Kelsey and Jared got married at Sea Cider in late August. I met them last January and then they ran off to live in Australia, so I wasn’t sure what to expect with them or their wedding since it had been so long. It ended up being an amazing day, with killer style and fun people.

I’m usually more about people than style, but the fashion at this wedding deserves a mention. I loved Kelsey’s dress and giant bouquet from Browns. I’m always a fan of mismatched bridal party dresses and these girls just picked the perfect styles for themselves. And who doesn’t love floral bowties?

Jared was pretty psyched to see Kelsey during the first look, and then the joking began. Kelsey was a powerhouse in a princess dress, full of sassy comments and silly faces, until she saw her bouquet, and then there were tears.

I love how the candid photos show the personality of their awesome guests, with expressive faces, loving looks, and wild dance moves. Just looking at them makes me feel like I’m there again. The band was so much fun and near the end of the night, the guests sang along to a song for the bride and groom.

The following photo is by Gwen, taken during their first look.

One last detail. Kelsey is from here and Jared is from Australia, so they got rings made with the other’s coastline on it.

Venue: Sea Cider
Band: The Temps
Caterer: Toque Catering
Florist: Browns the Florist
Hair and/or make-up: Reanna Buchanan & Erica Harris
Officiant: Michael Denton

Megan and Joe were married at Sea Cider at the end of August. I was really looking forward to it after a fun engagement session with them and their dogs in the winter. I wasn’t disappointed. The day started with the girls getting ready at The Magnolia Hotel, where there was a lot of laughter and a few tears. Megan and I headed over to the courtyard at The Empress to have her first look with Joe, which was the start of the two of them smiling hugely all day. The wedding party were good sports about the ridiculous heat that day and we took some fun photos of all of them before heading to Sea Cider.

The couple are big animal people, which made me fall for them all the more, starting with Megan’s shirt during getting ready that read “I just want to drink wine, save animals, and take naps” and continuing with portraits with their dogs, dogs in the ceremony, and their table numbers being great photos of their two dogs and two cats with actual numbers (seriously, my fave table numbers ever). They also collected money to help animals instead of having people clink their glasses to get them to kiss – the bigger the donation, the better the kiss – which ended up being a ton of fun.

They’re also very close to their family, including their parents and grandmothers throughout the day. Megan had both of her parents walk her down the aisle and they surprised two of their grandmas by having them sign the registry as witnesses. Megan’s other grandma made them a pinata for the reception and Megan gave her her bouquet during the couple’s toast, which was very sweet. The photos clearly tell the story better than words here. The reception was full of Joe dancing with his niece and nephew – how sweet is that? Most of their guests tore up the dance floor for a while before heading outside for a sparkler exit at the end of the night.

The next two photos are by Gwen.
The following photo is by Gwen. The best man surprised them by pulling out a ring pop instead of the ring during the ceremony. The officiant looks unamused, but I think he was laughing internally. He also loved the bum grab during the kiss later on.

Some of the detail photos below are by Gwen. The couple DIY’d so many great details, including lanterns that Joe built. The pie bar looked pretty amazing.

Venue: Sea Cider
DJ: Soundworks Entertainment – Spencer Looysen
Caterer: Toque Catering
Florist: Julia Norman (bride’s friend who grew the flowers in her garden)
Hair: Danielle Bennett Hairstylist
Makeup: Laura McLaren (bride’s friend)
Pie bar: Toque Catering/Lone Tree Bakery
Officiant: Iain Hooey
Bride’s dress: Maggie & Shirley from Tres Chic Bridal Boutique
Bride’s hair clip: Blossom Beach
Bride’s shoes: Le Chateau
Groom’s shirt and shoes: Calvin Klein
Groom’s pants and vest: Joseph Abboud from Moore’s
Popcorn for favours and popcorn bar: Kernels
Getting ready location: Magnolia Hotel and Spa
Transport: LA Limo and Wilson’s Transportation
Groomsmen clothing: Moore’s
Bridesmaids’ clothing: Bliss Gowns and Events (Nanaimo)

When I first met Sara and Michael, I thought they seemed kind of shy and reserved. He is a librarian after all (though judging by other librarian clients, I should know better). They were pretty chill at their engagement shoot. But their wedding involved some spectacle: a choreographed first dance to “You’re My Best Friend” by Queen, awards for the guests in various categories, and lots of wedding party photos with some semblance of jazz hands. I was pleasantly surprised.

Sara had a gorgeous dress that had her looking like a princess, but not one of those super vain princesses of course. Unfortunately, the rain forced us to move the first look location to just outside the hotel and the portrait session involved several umbrellas. But the yellow umbrellas were on theme and Sara kept warm with a beautiful shawl that Michael made for her. The rain also made for some gorgeous skies in Sidney for the portraits.

This wedding was very “them” in other ways with friends officiating, baking, decorating (including basically building a chuppah on the spot), and styling hair. I love it when everyone comes together to make an event happen.

Venue: Sea Cider
Caterer: Truffles
DJ: Chris Poynter
Hair: Joe Verde
Cake: Katie Peers
Officiant: Pamela Rice (friends officating Darwyn and Hedy)

Sarica and Mukul had their third wedding celebration at Sea Cider in August. Yes, third. They had a small civil ceremony followed by a big wedding in India earlier this year. This wedding was a chance to celebrate with all of their family and friends in Canada. The day was just jam packed with events, great DIY decor, and a lot of personality, resulting in a crazy amount of photos.

I loved Sarica’s choice of colour palette and how colourful all the decorations and clothing were. A family friend put together all of the flowers, which looked gorgeous. Of course, there was some gold glitter mixed in with the orange, hot pink, and turquoise. Sarica also made some colourful bow ties for the groom and groomsmen.

Sarica’s father officiated the wedding, which added a sweet personal touch. I love how smiley he is. During the reception, they played a video from their wedding in India and there were definitely some tears flowing in the room.

They had a cookies and milk bar with homemade cookies and some lawn games to keep guests busy while we were taking portraits. A bunch of activities were planned for in between the toasts including custom bingo cards and a hula hooping contest for the bingo winners. Instead of people clinking glasses for the couple to kiss, they had a “kissing bag” full of Hershey’s kisses. If the guest pulled out a certain colour of kiss, Sarica and Mukul had to kiss; otherwise, the guest had to kiss someone. They also played the shoe game, which was cute and funny as usual.

The first dance started out slow, but evolved into some great Bollywood-style dancing. Sarica’s friends from university were her bridesmaids, known collectively as the “math girls”, and they taught many of the other guests some Bollywood dance moves, which made for a lively dance floor. The couple and wedding party also danced into the reception for their grand entrance. Overall, it was a very lively and colourful day.

Venue: Sea Cider Farm & Ciderhouse
Caterer: Truffles (great vegetarian food)
Florist: Friend (flowers ordered from Van Isle)
Cake: Ruth and Dean
Officiant: bride’s father
DJ: Soundworks Entertainment
Hair: Robin Achterberg, Parlor Hair Boutique
Makeup: Carly Flint
Videographer: Paper Heart Films
Bride’s Dress: Wtoo (style: Agatha)
Bride’s Lace Top: Tara Power from Grumbly Owl Designs (custom)
Bride’s Jewelry: Kate Spade
Groom’s Suit: Alpha Suit (custom)
Bowties: handmade by bride