A quick disclaimer: I don't do weddings. Though I've been asked several times, it's not an area I've been drawn towards for several reasons, but I won't bore you with those. However, when I heard Corrie & Wendell had gotten engaged, I knew there was very little question how I would answer should they ask me to be involved.
Rewind: Corrie and I grew up together. She's a couple years older than me, but our families have basically been friends since we moved to BC when I was 5. For
many holiday meals, it was a given that we'd spend the day together; it was just a matter of who was hosting. And these holiday meals? They were loud. There's no way around it, we can make some serious racket, whether Corrie would be doing her infamous 'potato throat' (have you ever tried stopping mashed potatoes in your throat and speaking? It's tricky and highly entertaining), or the boys would be playing with some racing game or electronic device, or a movie would blast (my dad's in the business and 'theatre volume' was standard). In the young adult stage until now, we've gotten into playing boisterous rounds of
Mafia - a card-dealt, role-playing game that involves deception and is one of those things that no matter how late it is on the holiday, if we haven't gotten around to it yet that day, we'll make it happen.
The closeness of our families is the reason there was no question whether or not I'd photograph if asked, and I was deeply honored that they did. And I was super excited when they told me the wedding would take place at RockRidge Canyon in Princeton because I was there last October for a retreat and I knew the beauty of the area. It also meant a "destination" wedding - even though it was cold weather, it was still the feeling of being away for a few days and getting to really visit and connect with people/family that you don't see on a regular basis.
Unfortunately, my husband had to work and with my responsibilities, I left our kids with my in-laws and drove up with my parents, which meant a bit of a holiday for me having no one to take care of (though I wish my hubby could have been up there with me).
Corrie and Wendell asked me to share the responsibilities with a friend of theirs, Andrew, which I was most
relieved happy to do. Weddings are always better when two are working together on photography. I did the photos of the girls getting ready, the ceremony (Andrew was the second-shooter), the family photos and then second-shot the ceremony. Andrew took care of the guys, the wedding party and couple pictures and was the primary photog for the reception. That's why there are not many pictures of the couple and so many of the other parts.
After all that babble, here it is - the beautiful wedding of Corrie & Wendell:
Rehearsal:
Getting Ready:
{I love the cute little Bride bag one of her friends made for her}
{We laughed at how closely her wedding colors matched my logo}
{Top left:
such a Corrie face! Bottom:
"It's really happening!"}
Ceremony:
{Stunning setting!}
{This top picture makes me smile - I spent many years playing music with these three (Corrie's brothers)!!! They are quite gifted}
Family:
It started snowing and got windy right when we were to start family pictures, so with the preference to stay outside, we were basically limited to this one spot. Thankfully, the wind and snow stopped when we were ready to do pictures with the parents. Yay!
{I do love this top picture}
Reception:
{The favors were a chocolate mint tea - of course, it slips my mind if it was the first gift Wendell bought Corrie, or if it was the tea they drank on their first date}
{Top picture: Corrie's dad has a large family and all but one was able to make it - these are the siblings and their spouses. Bottom picture: these uncles have sung together for years and my mom, who is playing guitar, often accompanied them}
{The younger generation taking over the vocals. Corrie's brothers and dad}
{Corrie serenaded Wendell. Later, the kids tore up the dance floor}
{As the couple left, guests lit sparklers and created a tunnel for them to run through}
Corrie and Wendell - many blessings on your new life together! Thank you so much for the privilege of being one of the photographers for your wedding. Looking forward to seeing you this weekend at our Easter shin-dig!!!
