Edmonton 14th Century Wedding Photography with Lisa and Joshua
This past Saturday, David and I were off to Lisa's house to do her getting ready shots. It was a very busy place when we arrived with last minute touches happening everywhere - from flowers going on all the lanterns on the main floor to hair and last minute sewing on the second floor. Lisa made so many of the outfits including her wedding dress and Joshua's clothing for the wedding. She is one talented and busy bride. Her sister, Allie, braided Lisa's hair with ribbon. Lisa is an expert on all things history. If you want to know about any particular time in history, she is the one to ask. In fact, a lot of the wedding party were also quite knowledgeable, we soon found out. The flowers for the ceremony were from Flower's on 50th as well as Lisa's mother.
After we got the getting ready shots, we headed to Corpus Christi Catholic Church to get some groom and groomsmen/"guard" shots and get ready for the ceremony. Joshua looked very regal in his 14th century groom's clothing and crown.
This ceremony was the third wedding we had done this season where cell phones and cameras were prohibited. However, the reason for this at this ceremony was because there were no such things in the 14th century. David and I were exempt from that rule, of course - lol. Two knights were at the entrance to the chapel to greet the guests, and one caught one of the guests with a cell phone before the ceremony began and quickly confiscated it from her.
The ceremony was performed by Ralph Korner, who came from Joshua's church and Father Matthew Haysell from Corpus Christi. In this ceremony, there was a procession of Matrons who walked down the aisle ahead of the wedding party. They were followed by the "Bishop" and Father. The groom coming down the aisle was much different than how things are nowadays. 2001 Space Odyssey music played to announce the arrival of the groom's "House". The groom, guards and his family walked in. Then, we waited for the bride to "arrive." A girl, Jada is finally asked to see if the bride was here. She came running back in announcing that yes, Lisa had arrived. The bridal procession was very big! Flower girls came in waving streamers, followed by the same girl who announced the bride's arrival, Jada, the maids all carrying lit lanterns, Lisa carrying an unlit lantern, two more maids who were holding the bride's train, the bride's parents and finally Lisa's siblings and their families.
With Lisa and Joshua standing at the front of the church, Lisa's mother removed a mantel from Lisa's father's shoulders and placed it on Joshua. In turn, Joshua's father, removed the mantel from Joshua's mother's shoulders and places it on Lisa.
The ring exchange was also very neat with one of the Guard's coming forward with the bride's sword with the groom's ring on it (a ceremonial custom from the Vikings) and then the same Guard comes forward with a medieval style axe with the bride's ring on it. Then after, the bride and groom lit the lantern that the bride had carried down the aisle (a German/Dutch Tradition).
Immediately after the ceremony, the families and entourage of headed to a part of Mill Creek Ravine for a picnic and then the formal photos. David and I loved having the swords, dagger and axes along with the lanterns to use in the photos. Everyone was so great with the photos despite the large population of mosquitoes in the ravine and the sound of thunder in the distance. We had just sent the wedding party out of the ravine to focus a bit on Lisa and Joshua when it started to rain. We all made it to the vehicles without getting too wet and started to make our way to the reception site - a family friend's large and beautiful yard. However, by this point, it was a downpour. Lisa and Joshua and many of their friends had worked so hard on setting up tents for games and the tables for the dinner. However, the rain ended and the games they had planned were able to continue and everyone enjoyed them. Then, Lady Jeanette came out to teach the guests some 14th century dances - which everyone had fun with. Unfortunately, the knights were not able to fight in their tournament due to the wet ground. But there was so much to do, no one seemed to mind too much. The ladies seemed to enjoy putting their husbands in the stocks. The skies darkened again and the threat of rain continued, but the "feast" went off without it raining again. A couple of the guests were removed from the feast to be put in stocks by order of the bride and groom. I, myself was asked by the bride if I was causing trouble when I tried to talk one of the knights into putting David in the stocks. I quickly behaved myself. Towards the end of the feast, a rainbow came out and we were able to get some shots of the bride with her maidens, her flower girls (minus one who had already gone home) and Lisa and Joshua under the rainbow.
The last part of the evening was the cake cutting. The cake was made by Joshua's grandma and the cake toppers - a barbie in ninja garb and a Ken doll dressed as a wizard. Lisa used her sword to start cutting the cake, but then it was decided that it was taking a while to cut, so Joshua grabbed the knight's axe (I apologize if that is not the correct term for what was used) and smashed the cake into bits. It shocked everyone to say the least but also provided laughs.
Thank you, Lisa and Joshua for choosing us to capture your special day and for having such a unique wedding! We wish you much happiness together!
