Many roofs in Cordova got crushed by the “Snowpocalypse” they had this winter. I love that cool boat on the right!The three shots below are of the super neat boathouse I got to stay at. It had so much character – I loved it! Thanks to my lovely hosts Neil and Anne!The neighbour’s dog liked to accompany me on walks.Vivian’s friend, and Cordova photographer, Chelsea Haisman (below, with her daughter Isla) was so sweet and gave me a tour around Cordova.Thanks for taking these few pics below of me Chelsea! Despite being a photographer, I still never know what to do in front of the camera. haha.I “otterly “love this li’l guy. This old cannery was so beautiful.My last morning in Cordova, a few hours before my flight home, Vivian called me and said, “The weather is finally good enough for a plane ride! Wanna go?” I happily accepted with a, “Heck yes!”The airplane Jared flew us in was a Cessna 185 that seated four people. Jared piloted the plane, Vivian flew shotgun and their friend Pete and I rode in the back. The plane belonged to Jared’s best man, Brad, who had just finished restoring it this winter.First, we flew out over the town and Orca Inlet. Well hello there, Mr. Bear.Vivian’s friend, Pete, and I. I think Vivian took this photo right after Jared did the “roller coaster” and we were all giddy! It was so cool experiencing being almost weightless for a few seconds as Jared dove down with the plane. Right after, I was giggling like a school girl and squealing, “Again, again!” Vivian set a lens cap on the dashboard one of the times we did it and it floated up as the plane dove down. So cool. Sheridan Glacier. I didn’t even know we were going to see a glacier until we were flying over it! Amazing!Pete snapped this shot of Jared, myself and Vivian. We started the plane ride at a smaller landing strip in a different part of town and they dropped me off in their plane at the main airport for my flight home. That’s how I roll. Haha.

Here are a few instagram pics I took of my trip with my iPhone as well:

The day of their wedding, it poured buckets. Vivian and Jared, along with their wedding party were all troopers though and went with the flow and totally made the best of it! They had initially wanted to have their ceremony at the gorgeous Boswell Bay since Jared is a bush pilot and could have flown us down there, but weather pushed them to change locations and do it in a cute little local church. However, I did get to go for a plane ride with Jared and Vivian the morning of my departure from Cordova, which was awesome! I’ll be doing a separate post on that soon.

I lucked out so much because Vivian is friends with a local photographer, Chelsea Haisman (Haisman Photography) and she came and assisted me the day of the wedding, not to mention showed me around Cordova the day before! With all the rain, she was a huge help the day of and I was so grateful for all her assistance and positive personality. Thanks again Chelsea!

Vivian and Jared have known each other since they were little kids. Vivian told me, “With both our families in aviation, we grew up together, but it wasn’t until after I came back from college that I said those 4 special words….”I don’t date pilots.” Jared responded, “Well, I ain’t lookin’.” Two years later we married.”

The ring pendant below has a really sweet story that goes along with it. Here it is in Vivian’s words: “My grandparents met back in Minnesota. I remember my mom telling me how my grandpa used to tie nanny’s ice skates when they were little kids. They started dating around college and eloped before WWII. The gold band was my grandmother’s original wedding ring. Being very poor, my Papa Jack sold a pint of blood in order to pay for the simple gold band, before going off to serve as a medic. Later he had it made into a pendant.”

Photo below by Chelsea Haisman. : )

Erin and Mike’s nicknames for each other. Pretty cute. = )

I had such a fantastic time capturing these two and I am thoroughly looking forward to photographing their wedding in June!

Christine and Mike rented a whole picnic setup, along with an awesome tandem green bike from Vintage Origami which was such a fun addition for photos!! I loved the mix of bright primary colours combined with vintage pieces and apples galore. I wanted to bite into the whole setup … like I did to one of the apples post shoot. ; ) Christine also hired Melissa Craven to do her makeup (Melissa you rock!) and Christine, being a hairdresser, beautifully styled her own hair.

