Alex and Evan got married at Merridale Cider in mid-July. The girls arrived a bit late from hair and makeup, but their mood was relaxed and celebratory. They still had plenty of time to figure out their convertible wrap dresses, have some champagne, and share some hugs. Evan and Alex were both emotional during the ceremony, but there were plenty of laughs too, which continued into the reception.

They had some help from some very talented family members in making their wedding day beautiful. Alex’s grandma Ruth put together the centerpieces and made a gorgeous cake, which Alex’s brother Fisher carved an awesome wood stand for. After the cake cutting, the guests all immediately lined up for a slice – seriously, this never happens. Then everyone took their cake-happy bellies to the dance floor for a lively good time, from little kids to aunts and uncles. The bridesmaids and Alex even planned a dance to a Spice Girls throwback hit and the couple played the shoe game to a lot of laughter.

Venue/catering: Merridale Ciderworks
DJ: Spencer from Soundworks Entertainment
Bridal party flowers: Willow & Orchid
Hair: Lacy Smallenberg
Makeup: Sandy’s H&M
Cake and table flowers: grandma Ruth
Carved cake stand: Bride’s brother Fisher
Officiant: Lura McCallum
Bride’s dress: Blush Bridal Boutique
Suits: Black & Lee

Karly and Tristan got married at Merridale Cidery in mid-July. This was a super chill wedding, but also a lot of fun. The kids kept things lively late into the night. By ten, the adults were relaxing and eating fancy poutine while the kids continued to play on the dance floor.

Tristan and Karly clearly share a similar sense of humour, as there were lots of laughs, especially during their portraits. Some differences were highlighted in their wedding favours – each chose their favourite candy to share. Tristan’s was wine gums and Karly’s were Warheads sour candies, which had the guests puckering their mouths. Karly’s dad planned some games for the couple to play and they totally tried to help each other cheat (that’s true love).

Venue/catering/cake/decor: Merridale Ciderworks
Florist: Willow & Orchid
Hair/Nails: The Alley Cat Hair Design
Officiant: Lura McCallum
Bride’s dress/hairband: Luz Bridal
Groom’s suit: Le Chateau

Catriona and Marco had probably the most eventful ceremony I’ve ever seen. They had friends/family do readings and sing. Catriona read vows to Marco’s daughter (now their daughter), which was so sweet. They had the best programs (see an excerpt below) and her brother even had a matching “Don’t Panic” hat, which he claimed was a coincidence. The best, most unique part, though was the umbrella unity ceremony. They held a heart shaped umbrella over their and their daughters’ heads and the officiant poured water over it. It was funny and adorable – all of their expressions are so priceless.

The rest of the day was also beautiful and fun. They really thought through the little details. When guests would clink their glasses to try to make the couple kiss, the MC would draw a random couple’s names and that couple would have to kiss too. They made hangover kits as favours for their hard partying guests to take home, and they had a late night poutine bar (fancy poutine, like only Merridale could do). The dance floor was pretty lively and we had a lot of fun capturing the action.

I love the part in the programs about this being an “unplugged wedding”, which means that guest photography is not allowed. The main purpose of this is to encourage the guests to be present and enjoy the ceremony, rather than focusing on their cameras and phones. It also helps keep ipads and DSLRs, and their users, out of the pro photos. I love how she refers to me as costing a “mindbogglingly obscene” amount of money and “incredibly talented”. It’s not that obscene, I swear.

These two littler girls were circling the cake, anticipating the cake cutting. Just like vultures.

Poutine bar and hangover kits.

Venue and catering: Merridale Cider
Ceremony music: friend Ryan Roy (Calgary band Georgia Sound)
Officiant: Linda Nelson Life Cycle Celebrant
Florist: Night Song Farm
Hair: EK Hair
Makeup: Jessica Churcher
Video: Wedding Mix to edit self-taken footage
Dress: Allure Bridals from Shades of White
Hair pieces: Forever Hooked
Groom’s suit: Moores

Megan and Luke had a late August wedding at Merridale Cider. Megan is one of those girls who you don’t expect to be nice, because she’s so darn gorgeous. But she’s super sweet too. I think one measure of how great a person is is how emotional their friends get during the wedding toasts, and this bridal party was crying up a storm. Luke is also an amazing guy, and they clearly make each other so happy.

