

I was really looking forward to Renée and Matt’s Maple Grove Guest House wedding in September and it did not disappoint. I met them when Renée was a bridesmaid in her maid-of-honour Kelsey’s wedding a couple years ago. They were so adorable and girl just loves to dance, which are two of my favourite things in wedding clients.

I got to hang out with Renée and her bridesbabes before the ceremony, which was a ton of fun. They were so full of energy and joy (and champagne), making for lots of dancing and laughter. Their mismatched outfits looked awesome too. Renée’s mom helped her put her dress on and they were just so sweet together. Then, of course, the bridesbabes freaked out when they saw her in her dress. Can you blame them?

The couple did a first look, where they met up on a forest path before the ceremony. Renee walked up and they stood back to back, holding hands, for a bit to chat and giggle, before turning around. Matt’s reaction was pretty amazing. They both looked so happy. We finished up with some couple and wedding party portraits, so they’d only have to do some family photos between ceremony and reception.

The ceremony was sweet and emotional, and so pretty under that big tree. After the ceremony, Renée and Matt snuck away for a private moment with just the two of them. I stayed far enough back that I couldn’t hear what they were saying, but it looked pretty cute. Then they headed off down the hill together to the reception.

The reception included lots of toys for the kids, some hilarious and touching toasts, yummy food and drinks, and the bestowing of a cowbell by Matt’s parents (that I can’t quite remember the story behind). Their first dance was lively, lovely, and full of big smiles. It was followed by a ton of energetic dancing, which was so much fun to photograph. A little boy in suspenders just put everyone else’s moves to shame. Before we headed out, a guest reappeared in a sloth onesie and you can only imagine how the rest of the night went.

They had a lot of friends help them out and not just friends, but friends who are professionals, like Amanda at Brown’s for the flowers and Evan Miller from The Wild Romantics taking care of DJ duties and singing for their first dance. Renee’s cousin Megan made them a cutting cake that was adorable and topped with a drawing Matt did of the two of them. Their ceremony was unofficially officiated by Tara, a relationship coach they’re close to.

Venue: Maple Grove Guest House
Music: Evan Miller
Caterer: Sea Salt Food Co.
Florist: Brown’s Westshore
Hair: Kim Kirkland
Make-up: Jessica Pool
Cake: Megan Emmerson
Officiant: Tara Caffelle
Dress: David’s Bridal
Suit: Studio Suits

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David and Tamar Anniversary

December 16, 2018 by Lara Eichhorn

David and Tamar were married last year in Hawaii in a small ceremony and wanted to celebrate with all of their family and friends a year later with an anniversary party/reception at Starling Lane Vineyard. They adopted the cutest puppy, named Kona after their wedding location, who was just the star of the show. They got her a pretty floral crown, which she didn’t appreciate at all, but she sure loved the attention.

The afternoon was spent enjoying lawn games, appetizers (and “epic charcuterie board” per the couple), beverages, and conversation. Candid photos of the guests having fun were the most important to them, but we did sneak in a few portraits before the guests arrived. This type of coverage is exactly my thing. I think weddings should be enjoyed by everyone there and couples shouldn’t spend too much time away taking photos. It can be a challenge to capture good candids of everyone, especially when they’re eating and even more so when the lighting is tough, like the dappled light during cocktail hour. But I’m always up for a challenge.

You might notice if you check out the vendor list at the bottom of this post, there are three different rental companies and an awesome florist all involved in the decor for this event. This is why you hire a planner, to keep all these things organized. Marika from Rock Paper Square also has a gift for stunning design, along with being on top of things and smiling the whole time. The other vendors really made the day great too from beautiful cocktail hour music by Geoff Lundstrom to the delicious catering by House of Boateng.

To top off a fun day, after a delicious dinner and some sweet toasts, they had Autumn from Cold Comfort come with her little ice cream truck and hand out ice cream sandwiches. There was a huge line instantly. How great to invoke the joy of the ice cream truck appearing on your street as a child. Afterwards, people who weren’t too full to continue on headed to an after-party downtown on shuttle buses. David, Tamar, and Marika really thought of everything to make this an amazing day for all involved.

