Derek loved robots and anything to do with them so they loosely themed their wedding around this idea. The two of them had temporary wedding bands made with robots printed on them and their cake toppers were robots as well. At their ceremony, they provided their guests with an Instax camera and some props so they could take a photo of themselves and insert them into their guest signing book.

During dinner, their guests volunteered to come up and answer random questions about the two. If they got it wrong, they would have to kiss their dates. That led to some pretty interesting outcomes throughout the night! I think my favourite part must have been when things got dark and everyone had dined over candlelight under the tent. That was the perfect setting for this outdoor wedding.

Bride’s Gown: Alvina Valenta
Groom’s Suit: Harry Rosen
Hairstyling/Makeup: Michelle@MakeMe
Floral Designer: Marika@Pease Blossom
Ceremony: The Rouge Restaurant
Officiant: Bob Dunn
Flute and Guitar: Dolce Amante Duo
Cake: Crave Cupcakes
Reception: The Rouge Restaurant

The tea ceremony is an integral part of Chinese wedding custom. This is an opportunity to pay respects to the elders by offering tea. Rita and Steve started their day quite early and had their first tea ceremony over at Rita’s parent’s place. But before the groom could enter the house to see the bride, it is customary for the bridesmaids to give him and the groomsmen several challenges. According to Rita, these challenges are necessary to “prove his dedication and love for her”! So Steve did just that, by eating strange candy, doing pushups, identifying family members from a photo and singing love songs. They also had to bribe the bridesmaid with money!

After the challenge was completed, the two had their first tea ceremony with Rita dressed in the traditional Chinese wedding dress.  The two offered tea to their elder family and relatives and in return, received lucky red packets and jewelry. They also had a tea ceremony over at Steve’s parent’s home for his side of the family before Rita changed into her white wedding gown for the civil ceremony.

Their reception was held at Forbidden City in Calgary to about 150 guests. Everyone enjoyed a specially choreographed dance number the two been practicing for the last few months. It went perfectly and everyone cheered and clapped their hands in enjoyment! =)

Bride’s Gown: Beautiful Bride
Groom’s Suit: Zegna
Floral Designer: Tanille@Metro Element
Event Design: Monica@Wishahmon
Officiant: Patricia Ablett
Hair: Rath Flores
Makeup: Kim Talbot
Reception: Forbidden City Seafood Restaurant

The two were married at St. Barnabas Anglican Church in Calgary. Danielle added her own flair to it with a pair of love birds and flowers at the end of every other pew. It complemented the gray and yellow colors that Danielle chose for the wedding party. The bridesmaids looked so lovely with their yellow hairpieces.

Their reception was at the Gerry Thomas Art Gallery, located on the former Electric Avenue. Some of you might recall what it used to be days gone by. Danielle made a collection of unique flower centerpieces using old light bulbs that hung on bent wire bases. It fit so well with the aesthetics of the gallery that at first I thought they were part of the art show.

One of the highlights of the evening was the Silly Booth, which Danielle’s mom Lynnette surprised her with as a bridal shower gift. We broke the record that night by fitting 13 people in the booth. I think there were more spilt drinks in there than the everywhere else combined that night! You can watch the video on Facebook here.

Ceremony: St. Barnabas Anglican Church
Bride’s Gown: Ethos
Birdcage Veil: Couture Gown Studio
Floral Designer: Kensington Florist
Officiant: Jagdutt Singh
Cake: Crave Cupcakes
Photobooth: Silly Booth
DJ: Brian@ DJ BMack
Reception: Gerry Thomas Art Gallery

While we were with the guys side watching them get ready, we found a book Charmaine had given to Andrew to prep him for the wedding (see below). On the girl’s side, there was no book, but instead, Charmaine had on a dress by Maggie Sottero and blue Manolos.

The two had an outdoor wedding at Spruce Meadows in Calgary. This July has been pretty wet but instead of rain, we were greeted by swarms of mosquitoes. Charmaine loves horses so after the ceremony, Andrea from Spruce Meadows arranged for some mares and foals to join us for some photos. They were so graceful.

At the reception, Charmaine had a surprise for Andrew with a mining truck wedding cake. I loved how she had a topper with the bride and groom in yellow hard hats! The truck was quite robust. During the cake cut, Andrew was unable to cut it in half so instead, they had to settle with whacking off one of the rear wheels.

