Tag: winnipeg wedding

Shana + Adrian | Highlights

Posted on by Stephen Gray

When we met Shana & Adrian about a year before their wedding, we were excited to have the honour of telling their story. It became clear that family played an important role in both of their lives, individually, and together as a couple. Important people in their lives each had an opportunity to be apart of their wedding. While the clouds seemed to be rolling in during the morning, the rain held off and we were met with lush greens at Bridges Golf Course.

The wedding ceremony was powerful. Pastor (Dr.) Mike Efezino (Adrian’s dad) lead the ceremony passionately. He beautifully shared the story of how Adrian had a dream of who his wife would be, and that as he eventually met Shana later on in life, he knew right away that she was the same person he had seen in his dream. While keeping the ceremony personal, Pastor Mike also shared a powerful message of faith.

As always, we had an excellent time working with Rachael from Lucky Girl Photography. She is unbelievably talented and can make anyone feel perfectly at ease in front of the camera.

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Ashley + Ryan | Highlights

Posted on by Chris Radtke

A Gift from Heaven

Like the title says, it was the way these two came together. It was really interesting to listen to the pastor go through the history of how Ashely and Ryan’s parents met as couples which lead to the story of how Ashley & Ryan finally met. Its not every day you hear the path that people take to eventually find each other. Ashley & Ryan are a very special couple who were destined to meet. It was a pleasure to spend the day with Ryan, the enthusiastic happy guy. Ashley was just the same, her sweet smile and positive demeanour created a perfect recipe for everyone around them. You could feel the connection they had with each other and their family and friends. It created an atmosphere of celebration and appreciation.

We were blessed to have been a part of this day. We don’t take it for granted one bit. Couple trust us to create a memory of the day that will live with them for a very long time. We wish them all the best in their lives together. They are truly each others soul mates. Thanks to Lucky Girl Photography, we love working with you, what else can we say :). Enjoy the film!

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Anna + Barak | Highlights

Posted on by Chris Radtke

It’s Anna, Right?

Anna was described by her sister as being brilliant, kind hearted, athletic, driven, determined, well travelled and at times extremely excitable. A fitting description, we can assure you. Meeting Anna the first time over coffee and again the morning of her wedding, she was so excited about her wedding. And so were we. Her parents were so happy to see Anna and Barak come together as a couple; they both have a great appreciation for family which meant so much.

Barak is a practical & friendly person and it was said that he has a gift for friendship. He’s the one who would get things organized when they all went on camping trips. Barak has Hebrew significance meaning “lightning”, “to give light” and “to be visible”. At the reception, his father had established that the heroic side of that name’s meaning relates to his position as a teacher. He’d coached the students at his school into having a championship volleyball team.

Anna & Barak are both a joy to be around; they’re extremely fun. It was also great working with Moore Photography, Aspire Studios, & Soiree Event Planning.

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Lori + Buck | Highlights

Posted on by Chris Radtke

Strength and Convictions

A former CFL Quarterback for the Winnipeg Blue Bombers meeting the woman of his dreams in The Winnipeg International Airport. What a great story to tell. Buck & Lori both value and place an importance on their family and friends. Buck’s wedding party was comprised of a former coach, friends from high school and his two brothers. All of which shared that genuine close bond. Just the same with Lori along with the stories her brothers shared of her revealing that closeness of their family. To all be in the same room celebrating with Buck & Lori, was all they ever wanted.

I’ve (Chris) personally been a lifelong Canadian Football Fan (CFL) with a special place for my home team, The Winnipeg Blue Bombers. So, to have the privilege of being able to tell the story of Buck and Lori was indeed a highlight. They’re both genuine, down to earth good people. It was an absolute pleasure to be a part of this celebration. Music by our friend, Tony Anderson.

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Jessica + Ronnie | Highlights

Posted on by Chris Radtke

A Field of Dreams

We kept hearing story after story about how these two knew they were meant for each other. It became the basis for our film; a true account of soul mates. It’s a story of struggle, redemption, perseverance, and family. Faith is ultimately what guided them together. A true calling; a true love story with a happy beginning.

