Calgary has always needed a chic, romantic and rustic classic feeling venue for weddings. Last year The Lake House was updated and bought by CRMR, I had no idea how amazing it was going to be.
Once I met with Lauren and Jonathan I was instantly beyond pumped to shoot their wedding. We chatted about how they met and their wedding and our combined love of Wes Anderson films and style. Instantly I knew we were an amazing fit for each other.
If you didn’t get a change to check out their Royal Tenenbaums inspired engagement session head on over and check it out!
The wedding day started at Lauren’s parents house with a little help from her Dad I hung her dress in the trees across the street from their house. The girls laughed the morning away while drinking oj and champs. The guys hung out at the Delta Bow Valley downtown with my second shooter.
Lauren’s Dad drove her to meet me over in Inglewood for the couples first look. As she waiting in the car I asked Jonathan to stand facing away from the car as Lauren walked up behind him his smile grew bigger and the moments they shared were full of laughter and happiness. We did a few formals of the couple before heading over to the FFWD space for bridal party shots.
My favourite moment was when Lauren had to climb over a dead bird and the two couldn’t stop laughing about it. I did take a photo of the dead bird just for the sake of the story but I didn’t add it to this post as I’m sure no one wants to see a dead bird!
After a quick snack everyone loaded into the bus and we headed to the lake house. After quickly capturing some room shots and being absolutely pumped about the amazing job Kari and her team did of the ceremony set up we shot the family formals and waited for the guests to arrive. The ceremony was truly unique as Lauren and Jon’s friend married them.
Lauren surprised Jonathan with Mitch Belot Band – this guy sings the coolest modern rock & even let me hide a flash by his kicker foot so I could take a couple sweet shots of him as Lauren’s niece watched contently.
Moving speeches and sweet moments with an abundance of laughter filled the reception. Non-traditional aspects made the night super special – there wasn’t a cake cutting or a bouquet toss or a garter, but breaking with traditions didn’t make the night any less special – The amazing spontaneous dance off between the MC and Lauren at the very end of the night did more than I could have imagined for a glimpse inside how sweet Lauren and Jon are.
I really couldn’t have asked for a better way to end my 2015 wedding season than to be part of such a fun wedding.
Hair Stylist // Kellu Trimble with Influence Salon
Make-up Artists // Claire Simone Makeup
Getting Ready Location // Lauren – at her parent’s house – Jon and the Delta Bow Valley Hotel
Brides dress // The Bragging Bride Boutique
Shoes // Badgley Mischka
Nails // The Vanity Vault
Jewellery // the earrings were a gift from Jon from Maggies Jon’s cufflinks were from IGN Joseph
Veil or head piece // The Brides sister and the head band was from The Bragging Bride Boutique
Wedding Rings/Bands // Birks
Ceremony Location // The Lake House
JP // Bryan West but he’s not actually ordained. We had former Justice Blair Mason marry us the day before in my parent’s living room
Reception Venue // The Lake House
DJ // NRG Music Production
Florist // Lil Pink Daisy
Wedding Planner // Kari Bedford – Knot Planning
Band // Mitch Belot Band
Art Chalk Boards // Kaja Hansen Art
A few Q & A’s from the Bride & Groom about their wedding day:
Wedding colours: Gold and navy
What theme or feel were you going for: We wanted it to feel romantic and warm which is why we used so many candles to light the space.
Your top 3 best moments and why: Reciting our own vows, when Mitch our MC came out dressed as Robin from the music video “Call you Girlfriend” and having our dear friend Bryan West officiate our wedding
Wedding song, explain choice for song: Skinny Love by Bon Iver. We were trying to keep all the ceremony music and dinner music to bands that we have seen together.
