Let me tell you about a little COVID wedding I shot back in August.

Hi friends! It obviously goes without saying that COVID times have been a little, let’s say, “annoying” for wedding photographers all over the world. With the government shutting down venues at the drop of a hat, without fair warning, a lot of couples are forced to make the decision to push their wedding a whole year simply by guessing. For Isabelle and Jaret, their decision was tough as well. Initially, we had a beautiful wedding planned at Auberge St-Gabriel on June 20, 2020. Jaret, which I found out later was extremely good at organizing, had first contacted me on June 19th, 2019. A whole year prior.  Everything was set…. and then not. It all started to become apparent in early April as we were trying to plan their engagement session. Things were locking down fast due to the new pandemic and it was getting scarier and scarier to get out and shoot.

In May (a month before the wedding) came the decision to actually have the wedding or not. Restrictions at this point in Quebec were pretty tight and venues were not interested in getting major fines for holding events. On another side, the western part of the country was a little more lenient. Cases were hardly present there and, luckily for us, the majority of Jaret’s family was from there. Mainly, Vancouver. So an option was launched. “Isa, would you be willing to come to Vancouver and shoot the wedding from there?”

“yes.”

Are you kidding me? Shooting a wedding in the AMAZINGLY BEAUTIFUL VANCOUVER? Yes. Absolutely Yes.

Now… It’s no secret that planes freak me out. I really don’t like them. It still doesn’t make sense to me that a huge steel tube can stay in the air for hours on end. ugh. And now, on top of that, we have a raging virus on our hands. Regardless, I put on my big girl pants and made the trip… and it was awesome.

We started out the day at the JW Marriott where both the bride and groom got ready. First the Groom then, the bride sneaked in and got ready once the groom went to go get the rental car and other last-minute details. I love small destination weddings. You get to see the little moments much more in detail as you are with the couple EVERY SECOND. You never miss a beat.

While I was sitting in my hotel room before the day, I was trying to find a nice location to do the first look. I went to ask the hotel clerk and, to my surprise, they happened to have a “small garden” on the 6th floor. Guys, this was not a small garden. It was AWESOME and quiietttt as all the restaurants were closed. Mission accomplished. Then came the time for photos, in Stanley Park (yay!), the wedding ceremony at Morgan Creek Golf Course, and finally, a lovely dinner with all the guests at the Italian Kitchen in Downtown Vancouver.

Shooting small weddings with your perfect clients is life. Absolutely wonderful. Thank you Jaret and Isabelle for inviting me and letting me join your wonderful family event.

Here’s some photos from the day.