Other great things about this day: the cutest flower girl ever (leading two adorable ring bearers), Megan dancing with her mom and father-in-law during the reception in addition to the traditional father-daughter dance, the bouquet dance with the longest-married couple getting the bouquet, a crazy packed dance floor including some YMCA and Macarena, and so many smiles throughout the day.

Venue/Catering/Cake: Merridale Cider
DJ: Ron Larson at HiWay Productions
Florist: Leaf and Petal
Make-up: Erin Bradley
Hair: Cory Johnson
Officiant: Bruce Miles
Bride’s dress: Mikaella Bridal
Suits: Derks
Honey wedding favors: Lulu Island Honey in Richmond BC

A couple of weeks ago I got to photograph this beautiful Merridale Cider wedding for an adorable couple, Shauna and Dan. Shauna e-mailed me about photographing their wedding without realizing that Dan is actually my friend’s brother, and I’ve met Dan and his family several times. It was fun getting to meet Shauna and her family and see Dan’s family again. Shauna looked gorgeous and they were very sweet together.

My favourite part of this wedding was when Dan’s father told them that they’d have to take part in a German/family tradition of doing a task after the ceremony to prove that they could work together in marriage. Turns out that task was sawing a log in half – quite the feat in a big white dress! But they did eventually get that log sawed, even if they needed to trade in for a better saw.

Nicole and Carlos got married at always beautiful Merridale Cidery in September. They and many of their guests traveled from Alberta for the wedding. I believe it was her mother who described them all as “rednecks”. I think the definition of redneck must be “really fun people”, because that’s what they were.

Carlos is a big fan of the Green Lantern, so Nicole picked up some Green Lantern cake toppers. Before cutting the cake, Carlos tried to explain to the drunk audience the significance of the figures. He claimed that she should have gotten the pink lantern, because she signifies love, but instead Nicole picked the purple lantern, which signifies compassion (and matched their wedding colours better, of course). The crowd grew tired of his passionate rambling and urged him (with some strong language) to just cut the cake already. When they finally did, there was a lot of cheering.

Nicole and Carlos were really laid back and cheerful all day and I’m so happy I got to be a part of their day.

Venue, Catering, and Cake: Merridale Cidery
Florist: Leaf and Petal
Hair: Lucy at Thrix Salon
Make-up: Erin Bradley
Officiant: Anne Brunet
Bride’s dress: Deza’s Bridal in Calgary

This wedding happened in September, but I wanted to save it for the long, rainy winter to remind me of the beautiful summer sun. I adored the location (Merridale Estate Cidery), the couple, their adorable wedding party with cute semi-matching outfits, the beautiful weather, the warmth and joy of everything, and the way the photos turned out, including the awesome shots of the guys getting ready by my second shooter Gwen Ewart (whose photos of that, the posed shot of the guys, and many of the detail photos are included in this post). Looking at these photos brings me back to that gorgeous September light and the sweetness of the wedding day.

I loved how close Robyn and Steve were with their friends. Robyn and her maid of honour, Kristina, were adorable with tons of hugs, sweet glances, and even singing into wooden spoons together (I hear that’s a side effect of Meatloaf). The bridesmaids and groomsmen looked nearly as emotional as Steve as they watched Robyn walk down the aisle. Steve’s best man Ben gave one of my favourite best man toasts ever. Even though I can barely remember a word of it, as Steve says I remember how it made me feel – like I wanted to get to know this couple better because they’re really something special. Luckily, I’ve had a chance to spend some time with them since and I’m pretty sure that feeling was right.

Steve is a pro triathlete, so of course, the guys decided to run into the freezing cold ocean at Willows Beach before the wedding, which Gwen captured perfectly. Other memorable moments of the day: Steve finally cracking and letting the tears fall during the toasts, a super emotional first dance amongst the bubbles, Robyn dancing her butt off all night long, Robyn and Steve surrounded by a circle of friends on the dance floor, and Steve dancing looking as happy as a kid on Christmas morning.

I was worried I might write too much about this wedding, but I actually feel like just posting some photos now (possibly way too many). The emotions in these shots speak for themselves.

Venue and caterer: Merridale Estate Cidery
DJ: Chris Tateham at Elite Entertainment
Florist: Rook & Rose
Hair: Kimmie Leslie at The Grove Health and Beauty
Makeup: Erin Bradley
Cake: Cathryn Kissinger at The Little Cakery
Officiant: Terry Knowles
Bride’s Dress: Frocks
Jewellery: Leah Alexandra at Violette
Groom’s Suit: Indochino