kate & simon, and their niagara winter wedding
i recently read an essay by a well known novelist where she shares her insights about how she puts together the stories she writes. she painted a picture of a city street, and all the subplots that are going on all in the same scene. the birds slicing between buildings, the people hurrying across the road, the twenty stories of apartments each containing people, their babies, their dreams. there are so many layers, all existing simultaneously & contributing to the overall experience.this is the story of a canadian couple who met in new zealand; the story of them coming home from where they now live in germany, to get married. it's the story of a family reunion, and of seeing friends they never get to see, all in one place. the setting -- queenston heights in niagara. the basic plot -- by the end of the day, they'll be married.but there's more, there's always more. this is also the story of six sisters, all grown up and back together again in the same place. it's south african accents and jewish traditions, mixed in with a traditional maori greeting & a ring warming. it's a cold day in december where a pair of snowboarders hope for snow. it's the family dog, it's a beautiful new blanket, it's a nephew's fifteenth birthday, it's handmade books, mulled wine, a shotski & finally getting to call simon 'uncle simon'. it's stories shared and cherished of the early days and everything that lead up to this celebration. it's dreaming of what's to come. the subplots layer on top of each other to make the bigger story.it's advice like this for a happy marriage, from katie's neice -- 'go to the highest point on the highest mountain & enjoy the view'.the layers intermix and the result is a great story, the kind you pay attention to.
laura & paul, and their outdoor wedding at the portage inn in muskoka
we admit... we kind of want to be laura & paul when we grow up. they are both wildlife biologists, they go on camping trips to yoho in alberta and hornstrandir in iceland (to name but a few), they both hold their own taking awesome landscape & wildlife photos, they sing together (and star on their own youtube channel) & are the sweetest pair you'll ever come across.after a few emails, we arranged a skype call with laura & paul in their winnipeg home, us in our toronto one. we got on the call & it felt like talking to old friends.we arrived the night before the wedding to the portage inn in muskoka, just steps away from algonquin provincial park. champagne was popped and everyone who had already arrived for the weekend were welcomed around a long table outside on the lawn. we sat next to paul's parents, and felt like old friends as the sun went down and the lights twinkled overhead.the next morning, wildflowers lay across the tables & lights were being strung across the tent. everyone pitched in, whether it was paul's dad stringing up the lights, laura's brothers and girlfriends setting the tables, or laura's mom and their friends arranging the vases. paul and his dad went into the woods and found a dead birch tree and constructed an arbour. and when everything was set, paul and laura quietly got ready with dave and i, and we took some photos in among the trees before the ceremony got underway.all the parents cried seeing their kids get married; later, paul mixed cocktails for everyone; even later, paul, laura and several family members and friends played an open mic session after dinner (including several songs written specially for the occasion and paul's brother tommy playing one of his favourite disney songs)... i could go on, but i think it's time to let the photos do the talking, or if you prefer to watch the day in action, a stop motion video below set to the voices & sounds that made the day.we can't even think about it without grinning like idiots.
shoutouts to : linda watt as their lovely officiant / rene for the gorgeous vegetarian meal / the portage inn for the amazing setting
music in the video performed by : laura & paul (moon song from the her soundtrack), and their two good friends who both wrote the songs they performed (!!)
see more muskoka weddings we’ve photographed here, here & here
need more? here's paul & laura's youtube .