Hilary and Kyle dancing at their wedding reception

Maple Ridge BC Wedding – Hilary and Kyle

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Bride and bridesmaids toasting — Bride (in curlers) and bridesmaids toasting

Getting Ready

I never know how to start these entries, so I guess I’ll tell you the story of the day, and show you some photos. The day started with myself and my good friend and second shooter Jeff showing up at the property on the east side of Maple Ridge. They had the entire small guest house / studio separate from the main house and it was a bustle of activity. Hair and makeup were there, busily helping make six gorgeous ladies look their best.

Bridesmaid Putting Brides Necklace on — Getting a little help with jewelry

Bride sitting in dress and veil — Sitting and looking amazing

Bride putting on earrings in mirror — Hilary getting ready

Wedding Ring Photo

I took some time to photograph the rings in between catching laughs and hilarious moments with the ladies. Rings are one of my favourite things to photograph, and a real challenge to give each set their own unique story. In this case I used what I thought was a table cloth (turns out it was a wrap just sitting on a table) using the window to light them. This time I had a tripod, allowing me to get an incredibly clean photo of the rings.

Wedding bands on a blue cloth macro — Wedding bands in the sunlight

The Gents Getting Ready

While all this was going, Jeff was spending time with Kyle and his groomsmen. It’s a rough job to be honest. Part of being a great photographer is being able to have a genuine connection with your subjects. As the main photographer I have several meetings with the bride and groom, and spend the majority of the day with them. The second shooter is generally only there for the day of the wedding, and is expected to show up at what is essentially a stranger’s house and in an hour or two create a connection with them and get amazing photos. Well, Jeff is awesome for this which is why I shoot with him whenever I can.

Groom and groomsmen in a line standing on deck

This is one of my favourite photos from this shoot, I’m honestly quite sad that I didn’t take it!

Groom tying tie in bathroom mirror — Groom getting ready

The Ceremony at Eighteen Pastures

The ceremony and reception are at Eighteen Pastures Golf Course, in east Maple Ridge, not far from Whonnock Lake. My good buddy Dan lived just up from there while we were in high school and I spent a lot of time near there, and never (until pre-scouting the area) spent time there. Funny how things work sometimes!

Groom smiling before the ceremony — Groom being not nervous at all before the ceremony

Hilary and her dad hiding before the ceremony

The ceremony itself was great. They said their vows in front of their friends and family and a few tears were shed.

Smiling father of the bride walking his daughter down the isle

Bride and groom holding hands at the alter — Seeing each other at the alter

Bride looking at groom over shoulder — Looking at her new groom

Groom putting ring on brides finger — “With this ring I thee wed”

Bride and groom hand in hand at the isle — Saying their vows

Groom beside bride signing wedding register — Register signing

Bride and groom walking down the isle — Walking out, man and wife

Formals

Not all weddings are perfect. More specifically, not all wedding weather is perfect, and this was one of those times.

Groomsman holding umbrellas — Preparing for rain

However, thanks to the tents that we had up, some good timing, and a little skill with the camera, I was able to hide the rain and show the smiles and happiness that everyone had.

Bride formal portrait in black and white

There was a quick…. intermission lets say while the groom and groomsmen attended to some business. And before you ask, yes they actually were.

Groomsmen and groom taking a quick break — Quick intermission

… and back to the two of them looking amazing.

Bride and groom formal photo — Bride and groom ready for their happy ever after

Reception

One thing I haven’t mentioned yet, is the way the reception was decorated. This goes into my top ten most impressive decorating jobs ever. Basically a full on ‘Alice down the rabbit hole’ treatment, including little ‘drink me’ and ‘eat me’ signs in the cupcakes, a wacky wedding cake, moss and greenery decorating the head table, matching signs… simply a breathtaking job!

Photography by Alan Bailward Photography – http://bailwardphotography.com

There were speeches, great food, all that good stuff, followed by the first dance.

First dance bride and groom — First dance

Followed by what I can only describe as a multi-level, multi-style, dance montage that was performed and was truly impressive!

At the end of the night there were laughs and hugs and tears and I left the happy couple. I’m super proud to show off these photos and to share the story of this lovely couple!

