Rustic and Touching Wedding Photography with Carlee and Michael at Greystone B&B
This past Saturday, David and I were off to Spruce Grove to Carlees parent's home to photograph her getting ready shots. We photographed Carlee's older sister Cassandra's wedding a few years back and now her and Reg have three children! It was fantastic seeing Carlee's family again! We had so much fun with Carlee and Michael during their engagement session, we couldn't wait to work with them again. Carlee's dress was from David's Bridal and was so beautiful. She is the first bride in Canada to wear this dress! How exciting! When we got there, Cassandra was just finishing up Carlee's makeup. Both Cassandra and Carlee work for Mary Kay and their makeup was very pretty! Their friend, Ivy Scott did all the hair for the girls. Carlee and Michael have a very talented family, Michael's grandparents made the all the flowers for the day. Carlee's dad's face when he saw Carlee come down the stairs was very touching. Carlee's mom was also tearing up. Teah Pike, a friend of Carlee and Michael was there as their videographer for the day. She lives in Lloydminster and has recently started her videography company. She was great to work with!
After we got the getting ready shots for Carlee, we were off just south east of Spruce Grove to Greystone Bed and Breakfast to photograph the ceremony and formals. Michael and his groomsmen were looking very handsome. Michael had on a grey suit while his groomsmen had on brownish pants with brown suspenders, white shirts and teal ties! The look on Michael's face when he saw Carlee for the first time was the most touching expression I have seen in the past fourteen years! The ceremony was performed by their worship pastor, Chuck Gasper whose ceremony was touching and funny. Carlee and Michael chose to write their own vows. I don't think there was a dry eye in the house when Michael read his. Instead of a sand or candle ceremony, they decided to pour paint onto a canvas - three different colours to represent themselves individually and then their joining. Such a great idea.
After the ceremony, we got to explore the grounds of Greystone a bit more and discovered so many pretty areas to take photos! I have so many favourites from this wedding! Because we had more time, Carlee and Michael also wanted to head back into Spruce Grove to Jack's Drive Inn as it was a special spot for the couple. That was so much fun! If you've ever been to Jacks', you know it is not very big and so with a wedding party of twelve, plus us and Teah, we basically filled up the whole inside. We got some great shots in there and enjoyed a yummy milkshake at the same time!
We then headed to Woodbend Hall for the reception. This was a very cool reception. Not only did they have a coffee bar (as Carlee used to work at Starbucks) and a candy bar, but the menu for the night was Pizza from Royal Pizza in Spruce Grove! The first dance between Carlee and Michael was so emotional, we didn't even ask them to look at us during it because they only had eyes for each other. They had two cakes - one a Norwegian traditional cake (sorry, I cannot even begin to try to spell the actual name of it) and then a traditional stunning teal and white wedding cake - both done by Lynn Guenther, aunt of Michael. The Norwegian cake was a cake of rings and tradition says however many rings the bride and groom pull up, is how many children they will have. After supper, Michael's cousin, Brendan Mayer (who has his own DJ business) dj'd the dance!
Thank you, Carlee and Michael for allowing us the honour and privilege of capturing the memories of your wedding day!
