We’ve come to the last wedding of the season! We have had weddings every month this year, and are now able to take a much needed break. If you are planning a winter wedding and want to work with us, we’d be happy to meet with you. Otherwise we are going to enjoy some time with our son and our weddings will pick up again in 2009 with a very special Valentine’s Day wedding in February! Don’t worry, there are many more blog posts to come before then….

We could not have ended our season with a better wedding than Anita & Jeff’s. These two are loving, goofy, teary, sentimental, and just plain fun. They are so in love that I don’t think anything could have stopped them from thoroughly enjoying every moment of their wedding. Not even they fly that was buzzing around them during the ceremony… What’s the phrase? “Whatever circumstance or experiences life may hold for us”?

We shot for the first time at the Edmonton Public School Archives downtown for the ceremony, a beautiful old schoolhouse with a lot of character and a ton of cool spots for photos. We could have spent hours there! We were really inspired by the old architecture of the building, and made most of our favourites from the ceremony into black and white.

This candid snapshot Haley grabbed of Anita shows how relaxed she was.

Gorgeous: Anita in the final minutes before the ceremony.

We are often touched by the emotional response of the groom seeing his bride for the first time. Jeff’s face says it all.

I love this shot of Anita checking to see which hand the ring goes on. That pretty much sums up Anita’s warm and funny personality, and why Jeff loves her so much.

We had some time where Jeff and Anita could be alone with each other after the ceremony and enjoy the first few moments of marriage together. And did they ever enjoy it! Here’s me, and the two angles Haley and I captured. Very different images in a single time and place.

The whole day was awesome, very laid back, and everyone had time to relax and enjoy themselves. Anita & Jeff organized a picnic in the park for the bridal party (and us!) in the midst of the photos. We had a great time haning out with everyone and actually managed to put down our cameras for a few minutes and have a bite.

Jeff had awesome socks.

And Anita has awesome legs.

Anita & Jeff met and had their first date at Second Cup. What better place for wedding pictures?

On the way to Second Cup, Haley and I found this great lime green wall nearby, and since the colours for the wedding were navy blue and lime green, we knew we had to take them there for photos. I managed to not get run over while standing in the middle of the street for this shot, and Jeff (a police officer) graciously looked the other way on my jay-walking.

Coming soon, we’re going to do a post of wedding favorites from 2008, and one of wedding outtakes. I think the outtakes one will mostly be Anita & Jeff…. Here’s a preview.

There were great decorations at the reception, which was at the Highlands Golf Club. In lieu of favours for their guests, Anita & Jeff made a donation to the Stollery Children’s Hospital. This year we have been very impressed by the generosity of our couples and their committment to causes they support. For brides planning their weddings and reading this blog, Anita & Jeff’s example is something you may want to consider if you are stumped for a favour.

To get Anita & Jeff to kiss (not that they needed much prompting!) guests had to toss a smiley face hackey sack into a gameboard and take their chances at having the couple kiss or having to kiss someone themselves. The bridesmaids had the best toss of the night.

From our angle, looks like Jeff took a pretty good selfy!

I spotted a perfect place to take a really unique picture of Anita and Jeff. This was shot through two windows into an empty room adjoining the reception hall. They were able to just be themselves since I wasn’t in the room with them.

The slideshow and all of the speeches were fantastic. We enjoyed listening to stories about Jeff and Anita, and watching their reactions. Anita (who is originally from Newfoundland) stole the show by translating Jeff’s thank you speech into Newfie. As far as I could make out, we had a scoff and a scuff, and it was a right nice weddin’, bye, and there was something about a piece of meat… We were able to sit with Anita’s parents and relatives at the reception, and had a blast! The whole group was so much fun: Maritimers who found themselves in Yellowknife, and never returned. Hopefully we’ll get a chance to visit the North someday!

I can’t say enough how in love these two are. It was such a pleasure to see them together throughout their wedding day. As you saw earlier in the post, each table had a different saying on it, and there was one I found that particularly described Anita & Jeff: “I love you. Not only for what you are but for what I am when I’m with you.”

Anita & Jeff: thank you for such an amazing experience. Your wedding was one of the best of the year, and makes us that much more excited for all of the awesome weddings to come in 2009. We shared quite a few laughs with you. We were really touched by the way you are together, and the warmth of your families. Congratulations!

Our second-last wedding of the year was a celebration of more than a marriage, it was the joining of families, the celebration of parents, and joy at the creation of a beautiful new life.  Melissa and Frank were married in Onoway among family and friends.

We first joined them and their bridal party for photos before the ceremony. 

 

Here’s an example of our family ‘formals’.  Frank’s mom was talking about her rather short stature during the photos so we suggested that Frank and his brother help her out.

 

A classic barn at the farm of Wayne and Ginny Bourke near Onoway served as a backdrop for photos of the couple.  We were invited to check out the inside of the barn by a family member, he wasn’t sure if there was anything in there we’d be able to use for photos, but thought it was worth a look.  Were we shocked when we stepped inside!  It was a private bar with amazing atmosphere and decor.  Of note – bar stools and a table made from horsehoes, and a stage for jam sessions!  Awesome!

 

The ceremony was a beautiful committment between Melissa and Frank.

 

We stole the happy couple from the reception for a few minutes for some sunset photos.
 

Melissa has the honour of being the first bride to give a speech that reduced Haley to tears at a wedding.  Her speech to the parents was incredibly touching.  Here is a short excerpt, “the most important lesson learned is that kisses and bandaids are always free, never ending, and you will always need your mom and dad”.

 

Melissa’s words at the reception are that much more special since she and Frank are new parents. You have met Gabel already in his very first baby photo shoot!  He was so adorable at the wedding in an outfit that Melissa sewed for him.  I love this photo of Gabel and his great-grandmother.  The contrast of the new and old hands is incredible.

 

The first dance was a little bit different for Melissa and Frank, it was a first dance for three! Everyone in the room could feel the overwhelming love in this little family.

 

Congratulations to Melissa, Frank, and Gabel.