Home » Anne of Green Gables Inspired Wedding Shoot

Anne of Green Gables Inspired Wedding Shoot

The Anne of Green Gables series has been a favourite of mine since I was a kid. I remember watching the movies, starring Megan Follows, over and over again. Surprisingly, despite being an avid reader, I didn’t read any of the books until I was 20. I went to visit my great aunt Waltraud in France for the first time and she left an English version of Anne of Green Gables on my bedside table. I gobbled it up and loved it. I’m kind of happy I waited to read it because it’s a special memory having it attached to that visit.

I’m forever indebted to L.M. Montgomery for her dreaming up Anne. There is something about Anne that makes it impossible not to love her instantly. What I always loved the most about her, besides her strength and vivaciousness, was her ability to bring out the best in people. She was never afraid to shine her light and be herself completely. I don’t think there has ever been a female character that inspired me as much as Anne, which brings us to this shoot.

I had been wanting to do an Anne of Green Gables wedding inspiration shoot with Stage Right Etc for a couple of years and we finally got a window to do it this year! Being located in the Okanagan valley, in Kelowna, BC, which is on the opposite side of Canada from Prince Edward Island, the home of Anne of Green Gables, we definitely had to do some location searching to get the look of  Avonlea. I was SO excited when Danielle, from Stage Right Etc, found a pond with a rowboat in it! That was on my “must have” list for the shoot and it was a difficult one to find! We had so much fun dreaming up all the scenes and details from the Anne of Green Gables series to incorporate. Stage Right Etc did a fantastic job of weaving in those details while still doing their own twist. The result of their efforts was nothing short of stunning! We had the help of the talented (and yummy) Sweet On You Designer Cakes who made mini carrot cakes (a nod to Gilbert’s nickname for Anne) as well as some gorgeous larger cakes. I found an awesome Anne and Gilbert in the model Bailey Woodward and her boyfriend Yanni Papadopoulos. Melissa Dacre did a gorgeous update of Anne’s traditional hairdo and Melissa Craven did a beautiful job of her makeup.

I am beyond excited that one of my FAVourite wedding blogs, Green Wedding Shoes, posted this shoot last week. It’s been so fun seeing the amazing response we have gotten from it and all the Anne of Green Gables fans reminiscing about their favourite Anne and Gilbert moments. : ) Click to see the post on Green Wedding Shoes and Buzzfeed. I hope you enjoy!

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Below: A little twist on the Lady of Shalott scene from Anne of Green Gables (probably my favourite part from the movie).A little tongue and cheek reference to the famous raspberry cordial scene in Anne of Green Gables.When Gilbert and Anne first meet in class, Gilbert tugs one of Anne’s braids to get her attention and calls her “Carrots.” Anne, who is extremely sensitive about her red hair, stands up, smashes her chalkboard slate on Gilbert’s head and makes him her sworn enemy. The part, later on in the series, where Anne finally lets Gilbert call her “Carrots” affectionately always makes me mushy. : )When Matthew first picks up Anne and rides her back to Green Gables in his carriage, Anne is in heaven with “so much scope for the imagination.” They ride through a tunnel of blossoms which she renamed “The White Way of Delight” (see that later on in this post) and when they pass “Barry’s Pond,” Anne says, “Oh no, this is ‘The Lake of Shining Waters.’ That’s its rightful name.”

Vendors:

Decor/Styling/Florals: Stage Right Etc, Kelowna, BC
Cakes: Sweet on You Cakes
Couple: Bailey Woodward and Yanni Papadopoulos
Makeup: Melissa Craven
Hair: Melissa Dacre

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145 comments

  1. Carmen says:

    This is so beautiful!! I get so much inspiration from the character of Anne as well. She is such an amazing role model for young women.

  2. Lisa says:

    Hello- I was to thrilled to see these pictures! I have loved Anne since my Grandmother gave me her copy of the book published in 1920. I have often said that Anne is like my childhood fictional best friend along with Elnora Girl of the Limberlost. So many of those images are ingrained within me and I see them in my own landscape- Lake of shining waters, the snow queen and white way of delight. This is great! Always happy to hear of a fellow Anne enthusiast. Best of luck to you in your career.

  3. christinemb says:

    Oh my goodness what a beautiful wedding shoot! I have dreamed of this wedding since I read the series for the first time as young teenager.

    Can you please share the designer for the dress? It’s absolutely gorgeous!!!

  4. Jessica Zais says:

    That’s awesome Lisa. I totally know what you mean – Anne feels like a childhood friend for me too. : ) She’s a pretty awesome role model to have growing up too. Thank you very much for the lovely words.

  5. Sarah Grace says:

    This is absolutely the most stunning wedding “shoot” that I have ever seen ! Growing up (and even to this day) Anne was my favorite heroine because of her pluck and the fact that she was a red head just like me.

  6. amy says:

    oh my goodness…this is absolutely perfect!! i think my favorite pic is the one of you with the “carrots” sign. this is like my perfect fairytale all played out. can’t tell you how many times i watched that movie over and over and over again. i can recite the entire thing:) Anne would be proud, and she’d love all of your attention to detail. congrats!

  7. Vaychan Hallman says:

    Jessica! This is simply amazing– I grew up with Anne as my bedtime friend and you captured her sooo beautifully. My jaw was agape for a good few minutes when my friend forwarded me the post.

    Thank you thank you!

