Allie + Michael
Camp Cadicasu Brunch Wedding
I have rewritten this at least a half dozen times without much success. So I am going to embrace that frankly, it’s going to come across as insulting. But please keep reading. Allie and Mike’s wedding was everything wonderful about a wedding because it was nothing like a modern wedding. It was simple and understated. Their guests sat on rickety amphitheatre seating around an empty firepit, and their reception was lit by fluorescent lights, They were framed by monogrammed balloons that had deflated a touch following their set up the evening before. They got ready in a tight room with bunk beds as their backdrop, the morning sun was glaring. Portraits were at high noon and were just a handful of minutes.
It was perfect. Not in spite of all these things. Because of them. Just sheer perfection and I am truly honoured to have been their photographer.
It is no secret I have a nostalgic heart, and Allie and Mike’s Camp Cadicasu wedding reminds me so much of the wedding photos I find in my grandfather’s slide collection. When couples were married in their church, then held their reception in the basement. When the whole town was invited, and that meant the school gym was all that could accommodate them. When someone’s great aunt’s pet hamster’s previous owner’s daughter’s piano student’s mother runs the bookings for the community hall. When the heart of weddings was about the ceremony and the simplicity of celebration. When the day was greater than the details. This was Allie and Mike’s day. I loved it so dang much.
They opted to keep things simple by getting married in the morning and have a camp-style brunch reception. They wanted it to be an enjoyable experience for all. The day before their family and friends had arranged the reception hall, with golden balloons of their initials, The room was lined with bunting alternating between red, blue and gold. On the white linens were colourful plates of navy and robin egg blue and gold painted animals. In the middle of the tables were painted terra cotta pots with branches, each holding heart-shaped suet for the guests to take home and feed the wild birds (preferably chickadees). Lining the path to the ceremony were hanging paper cranes.
Just as the sun started to crest the trees on the nearby hill the guests began to arrive, gathering outside the building and marvelling at this hidden gem of a wedding venue near Sibbald Creek. Mike greeted each one as Allie pulled up with her ladies and hurried into the camp accommodations, careful to not be seen. Her bridesmaids marvelled at her with the finishing touches, as her mother did up her elegant A-line dress. Allie did a twirl (because dangit, a dress like that deserves to be twirled), and showed off her train – yes, she had a toy train sewed into her dress much to everyone’s delight throughout the day.
They wished for a private moment for the first look. Their families watched as she left the lodge she got ready, her father having the sweetest reaction. Then they moved aside so she could see her soon to be husband. A quiet moment, followed by a family prayer and blessing.
The ceremony began with Allie’s grandfather overseeing the processional. It began by honouring their families, with their parents standing beside them as they acknowledged the importance of the day. Her grandfather said a prayer, then graciously handed the ceremony over to her father. There is something so touching about such a personal ceremony, how her father recounted Allie and Mike’s relationship, what his take was, how perfect they are for each other. How he crafted the ceremony about them, about their faith, and what their future held.
The sun was higher in the sky, changing a chilly morning to a cozy warm late summer day. I adored stepping back from the ceremony, of seeing their guests sitting upon camp-style amphitheatre bleachers, and grandparents giddily looking on. Then with a declaration, they were married.
Every guest gathered on the same aisle the wedding party had entered on and escorted them out of their ceremony with a bubble exit. So began the receiving line, where each guest was greeted personally. They snacked on homemade muffins, and the children continued to think bubbles at a wedding was brilliant. They popped champagne with their parents, and thanked everyone for waking up early to attend. Time ticked onwards, the schedule of portraits dwindling, but it was perfect. The day wasn’t about portraits, it was about people, and I so appreciate when couples prioritize their guests. As the receiving line ended an hour later, we checked our watches and declared the reception should be beginning. We quickly stole into the forest onsite for but a handful of minutes – a moment of calm for the two, and one last practice of their dance.
Allie and Mike’s wedding was everything nostalgic about camp days, delicious food your inner child adores, of good discussion around the table of strangers turned new friends. Everyone listened carefully to the speeches, that spoke of their meeting and relationship. They played the shoe game, a wedding classic, in which when asked for the final question ‘Who loves the other more?’ Allie lifted Mike’s shoe much to everyone’s delight, before realizing the implication, lifting her own shoe hurriedly. Then they took to the dance floor, amazing their guests with a custom dance they had been taking lessons for.
Such was the most marvellous wedding, a throwback to simplicity, of celebrating those closest to them. It was perfect.
Please, let me know if you are having a camp or community hall wedding, if you are keeping things simple and embracing the idiosyncrasies. You can get in touch with me here.
You may also be interested in Cassie and Warren’s simple backyard wedding in Prince George.
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