Rideau Acres Ceremony & Reception | Ashley & Trevor's Winter Wedding
Wow, what an epic wedding day.
12+ hours of non-stop action on the shutter, with amazing people, from the couple to their friends and family, to the vendors.
I'm not sure I want to ramble on too much today about this, but I'll just quickly say that this was a really awesome way to open the wedding season.
Highlights for me were:
Having a super genuine couple in Ashley and Trevor. They were just so able to be themselves, which of course meant they as well as everyone else (including me!) was super relaxed and had a great wedding day!
Working at Rideau Acres Campground for the first time (with their lovely staff, and manager Katie, who really went over and above for me).
Having Rob Whelan Photography as my second photographer. He told me this is only his second ever gig as a 2nd photographer, and on my end I was super thrilled to have his expert eye for the day. It was really fun and we took a photobooth selfie to commemorate
Eating delicious vegan food by L'Amour Catering & Cakes. Denise was super thoughtful and made sure I was taken care of perfectly!
DJ Paul from Diamond Productions (and the snap a pose photobooth Snap A Pose Photobooth) - who came to my aid with tape and great ideas about where to plate my lights!
All in all, it was the perfect way to break into the '23 season!!
Ashley and her bridesmaids got ready for the wedding the morning of, in Ashley’s kitchen. Plenty of bright light helped with the hair and makeup application.
Meanwhile, over on the other end of town, Trevor and the boys got ready in an inn they rented for the night.
Ashley opened the newly arrived florals, and smelled her wintery bouquet.
Ashley’s Maid of Honour puts on her veil. Veils can be tricky, and this one was no exception. It’s tough to get them to stick!
Tiny details, including the little snowflake toe nail polish, since this was a February wintery wedding! I personally also loved the buttons on the dress. But for the bridesmaids helping fasten them, it was probably another story 😅
Wow. What a wedding dress! Courtesy of The Gown Bridal Boutique - instagram
The first look
The first look at a wedding is a personal choice. Some couples choose to get ready together, and therefore they see each other before the ceremony.
Other couples like to see each other for the first time at the ceremony.
And still other couples like to take a few moments alone to see each other for the first time, before the ceremony.
It can all work equally well, and it really just depends on what you prefer!
Inside the venue, staying warm
We did the first look outside, because it wasn’t too cold out that day (even though it was middle of winter!), and because Ashley had a cape in case she got cold. But then we went back in to get warm and stay warm before the indoor ceremony.
Group photos can be fun :) Ashley poses with her bridesman, who wears her cape.
Actually scratch that - we headed outside pretty quickly after, to take a few bridal party photos.
The boys having fun with a bench…
As you all probably know already, I don’t like to take the group photos too seriously. Meaning that we like to have fun. We do cheesy things sometimes if the mood strikes. Like posing with a bench. Or carrying each other. This was Andrew’s best man, who happened to be his brother. Awww ❤️
The ceremony is about to begin
I always like to take a few images of the guests at the ceremony, waiting for the bride and groom to arrive. If I’m personally not there, then I’ll have my second photographer take a few such photos, like in this case, when Rob snapped these gorgeous shots.
An emotional Ashley arrives on the second floor, ready for the ceremony.
Typically at a wedding where I’m working with a second photographer, I’ll shadow the bride and let my second photographer shadow the groom and the guests. This way I had a chance to snap these photographs of Ashley arriving to her ceremony.
Groom walks down the aisle with his parents.
Hugs are important here, too. Hugs are always important. Sometimes you’ll get many many hugging images in your gallery, and I hope that’s okay.
Ashley walks down the aisle with her parents. And more hugs.
This room where the ceremony was held, on the second floor of Rideau Acres, is gorgeous to photograph. There's so much light spilling in from the windows, that the photographs look beautiful in colour OR black and white.
And Peter Norman, the officiant, was simply wonderful in easing any stress the couple had, and conducting a beautiful, professional, emotional ceremony filled with all the emotions - including laughter and tears of joy.
A major reason why this set looks particularly stunning, by the way, is because my second shooter Rob Whelan knocked it out of the park. Let me be honest when I say he got the better shots during this ceremony. His angles and stellar use of depth of field really put us into the moment with the bride and groom.
Holding hands during the ceremony.
I always like to get a closeup shot of the couple’s hands - either holding each other like this, or exchanging rings, or both. This closeup gives a level of intimacy. It helps to remind the viewer of just how emotional and sacred this moment during the wedding was.
Ashley’s mom reacts to the vows during the ceremony.
It’s important to get reaction shots during the ceremony. When the couple shares their vows, those in the audience - particularly close family and friends - have their own emotions about it. So we always make sure to take a quick peek at what’s happening there, rather than focusing our efforts only on the couple. It gives more variety in the photos, and also completes the story.
