Sumac Centre Early Fall Wedding In Nature | Wayquay and Oliver Elope With Their Closest Friends and Family
(NOTE: The photograph series you’re about to see are mostly spreads from the wedding album I designed for the couple.)
I was so lucky this year to attend several nature-filled weddings in and around the picturesque area North of Kingston.
It’s a lake-filled area chock full of locations perfect for small weddings and elopements.
View from the cabin at the Sumac Centre, in early fall. Pristine place perfect for a weekend getaway or wedding or elopement.
The Sumac Centre was one of these magical places. It’s about an hour’s drive North of Kingston, through picturesque rural county roads.
The morning started with wedding prep, which mostly consisted of makeup in the small cabin (done by Wayquay’s sister), and then hair at the centre, in one of the suites above.
I loved the cabin views, and tried to catch a few shots inside and outside. I also got a little crafty by placing a flash inside the cabin, to light Wauquay and her sister while at the same time exposing the outside properly. These shots are usually tricky, because the inside of places is much darker than the sunlit outside. So for any natural-light photographers out there wondering - no, this isn’t hard to do! You should try it :)
I made some of the photographs of the getting ready black and white, because I wanted to showcase the simplicity of this moment of connection between the two sisters.
Back at the centre, about a three-minute walk through the woods, it was time to do hair. A few people pitched in, or looked on.
Across the hall, in the friends’ suite, Wayquay’s besties were getting ready. It’s fair to say they become my muses for the day in so many ways, so I made sure to pop over frequently and take snaps of them as they got closer to the ceremony.
And yes, i took a photo of the bags and makeup cases, because photographs like that help set the scene!
Elsewhere (downstairs), Olivero was writing his vows.
Actually, he was simply copying the vows from his phone onto a piece of paper.
Because paper is more dreamy to hold during a ceremony, I suppose :) I’ve seen a few marriers this year transcribe vows from digital to analog form, and it makes for a nice candid photo.
While all this was going on, wedding planner Heather and her assistant Vivian, were making sure all the flowers were set up, and details ready.
They really did a beautiful job of the whole thing. The circular arch overlooked the lake, and… wow. Here is the result of their efforts:
I took a lot of photos here. Possibly too many? Although, can you ever have too many photographs of a beautiful spot like this?
Anyway, while the arch was getting decorated, Wayquay’s mother and sister were helping her into her dress and shoes.
I wanted to preserve the simplicity and beauty of these moments, so I converted these into black and white. (Also, the lighting in the room was a gnarly incandescent… yuck)
Downstairs, people were starting to get seated for the ceremony. I loved a detail of grandma, holding a simple flower.
It was time to get these crazy kids wed! (or should it be wedded? 🧐)
Ceremonies are a time when I am everywhere. It’s important for the photographer to get shots from all different angles, and to document not just what the couple are doing, but also those gathered around them.
Having a mirrorless camera is really helpful for ceremonies, because it has a quieter shutter than my DSLRs, and there’s even an option to have a completely silent shutter! Like, you don’t even hear it at all! (which has it’s own pitfalls, because it’s quite possible to take like a thousand photographs in the span of five minutes, without even realizing it.)
When Oliver was reading his vows, I made sure to snap this emotional photograph of his mother, wiping her tears. So sweet 😍
When it’s time for the first kiss, I always try and get a closeup shot of just the couple, as well as a wider shot (not pictured here), with the wedding party, if there is one.
Sometimes I’m not fast enough to get both shots, because sometimes it requires moving back really quickly, particularly if there’s a big wedding party to the sides.
So I err on one side or the other. Make a choice in the moment.
Sorta like a soccer goalie at penalty time. You decide on a direction. You commit.
And then, something happened which none of us knew about: one of their friends set off a blue smoke bomb!
This was super cool! I’d never actually seen one in real life, and luckily I caught a few snaps, even if it was over so quickly that I didn’t get a great shot of the blue in which both the bride and groom’s faces were facing me.
In any case, this was a surprise to everyone, so of course both the bride and groom wanted to look back as well! No biggie. They loved these photos (we just did the photo reveal yesterday).
Walking down the aisle into their new life.
After the ceremony was done, they were LOTS of hugs. There are always hugs.
One tip for couples wanting to get after-ceremony photos: make SURE you have an escape plan. Otherwise, especially if you have lots of guests, you’re going to be sucked into a big vortex of hugs and congratulations.
From my perspective, these make great photos.
But you just have to know that it’s coming! Be prepared to tell folks if you want to steal away to grab some photos :)
Sisters, smiling for a few posed photos.
We also made sure to do a few family photos. One of these I particularly loved is a series of photographs of Wayquay and her sister. The way they look at each other… so sweet ❤️
And then, came the couples’ photos.
