Fiona and David’s family love celebrating their heritage. One of their favorite ways to do so is with the Scottish Highland Ball that is held in Lethbridge.
For the event, everyone dresses in full kilts and ball gowns. Even the little kids take part! This makes the day a perfect opportunity to update their family photos.
Vivianne and her family had many reasons to celebrate when they got together over the long weekend. The Easter weekend falling later this year meant it coincided with Vivianne’s landmark 85th birthday, as well as several other family members’ birthdays! Everyone decided that it would therefore be a perfect chance to plan a family reunion.
Several of the Lethbridge family members graciously hosted everyone for the weekend. I joined the family just before one of their lunches. We rounded everyone into the green space behind the house for their formal extended family photos, and had to be very careful to avoid all of the wild animal droppings! (That park is clearly a favorite hangout spot of local deer.) Although a few family members sadly couldn’t attend that weekend, it was still momentous getting that many together all at once!
A chilly spring engagement shoot with Sam, Brietta and their trusty side-kick, Bakon the Dog
A surprise April snowfall didn’t dampen Brietta’s spirits when I told her the forecast.
“I bought a dress,” Brietta said. “I am going to wear it anyways! Haha.”
I’ve known Brietta for a few years, I first met her when she was the Event & Volunteer Engagement Coordinator for the MS Walk when I did volunteer photography for the walk. Brietta’s fiery; a go-getter. So her resolve to embrace the moment didn’t surprise me one bit!
Jannette and Adrian may be one of our most enthusiastic couples this year! They were both very excited about the photography planning from the very beginning and I loved Jannette’s level of involvement in all of her wedding details. Together we reached the decision of doing Nikka Yuko wedding photos for the majority of their portraits. As soon as they walked into the Japanese Gardens (the first time either of them had visited) and exclaimed, “Wow!” I knew we had chosen the perfect location!
The air was heavy with smoke that day but it didn’t get anyone’s spirits down. Everyone spent the day laughing and having fun, and the couple were so excited and willing to go along with every photo idea we had. This meant climbing over rocks in the water and spending a little extra time in a cathedral length veil that was struggling to survive the day!
We had a blast laughing with them all day and appreciated how much time they set aside for portraits, including an extra evening photography session around sunset.
Isabelle and Andrew love the serene beauty of Waterton Lakes National Park and knew there was no other place they could have their wedding. They chose to have their Waterton Catholic wedding ceremony at the Church of Our Lady of Mount Carmel and then explore the park for portraits until their reception.
This time of year means lots of rain, but the rain didn’t slow us down at all! Their siblings tagged along during portraits and very graciously chased the couple with umbrellas in between photos. Isabelle chose a perfect hairstyle with a pretty fishtail braid which completely hid any effects of the rain on her hair. Luckily for us, the Prince of Wales Hotel had opened for the season the day before, so we were able to hide inside for portraits while the worst of the rain came down. And best of all, Isabelle and Andrew were carried through the day with so much intense joy that they hardly noticed the weather!
The most memorable part of their wedding day was how contagious their happiness was. Andrew’s nervous anticipation grins quickly turned to genuine smiles once he saw Isabelle walk into the church. I tried to get Isabelle to be straight-faced for a few photos and it was a struggle for her. She was just too happy! Even through their ceremony, they could not stop looking at each other and breaking out into giggles.
My friends have all been pretty quiet in the last couple years with life change news, so it was an extra big deal when I found out one of my best friends was having a baby! Normally I hop into my clients’ lives just before the baby arrives. I wasn’t used to this anticipation for months!
Alice arrived nearly right on schedule and within a week she was home and ready for her baby girl photo session. Everyone was starting to fall into the routine of having her around, but there was still so much excitement and joy. Alice was so sweet and quiet through her session and loved being snuggled by everyone. I look forward to watching her grow up… but not too fast!
p.s. One perk of doing photos for friends is being able to feast on cake at the end of the session. Cake eating usually doesn’t factor into the time, but I’d never be opposed if offered ;)
