I love shooting when the leaves are changing colour. It’s nice to get those oranges and yellows mixed in with the remaining green that’s still hanging around. Needless to say, I was pretty excited when I arrived in Canmore for Katy & Brett’s wedding on the weekend to see how vibrant the colour was!

Katy & Brett had a really casual vibe to their wedding. When I arrived at the Painbox Lodge, the girls were hanging out and getting their hair and makeup done while the guys were relaxing to the NCAA football tournament on TV. They decided to do their pictures prior to their late-afternoon ceremony, so any guests that were hanging out at the Lodge had the day to wander downtown Canmore or go for a quick hike.

The first time I met Katy & Brett we were in full ski gear and trudging through waist-deep snow for their engagement session. Normally pretty avid riders, it was their only time out on the hill last year because, in addition to planning their wedding, they were both training for the Penticton Ironman (3.5km swim, 180km bike, and 42km run). Katy proudly wore her Finisher’s jersey while she was getting her hair & makeup done!

Brett likes to build stuff, so Katy bought him some sweet Lego cuff-links as a gift.

I love this moment during their first look!

Nice socks guys!

…and a few details from their reception at the Canmore Golf & Curling Club.

Thanks for including me in such an awesome day Katy & Brett, and sorry for almost knocking you over in the forest!  :D

Whew!  September has been crazy busy with weddings and engagement sessions, so we’re a little behind on posting!

At the start of the month we met up with Jenna & Mike for their engagement session.  There’s a spot just out of town that’s close to the river that we’ve tried to use a few times, but seems like every time we go there, we find that it’s under water.  Our summer was pretty dry, so we decided to go check it out.  Turns out it was nice and dry, and a pretty sweet location.  Here are a few of my favourites from the session!

I love shooting at Island Lake Lodge, especially later in the summer when the light streams through the cedar forest, or catches the witch’s hair dangling off the tree branches.  Needless to say, both Kevan and I were excited to find out that’s where Cathryn & Mike were having their wedding ceremony. While doing their family pictures it came up in conversation that Cathryn & Mike actually planned their wedding date around our schedule, making sure that we were going to be available to be part of their day. Thanks guys, it was truly an honour to be included in your wedding and to celebrate with you, your families, and your friends!

There are always some canoes down by the lake at the Lodge, and they were just begging to be taken out on the water.  This isn’t the first time we’ve had a bride in a canoe – you may remember a few shots from Kelsey & Kevin’s wedding from last year.  

While not technically a great shot, these guys stepped up the game a little by changing spots in the canoe while on the water.  Thank goodness we didn’t dump – a soggy couple, two wet photographers, and two drowned cameras + lenses + lights sounds like it might have been a disaster!

Their reception was held at the Picnic Restaurant here in town.  It was a new venue for us to shoot in, and it was awesome!  Great food, really social atmosphere, and the professionalism of the staff was spot-on!

After getting to know her a little, I’d say Cathryn is a fairly expressive person.  There was a little roasting going on during her Dad’s speech, and here a few reaction shots!

Venue: Spirit Ridge Resort

Wedding Decor and Floral Arrangements: Janis Robinson of Distant Event Design and Decor

One of the things that I love the most about our jobs is that it lets us see so much new terrain and shoot in new and interesting locales. When Amy and Jason contacted us about shooting at the Spirit Ridge Resort in Osoyoos, British Columbia we were very excited. I love coming into a place like that with no preconceptions about what ‘should’ be done for wedding photography. We deliberately do not check out what other photographers have done before – instead our plan is to just show up the day before the wedding, scout for good light and have fun!

Yet another one of our couples who opted to do a ‘first-look’. Perfect! Amy was so excited as she approached Jason!
And I love his reaction as well! After their first look, we got to wander the resort premises for a little while with them. 
We left the resort for a little bit to head down to an orchard just down the hill. And then up the twisty highway east of town!  After that it was back to the resort for the ceremony and reception. To say that it was hot on that roof would be a bit of an understatement – I think the guests were really glad for the fans and umbrellas. I know both Duane and I were very happy with our decision to each pack a second dress-shirt. Otherwise it could have been a little socially awkward…

Very impressed with the decor and details that Janis put together for them! Making their entrance into the reception… This just confirms my long-held theory: it’s not really a party until somebody busts out a harmonica!
They even let us steal them away for some quick and relaxed portraits at dusk in the vineyard. So nice to shoot when things started to cool down!  Outdoor patio and dance floor. Perfect! A quick change, and then right into the first dance. 

 Thanks so much guys – it was truly a great day! Be sure to leave a comment below, we are going to draw one person’s name for a $10 iTunes gift card sometime later this week…

In the five years that we’ve been shooting, I’m amazed that Kristine & Eric’s wedding is the first that we’ve done in Canmore!  We were pretty excited when Kristine phoned us up after her sister Kathy’s wedding last year and wanted to include us in their wedding as well.  As mentioned in the post from Kristine & Eric’s engagement session, we’re getting pretty familiar with this crowd, and it was great to see some familiar faces at their wedding – both past clients and their families along with some of the same friends as well!

Kristine & Eric made very clear to us that pictures were extremely important to them, and as a result they gave us tons of time for pictures. They, along with their wedding party, came prepared for an adventure, which worked out well because we decided to go all over the area! Our day started with a first-look in Canmore, and from there we traveled around the Minnewanka loop near Banff prior to their ceremony. Following that, we figured it was probably safe to leave the pavement, and ended up at the trailhead to Mt. Shark in Kananaskis Country!

Check out Kristine’s no-flower bouquet done by the amazing Sarah Mayerson! Calgary area brides, you should definitely check her out! http://www.sarahmayerson.com/

Not a terrible backdrop for your wedding up at Silvertip Resort!  

Receptions are always a blast when there’s a live band.  Another great performance by The Real Deal!

A shot taken during the song “Play that Funky Music.”  The lead singer said the dancing by Eric and a couple of his buddies was some of the best he’s seen!

Congratulations Kris & Eric and thanks for including us in your wedding!  The next Canmore wedding is only a few weeks away, where we meet up with Katy & Brett!