On a Friday evening in August I had the honour of photographing the most beautiful wedding ceremony in the woods. It was a magical evening and I am so glad I got to be apart of it!

Words Dana and Ben:

1. How did the two of you meet and fall in love?

We met very briefly through a mutual friend and then weeks later Ben got up the nerve to message me on Facebook-creeper! We had our first date on the deck at our house, he had just got the keys the day before. We fell in love while renovating the house…I remember one “date” was pulling down drywall in a dress and his old work boots. Another date was ripping up stinky carpet and hauling it to the dump!

2. How and why did you plan your wedding evening the way that you did?

We planned our wedding together on the couch! We were engaged for almost 2 years before we actually started planning and then we threw it together a couple months before. We wanted a very non-traditional, super casual wedding..we really just wanted to say some good shit to each other in front of the people we love and then we wanted to draaaank & dance! It was important to us that all the people who were present actually had an impact on our relationship. We didn’t want to just invite people for the sake of inviting. We also really wanted Russell to marry us, he lived with us for 3 years and we love him dearly. He moved away to BC so asking him to marry us also ensured he would actually book a flight home! Ha!

3. Ben’s favorite moments:

– seeing my Dana and her dad dance down the aisle to T.I, Bring Em’ Out- you only get a walk up song once…unless you’re a pro athlete!
– seeing everything all come together and all our hard work was done! Loved the way the location turned out.
– listening to his dads speech
– end of speeches and the beginning of the dance party that lasted until 4:30 am.

5. Dana’s favorite moments:

– saying my vows to Ben in front of everyone we love
– dancing down the aisle
– the moment in the ceremony when Russ had people turn to one another and give a hug
– when the rain stopped so our friends drifted the bar and the rest of the dance floor out under the lights!!!
– our nephew partying like an animal until 2:30! Coolest 5 year old! That kid can dab and do the robot like a star!

6. Advice for couples who are currently planning their wedding?

Our advice- just do you!!!! Don’t worry about what other people think!! Things will get screwed up- just go with it, laugh because if you don’t you will cry. The day goes soooo fast- make it last and take it all in! Also- don’t clear property full of poison ivy a couple weeks before your wedding…the amount of make up required was a bit silly.