Leticia and Drew’s Beautifully Simple Wedding

Simple weddings are the best weddings. And when the couple spends the their day surrounded by only their nearest and dearest, those are the best days of all. When Leticia contacted me about photographing her wedding, it sounded like an absolute dream. And the day played out exactly the way she had planned it.

I have no photo of it, because I was driving, but as I drove down the road toward Leticia’s parent’s Little Hearts Ease home, I passed a woman with an updo, walking down the street, with a coffee cup in hand. Not a cup from Starbucks or TIm’s. But one taken from the cupboard of someones kitchen and filled with coffee made at home. I realized that it was Leticia, headed back from her Aunt’s house down the road where she had been having her hair done.

Walking into the house, full of people I hadn’t met yet, I couldn’t have felt more at home. Leticia’s Dad was concerned that I was hungry after my long drive from town, and everyone was sitting, relaxing, chatting and catching up. It was the perfect start to a wedding day.

The wedding was actually taking place in Leticia’s parents backyard. And if you are picturing a fenced plot of grass with a patio, then picture this. The house backs onto a pond. All you can see is water, trees and glorious sky. What an incredible place to live. I can think of no where better to have a beautifully simple wedding.  With Leticia ready, I headed outside to find Drew relaxing.  Raya, Leticia’s niece gave them the sweetest wedding gift!  A little paper boat each to fill with wishes and set to drift!  The plan for the day was amazing! Before the actual marriage ceremony, we took full advantage of the gorgeous area that Leticia grew up exploring!
Who else has a cuddle at their Dad and Uncles sawmill before their wedding? When Leticia told me all of the locations where she wanted to have her wedding photos taken, and she mentioned a saw mill, I pictured one of those places with saw dust everywhere! I did NOT envision these purple flowers that grew wild everywhere!  This is the river Leticia would play in when she was little. But it had been so hot that the river dried up and we we were left only with the perfect little tunnel of light, rocks and trees.

The Secret Garden was never as pretty as this little corner of the earth. This is my favourite image of the whole day. I bent down to change lenses and when I looked up, this amazing moment was in progress!
This was the sweetest gift.  Rev. Vey did an amazing job of marrying Leticia and Drew, but before the ceremony I found her outside relaxing, and I couldn’t resist a candid shot of her doing that!  With the marrying done, we headed down to Southport!

As a side note, when I was little, we would always go for drives on Sunday. And often, we would end up driving from Clarenville to Southport (it’s the end of the road that is Southwest Arm). And I always pictured photographing a wedding down there. The light always seems so soft and beautiful, and it’s perfectly sheltered from the wind. When we arrived and the conditions were exactly what I had always expected they would be, I was very thankful that even though it was Leticia and Drew’s big day, one of my own dreams was coming true!

Our first stop was at Leticia’s Pop’s boat shed! And then, just on the other end of the wharf was the last boat that Pop Max had built. I love when we can work in really sentimental pieces into wedding photos in a subtle way!  With our pretty wedding photos made, we headed back to the Lion’s Club for the reception. They kicked things off with a knot tying ceremony!
Keeping things simple was important to Leticia. When we chatted on the phone, she told me all of the things she was doing herself when she came home from Toronto for the wedding. The reception was amazing. Friends and families all brought things. Leticia made the cake. Everything was simple and wonderful all at once!  When the party was about to start, it was announced prior to the first dance that the happy couple wanted all of the couples in the crowd to join them! It was the first time I have seen things done this way, and it  was really sweet!
The dance floor was packed from the get go and I am certain that every one of the amazing people at Leticia and Drew’s wedding had an AMAZING time. I am so thankful that I got to be the photographer for their unique day!

Leticia and Drew, it was my pleasure to meet and work with you and I wish you all the most amazing things in the future!

Much Love,
Amy