Ana & Charles' Wedding
June twenty-fifth of Two-Thousand-and-Sixteen, I arrived promptly in the morning, to be greeted with beautiful decor along the stairway to the front door. White taffeta wrapping along the railing and white callas with sparkling green stems on the bottom and top posts. Symmetrically by the front door, two columns with two large spheres of the same white roses. Once greeted, the décor continued inside. Anyone who came by, knew that it was someone's wedding that day. Ultimate class.
The groomsmen wore grey suits, light grey shirts, and silver ties. The Lebanese groom was in a navy suit with a matching bowtie, a white shirt, with a polka-dotted lavender pocket square. They all wore brown leather wingtip oxford shoes and matching Ray-Ban's sunglasses - they had a little bit of mischievous grin on - it was all pleasing. Gathering around, the group of men toasted with identical flasks - each of them with their names stamped on with a moustache; they laughed, joked around, and told stories about their soon-to-be-married friend.
Arriving to the church, the boys were there talking and played some music to lighten the mood. As the time went by, guests began to arrive and greet the men, they went to sit in their places. Once it was time for the bride to enter, Charles was met by a member of the church, and his nerves began to show; he told him that he would do okay and not to worry. However once he left, he was still incredibly nervous and looked down at the floor fumbling with his hands. Being only a photographer, not knowing him personally, I talked to him. I told him to not be nervous, that the nerves were just the love that he has for his bride was so strong - that as long as he knows that the love between them is so strong, he would be just fine. He looked up at me smiling, agreed with me, and went to take his place. I walked out of the sacristy and outside the church to photograph the bride.
Ana stepped out of the limo, she was sparkling, exerting her Latina beauty, wearing a white lace overlay mermaid gown. Her hair was in an up-do, with a sparkling clip. Attached below her elegant up-do, a cathedral length veil, with lace following the edges. She gracefully entered the church, arm wrapped around her father's. The bridesmaids were in lavender dresses, all with vintage lace umbrellas. The colour scheme was selected beautifully. Their smiles were incredibly wide as they saw their friend getting married. When the ceremony began, it was almost all spoken in Spanish, as the majority of the guests were from the bride's side. Her groom looked at her many times throughout the ceremony, couldn't conceal the amount of love for her, like he was the luckiest man in the world.
Once the ceremony ended, the guests came of the front of the church. The married couple, stepped outside, the groomsmen, bridesmaids, and some of the guest blew bubbles in celebration - rice was sprinkled around for good luck. Alluring soft kisses and large smiles were all around, it was a joyful sight.
The celebration then continued to a different location; where the family formal and the wedding party photos would be taken. The location was serene, a park with a little rocky path, facing Lake Erie. As the group family formals continued, most under a white wooden pergola. The photos of the wedding party, the bridesmaids, and groomsmen were taking further down the rocky path; the background the silky smooth lake and bluest of blue skies. The bride and groom portraits were taken along the rocky path, then continued further down to an arched stone bridge; it was a location that had importance to the couple. Surrounding the bridge were tall dark green trees, dandelion seeds flew around the air, making the location even more ethereal and airy.
The entire mixed-racial wedding was absolutely perfect. Simply glistening with love and joy, the day was Seen so stunningly. I wish Ana and Charles a life together with joy, happiness, and love.
Ceremony: St. Joseph's Church - Leamington, ON
Park: Lakeside Park - Kingsville, ON
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I would like to add on a personal statement. Weddings are such precious moments and having this opportunity to assist a lead photographer on shooting this wedding was an amazing thing. It was my first wedding to ever shoot, that is considered being a second-shooter; however, being a second-shooter, it means that you're usually the main photographer for the groom, his groomsmen, and select family members. It was a pleasure and honour to have such a great experience as this being my first wedding.