A majestic wood cabin grabs your attention when you first into the parking lot at Blue Meadows. It’s a decoy, because the most important moments of Lauren and Kyle’s wedding are set to happen just to the right of the cabin. As you walk down a path under a tree-covered archway, you enter into a magnificent clearing — a perfectly intimate space for Lauren and Kyle’s ceremony. With ample seating on either side, you are lead down the aisle. At the front, there is a white picket archway. Lush trees in the background and a white archway in the foreground form the perfect backdrop to Lauren and Kyle’s vows.
It’s not every week I get to shoot a wedding with one of my favourite and longest photo friends. But then again, every now and then I get lucky. Dan and I coordinated so that throughout the day I would shoot with a wider field of view and straight-on with the subjects while he would shoot tighter on the scene and make use of the space to shoot the side angles. You’ll see the advantages of having two cameras throughout these photos. For example, as each member of the wedding party entered the ceremony space, we were able to get complementary coverage of each person as they entered. Throughout the ceremony we were able to get different angles and views of each part of the event.
We start the wedding party photos in an expansive field along the banks of the North Saskatchewan River. I directly guide the photo session with the wedding party, eliciting a particular kind of energy and emotion from each my subjects depending on what I read of their personality. Most of my shots capture the group directly facing the camera. Meanwhile, Dan works the side angles, capturing shots where the subjects aren’t directly facing the camera. With a wide lens to capture the grandeur of the open space, I make use of the leading lines down the valley for the land-ports with the wedding party. At the same time, Dan shoots closer to the subjects, using a mound of dirt to get a high angle on the wedding party and bringing layers of grasses into the foreground of his shots.
We move the group to a rustic wood pile which Dan and I had found in our pre-wedding scout as a background. Here we capture individual portraits with the wedding party, again, with me shooting directly to the subject while Dan shoots tighter on the subject. The navy kilts of the groomsmen and the vibrant purple dresses of the bridesmaids pop against the warm colours of the wood background. Next, we return to the green space and magic of the ceremony location. Here I put care into capturing photos with Lauren and Kyle and each of their best friends.
The portrait session ends with a quiet walk with Kyle and Lauren, and their two dog pals Findlay and Sorley. As the dogs run circles around them, I see Lauren and Kyle relax into each other. As Kyle and Lauren walk hand in hand along the treed path, it’s evident how much joy Findlay and Sorley bring to their lives, and how much love they have for each dog. I'm happy to be able to include them in the photos with Kyle and Lauren. Here, hidden in the trees, we capture the most intimate photos of the day.
Wedding Vendors
Hair and Makeup: Deliciously Wicked Makeup and Esthetics
Venue: Edmonton Police Service's Blue Meadows Hall
Catering: A Capella Catering
Officient: Donna Val Gardson
Band and DJ: Steve Gunn
Flowers: Petals for Less
Dress: Novelle Bridal
Kilts: Scottish Imports
Rings: Enso
Cake: Art of Cake
This Life by Selena Photography blog post was written by Montreal wedding photographer Selena Phillips-Boyle. Selena often travels to Edmonton for photographic projects and accepts commissions worldwide. Here you can see another fall Edmonton wedding or a winter Edmonton wedding. The second photographer for the wedding was Edmonton photographer Dan McKechnie. This post was edited by Montreal communications professional Max Baru.
Cet article de blogue sur la photographie de mariage Life by Selena était produit par Selena Phillips-Boyle, photographe montréalaise. Selena voyage souvent à Edmonton pour des projets photographiques et elle accepte des contrats dans le monde entier. Le second photographe pour ce mariage est Dan McKechnie, photographe d’Edmonton. Cet article de blogue fut révisé par Max Baru, spécialiste de communication à Montréal.