Intimate Pearce Estate Park Elopement

Sarah and Dugan contacted me this year about their upcoming elopement at Pearce Estate park, and I was immediately smitten! I absolutely love elopements since they are so intimate and give the couple a chance to focus on the ceremony and being together. They are such a lovely couple and I am so excited for them to start this wonderful new chapter in their lives and to have been their Calgary wedding photographer.

Read more about their love story from Sarah, below!

We met seven years ago in graduate school, where we both studied the behaviour of birds. While we worked across the hall from each other during half the year, Dugan spent his springs bird watching in tropical Costa Rica while Sarah spent her summers chasing birds in the Arctic. When we weren’t traveling, we found common ground: our mutual interests in nature, wildlife, cooking and traveling paired with our shared sense of humour made it easy to see why we were meant for each other. Our respective careers led us to different countries, but we knew we could handle the distance because we’ve always been used to hectic travel schedules. We used every opportunity we had to see each other, to travel and to share new experiences. During one of Sarah’s particularly long trips to Africa, we decided to meet in Spain to squeeze in a little quality time together and to get a change of scenery. In Madrid’s beautiful Buen Retiro park, Dugan proposed during a romantic ride in a rowboat. We’re not sure if it was the engagement, the food or the wine, but it really was an amazing trip!

We finally settled in to everyday life together in Alberta, where we planned a tiny, intimate wedding ceremony for our immediate families. We fell in love with Pearce Estate park because of the winding trails, the wildflowers, and most importantly, the serenading red-winged blackbirds. We exchanged vows during a ceremony that was short and sweet, and we were thrilled to share this special moment with our closest family members. We finished off our day with a champagne toast, and a delicious dinner at one of our favourite restaurants. Our simple, organic wedding was the perfect way to celebrate our relationship and to kick-off a new chapter together.

See another beautiful intimate wedding in Calgary here!