Carmen and Trevor were married this past Saturday at Swan-E-Set Golf & Country Club in Maple Ridge, but the day began at Carmen’s parent’s home in Vancouver. I love when two cultures blend in a wedding day and Carmen and Trevor’s day was no exception. My favourite moment of the morning was during the tea ceremony. The audience of guests watching laughed every time Trevor spoke a few Chinese words before handing family members tea. (By the way, Carmen filled me in. Apparently before the tea is handed to each family member, all she’s saying in Chinese is “drink tea.” All these years and I never thought to ask and never knew! Hah!) I also loved Carmen’s family’s dog that was sporting a blue bow tie to match the bridesmaids and hanging around all day. (Even at the venue! It was awesome, he was walking around mingling with the guests in the ballroom like it was his home.)

Swan-E-Set Golf & Country Club was in fine form for us this weekend. The weather was exceptionally warm in the morning and nothing but sun. Amazing, considering the forecast was calling for rain! Carmen and Trevor chose to have an indoor ceremony in the beautiful Swan-E-Set ballroom and the tall windows let in so much light we felt like we were outside. ;) Later, Carmen and Trevor asked me, “Was that light difficult to shoot in?” I laughed. Yes. Probably the most challenging lighting conditions for a ceremony, ever, but hey, I’ve trained my whole career for this. It would go from overcast to bright direct sun and back again every few minutes. Kept me on my toes.

After the ceremony, we rushed outside for photos and to catch the last of the daylight. The leaves had just begun starting to turn on the gorgeous road from the entrance of Swan-E-Set to the clubhouse. We took full advantage of the colours and the beautiful Swan-E-Set property! The reception was full of games, fun, laughter as Carmen and Trevor celebrated their 46-months-of-dating turned into marriage with two hundred of their close friends and family. (That was a game trivia question, FYI. I didn’t calculate that myself…)

Congratulations, you two! Enjoy Hong Kong on your honeymoon!

P.S. Another great thing about this wedding was all of the past wedding clients of mine in attendance. There was Scott & Andrea’s wedding back in 2010, Jaclyn & Matt’s wedding last year as well as Alvina & Jonathan’s wedding! That’s a record for me.

See? Doesn’t this dog crack you up? So cute.

The flower girl literally ran down the aisle. She was terrified and her cute little face showed every bit of it. Later in Carmen and Trevor’s thank you speech, they thanked her for an incredible performance… as “they really appreciate that kind of efficiency.” I laughed out loud and I still laugh to myself about that comment. You two are funny.

I really loved the sky in this one…

I hope Jaclyn (one of my brides from last summer) doesn’t hate me, but I think she looks so cute having fun out there on the dance floor. She’s due in a couple of days, if I remember correctly! And she looked amazing.

 

… and here’s us all together!

 

Hair Stylist: Mandy Leung
Makeup: Yannie Wong
Dress Designer: Bridal Gallery
Bride’s Shoes: Nine West
Bride’s Jewelry: Etsy
Bridesmaids Dresses: Etsy
Groomsmen Tie Clips: Etsy
Groomsmen Ties: tiebar.com
Officiant: Michael Collins
Florist: Sandra Foster
Ceremony Venue: Swan-E-Set Golf & Country Club
Reception Venue: Swan-E-Set Golf & Country Club
DJ: Michael Letendre
Cake: Michael Lai
Invitations: Invitations by Dawn 
Favours: Chalkboard Tealights
Photographer: Jamie Delaine