One of the main reasons Oliver and Wayquay booked me as their wedding photographer (aside from my sparkling personality, and award-winning wedding photographs, of course 😉) was that they both describe themselves as awkward in front of the camera.
Couple’s photos in front of the circular arbour, with the gorgeous Little Beaver Lake as our backdrop.
They didn’t want to have an awkward and stuffy experience of being photographed on their wedding day.
But you actually wouldn’t know it from the photos.
They really relaxed, and we were able to do couples’ photos not once, but multiple times!
The difference is that these segments arose quite naturally, and most of them weren’t planned!
We simply went with it :)
Walking through the woods like celebrities, with me tagging along like the paparazzo 😅
Like in the series above, when they just stopped for a kiss while walking to the cabin.
Beautiful moment, holding hands in front of their cabin. BY the way, these cabins are spread out all over the place now, and couples or families can rent them for a night or longer!
Or here, when they quickly posed in front of the cabin, but looked so natural! and not awkward at all :)
Inside the cabin, a few kisses and intimate moments.
…or here, inside the cabin, when they just spontaneously went in for some kisses.
bride and groom take time to pop some bubbly alone after the ceremony
It’s important to take a few minutes on your wedding day to just be with your partner. To get away from the hustle and bustle of the wedding, even if you have a small guest list, as this bride and groom did.
Here, they popped some bubbly and enjoyed it in the cabin, and I ran around in the bushes, taking paparazzo-style photos.
They said they are self-conscious, but then looked completely natural sharing a kiss and a moment looking out at the lake.
And then, guess what? More photos of the couple kissing!
Totally not awkward, but just so real.
So, we went from a couple who told me they are super uncomfortable in front of the camera, to having so many photographs of the two of them doing super sweet and picturesque things together…. so many photos that I didn’t know how to fit them all into their wedding album.
More kisses!
Hehe, one more? Kissy-kissy, this time with a red canoe.
So by now you must be wondering: how long did all this take? Was the night over by the time all these photos were done?
Well… would it surprise you to find out that the entire couples’ photography session at this wedding took no longer than 30 minutes, and that includes the part where they popped bubbly and sat down to talk to each other for a little bit?
Yep! I am being honest :)
The thing is, because we aren’t super FUSSY about these photos… about arranging them just so, they can be done really quick and in a very natural and candid way, with very occasional gentle guidance from me (e.g it’s lovely when you hold her hand like that).
When we got back, we of course made time for a couple of big group shots with all the couple’s friends. We get a ‘serious’ one and a ‘cheers’ one.
The reception was about to begin.
It was held at the Sumac Centre, in the big main room.
The table was beautifully decorated inside, and matching decorations were set up on the screened-off porch outside, which would accommodate the rest of the guests.
Decorations by Heather and Vivian of Bowtied with love
There were only a few speeches and guests ate and laughed and had a great time.
This part of the wedding reception is a lot of fun to photograph - and lots of candid photographs arise pretty much constantly! So you have to be ready to catch them.
I’m always looking to capture emotions - whether by grandma, or a friend. There’s so much beauty in the simple moments.
The speeches were inside.
Outside on the porch, there was lots of fun happening. I couldn’t resist taking multiple photos of Wayquay’s friends having such a great time.
I loved this little touching moment during the bride’s speech, when she reached over to her new hubby and held his hand (middle photo below).
This gorgeous lavender cake was made by Kasha (the bride’s sister), and she decorated it with the final touches just a few minutes before, so that the flowers and greenery would look super fresh.
Look at those beautiful lavender sprigs!
And here are an assortment of photographs to capture just how much joy and laughter and hilarious moments there were, when good friends and family gather to celebrate an elopement.
story behind the photo :) you can see in the left photograph how hard Heather and Vivian worked to make sure the sparklers were lit and held properly in place for these dusk romantic couples’ photos.
And my personal series came after the sparklers burnt out.
It was just a simple photo, lit simply by the light of the setting sun, with the placid lakewaters and nearby shore as the backdrop.
tl;dr version
What a wonderful day in every way.
It was just the perfect temperature, and the perfect setting.
This sweet couple tied the knot on the shore of Little Beaver Lake, on the pristine property of the 500-acre Sumac Centre, nestled in South Frontenac along a wooded winding road.
They spent the evening celebrating with family and friends before retreating to their rustic little cabin, just a three-minute hike form the main building.
It was a beautiful wedding, and the people there made it so!
The small group of 20 or so family and friends loved the couple tremendously. It was easy to see, and it made for some very awesome moments captured on camera!
CONGRATS Wayquay and Oliver!! ❤️
PLUS, I got to work alongside the amazing Heather of @bowtiedwithlove , which is always super fun
10/10 for awesomeness