Elopement, Winter Wedding, Wedding Annabelle Agnew Elopement, Winter Wedding, Wedding Annabelle Agnew

Leila & Eduardo || Manoir Hovey Winter Elopement

Leila & Eduardo met one night on opposing charade teams at a party in grad school that they attended in Texas. Leila says

We quickly discovered we have very similar taste in movies and started talking more … It always fascinates us to think that E's originally from Mexico, L from the Philippines, we met in Texas, got married in Quebec and settling down in Toronto!

Eduardo says that what he loves about Leila is

that she is very thoughtful about health and she's always improving her dessert/food recipes to make them healthier and tastier (and I didn't think that could go together). She is very intelligent and always encourages me to be the best version of myself.

Leila & Eduardo reached out to me looking for a way to have a very Canadian, read: very winter & mountains, wedding on Valentine’s Day, which is a very special day to them.

Originally they had wanted to get married in Banff, Alberta, which as serendipity would have it, I had some experience with as I had lived there after I graduated from highschool for two years working as a waitress. (And incidentally worked with Naomi before she started Mountain Events ).

After some brainstorming, we landed on one of my favorite hotels and I directed them to Elyna Kudish to help them finalize all the beautiful details of their wedding day.

Ceremony and celebration wise, Elyna Kudish pretty much took care of everything. We had an initial convo of what we had in mind and it was a breeze since then. We'd video call and email regularly to iron out details. Definitely one of our most loved aspect of our wedding --- No stress.

The only hard part is not being able to have our family and friends over since they're from overseas. However, rather than fussing out about these travel details (which, admittedly we spent quite some time on), we ultimately decided just have a separate and more informal celebration later on with them.

And what a beautiful wedding day it was! It really goes to show that even with a curfew under red alert, in frigid temperatures, “love is not cancelled”.

Last little bit of info before I sign off here, Leila & Eduardo went off to Les Terrasses Cap a L’Aigle for their Honeymoon, a suggestion I gave them based on my great experience there after photographing Gabrielle & LP’s micro wedding over the summer. I really loved how open they were to suggestions and for enjoying every moment of it, which I think you can tell in these photos :)

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Winter Wedding, Wedding, Elopement Annabelle Agnew Winter Wedding, Wedding, Elopement Annabelle Agnew

Sarah & Beau's Winter Elopement in Montreal

My 2020 Wedding Photography season kicked off earlier than I thought it would when my longtime friends Sarah & Beau reached out to tell me they were going to make their longtime relationship Official by inviting their closest family and friends to attend a civil wedding ceremony in Downtown Montreal.

If you’re a Montrealer that went to University in the early aughts, you might have frequented a few of the local watering holes, like I did, and came across Beau Kavanagh and The Broken Hearted entertaining crowds. Finding this out was such a “what a small world” moment for me when I met Sarah on my daughter’s schoolyard. Our friendship is of the sort where we quickly hopped over pleasantries and engaged in personal conversation layered with a deep appreciation for each other’s wit & humor (much to our daughters delight in being allowed a lot more time on the playground).

For a wedding photographer who thrives in the details, walking into Beau & Sarah’s home and then their shop, Kavanagh Auctions is akin to winning the lottery. These two are eco-minded with a great eye for art, history and design. It feels a little like walking into a candy store or a Wes Anderson set design. That said, it was wonderful to balance out the abundantly detailed photographs with photographs taken inside their empty warehouse, flooded with that cool winter light that was especially cool that day.

Words give no justice to how honored I felt to be a part of this wedding day, finding myself choking back tears when they read their vows and I was not the only one! If you’ve ever considered a simpler ceremony and do not want to have it at the Palais de Justice in Montreal (which is… not the most aesthetically pleasing place to get married) then consider Mona Salehi Notary that has some quaint spaces to get married in front of a small host of family & friends.

The small reception afterwards was held at… and this is where I say again “what a small world!”…. my old Apartment that I had lived in almost a decade ago in NDG. I couldn’t believe it when I was given the address! I wolfed down about six date squares in which I was told that in B.C. they’re known as “Marriage Squares” , which if you think about that’s what I make too.

Enjoy this very arty, witty, emotional, family and love-filled wedding day. I couldn’t be happier for Sarah & Beau.




NOTARY & CIVIL CEREMONY VENUE Mona Salehi Notaire RINGS Elaine Ho FLOWERS Flore L’Atelier COUPLES PHOTO LOCATION Kavanagh Auctions


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