One of the best parts of being a Kelowna Wedding Photographer is that I get to travel all over the Okanagan for weddings and engagement sessions!
For Kiara & Ben’s Naramata Engagement Session, we four-wheeled it up the mountain in Ben’s jeep to this beautiful location on his family’s property. I get to see views and locations that I wouldn’t be able to see otherwise! How lucky am I??
We had so much fun and I can’t wait for their wedding in 2021!!
Well… to start, the first time I met this adorable duo, I took them UNKNOWINGLY to a nude beach. A hidden nude beach. And naked people just started emerging from the trees surrounded the beach, which utterly confused us. By the third person and some exploration, we realized we were definitely the trespassers. You know… with all our clothes on and whatnot. Needless to say, it made for a hilarious and memorable first meeting!
Their beautiful Summerhill Pyramid Winery wedding had far less nudity than their engagement session, thank goodness! Although, it was SO windy during their mountain top first look and first set of bridal party photos, that many of them could have ended up dress-less! We decided to cut it short and resume later in the day because it was just far too windy!
There were so many fun moments over the course of the day – from the sabering ceremony where Laura’s dad had WAY too much fun, to the pogo stick competition, sweet and tearful speeches, I couldn’t have been happier and more honoured to spend the day with this beautiful couple!
Gabby and Cam got married at one of my all-time favourite venues; Silver Sage Stables.
Guys! This venue is so incredibly beautiful. The barn and wood provide an incredible canvas for any wedding decor, the golden wheat field is the MOST beautiful (who doesn’t want to get married in the middle of a wheat field?!), especially in the evening during golden hour (just look below), and the whole property is surrounded by mountains. Any direction you look, there is beauty.
The beautiful thing about this wedding was…. well… everything. But what I love the most is when an incredible group of vendors come together to make a bride and groom’s dreams come true. I got to work with some of my favourite people of all time. Gabby, who is on Team Top Knot made the obvious choice in having Sara on board as her planner and decorator. Sara and Gabby are both two of the most incredible humans on this planet and I’m keeping them both forever (don’t worry, I’ll share!). The colour palette for this wedding was such a breath of fresh air for me! Let me tell you… I just LOVE it when I get to photograph at a unique venue with unique decor. It keeps the creative juices flowing and fills my heart with pretty warm fuzzies. Sara is a genius when it comes to providing something beautiful and unique for her couples. Petal and Vow provided the florals for the wedding party and reception and they were breathtaking! The bridesmaids carried floral hoops rather than bouquets – another favourite of mine!
Gabby and Cam opted out of having a first look and waited to see each other at the ceremony. I love this way of planning the day because the excitement and anticipation really get the tears and emotions flowing! After the ceremony, the light was so incredible beautiful. Wedding party and family portraits took place and then we ate the most delicious food from The Chef Instead. I’m not exaggerating at all when I say that this was some of the best wedding food I’ve ever eaten – and I’ve eaten at a lot of weddings! Not to mention, at the end of the day, we were sent off with fresh, homemade donuts. WHAT?!?! I don’t think that anyone except wedding vendors can understand how much of a gift that is!
After dinner we snuck out for a quick couples’ session with Gabby and Cam as the sun set. This is quite possibly my favourite part of the day, not only because the light is the most beautiful at this time of day, but also because the wedding couple get to spend a moment away from guests and just get to take it all in. They can have a moment to be together and not have to entertain their guests. They just get to enjoy the moment together. It’s a beautiful time!
I’m going to share one of my favourite weddings of the season! It’s one of my favourite for many reasons including… Danielle and Dave = Awesome. They’re just the most easy-going down-to-Earth people and their wedding party… absolutely hilarious! There were a lot of laughs, spilled champagne and incredible dance moves all day!
September weddings in the Okanagan are insanely beautiful. I’ve said it before and I’ll say it again… September light is the best. The best.
Danielle and Dave started their day getting ready with their friends in separate cabins at Ponderosa Point Resort in Kaleden. Ponderosa Point is a small little cottage resort on Skaha Lake. All of the cottages are privately owned and the resort has that carefree feeling that reminds me of my childhood vacations. Danielle & Dave are from the area, but with friends and family in mind, turned their local wedding into an Okanagan Destination Wedding. The sun was shining and the wind was blowing. Really blowing. Dorothy in Kansas style wind here.
The ceremony took place overlooking the lake and the wind did not relent. Wind or no wind, the ceremony was beautiful. Dave shed a tear or ten while Danielle walked towards him.
After the ceremony and a few celebratory beverages, we headed to The Old Kaleden Hotel for some wedding party portraits. During this portrait session, I let the groomsmen pick their own pose and let’s just say… they chose an interesting pose! I’m thinking about hiring them as my creative directors at weddings from now on! (That’s a joke!)
The real party started the moment the reception began. Dinner was made by Flambé Catering and it was so delicious! Grandma provided the pies for desert alongside donuts and s’mores! Following dinner, a wild dance party ensued until late in the night!
Enjoy the happiness and hilarity captured in these images!!!
Here I am again, feeling delighted that I get to love my job as much as I do. Being a Kelowna Wedding Photographer takes me all over the Okanagan. Janine and Geoff, who are high school sweethearts decided to get married in Fintry, at La Casa Resort. La Casa Resort is perched halfway up a mountain and overlooks the Okanagan Lake.
The ceremony took place with even more stunning views on a grassy field even higher up the mountain! The views are incredible! Rain was threatening all day, worrying Janine as there was no back-up plan for the outdoor mountainside ceremony. And then the rain came. Janine and Geoff decided to go ahead with the ceremony, regardless of the rain. Lucky for them, Mother Nature had other plans in store and the clouds parted, the sun shon, and the rain stopped JUST in time for the ceremony to begin. The rain stayed away until about 5 minutes after the ceremony. It continued to be indecisive for the rest of the day, coming and going.
We headed down to Fintry Provincial Park for portraits, where we found some cover from the rain. Janine and Geoff had no problem at all letting loose and bringing out their inner children during our portrait session, laughing and snuggling the whole time!
The reception began with a surprise cooler chugging competition, then speeches, tears, cake, basketball free throws and dancing. Dinner was served by the always delicious Deli City Catering (yum yum!).
Take a peek at their rainy, sunny, rainy, sunny, rainy, loving, beautiful day!
The Hotel Eldorado is one of my absolute favourite wedding venues in Kelowna. It’s on the water, their reception spaces are full of light, and the staff and food are incredible.
Joy & Mike’s ceremony was held on the rooftop with an unobstructed view of the lake and mountains as a backdrop.
As usual, I will let the images speak for themselves. You’ll see a beautiful couple, the reactions of guests of what goes down in history as the best “Best Man” speech ever delivered in the history of weddings by Mike’s son, and did I mention… a beautiful couple???
Want to see a beautiful thing? This love, that’s what!
Being a Kelowna Wedding Photographer allows me to explore all the nooks and crannies of the Okanagan. We found ourselves a cute little piece of land that juts into the Okanagan Lake for this session. Despite being attacked by prickly pears (those nasty things hide where you least expect them!), this session was a ton of fun!
You know… the more I try to write blog posts the more I realize that writing is not my forté. I have all the feelings and none of the words.
That being said, I hope you can look at these images and see how much love is shared between these two. How much fun they have together. How strong their connection is. And, also…. how cute their dog is!
