Jade & Adrian || Rainy Day Montreal Wedding

Couples planning a wedding in 2020 have had to navigate so many unknowns and each wedding I have photographed has had it’s share of rules and last minute changes.

Jade & Adrian’s wedding was no different with last minute venue changes for the ceremony and reception to accommodate the ever-changing rules here in Montreal. Add all day torrential rain into the mix and we found ourselves making even more last minute changes.

All this to say: none of this dampened Jade & Adrian’s spirits. A couple united in their religion, music, art, and dance. They met at the People’s Church of Montreal and so while the original plan of getting married up in the Laurentians (loosely guided around Adrian’s affinity for all things Lord of The Rings) they moved their handmade details back into their church and continued to be guided by their love of “people, community and having fun” .

Their reception was held at La Maison Verte, a restaurant with a very friendly staff and an ambience that made everyone feel cozy as the rain fell outside. Cue a surprise gift of a Mariachi band that might have moved this photographer to tears and a dance routine showcasing Jade’s background in dance… that had a surprise lift from the Best Man that was nothing short of uplifting, uproarious and hilarious.

It turns out the perfect antidote to this year has been moments like these and celebrating with our communities (when we can). A big congratulations to Jade & Adrian, I have my fingers crossed for them both that they’ll make their someday honeymoon plans to visit Japan happen soon.

Dress Mon Cheri Bridal Cake Cupcakes et Cie Florals The bride - Jade & Sprout

Gabrielle & Louis-Philippe || Malbaie Wedding || Les Amoureux

This wedding was featured in Mariage Quebec & Wedding Bells Magazine and was recently voted as one of 2020’s Most Inspiring Micro-Weddings.

If you have not visited the Charlevoix region in Quebec, you are missing out on one of the most beautiful areas of Canada. Reminiscent of the ocean coastlines, it’s hard to wrap your head around the idea that you are not staring out at the ocean. Getting invited to be a part of Gabrielle & Louis-Philippe’s wedding in La Malbaie is one of the wedding’s of my very water-centered Canadian Wedding Bucket List.

Gabrielle & Louis-Philippe fell in love after joining the same Ultimate Frisbee team. In their own words:

Gabrielle est tombée complètement sous le charme de la personnalité joyeuse, drôle, rassembleur de LP. … LP est tombé amour de Gabrielle par son sourire, sa présence… il voulait toujours être près d’elle. (Elle riait toujours à ses blagues.) 

What struck me about these two from the first of our phone calls (before the pandemic was on the vicinity) was just how much they laughed, how open they were, and how solid they seemed in their vision of their lives together. Over the course of the year, in getting to “know them” through their instagram stories, it was clear to me that their love is founded in nature. As it turns out, LP is a geologist, and so I made it a point to include these aspects in building their wedding day story.

As they said:

Dès le début de notre relation, notre entourage nous a surnommés “Les amoureux”…. Nous sommes des amoureux qui aiment le plein air, se coller, la tranquillité, l’égalité et qui croyons aux gens.  Nous adorons voyager, ensemble, tout est toujours très simple.

And then, the pandemic happened. What was impressive to me was how quickly they pivoted, cancelling their 120+ person wedding, finding a new venue and crossing their fingers they could invite a handful of people. We discussed their new plans over zoom and it was clear that they had made peace with the wedding they thought they had wanted.

Le plus étrange est d’avoir planifié un mariage depuis mai 2019, de tout laisser tomber et de réussir en organiser un nouveau en 2 mois et demi et que tout fonctionne quand même. 

I overheard someone say during the reception that the St.Lawrence resembled a mirror, a tranquil backdrop to such a romantic day filled with joy, tears, & Moon River while celebrating Les amoureux.

Just a little post script: one of the photographs in this series has already been featured on Mariage Quebec and that same photograph got handpicked by Rangefinder Magazine as Photo of the Day (a magazine that features many of my own personal favorite wedding photographers & home to 30 Rising Stars)

VENDORS

Dress Maison Ariane Carle Suiting Le Mercier Venue Terrasses Cap A L’Aigle (Maree de Base) Cake Pain d’exclamation

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