Wedding portraits

My uncle Pip is a very talented photographer. Shortly after we got engaged, we asked him if he would be willing to take some wedding portraits for us, and we are so happy that he was up for it! My aunt Martha came along to offer some artistic direction, and we also brought my friend Sara to help with my dress. We decided to do photos the day before the wedding: this way, we could take our time, and take advantage of the beauty of the area. There are so many beautiful spots, and many of them have special significance to us. We didn't want to have to leave the reception to take photos, so it just made sense. It also ended up being a great thing, because now we have some photos where you can see the ocean, instead of fog, to go along with our beautiful foggy photos. This was one of my favourite parts of the whole wedding week. We all had so much fun, and it was really nice to get away from the house. I think the photos turned out beautifully, and we will treasure them forever. Thank you so much, Pip and Martha!

The first location we went to was a bluff very close to the venue. Aaron and I have gone on many long walks up here, and it was a great place to have our first look!

We next went to the pier where one of our family friends keeps his lobster boat.

 

We also went to a beautiful cliff overlooking one of our favourite beaches. On Aaron's first trip to the area, I took him here and he loved it.

We ended up at my parent's land on the lake.

All photos by Pip Shepley. See more of his work here.

Special details

There were a couple of wedding details that were particularly special to us. They were small details, but they were still very important.

My aunt Martha is an incredibly talented artist. I've admired her work for a long time, and I was so happy that she agreed to make a wedding certificate for us. It is one of my favourite things in the world, and it means so much to me. We have it hanging in our room, and every time I see it, it always makes me smile.

Unfortunately, my grandparents weren't able to attend our wedding. It's because of them that my family ended up in Nova Scotia. I did feel their presence with us that day: both just because I can't be in Port Hilford and not think of them, but also because our wedding rings were a gift from them.

My mom and I made all of the invitations and save the dates. It was a lot of work, but I had so much fun. We watched a lot of Gilmore Girls while we stamped. I was really happy with the results. We also made the garlands and any other paper decorations!

Photo by Ariana Plont 
We used the same moon stamp to create the design for the stemless wine glasses we ordered.

I used one of my old photos to create the labels for the wine that Aaron's parents made. I'm having a poster size version of the label made for both our apartment, as well as for my aunt and uncle. We used their beautiful home as a venue, and they loved the Wine Harbour labels.

Photo by Charles Bourne 

For the guest book, I ordered a Project Life book and kit. Our guests signed the cards, and I later added the photos they took in our photo booth!

We topped our cutting cake with tiny Totoro figurines. Totoro has always been one of my favourite movies, so Aaron went along with it. I think they're pretty cute.

Photo by Charles Bourne

Photo by Pip Shepley

Erin and Ariana filled up this bird feeder with extra flowers. It was so simple, but I thought it was one of the most beautiful details!

Photo by Charles Bourne

The dried rose petals my mom made from her garden were just beautiful. She made the little cones they came in, too!

 Photo by Charles Bourne

As I've mentioned, Aaron's wonderful mom made all of the cupcakes with a bit of my help. She's amazing, and they all tasted fantastic! Additionally, Aaron's grandfather made the beautiful birch cake stands for us and brought them all the way from Newfoundland. He also made gorgeous s'more roasting sticks, painted blue and silver and gold and brown. He's very talented!

Behind the scenes

I thought I'd share some of the behind the scenes photos because they always make me smile. The following are photos by Charlie and Pip, both from our portrait session with Pip, and Charlie's photos from both the day of and leading up to the wedding. I'm so happy that they both thought to take these photos!

The first six photos are by Pip during our portrait session. I love the behind the scenes of our first look: we opted to have it at the top of this huge cliff that overlooks the ocean. We didn't want to climb up in our wedding day attire, so we both changed at the top. It was a little ridiculous.

Carrying the train of my dress around was pretty hilarious.

After our portrait session, we had a wedding rehearsal. I'm so happy that Charlie took this photo, since the sun was actually out!

This was only a small fraction of the bouquets we had. Katie and Janet were working for hours!

The fog that rolled in right before the wedding was so thick!

The Street Eats team showed up early to start prepping. I know I've already said it, but their food was just incredible. 

Aaron spent so much time working on our ceremony. He's such an incredible person and friend. 

We recommended that all of our guests eat at Beanie's Bistro while in the area. They have fantastic food and coffee!

 Some of our friends rented a house together, including Charlie. He took some great photos of the guys while they were there.

Photos 1-9 by Pip Shepley. Photos 10-20 by Charles Bourne.