Compass Rose Wedding in Prince Edward County, Ontario

Prince Edward County is one of my favorite spots in Canada, with sprawling vineyards, outdoor wood fired pizzas, microbreweries, and a waterfront that often feels like you’re standing by the ocean instead of a great lake. I’ve vacationed there several times with my family (sometimes camping, sometimes cottaging) and never stops in holding a magical quality to it.

So when Sara & Mat phoned me up to ask me to join them for a small ceremony at Compass Rose, I couldn’t say yes fast enough.

We lucked out with a mix of weather, in the midst of a very rainy few days we got enough breaks in between to get some photos, private vows, dancing and a spectacular sunset.

This all took place in September of 2022 - a week later - after a larger celebration back in Ottawa with their friends - Sara & Mat moved to Ethiopia to start their newly married lives.

I still keep in touch with them and it’s so wonderful to see where they have gone since this moment in time below — I love looking back for these reasons. Photos really start to take on new meaning over time.

Vendors

Venue Compass Rose Suites | HMUA Kita Beauty Lounge | Officiant Weddings By Karin | Catering Hawley Crescent

Katia & Adam || Ottawa Garden Wedding

This wedding was featured in Confetti Magazine

Katia and Adam’s wedding was the first wedding post-pandemic that I was honored to be a part of — originally they had planned a big cottage wedding up in Mont Ste Marie in mid-June of this year. Instead of full-out cancelling, they knew that no matter what they wanted to get married this year, so they delayed to August with fingers crossed that they would be able to invite more than five people. As we approached their wedding date, Ontario moved into a phase of the pandemic where more people were allowed to gather and so they were able to invite 40 of their closest family and friends.

If you’re familiar with my work, you will no doubt recognize many familiar faces from Kelci & Ben’s wedding last year at La Toundra. Getting invited back into this circle of friends for a second time was totally delightful because these people are a reallllly funny and a fun bunch of people — which I think reads in these photos from the start of their day at the Andaz Hotel in Ottawa’s Byward Market; to the wedding party photographs at the Rockliffe Rockeries; to getting married and celebrating in a family member’s private backyard… not to mention the timely fireworks that The City of Ottawa decided to launch that evening.

The aesthetics of the day were elegantly simple, a timeless look, grounded in earthy tones with highlights of peach. Katia’s bridal party impressed with their newfound skill set of taking on hair, make-up and decor! The things we didn’t know we could do pre-pandemic… Nothing felt complicated and with the heat of the day, everyone was in peak summer celebration mode.

And I won’t ever EVER forget Adam’s tribute to Katia with a dance to the winning Eurovision song from… I can’t remember which year. But the performance had everyone laughing and eventually taking part.

When I asked Katia & Adam about getting married, I loved this quote from Katia:

There are a few friends who knew we were going to get married from the first time they met us as a couple – we had no idea, but I’m happy everyone else could see it coming. I don’t think either of us expected to get married this young but now is as good of a time as any, and we received the advice from my mom that the only difference between being married and not is that you wonder whether or not you should get married.

And so without further rambling: Katia & Adam’s beautiful wedding.

Wedding Dress Park & Fifth Co. Bridesmaids Dresses Aritzia Groom’s Suiting Bentons Menswear Rings Mejuri + Magpie + Peoples Hair & Makeup The Bridesmaids :) Rentals Inspired Events Bridal Bouquet Maison Anthea Catering Family Friend/Contact

Mer Bleue Winter Engagement

One of the first things I noticed when I met Kristina and Liam was just how contagious their laughter is and how much they make each other laugh. This was a delightful engagement session where we finally got to meet and explore their story a little more just a couple days after Valentine’s Day and with a stroke of luck, missed out on the deep freeze normal to February. The other fun “news” of the weekend was their recent addition to their new home, Yogi Bear, who was immediately full of puppy greetings, love bites, and snuggles.

As a story-teller, I want to create a story of images that are meaningful to the couple. Liam’s passion is in woodworking, so incorporating some of his pieces (ever so subtly) into some of the photographs, along with their custom made engagement ring felt significant to me. Also, Kristina had shared that one of her favorite colors was pink, so I picked up some of my favorite ribbon made locally here in Montreal at Maison Note and gifted it to her to use in some way for her wedding.

We headed to the Mer Bleue Bog, the significance being that this was where Liam had proposed to Kristina (and funnily enough, I got to see that happen over IG because they had hired me for their wedding before they were officially engaged. I mean… these two make me laaaaaugh, they’re so fun and up for fun.)

So here you go, a winter engagement session in Ottawa at the Mer Bleue Bog. Really looking forward to photographing their wedding this November!