The couple are pronounced married! Let their new life begin.
This kind of shot means the photographer in the aisle will be walking backwards to capture the couple exiting. Just a heads up - take a quick peek behind you before you start walking! You don’t want to be walking into any of the guests or a signpost or something…
Guests clap as the couple are pronounced married.
A whole bunch more hugs.
After the ceremony, it’s only natural for folks to want to congratulate the newlyweds.
If you’re having quite a few guests, be prepared for this to take a while. I’ve seen this hugging portion take over an hour, and it can be really wonderful, as long as you weren’t planning on stealing away quickly for photos or anything like that. This is one of those things we make sure to discuss plenty ahead of the wedding, so there are no surprises.
A surprise horse-drawn carriage awaits the couple
As a surprise for the couple, their parents had rented this horse drawn carriage. It was chilly, but we made the most out of the short ride, and Ashley and Trevor got a chance to snuggle.
Look at that newlywed happiness!
Family photos can be really fun and quick! Even with a bigger group. This set took no longer than 10 minutes (and I’m not even showing you most of the photos)
A few portraits by the window.
This room was really nice, so we decided to stay and take a few photos there. I’m glad we did, because I think they turned out gorgeous.
Snowy portraits outside
When you have a winter wedding, you have to make the most out of it, by doing outdoor photos haha. Well, you don’t really, but Ashley and Trevor wanted to. Plus, Ashley had a lovely cape.
We had been worried the week prior, because it got so warm (despite it being February) that the snow nearly all melted.
Alas, there was some snow left at Rideau Acres, and it also snowed during the wedding day itself. So all was well.
We walked around until we got cold, taking cute photos of the couple. They’re not super into posed stuff, and neither am I, so we did this really cute and quick thing where they just held each other, and walked through the pathways and trees, and we got lots of wonderful photos of the two of them that look natural and candid.
Sometimes I like to get the photograph of the shoes and the flowers all together. I think it can work nicely :)
Speeches!
Speeches are a really fun time to take photographs that are full of emotion - laughter, usually.
The first wedding dance
The first dance it a time for everyone to pause and to enjoy the bride and groom dancing to a meaningful song. It can feel like a lot of pressure, so some folks choose to skip this portion.
But for others, it’s a chance to reconnect again, to be in the moment with your loved one, and not to think about the hustle and bustle for a moment.
The same goes for dances with the parents. Some folks like to do that, and others don’t. Ashley and Trevor chose to do first dances between daughter-father and mother-son, and we were there to take it all in.
After that, the dance-floor usually opens and everyone is invited to dance. And arguably the funnest part of the wedding begins!
(by this point, you’re breathing a sigh of relief because all the ‘important’ moments are done, and you’ve held your shit together as much as you can. This part is a chance to just let go and enjoy!)
And now I’m just going to show you a bunch of dance shots!
Now, this next one is one of my favourite photographs from Ashley and Trevor's wedding.
Those squiggly lines and blocks of colour you see are created by using a technique called 'shutter drag'.
It's basically a combo of using flash (to 'freeze' the action - in this case Ashley) and a slower shutter speed than normal (to blur the rest of the background).
So these lines of light you see in the upper left hand corner, are in real life small tiny points of light (from the fairy lights on the banister), but because I moved my camera in a circular motion while taking the picture, they ended up like long curves.
I like this effect, because it fills in the otherwise blank space.
Sometimes you don't want the eye to focus on the background, you want the eye to go to the dancer.
What I love about shutter drag is that even if the lights in the corner distract your eye, it's still visually appealing to look there. They're not pinpoints of light, they're interesting shapes and curvatures, based on how I moved my hands while holding the camera.
I use this effect more and more as the night progresses, because to me it transports us to another realm. When people are so happy (and sometimes tipsy) at the end of the night, shutter drag seems perfectly fitting.
Anyway, I know it's not everyone's cup of tea, but if you book a wedding with me, you're likely to find a whole bunch of photographs form the later portion of your dance party with this similar effect.
What do you think?
Like it?
Love it?
Not a fan?
Leave me a comment & let me know.
Here’s another example of that, with Trevor.
I hope you’ve enjoyed this wedding story, and all the photographs - now peace out! ✌️
Incredible vendor folks made this wedding magical:
🤩 2nd shooter: @robwhelanphotography
🤩 Venue @rideau_acres_weddings
💃 Gorgeous gown by @thegownbridalboutique
🤩 Catering @lamourcateringkingston
🤩 DJ Paul, Diamond Productions @diamondproductionskingston
🤩 Photobooth @snap_a_pose_photobooth
🤩 Assistant Editor @m.didyk