A lot of people consister Kelowna to be the prime wedding destination, but they’re missing out on a jewel of the Okanagan. Lake Country has more wineries than you can shake a stick at, and is right on the beautiful Okanagan Lake. As we soon discovered, there’s many places you can pull off the road to get an incredible sunset, complete with the lake, mountains, and even tall grass.
We get a little ahead of ourselves, though. I arrived at 10:00am, and the house was already bustling with activity. It seem our bride was excited to finally become a wife. As I am incredibly intuitive, I picked up on this.
If I was to describe this wedding in one word, I’d say personal. Even within 5 minutes of me arriving, I was shown the hand-painted ring box. I love colours, and there were no shortage of that here.
At the guys house, they were busy helping each other get dressed. The best man leaned over to me, “I’m not much of a suit person.” he confided. Then he turned to his friend, and they started doing their best to straighten each other’s wardrobe.
Our groom gave himself the once over, then asked his best man to check his collar.
We were all set. Here’s our groom, a little bit nervous.
Back at the girl’s house, things were little more hectic. Our gorgeous bridesmaids were helping each other out with their dresses.
A few little ones looked on. Everyone was full of smiles, and the nervousness had turned to excitement.
Mothers always amaze me. It’s not like they’re attending weddings every weekend, but there’s so many details they just seem to know intuitively. Wrap the flower stems in lace, then pin the wrap so it won’t unravel. Boutineers go on the left, corsages on the right wrist. Try to put one foot behind the other for photos to accentuate shape. But most importantly, they always seem to know what to say to their daughters to calm them down.
A little bit of calming down was needed. We were on our way to the first look. Of course, there’s tension, but we also have a bride who doesn’t want to miss her chance to photobomb.
The wind messed up his hair a little, but she was positively glowing. Probably one of my favourite shots, the personality shines through.
He turned around, and she didn’t say a word. The bridesmaids starting tearing up, but they were all smiles. She ran at him.
…And they hugged for a really, really long time. I don’t know if this picture can bring you to here, but it was such a moment.
I gathered the bridesmaids and bride for some photos. They were, of course, just radiant and glad to be there. I asked them to give me their biggest smiles, and they lit me right up.
The groomsmen were also radiant.
So I know many of you are reading this blog for your own wedding ideas. Here’s one I’d really like to see at more weddings. If you want the bride and groom to kiss, take a shot of fireball. It was dynamite. We had whole groups coming up to the front, taking 6 shots between them, and demanding six kisses. The guests went wild, it was more of a rock concert than a wedding.
However, we need to continue with our story. At the venue, the chairs were set up, and it was time for some vows.
It was solemn. It was obvious this meant a lot to our bride and groom. She closed her eyes, taking it all in. This is a really special moment.
Before long, we had a married couple on our hands. That’s my favourite time. The late ceremony meant we had the benefit of the cool wind off the lake, and even a few minutes of rain. In the 33 degree heat (91.4 to you yanks), a sprinkle of water was welcome.
After the family photos, I loaded them both into my car. “You can take the front if you like, I think the air conditioning is better.” she volunteered.
“No, I’d like to be beside you.” he said, closing the passenger door her had opened for her.
I took a quick photo. I couldn’t help myself. Those candids are the best, when there’s no time to pose. I drove down the road, where we took photos on the rocky beach, as the sun set behind the mountain. Also I gave them smoke bombs. They loved it.
You might notice the colours of the smoke – these are the theme colours of the wedding. We’re gonna talk about this a few paragraphs down.
Although we were having fun, the sun was setting fast. I had to get them back to the venue before speeches, and I still wanted a scenic photo with the lake.
All day, the sun wouldn’t give us a break, constantly hiding behind the clouds. I counted it a lost cause. As I drove back, the clouds opened up, giving us a rare opportunity for the extremely elusive sunset-mountain-lake combo. I pulled over on the side of the road, and we rushed to the top of the hill.
Success. Partially because of the smoke from the forest fires, we had one of the most incredible sunsets I’ve ever seen.
Some of you nerdy folk will notice the colour theory – the darks are tinted navy blue. If you look very closely, you’ll notice the colour theory is uniform in this entire sneak peek.
But, unfortunately, this is where I’ll have to leave you. In this middle of this epic sunset. I have so many incredible images to share. That being said, I do need a little time to edit the photos. 3 weeks, to be exact.
So keep in mind, this is only a sampler. At 26 images, one of the biggest ones! If you personally know the bride and groom, feel free to contact me here. Let me know who you are, along with the bride and groom’s name, and I’ll make sure you get a link to the finished album!
If you know someone who’d like to see this sneak peek, feel free to click one of the share buttons on the top or bottom of this entry, to share and tag them on facebook! Although I try to get the word out, a lot of family members and amazing bridesmaids and groomsmen who don’t know about these samplers!
Thank you for reading this far. I put a lot of time and work into these sneak peeks so I just hope that everyone loves them just as much as I hope they will!
If you’d like to keep a picture, even on mobile, just click it and it will open in a separate window. You can save it from there.
Lastly, if you’d like to stay updated, feel free to follow me on Instagram, facebook, twitter, or Tumblr for frequent updates. Talk to you all in a few days!