For me, the day was deeply impactful. We were quickly caught up in the day’s events. Jessica and her family had put a lot of planning and labour into this wedding and it showed. With the help of Soiree Event Planning, it looked even more spectacular. Every detail was so delicately thought out and put together. One of our favourite areas on the farm was the ceremony location in a beautiful Manitoba prairie field. A well developed crop with a section flattened in the distance. Bails of hay for seating and a fence made out of crops. It was a field of dreams.

Thanks again to Curtis Moore of Moore Photography for his stunning work and truly amazing fun times to film with.

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Jordan + Jeff | Highlights

Posted on by Mark Hiebert

Like It Was Yesterday

Gifts from the heart mean so much when there is thought and anticipation built up all around them. Jordan and Jeff put a great deal of thought into the gifts they presented to each other on the morning of their wedding day and both of them were truly swept away by the letters they wrote to one another. We love how they focused on why they love each-other and expressed that love through words. Being together for many years, they had been through some ups and downs in life and this day was meant to help celebrate the good memories and cherishing the memory of loved ones who were not present.

The day could be best described as a non-stop romantic and sentimental expression of love for friends, family, and each other. One of my favourite moments is when Jordan’s father see’s her in the dress for the first time; what a precious moment that Jordan will no doubt carry with her for life. Their story weaves together the most meaningful and heart-felt moments and we are so thankful to have been apart of their day.

We had the pleasure of getting to work along side an old friend, Coralee from Red Photo Co; a long time professional in the industry.

 

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Andrea + Ryan | Same Day Edit

Posted on by Stephen Gray

A Wedding Planner’s Wedding

We’ve always find a couple scenarios that could potentially make us get really nervous when filming. Things like bad weather; it can really change the look and feel of the day. It was something else for this wedding. It was filming someone whom you deeply respect and know as a friend. You always want to make the story perfect. The butterfly’s where of plenty.

We have known Andrea for a long time, both personal and professionally. We usually have the great privilege of working with her event planning company, Soiree Event Planning. She has literately seen us in every scenario possible, especially during same day edit. So naturally, when she asked us to film her wedding, we were thrilled! We also had the privilege of working along side our friend Jeremy Hiebert.

What we love about this film is its such a simple, timeless story. Andrea could have done anything she wanted. She has seen it all. But she kept everything meaningful and elegant for herself and her husband Ryan. A simple expression of exactly who they are. It was a privilege to be apart of this day. We were able to once again, not only work along side Andrea, a friend, but were also a witness of their commitment and celebration.

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Heather + Chris | Feature

Posted on by Mark Hiebert

Who’s the Unicorn?

Heather and Chris’s eyelash trick was all a ploy to sneak in a kiss.. it didn’t work but the attempt spoke for itself, the message was clear.  But wait, this also meant Heather was not an ordinary woman.. she was special.  Chris and his fellow men had a test to see weigh in on the character of a woman pending the right timing of coarse and Chris went for it while at Rushing River while on a camping trip.  Love can blossom in so many ways and naturally it can happen over normal day to day events.  We love to hear stories like this that bring out the full scope of who these two people are.  The moment of truth came when Heather was not swayed by the fake eyelash question and figured out what was about to happen before Chris could follow through.  Thus she was a true unicorn as per Chris and his friends had determined what that character would look like.  Love stories…. we don’t grow weary of them and in fact it spurs us on to tell them as best we can.

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Jessica + Jacob | Highlights

Posted on by Mark Hiebert

Evening Delight

Jess and Jake are two people deeply in love. So much so that Jake surprised Jess with a five year wedding anniversary vow renewal on their patio with 35 guests. Being there to witness their exchange and account of what they mean to each other was emotional and inspiring and hearing how much they cherish each other is a true testament of what a thriving marriage can look like. Jake did a heck of a job planning everything for the surprise and pulled off an amazing celebration. The weather was gorgeous and evening light was magical. The dancing continued as the sun went down and it was a close and intimate time, just beautiful. Being the amazing photographers they are (Kamp Photography) it was a privilege to capture this time in their lives that will be so meaningful to them in the years ahead. Hearing Jakes account of his planning and surprising is a must read as well.

