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I had a great time photographing Jamie and Elizabeth’s engagement session in Lethbridge a few months ago—these guys have such a fun sense of humour and were really easy to work with—and their wedding day was everything I expected it would be. And since their engagement session had a rainbow it was only right that their wedding should have a unicorn. No, really.

Their wedding day was filled with their personal, quirky touches—I love weddings where you can look around the reception room and get a good idea of the couple and their personalities just from the decorations. You’ll see what I mean from some of the wedding detail photos below, though you can also get a sense of how genuine and fun they are just from their portraits. Actually, speaking of decorations and details, Elizabeth made all the little origami birds and hanging crystal bead thingies herself. I just posted some close-ups, but the room had them everywhere—so cool!

Jessica and I started our day with Elizabeth at the Lethbridge Lodge before we all headed down to the park just outside of the Nikka Yuko Japanese Gardens for their wedding ceremony. After their ceremony we headed off to various locations around Lethbridge for their portraits.

At one point I was talking to Jamie about him doing a fun photo between the grain silos and he was thinking about it when Elizabeth kicked off her shoes and climbed up between them. Apparently she used to do this kinda thing as a kid all the time. She even emailed me after the wedding to show me an old scanned photo of her as a young girl wedged off the ground halfway up a doorway. Lol!

Their reception was at the newly-renovated and renamed Coast Hotel, which in the same building as the new Firestone Restaurant. There were so many great moments from their reception—lots of laughter and tears.

Thanks for having us, guys! See you again soon, when your photos are finished!

I had Mandy, Craig and their two kids booked in for a family portrait session, but when the day came it turned out to be one of those very windy Lethbridge days. The wind was howling! So we went into an empty barn/storage area kind of place in Coaldale for most of the session. Actually, I’m really happy that the weather let us down, because I loved it in there and I’m always happiest when I get to explore something new—new places, new ideas, or whatever. The space really lent itself to a modern, grungy sort of look, though with my lights I was able to control the existing light for almost any kind of look I wanted. I went with a low-key feel for most of them, just because it felt right.

When we came outside I spotted a wrecked old truck, with peeling paint and rusted metal and we used that as a prop for some quick, fun images. Mandy and Craig were very easy to work with and their son was especially happy when he got to play around in the leaves outside and throw them at me. Ah well. Whatever it takes, right? Here are some of my favourite images from their session.

On the morning of Susanna and Greg’s wedding my wife Sherri went into labour. You can read more about that HERE.

My second photographer and I met Greg at the church as he was waiting for Susanna to arrive in an old fire truck. This was one of those weddings full of quirky personal touches, which make a wedding so memorable and fun. I really love the little old church they were married in! It’s like one of those tiny white wooden buildings you see as you drive through the prairies, sitting alone in the middle of a field. The light was so beautiful inside! It definitely had the best natural light of any wedding ceremony we have ever photographed. In fact, it is the first church we’ve been to that was actually bright inside and not dark. Ah, yes, the things that excite a wedding photographer.

Susanna and Greg had so many cool things worked into their ceremony. This is the second of three weddings we have this year with a Scottish bride or groom and Greg and his groomsmen were all done up in kilts and tartans and the other traditional Scottish garb. Not only were there personal touches to the ceremony, but their love for each other was so clear, with Greg wiping tears from his eyes and Susanna choking up as she saw Greg waiting for her. And I really liked the Scottish influences during the day. Greg even read Susanna a poem by Robert “Rabbie” Burns during the ceremony.

After their ceremony and toasts of scotch we did their photos on the same property, an historical village with a little old jail and loads of cool rustic buildings. There were tons of great spots and I could have photographed there for hours. Plus, the wedding party were fun and really easy to work with.

Their reception was back in Lethbridge and it was filled with lots of fun and laughter. They also had the most multicultural dinner I’ve ever seen, with dishes from about a dozen different countries. Their wedding reception tables were also named after different places that meant something to them and their families. Greg and Susanna also did a very nice thing for me, too. Because I was there while Sherri was in labour they sped up their reception events so that I could photograph them and leave. Although my second photographer, Jessica, was very capable of taking over in my absence and they really didn’t have to do this, they did their cake cutting, first dance, father-daughter/mother-son dances, and the bouquet and garter tosses all back to back. (In case you’re wondering I was with Sherri for the last three hours of the labour and birth. )

All the best to Susanna and Greg! Click below to start the slideshow and give it a little bit of time to load.

I arrived at Mary’s grandparents’ farm for her grad photo session and her grandfather showed me around. He pointed out a bunch of trees out the back and said, “This is where photographers usually like to take our photos”. Then he took me inside to where there were some photos hanging on their wall. “Here are the photos we’ve had in the past”. I replied, “Yeah, today’s photos won’t look anything like that”. We started out with some photos of Marys’ date’s family and then, when Mary was ready, we did a few of the two of them as well as Mary on her own.

It’s funny how it worked out with the hay bale. When I was driving in I saw a few and thought, “Hmm. I wonder if we could use any of those?” Then I saw that they’d put one aside specially for the shoot. The car is the same car that Mary’s grandfather and mother had both used to attend their grads. Mary rode to her graduation in a limousine with her friends, but we had to include the car in the photos!

Mary was really fun to shoot with and here are some of her images.

Back in December last year we did an engagement session with Corey and Krista—and their dog, Jake—down here in Lethbridge and just recently we did their wedding.  :)

I know I say a lot of our couples are laid back, but Corey and Krista are the most laid back couple ever!  An hour before their ceremony they still did not have an exact time picked out for it to start!  We were waiting for the marriage officiant and they just said, “I guess when she gets here we’ll start.  It doesn’t matter, as long as we get married some time today”.  It is nice to hang out with such relaxed people.  :)

Krista got ready at the Ramada hotel in Pincher Creek and then they had an outdoor ceremony on a property near Pincher Creek.  It was a beautiful day with blue skies and a bit of a breeze.  The sun was almost directly overhead, which makes for lighting conditions that really separates the men from the boys, so to speak.  Normally I’d have used flash to get better balance on the faces, but this time I just carefully chose my angles to make sure I got the best lighting possible naturally.  The altar was specially made for Corey and Krista by a friend and decorated with flowers.  It looked really nice!

Their reception was in a big marquee tent right next to the ceremony area and we got our favourite wedding favours ever: honey!  This must have been gathered from someone’s farm locally, because it was the best honey I’ve ever had.  Ok, so we have had other nice favours at past weddings, but I happen to like honey.  I’ve already finished the first jar.