Lauren is a family friend who I grew up around as we shared a love of horses. When she contacted me and asked for me to be her and Pat's wedding photographer I was SO excited! We met once a week before the wedding to go over some planning and I loved how relaxed the two of them seemed to be. We sipped on some lemonade in their backyard and talked about their ideas for the day (they had recently done a bunch of work to their acreage and they were so excited to have majority of their photos done there). It was a beautiful space.
When the day finally arrived myself and my assistant Taylor came to their home to photograph everyone getting ready. Lauren and Pat had a special bridal party that consisted of all their kids as their bridesmaids and groomsmen and their grandchildren as their flower girls and ring bearer. The house was chaos and it was great! We had the bridesmaids outside rehearsing a surprise song for their dad, the groomsmen were playing their guitars in the kitchen, the kids were all running around barely able to contain their excitement and Pat & Lauren were in the middle of it all and you could tell they wouldn't want to be any where else. It was so casual but yet so special.
Lauren amazed me by telling me that she had HAND MADE almost everything for the wedding. All of the bouquets, invitations, reception decorations and even her grand daughters shoes! We snuck Lauren into her room so that she could have a few moments of peace and we were able to photograph all of the small details there. The first look for Lauren and Pat was full of emotion and happiness - and then we were off to the church!
The ceremony was short and sweet. Beautiful music, beautiful people and so much love. The girls surprised Pat by singing a Shania Twain classic which only brought more smiles and more happy tears.
After the ceremony we headed back to Lauren & Pat's for some family and formal photos. Everyone met out in the front yard and we made our way around the perimeter of the acreage and took majority of our photos in an area Pat had made especially for the wedding. By the time it came for Lauren & Pat to have some photos done of just the two of them you could just see how happy they were to be together as husband and wife. We included Lauren's best furry friend in a few photos and took a few out on their front porch swing where they told me they spend a lot of their time!
After we spent a lovely couple of hours out at the acreage we headed back into Saskatoon to kick off their reception at The Willows Golf & Country Club. I was able to get some shots of the beautiful set-up that Lauren had worked so hard on and then we all got to welcome the newly wed’s into the room! Dinner, heartfelt speeches, a sweet cake cutting and so much dancing followed for the rest of the evening.
To end off the truly magical day I was able to sneak Pat & Lauren out back on the patio for a few last shots of the two of them together. I always try to allow my bride & groom a few moments where they can soak everything in and chat about the day!
Thank you Pat and Lauren for having me be a part of your special day. I wish you nothing but love, health and happiness!
XO, Ashley