Speaking of bicycles, Christine and Mike have a funny bike story from a trip to Brazil they took together where Mike wanted to go on an 8km bike ride. Christine grew up in an active family but had never learned to ride a bike. However, she wanted to impress Mike and just assumed ‘it was like riding a bike’ as the saying goes. “I now understand what that saying actually means,” Christine laughed. “After about a km down this hill in 30 degree heat, Mike stops me and asks when the last time I rode a bike was. I looked down and said never. He kind of panicked because the road was so dangerous and made us walk our bikes all the way back to the hotel. It’s funny the crazy stupid things we do for love.”

Christine and Mike are so smitten and I’m super excited to photograph their wedding in 2013! Yippeee!

Vintage decor rentals (picnic, tandem bicycle, etc): Vintage Origami

Makeup: Melissa Craven

Lisa contacted me explaining that their beautiful 8-year-old golden retriever, Jasmine, was losing her 1.5 year battle with cancer. Lisa and her fiance Jason had done everything they could to help Jasmine fight the cancer, getting her all the chemo treatments and medicine she needed. Unfortunately the cancer was too persistent and their family really wanted to get a family shoot done with Jasmine before she passed away. Dogs, and golden retrievers especially, have a major soft spot in my heart (I’ve already been fortunate to have 2 in my life). I, of course, agreed to do this session with them and from the get go I could see that Jasmine was a very loved dog. Despite being in pain, she was still wagging her tail and smiling lots – just happy to be with her family. I was really touched capturing these memories. I definitely admit to shedding some tears while editing the session. I’m so happy I got to meet Jasmine and her lovely family. Hugs.

I couldn’t have asked for a more wonderful wedding for my first of 2012. Melissa and Rhys are two of the nicest, most genuine people I know and I couldn’t get over how natural they were in front of the camera.Everything, from the vintage styling, to the ah-mazing decor by Stage Right Etc, set this wedding apart from the get go!

First up you have a post on Melissa and Rhys’ Kelowna backyard wedding by Intimate Weddings.

Followed shortly after, the fresh and fab Canadian blog, Sash & Satin did a post on Melissa and Rhys’ wedding as well!

Click here to see my original blog post on this wedding.

The beautiful  Laurel Packinghouse graciously hosted the event, which Stage Right Etc designed to look like a mock wedding reception with a lounge-style layout. My jaw dropped when I walked in the room. Wow – Stage Right went all out on this one! I mean there was even a tree dripping with candle-lit crystals in the middle of the room! Amazing! The lighting by SW Audio+Visual really added to the ambiance and overall look of the room! The combination of the warm wood and brick of the Laurel combined with all the blue up-lighting looked incredible!

The room quickly filled with photographers, planners, DJs and other wedding vendors from around the Okanagan. Details Catering served appetizers that made you want to do a jig when they hit your taste buds. They had this chocolate dessert that was toooo die for, oh my goodness. The staff at Laurel Packinghouse were awesome and accommodating as ever and DJ’s John Byrne and Superdave shared the stage and had myself and many others dancing all night. Danielle of Stage Right Etc and my second shooter Carley are the best dance buddies ever FYI – if you ever need dance floor fillers- we are your girls! ;D

Okanagan Flipbooks was also there and man oh man was that a fun addition. I was holding a stack at the end of the night and the Flipbook team came up to me and jokingly said, “Jessica, you really should have tried out the Flipbook Booth!” Hahaha. I may have liked it a little TOO much. I wasn’t alone though Cough*Danielle*Cough! ; )

Thanks again to everyone that came out to party and to all the sponsors for your hard work to make this one awesome kick-off to our wedding season! I already can’t wait for the next one!

Everyone had such a blast making flipbooks! You can make custom covers for our event, like below. Click here to see a video of the flipbooks people made at the event! I was wearing a green dress in front of a green screen for anyone wondering where my body went! haha.

Vendors:

Venue: Laurel Packinghouse, Kelowna, BC.

Planning/Decor/Florals: Stage Right Etc.

Lighting/Sound: SW Audio+Visual

Lounge Furniture Rentals: All Occasions Party Rentals

Catering: Details Catering

DJ’s: John Byrne and DJ Superdave

Flipbooks: Okanagan Flipbooks

Put your paws up! A little Lady Gaga love.Birthday girl smooch!