Venue: Starling Lane Vineyard
Planner/Decor: Rock Paper Square
Catering: House of Boateng
Florist: Ingrid Rose Floral Artistry
Musician: Geoff Lundstrom
Hair and Make-up: Heartwood + Co.
Ice Cream Truck: Cold Comfort
Shuttle Buses: Wilson’s
Rentals (tent and chairs): Wise Co.
Rentals (cutlery and games): Party Mood
Rentals (table toppers): Scene About Town

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Heather and Travis are Married

December 12, 2018 by Lara Eichhorn

Heather and Travis were married in August at the Inn at Laurel Point. It was the first wedding of ten weekends in a row for me and it was a great way to kick off the crazy season. I always love Inn at Laurel Point weddings because it’s such a beautiful venue with lots of natural light. The rooms are gorgeous for getting ready photos too. The reception space looked lovely with a floral theme featuring gorgeous flowers by Rook & Rose.

All I remember about this day was that it rained a lot during the ceremony and I kept getting soaked ducking around the groomsmen at the edge of the tent. Heather and her group of family and bridesmaids were getting a little nervous while getting ready as ominous dark clouds appeared in the sky. It seemed to be letting up a bit just before the ceremony, but it still rained quite a bit and I’m sure everyone was glad that everything was moved under the tent.

Okay, that’s not all I remember. I remember how joyful Heather and Travis were and how lovingly they looked at each other. After the ceremony kiss, they grinned and chatted with each other for a moment before signing the registry.

I also remember how important family was to these two, with siblings and nieces and nephews in the wedding party. The girls had the cutest floral crowns, even though they had some trouble keeping them in place. We took a ton of family portraits and they had the brilliant idea of having a bus drive us around to a few locations, which really took the stress out of the usual transportation logistics. I have to admit that my favourite moments and photos were the ones with just the two of them after the bus brought everyone else to the reception. Luckily, the rain had mostly disappeared for the portrait session.

The reception toasts were sweet and hilarious, and I was digging the way the sunlight was hitting that podium. Heather’s maid-of-honour joked that they were sisters from another mother and her dad’s reaction was perfect. But really, they even look like sisters and definitely act like it.

Travis and Heather danced adorably to “Harvest Moon” and, after some sweet dances with their parents, the guests danced the night away.

Heather and her mother worrying about the looks of those clouds.
The girls cheered when it seemed like the rain had stopped. Unfortunately, it didn’t last.

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Venue and Catering: Inn at Laurel Point
DJ: Glenn Lewis
Florist: Rook & Rose
Hair: Elena at Conscious Hair
Makeup: Melanie Baird
Officiant: Dave Peck
Bride’s dress: Truvelle
Groom’s suit: Brooks Brothers
Ceremony Musician: Brad Prevedoros

Alana and Ryan are Married

December 10, 2018 by Lara Eichhorn

Alana and Ryan were married at Brentwood Bay Resort and Spa back in July. It was fun to see them again, after our mini sunset engagement session in May.

They had a lunch wedding with a first look and portraits before the ceremony. I’ve only done afternoon weddings at Brentwood Bay Resort and it’s a gorgeous space for them with so much natural light in the dining room and a beautiful oceanfront garden. The balcony ended up having the perfect light for the ceremony with a sheer white canopy protecting the guests from the sun and always possible rain.

They had an adorable ring bearer, who was a little bit shy about walking down the aisle, and rounded out the wedding party with a lady of honour and best man. I love small wedding parties like this because it feels so much more relaxed for portraits, which went really well with the overall feel of a wedding with less than thirty guests. Everyone was super friendly and happy at this wedding, though I think I saw a few tears as well.

The couple’s parents both got them books with photos from the other’s childhood, which brought out some big smiles from the couple. Alana’s parents also gave Ryan some sparkly Mickey Mouse gloves, because he’s obsessed with Disney. Good thing he works for an airline, so they can go whenever they want.

We took a few more portraits at the end and then they collapsed on the bed for an image that really captures how the end of a wedding feels.

Venue and Catering: Brentwood Bay Resort and Spa
Florist: Broadmead Thrifty Foods Floral Department
Hair and Makeup: Haven Spa and Salon, Sidney Pier Hotel and Spa
Cake: Dutch Bakery
Officiant: Pamela Rice
Bride’s Dress: Luz Bridal Boutique
Groom and best man’s suits: RW&CO.
Lady of honour’s dress: Ricki’s

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Kirsten and Berne are Married

Renée and Matt are Married

David and Tamar Anniversary

Heather and Travis are Married

Alana and Ryan are Married

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