Crystal Ridge Wedding
Dan and Justine’s wedding at Crystal Ridge Golf Course was absolutely stunning and a day to remember. From the moment these two asked me to be their wedding photographer I knew that we were going to create some gorgeous images together! They have such a deep bond and an amazing sense of humor. It’s so lovely when you have the chance to get to know a couple and feel super comfortable on the wedding day. We pretty well spent the whole day laughing together. Read more about their love story and wedding day from Justine, below.
How they met:
Dan and I met in our high school library in January 2007. We had mutual friends but had never met each other until then. After a few weeks of playful banter and chatting, we realized we both had spares every Friday afternoon and you would always find us together at that time. We had an instant chemistry and very similar personalities and found it was super easy to connect with one another. It only took a few weeks for Dan to invite me over for dinner and to meet his family, where I was instantly welcomed. It wasn’t long after that, that Dan asked me to be his date to graduation. We have been inseparable since!
Engagement story:
Dan had started his proposal planning process in April of 2015. We had just purchased our first home together and after a bunch of renovations, I was not expecting us to get engaged any time soon. I was very wrong!!
Sometime in the beginning of September I suggested that Dan and I should have a little weekend getaway in Banff. This worked out perfectly for Dan because he had already booked the Banff Springs Hotel and was trying to figure out a way to bring up a spontaneous trip without me getting suspicious. The morning that we were leaving for Banff I was dawdling around and being oblivious to how antsy Dan was being. As I knew check in wasn’t until 4:00pm I thought we had lots of time to pack and get ready and slowly make our way out. Little did I know Dan had planned a helicopter tour with a stopover on top of a mountain where he was planning to propose. He was on the phone with the helicopter company all morning trying to see if the temperamental Alberta weather was going to cooperate. Unfortunately it did not and he had to go to plan B.
We drove straight to the hotel and went for a walk to the Bow Falls because our room wasn’t ready (again working right into his plans). As we walked towards the falls I was a little chilly so Dan stopped by this beautiful spot overlooking the Bow River and the mountains to give me a hug. As he was hugging me he started saying these super sweet things (that I do not remember, and luckily he wrote down for me), he got down on one knee and asked, “Will you marry me?” to which I enthusiastically said “YES!!!”.
The wedding day:
Our wedding day was such a beautiful way to celebrate our 10 years together. We were both surrounded by our closest friends and family and are so honoured that they were able to be there to witness our marriage. We couldn’t have asked for a better day all around, and mostly everything went according to plan. The vision we had for our wedding in our minds came to fruition thanks to all of our amazing vendors and of course the people we were able to celebrate with. Our ceremony was beautiful looking over the pond at the golf course, the music played by Solatido set the tone perfectly. After the ceremony our guests made their way to the reception tent where we were all able to enjoy some champagne and hors d’oeuvres. The reception was amazing, the food, music, and dancing were the highlights of the day (other than getting married of course), and we loved to see all of our guests having a great time on the dance floor.
Our wedding theme wasvery classic and elegant, white linens with pops of blush pinks, and gold. We wanted our theme to be romantic and timeless, and be able to always look back at our photos and remember how we felt on our special day.
Justine: My top moment was our first look where Dan finally got to see me in my dress. The look on his face is something I will always cherish.
Dan: My top moment was when Justine started to walk down the aisle towards me, I was overwhelmed with emotion at knowing I would be with her always and by how simply stunning she looked!
Our work schedules are fairly hectic at this moment in time so we are doing a mini-moon in Cabo San Lucas, Mexico at the Secrets Puerto Los Cabos. Cabo is one of our favourite spots to travel for an amazing relaxing vacation to get away and be in our own bubble. In the new year, we will be going on our actual honeymoon in Santorini, Greece for 2 weeks. We are so excited to spend time in the Mediterranean!
