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It's all in the speeches.

It really is!!!  As much as a wedding is about the love between two people, their vows, their personal expressions in the form of their decor, choice of gown, music, etc... it all ends up in the speeches...

You can tell people's personalities from the speeches.

You can tell what kind of childhood they had, from the speeches.

You can tell how close they are to their families, from the speeches...

And you can also tell how incredibly sappy the photographer is, from the speeches.  Better yet, from my reaction to the speeches.  Let's face it: I'm a wedding junkie!  I love speeches!  I love getting to know the couples that I love so dearly through the speeches...

Yes, there's the odd roast and there's always an MC that makes the speeches about himself, but not this time.  This time I was so incredibly moved and reassured that I'm a good judge of character...

Jolene and Ryan are amazing people.  Jolene is pure PURE kindness (not to mention BEAUTY!!!), and Ryan is the cutest tallest teddy bear you've ever met (and he's sooooo in love with Jolene, it's crazy)!  They complement each other so well!  And their families are amazing to boot!  

So, in honour of great wedding speeches, I will start this post with one of my favorite things about receptions: The Reactions to the speeches.

Here's Jolene and Ryan laughing at something that Kevin (Ryan's brother) said:

 

 

 

And then two of my personal favorites.  The first one is Lynn's (Jolene's mom) reaction to something the couple said during their speech and the second is Donna (Ryan's mom).  Seriously, doesn't it make you want to jump into this story and hear exactly what was said?  What I love the most about these shots is that you can almost see their tears too... Ah, I love weddings...

 

 

 

 

 

Wow, I'm so sappy!!!

 

Now, back to the original order of things.

 

Jolene and Ryan live in Thunder Bay, ON, where they met when she moved there for a job in the local hospital.  They were set up on a blind date, fell in love just couldn't stay away from each other!!!

 

Along came sweet little Ceara, and their lives have never been the same!  Love, laughter, many trials, and much much joy followed, which brings us to this day: Their Wedding Day!

 

From the smallest details, everything was absolutely perfect!

 

As we arrived, Douglas was there washing the car so that he could drive Jolene to St Charles Country Club, a whole block away!  That's dedication!

 

Jolene was wearing her grandma's bracelet. There's a bingo card charm on it. Jolene told me that her grandma used to take her to bingo with her when she was little. Isn't that so precious?

 

 

 

 

The next few images are of Ryan and Jolene's first look... They chose to see each other beforehand and their reward was a WHOLE HOUR just by themselves on their wedding day... Oh, and I was there too!

 

 

 

I just love the way they're looking at each other... 

 

 

Lucky for Jolene and not so lucky for the rest of Manitoba, but the Apple Blossoms were still in bloom in June.

 

 

 

 

I love Jolene's laugh... so it wasn't "golf course" appropriate, but oh well, we had fun!

 

 

 Jolene's dress was something right out of a movie!

 

 

 One of Douglas' friends from the club brought in this beauty for a prop!

 

 

 

 

 

 Now some details:

 

 

 

 

 

 

Jolene had these little boxes set up for Ceara's friends who were invited to the wedding!  Such attention to detail! 

 

 

Ryan and Jolene both like skiing, so for their "guestbook" they had an old pair of skis that the guests signed as they walked in.  These skis will hang out in the barn (once Ryan is done renovating it!)

 

 

 

 

 Boys like toys.  So here's another prop!

 

 

 

And Dennis did this when he was "posing" with Ryan.  I told him it would end up on the internet... I wonder if he believed me?

 

 

 I love the image on the right because Ceara was hanging on to mommy during the ceremony... sweetest thing!

 

 

  

 Hey Ryan, what exactly were you doing here?  "Yeah, that's right! I got her now!!!  She's all mine!"  I love it!

 

 

 

Now, onto my favorite shots!  The dance!  Ahhhh, did I tell you I love weddings?

 

Here's proof!

 

 

 

 

 

I love this cake-cutting shot!

 

 

 

 

And these guests were having a tonne of fun!

 

 

 

 

 

 

Ok, here's the slideshow!  To download your own high res copy of this slideshow to watch on your tv, go here!

 

 

 

 

Jolene and Ryan,  thank you for letting me be a part of this great amazing day!

 

Thank you Jolene for reading my blog last year and falling in love with my work, like I fell in love with you and your family!

 

I hope that I can continue to be a part of your lives for years to come!