Bride groom and wedding photographer — A thorn between two roses

Links

Ceremony and Reception – Eighteen Pastures Golf Course

Golden Ears Park Engagement Photography – Jason and Marina

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Jason and Marina recently moved here from eastern Canada and chose the gorgeous Golden Ears Provincial Park in Maple Ridge as the location for their engagement photography session. As a native of Maple Ridge I knew that Golden Ears has a wide variety of locations to use for photography, as well as being nice and close downtown Maple Ridge. The park is full of hiking trails, swimming in Gold Creek, and lovely beaches at Alouette Lake. We parked and walked down the trail, stopping for some shots along the creek.

I’m pretty sure I told them (mostly joking) that “if I fall into the water, save the camera first, then come back for me.” Mostly joking… I had the car keys in my pocket so they had to come back for me! 🙂

Jason and Marina Golden Ears Engagement Photography Session

These two crazy kids are great. It’s awful to have to kiss your fiancé and cuddle with them, but they powered through it. They’re getting ready for the wedding in a couple of months back east, but needed an engagement session photoshoot to use for cool wedding invitations and decorations for the big day!

The beaches at Alouette Lake aren’t super sandy beaches, but still great for photos. There’s lots of driftwood along the way to use as props. There’s also an amazing view in pretty much each direction you look.

The only thing to remember is that because the lake is nestled between the mountains, the sunset will be hidden, and you need to factor in your golden hour about an hour before you think it will be, because you will want to catch the sun before it hides behind the Ears and not the horizon.

As these two crazy kids walked down the path in the middle of what can be best described as “quintessential west coast,” while hand in hand I snapped one final shot (well, after telling them “just walk down together and talk, I gotta fix something back here”).

You know what…. Something tells me it’s engagement photography season! If you’d like an amazing session like this to celebrate your engagement, contact me now and book your session today.

Richard and Kristen – Maple Ridge Backyard Country Wedding

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I’ve known Richard since we were 6 years old. Literally. He joined the tiny elementary school of Thornhill in grade one to a school of about 60 kids total (K-6). I’d love to tell you that we were friends, bonded in the trials and tribulations of young adulthood, partied together while in high school, and remained friends to this day. Sadly not true… he was just another kid in school, sometimes struggling as the new kid into a tight knit band of children, and we mostly drifted in our own directions throughout high school, and lost touch until years later.

However, we did meet back up years after and became friends again. He was a pretty cool guy who’d gone through a lot in his life but had found a wonderful girl, Kirsten, to spend his time with and join his family with hers. The two of them compliment each other in all the right ways, and you can truly feel their love for each other and their families.

The wedding was a simple affair, a backyard setup in the country town of Maple Ridge with delicious food but more importantly, friends and family. I was honoured to be a part of it and privileged to call Richard and Kirsten my friends.

Another flower girl trying to steal the show :) — Another flower girl trying to steal the show 🙂

This is a great and affordable way to collect memories and congrats

The kids (and adults) had fun on the swing

The happiness of it it being over, or it being started.

Last but not least, my favourite shot of the day!

Location: Maple Ridge
Food: Delicious potluck 🙂

Kristine and Don – Maple Ridge Wedding

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Don and Kristine, found each other as couples often do, later in life. They weren’t high school sweethearts, but you could tell they had that sort of love in them. A simple ceremony in the Maple Ridge Open Door Church with their friends and family to celebrate bringing their two families together.

I spent the morning of the ceremony as I like to do with the bride and bridesmaids. As you’ll hear often this is my favourite part of the wedding…. not because it’s the calm before the storm (it seldom is)

Kristine chose a great retro styling for her bridesmaids and maid of honour

Just a couple of girls hanging out and looking fabulous

Another adorable ring bearer.... a trend I see! — Another adorable ring bearer…. a trend I see!

The moment after he saw her... — The moment after he saw her…

For the formals we went to Maple Ridge Park, a lovely little park on the road to Golden Ears. I’m not a huge fan of the “matte” processing look, but with Kristine’s classic dress and styling, a little bit of an old school look worked really, really well for it.

The reception was held back at the Open Door Church, with a live jazz band (this girl had the voice of an angel), a great spread for food, and of course, the first dance followed by a big party to celebrate the day.