Melissa and Michael

Wow.........anyone who was outside on Saturday knows that it was one of the hottest days of the year.  It was +32 degrees out in the blazing sun, and the day of Melissa and Michael's wedding.

Darlene, my assistant, and I arrived in sunny Teulon, Manitoba shortly after 11:00am.  We were welcomed at Melissa and Michael's beautiful and air-conditioned home by Melissa, her mom, and her bridesmaids who were getting the finishing touches of hair and make up.

Melissa reminded me of a kid at Christmas because she was beaming with excitement not only because she was the bride and getting married but she kept gushing at how everyone looked so beautiful. It was obvious of how proud she was to have these girls sharing in her day.

I met with Melissa earlier in the week to go over our schedule and all of her last minute details.  I was delighted to see that she brought her parents wedding albums (still in the original boxes) for me to see of how she wanted to replicate a few of the photos that her parents had done.  I could see in her eyes how much she loved the photos but how strong her sense of family, love, and tradition meant to her.
While I stood in her kitchen and looked around I was reminded about those traits as her family and friends watched as she stepped into her dress, her mom's eyes filled with tears of joy and her dad gave her the biggest hug in the world.

Live well.....Laugh often......Love much....... are the words that hang on the wall of her home and it suited these moments perfectly.
Just after 1:00pm we headed to where Michael was getting ready.  As we drove up the driveway at his friends house we saw all of the guys dressed in their tuxedo's decorating their masculine trucks with green flowers and white balloons..........sweating like crazy.  The day seemed to be getting warmer by the minute.

The ceremony was held on the 5th hole at the picturesque Teulon Golf and Country Club for 2:00pm.  The site looked beautiful with it's green grass, blue sparkling water, and white chairs for the guests to sit on.  The only problem was........there were no guests sitting in the chairs they were all sharing the shade and drinking bottled water, it was just so hot!

Within minutes Melissa arrived sitting in a sporty red golf cart and was escorted down the aisle by her parents.
The ceremony was filled with moments of laughter and tears, along with a sand ceremony representing their individual lives uniting together.

Over the next few hours Darlene and I, along with the videographers, were taken on the photography adventure of our lives.  We were told to "hop in" into the back of a pick up truck and taken through fields of tall grass, past the hunting tree stand and through a cow pasture.  Our first stop was to the beautiful pond that is nestled on Melissa and Michael's property.  It was gorgeous until we realized that the field was filled with biting red ants. Ouch!

During this wedding season I have often commented on how wonderful the wedding parties have been especially during this very hot and humid weather. However; this particular wedding party has officially topped the list of survivors.  Not only did the girls lay in a field of biting ants, the guys stood dressed to the nines in the blazing sun, but the entire party walked through the never-ending holes of a cow pasture, over a rocky ridge just so Melissa and Michael could have a jumping picture. Now, that to me defines the true meaning of friendship!

Our evening ended with an amazing dinner and reception held at the Teulon Rockwood Centennial Centre.  I had such a great time sharing in the laughter of the speeches, the shoe game, and Melissa and Michael's thank you speech.  I especially loved the fact that Melissa's dad had his gun there.  I would have never guessed that the beautiful girl that I had photographed all day was one of the best hunter and fisherman's of the group!  Definitely her father's daughter!

In all kidding aside, both Darlene and I had such a wonderful time photographing Melissa and Michael and all of their family and friends.  We also enjoyed meeting a wonderful pair of sisters who are Melanie Warren and Mireille Stewart of MNM Videography (www.mnmvideography.com). You were both awesome to work with and we truly enjoyed sharing the back of a pick up with you!

Thank you Melissa and Michael for all of your love, energy, and charisma...........and hanging in there during the heat.

   

Enjoy Hawaii!

Congratulations.