Ceremony: Spruce Meadows
Bride’s Gown: Maggie Sottero
Hairstyling: Melanie@Bella Bridal Hair
Makeup: Bella Bridal Hair
Floral Designer: Occasional Bloom
Officiant: Clarissa McLean
Cake: Buttercream Bakeshoppe
Photobooth: Silly Booth
Reception: Spruce Meadows

Tim wore a set of cuff links with a map of Calgary and Toronto. Calgary was where they first fell in love and Toronto was where they got engaged. Before heading out for pictures, Yvonne gave Tim a harmonica but warned him not to play it during the reception.

Their wedding was exactly how Yvonne had described. A simple intimate affair at The Ranche with just over twenty of their closest family and friends. Best man Mark played “All I Want Is You” by Barry Louis Polisar on a portable MP3 player. We all had a few laughs watching him try to cue the music with the remote.

After the ceremony, Diane had the Polaroid Reporter out and we took a Polaroid mug shot of everybody and gave everyone a print to take home. This is something we can’t really do in a larger wedding. We love watching everyone wait the 90 seconds for the film to develop and seeing them peel open the paper to reveal the image. =)

Yvonne had in mind an elegant and rustic feel for her wedding, channeling our western and cowboy roots. The Ranche was perfect for them. The stone and wood beam construction went quite well with the coral, peach, pink and brown colors. She had made letterpress menus and laser cut name tags for the favors, which were chocolate cowboy hats. Everything was tied together by the floral arrangement by Occasional Bloom

Ceremony: The Ranche
Bride’s Gown: J.Crew
Groom’s Suit: Armani
Hairstyling: Hedkandi
Floral Designer: Occasional Bloom
Officiant: Blair Collins
Cake: Crave Cupcakes
Reception: The Ranche

Heather did everything for this wedding except make the wedding gown and cook the food at the reception. We are not really sure how one can do so much but Heather is amazing like that.

Ceremony: Baker Park
Reception: Edgemont Community Association
Bride’s Gown: Beautiful Bride
Groom’s Suit: Moore’s
Event Coordination: Veronica King
Officiant: Lynn Cook-Stanhope
DJ: Jason@Dance Shout Productions
Catering: Sunterra Market
Photobooth: Silly Booth

Their reception was at Teatro on Stephen Avenue. It was a packed restaurant but still they found a way to squeeze in a candy buffet, dance floor and photo booth. I love Kirsten’s idea of using their Fuji Instax camera to take pictures of their guests and hang them up for everyone to see. It was pretty awesome!

Kirsten had also set up a table with wedding activity books for the kids to keep occupied. The bar served their wedding’s signature drink, the Dark and Stormy, to all the guests. Kirsten told me that her and Dave fell in love with that drink when they were in Bermuda (it’s Bermuda’s national cocktail).

Ceremony: St. Joseph Church
Reception: Teatro
Hairstyling: Hedkandi Salon
Makeup: Bobbi Brown
Bride’s Gown: Oleg Cassini
Groom’s Suit: Prada
Floral Design: Michelle@Blue Hydrangea
Cake: Carey@Teatro
Officiant: Deacon Dan Deck
DJ: Andy@Weird Andy Karaoke World
Stirsticks and Labels: Miss Pickles Press
Postcard Wishes: Cut the Cake Designs
Cake Topper: Emilie Friday
Photobooth Props: MaroDesigns and dzns4ubyme

Fast forward to a gloomy and wet Saturday last week when they were married at St. Mary’s Cathedral in Calgary’s inner city. I’ve always been fascinated with this church and finally we had the chance to cover a wedding here. I think the best part of the ceremony was when they rung the church bells. Felt like I was in the Sound of Music. =)

It was an interesting day indeed with the rain coming down steadily all day before clearing up in the late afternoon. We did most of the pictures under the porch of an old building to avoid the rain. Wanting a bit more variety in the images, we then stopped at the Palliser for about 30 minutes to get some indoor stuff. That was just enough time for a few more frames of Jaclyn and Don in the hotel and also to have our vehicle hit by a bus outside. Fortunately, no one was hurt and the damage was minor. The bus company has already contacted us to deal with it.

And of course, the Silly Booth was set up again last weekend with Jaclyn’s little cousin Derek stealing the show. If you haven’t seen this hilarious video, scroll down a few more posts or click here. All in all, it was a wonderful day spent with wonderful people. We can’t really ask for more.

Ceremony: St Mary’s Cathedral
Reception: Calgary Golf and Country Club
Hairstyling: Diva Salon Spa
Makeup: Diva Salon Spa
Bride’s Gown: The Bridal House
Groom’s Suit: The Tuxedo House
Floral Design: Enchanted Florist
Cupcakes: Crave Cupcakes
Officiant: Father Gregg
Photo Booth: Silly Booth
DJ: Hurricane Hollywood