On Saturday we got to combine two of our favourite things into one day – being at the top of a mountain and photographing a wedding. Kelsey and Kevin were married at the Lost Boys Cafe at the top of Fernie Alpine Resort on an absolutely spectacular late summer afternoon. The order for the day was adventure and most of it involved water, dirt tracks, and some steep climbs / descents, and dirt tracks. Joni, one of our brides from this summer, suggested some of our clients start a “hiking brides” club!

When we were discussing ideas with them we found out that they both love canoeing so we found one in town and had them go for a little paddle. From there we headed up Coal Creek to the dirt bike track for some portraits prior to their ceremony. Once we completed that we hiked with the wedding party and used some of the terrain at the top of Fernie Alpine Resort before going on an adventure with Kelsey and Kevin out of town to an awesome waterfall we found the night before on one of our random scouting trips! I love our clients and their willingness to get off the beaten track, trust us to get out on a ledge, and do something completely different for their pictures!

We kept this next one a secret until their reception.  Most people probably think it’s a bad idea to stand in a canoe in a wedding dress before your ceremony.  I think if Kelsey’s bridesmaids found out they wouldn’t have let her out of their sight for the rest of the day!

Not a bad place for a wedding ceremony!  The sun was shining, it was relatively warm, and an overall gorgeous day!  Unfortunately on Sunday things were a little different and all the peaks in the background now have a fresh dusting of snow on them!

This portrait of Kelsey standing on the ledge is awesome!  We knew it was going to make a stunning shot the moment we saw it!

The reception was at the Corner Pocket Brasserie and their wedding cupcakes were made by Becky over at Sweetcakes!  We indulged in a couple each because they were so good!  (with permission, of course!)

Below is the shotski and it was a huge hit at Kelsey and Kevin’s reception.  Basically it’s an old ski with four holes drilled through that are about the size of a shot glass.  You drop in four shots, you find four people, and…well, you can figure out the rest.

Here we go – it appears that silly season has arrived for us. September is our busiest month this year for some reason, so there will be lots coming down the pipes to this space in the next few weeks. So make sure you check back here often, or if you want a sneak peek of stuff right away you can always go to our Facebook page. Ashley and Derek met up with us in Calgary a little over a week ago for their engagement photos. They are getting married in our neck of the woods, Fernie, so we thought that it would be fun to go more urban with their engagement shots. We’re really looking forward to the wedding in January – they say they have sleds and an unlimited appetite for adventure! Sounds like a dare to me!

We had the honour of spending Saturday with Amber and Arin as they exchanged their vows at the Sheraton Suites, in downtown Calgary, right on the edge of Prince’s Island Park and the Eau Claire Market. They wanted to keep things fairly centralized, so we focused on shooting in the downtown core throughout the day. What we hadn’t factored in, was the massive amounts of road-construction that was being done downtown. At times it felt like we were navigating through weekday rush-hour traffic! Throw in a bike race, and it seemed like everything was complete chaos. Needless to say, this caused us to make a few alterations to our game plan as we went along! That’s okay though, because it allowed us to stop and be distracted by what we were driving past. At one point we came across a street that normally isn’t open, so we had to stop and shoot on that for a while. It’s a good thing that Amber and Arin got to see us at our a.d.d. finest on the engagement session…

Arin decided that he wanted a lighter tone for when he and his guys entered the ceremony…  …mission accomplished.

I was really impressed with Tracey and her crew over at the Sheraton Suites. They kept everything moving along really well, and seemed to anticipate everything well ahead of time. It was a very polished and seamless experience for all of Amber and Arin’s guests. 

I hope that I am out on the dance floor (all night long btw) when I am in my nineties…

Thanks for having us along guys! Make sure you check out the slideshow below!

Oops! In all of the excitement with the TransRockies last week I completely forgot to post more of Mary and Stephen’s Engagement Session! Sorry guys!

A little background on Mary & Stephen first. Mary represents our first hat-trick as we have done engagement sessions (and weddings) for both of her siblings – Carolyn (of Carolyn & Jordan) and Don (of Sarah & Don). A while back we had a promotion when we were launching our Facebook Fan Page for portraits sessions and their mom, Anne, requested one. There was a slight problem though…she lives in Ontario and it was a little difficult to schedule anything. When they were planning on coming out for Sarah & Don’s wedding in July she thought it would be a great chance to use it for a session with her newly-engaged daughter. I really wish we could boast the hat-trick for wedding photography with the Finch family as well but unfortunately they’re getting married across the country in PEI.

We had a great time with you guys and wish you all the best!

Apparently Mary is well-known for this little maneuver…and it looks like Stephen has seen it a few times!

I spent another day on the trails taking pictures of riders competing in the 2010 TransRockies Mountain Bike Race.  I owe a quick shout-out to Tyler who helped me out yesterday by providing some quads to get us to our shooting location as well as his assistance adjusting lights and shooting!

Yesterday riders left downtown Fernie and rode up Coal Creek to the summit of Porcupine Ridge for a fast descent down Porky’s Blue.  From there they hooked up with the Coal Discovery Trail to Hosmer, crossed Highway 3, and looped on to some logging / fire roads to the finish in Sparwood.  Kevan, Matt, and Aaron all rode strong and each of them finished the 71km stage in under 5 hours.  Below are a few pictures from the day – the rest can be viewed by clicking here.

Mass start in downtown Fernie with 450 riders prior to heading up Coal Creek.

Aaron was first to pass us and looked a lot cleaner than the day before!

Matt wasn’t too far behind him though!

This rider is riding the full TransRockies which is a 2-person team event and goes for 7 days.  He and his partner were the overall leaders in the +100 category which means their combined age is over 100.  I only hope that when I get to be his age I’m still as fit!

Kevan cruising along, again, only a few minutes behind Aaron and Matt.

Once the guys passed us on the trail we packed up and headed for the finish line.  It was 12:00pm when Kevan passed us and they had another 35km before the finish so we figured we had at least a couple hours.  Our plan was to arrive at 1:30pm to give us  a little time to pick a spot close to the finish line and get set up for them.  We showed up and were really surprised when Aaron came through not 5 minutes later, being the first to cross the line with Matt and Kevan both on his heels!  Tyler wanted to play with the camera so once I got it dialed in (with a strobe of course!) and he shot the finish while I held the flash.

Matt was intense coming across the line!

Kevan finished a few minutes behind Matt after suffering through mechanical issues throughout the stage, starting with a faulty front brake down the major descent, losing his rear brake along the road past Hosmer, and dealing with bent teeth on his chainring causing his chain to constantly slip off and get stuck against his frame.  Aside from having to run into a concrete barrier to stop once on the race, he fared quite well and posted a very respectable finish time!

Best of luck to the guys as they’re currently riding the final stage of the TR3 from Elkford, over the continental divide, and ending off the 65km ride at Etherington Creek in Kananaskis.