  8. Carol Anne says:

    Yes that is my middle name and I was named after Anne of Green Gables. It was my mother’s favorite book. I have actually been to Prince Edward Island and it is beautiful. You did a great job of the photo shoot. Makes me want to return to Green Gables right away.

  9. Jen says:

    These are just lovely! As an Anne enthusiast (We named our child Marilla Anne and call her Rilla), I must point out the date on Anne and Gilbert’s little wedding shingle. By May of 1917 they had six living children, three of whom were serving in WW1. My husband keeps reminding me this is not reality, but I can not help myself. 🙂 You can find the info in Rilla of Ingleside. Other than that teeny detail, everything is spot on in my humble opinion. Lady of Shalott is my favorite!

    Good work on the pics! Just beautiful!

  10. Laura says:

    I think you might just be my hero! 🙂 I love this idea beyond all reason. The “Anne” books have been favorites of mine since I was a little girl — Gilbert Blythe was TOTALLY my first-ever crush! I loved all your subtle little references in this. Completely brilliant.

  11. Lynette Norton says:

    I have been in of Green Gables guest room and have been to their outlet store in Canada to purchase many great items including porcelain dolls of each main characters. I also have the big biography book of Lucy Maud Montgomery. My mom showed me the movie when my girls were just babies and from there I introduced it to my girls when they were old enough. We watched it several times years together as they grew and it soon became their favorite movie as well as mine. We would quote lines over and over, it was so much fun as I was a single mom and it was always our special girls time together. Since then my oldest daughter passed from cancer leaving me with a baby girl who is now 16 and loves “Anne girl” just as much as we all do. This movie holds great memories for me, now I even have my husband watching it with me. our dream is to go to Prince Edward Island in stay where “Anne girl” did, in a bed & breakfast.
    Thank you for your post.

  12. Crystal says:

    My daughter’s name is Avinly after my favorite literary character, so these just made me swoon! Oh my word, I hope my Avinly will do a shoot like this someday!

  13. Alexandra C. says:

    I’ve just started reading the first book in this series (hadn’t as a child so it seemed like time.) This shoot is so gorgeous!! I can’t help but smile when I see all of the little touches that have been added. The look is so cohesive and beautiful. Thank you for the inspiration and for putting beautiful and inspiring things on the internet! XO-Alexandra

    Simply Alexandra: My Favorite Things

  14. Oh wow — what a fabulous job you did, and what a GREAT theme for a wedding (especially for an “auburn”-haired bride!) These are beautiful shots. My sister and I, like you, read this book over and over again as kids, and we lived it out like this every way we could. Now, as teachers of “hands-on literature,” it’s one of our best-selling workshops and LitWits Kits. It’s yours free if you’d like it, just for being such a kindred spirit! Let us know if you’d like us to mail it to you.http://www.litwitsworkshops.com/free-resources/anne-of-green-gables/

    Happy photographing!
    Becky & Jeny

  15. Oh wow — what a fabulous job you did, and what a GREAT theme for a wedding (especially for an “auburn”-haired bride!) These are beautiful shots. My sister and I, like you, read this book over and over again as kids, and we lived it out like this every way we could. Now, as teachers of “hands-on literature,” it’s one of our best-selling workshops and LitWits Kits. It’s yours free if you’d like it, just for being such a kindred spirit! Let us know if you’d like us to mail it to you.http://www.litwitsworkshops.com/free-resources/anne-of-green-gables/

    Happy photographing!
    Becky & Jenny

  16. Kathryn says:

    I love, love, love this! I’m about to reveal what a huge Anne geek I am, but I saw the comment about their wedding date, and it reminded me that I actually sat down once and worked it out. Rilla is 15 when WWI begins (1914). She’s 5 at the end of Anne of Ingleside, when Anne celebrates her 40th birthday. That places Anne’s 40th birthday in 1904. Anne was 24-25 (three years out of college, which she graduated at age 21-22) when she and Gilbert married. That means their wedding was about 15 years before 1914, or in 1899.

  17. Josi Stevens says:

    Beautiful. Anne has been my friend since I first read the book at age 13. When my first daughter was born I named her Avonlea, which influenced much in her life, love of all things Anne and even led her tho study in Scotland and marry her very own Scottish “carrots”. She will love your photo shoot. Thank you for sharing you vision with us.

  18. Laurie says:

    An avid reader now and as a child, I don’t know how I missed Anne of Green Gables. I recently read the series at the age of 53 and fell in love with the characters. I love what you did with this photo shoot. You brought out all sentiment of the book. Beautiful!

  19. Olivia says:

    This is beautiful! I have scrolled through the photos 3 times in the last 10 minutes! I can’t wait to show them to my sisters – they will love it too!

  20. Lisa Canning says:

    I CANNOT STOP LOOKING AT THESE PHOTOS! So many beautiful, thoughtful details. You’ve inspired me to pick up the book and become familiar again with old friends : )

  21. Jessica Zais says:

    That’s awesome that you spotted that Jen. Only a couple people noticed! I totally admit we had to make up a date last minute and I didn’t have time to do my research on when their wedding would be. Good eye! ; D

  22. Jessica Zais says:

    Good eye Kathryn!! You’re one of maybe 4 or 5 people that noticed that so props to you – you’ve proved your Anne of Green Gables prowess! ; D We had to guess a date really last minute and I didn’t have time to do my research!

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