We were absolutely touched by the story of Karen and Jon. We met them earlier this month following an email asking for a wedding photographer at very short notice. Karen and Jon had originally planned a summer wedding in Ontario, but discovered suddenly that Karen’s father had cancer with a poor prognosis. With the help of family and friends, they pulled together a wedding in a week at Karen’s parents’ house to ensure that Karen’s father would be able to see his beloved daughter married. It was a heartwarming event that truly demonstrated the importance of family in a marriage.

We are currently faced with a similar situation in our family, a very close relative suffering from cancer. We were able to empathize with Karen and Jon and donated our photography services to them as a gift for their intimate and emotional wedding. This wonderful couple gave us a gift in return, by donating to the Cross Cancer Institute the amount that their wedding photography would have cost, in the name of our relative who is currently using the services at the Cross.

We wish Karen and Jon all the best in their new life together. Their wedding embodied the love, commitment, and family values that we wish for all of our couples.

Karen wore the same Kimono that her mother wore to her own wedding.  I just love the simple floral decorations.  She looked truly stunning in it.

The wedding ceremony was performed by Bill Pisarchuk, Marriage Commissioner.  I had met him before at a ceremony on the Edmonton River Queen.  He is a wonderful man and has very good words to say to the couple.  If you are looking for a wedding commissioner I highly recommend Bill.  You can email him at bbpisarc@telusplanet.

Karen and Jon look very much in love.

Part of the Japanese ceremony involved drinking Sake.

After the ceremony we ate SUSHI!  There was so much wonderful food.  It was nice to sit and chat during the lunch.

After the ceremony I went with the couple to take wedding photographs at the Hotel MacDonald.  Since they both currently live outside of Edmonton and this is Jon’s first time to Edmonton they had a honeymoon in Edmonton.  Jon was excited to get to see Karen’s hometown.

Congratulations Karen and Jon, we wish you love and happiness for many years.