 

 

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Dena + Dustin | Same Day Edit

Posted on by Stephen Gray

Pièce De Résistance

Our goal is always to capture people’s personalities and their characteristics in a film. It’s a challenge to fit everything into a same day edit (given the time constraint), but we’re always up for a good challenge. As colourful (planning by Soiree, flowers by Academy) and detailed (check out those cards by OnePlusOne and photography by Lani Elias) as everything was that day, for us – a story is everything.

Dena and Dustin are an amazing couple. What really stood out to us was their ceremony. It was so personal and sincere. They sealed a time capsule during their ceremony containing wine, glasses, the day’s newspaper, a dress Dena wore on their first date and their vows. Sealed for 10 years, being opened again 2023. Imagine when they both look through these things again? It’s a whole other way to experience the wedding day again.

Weddings are generally full of suprises. Dena and Dustin’s biggest suprise (next to the full custome chicken dance at the reception) was during their ceremony when they decided to take time after their vows to honour their close family sitting in the first two rows. They brought each of them roses and hugs and as they went down the isles, you could feel the warmth and awe everyone had for this newly married couple. It was a powerful moment and it spoke so well of their character.

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Heather + Chris | Same Day Edit

Posted on by Stephen Gray

Eyelashes Light the Fire

Heather and Chris’s spark started with a question, “do you have fake eyelashes?”  Seems like a reasonable question if the circumstances were different, for instance not on a camping trip.  Well these two made a connection that day that will forever be their story.  We got to know Heather and Chris really well during their portraiture session which you will see pieces of in the Same Day Edit.  Each of the them walked us through their first meeting story and how the progression lead them to their wedding day, which is always interesting and fun to hear two sides of the same story.  And then on the wedding day this first meeting story came out in several versions.  So from our perspective we have a pretty good idea of how this all came about, hearing it from them, and their close friends tying it altogether.  We’ll be later sharing their Feature on our blog, which ties their films and completes their story.

When we first met with them back in 2011 they were so excited about having a film to capture their day and decided on adding a Same Day Edit to allow their guests to experience it with them.  The upbeat nature of their personalities and outlook on life shone through in each of their films and it was a huge highlight for us to play their Same Day Edit. The Gates as always was a beautiful backdrop to have their wedding and their service and staff are impeccable.  We were also very lucky to work with Jack & Ruby Photography who are always fun to work with.  Of course there were many more very talented people working behind the scenes who we appreciate working with, cheers to everyone who made the day look and flow so smoothly.

 

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Heather + Chris | Portraiture

Posted on by Mark Hiebert

Eyelashes Light the Fire

Heather and Chris’s spark started with a question, “do you have fake eyelashes?”  Seems like a reasonable question if the circumstances were different, for instance not on a camping trip.  Well these two made a connection that day that will forever be their story.  We got to know Heather and Chris really well during their portraiture session which you will see pieces of in their Same Day Edit.

Each of the them walked us through their first meeting story and how the progression lead them to their wedding day, which is always interesting and fun to hear two sides of the same story.

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Ben + Tran | Highlights

Posted on by Chris Radtke

“Do you love me?”… “Why?…  “Because I do”…

When we heard Ben’s speech to Tran we couldn’t help but get excited because, little did he know, he had just given us a core narrative piece for this film. We sat back after the wedding and started storyboarding their adventure. No one forced these two together… it just worked out. There was something special about Ben and Tran’s first dance. Something seemed familiar. To their guests, it was something new. To us, Ben and Tran carried out every turn throughout their day as they kept celebrating. Rehearsing their carefully thought-out steps and twirls. That dance became a major thread in their story; it was exhilarating to see how they all just fit together – almost flawlessly.

As always, the day flew by so fast and there was truly special moments for us. After dinner,  we accompanied Curtis Moore to the river bank at the Gates on Roblyn during sunset. These two lost themselves in the moment. It could not have been a more perfect cap to the day (it did get better). The water was still and the air was filled with tiny dandelion seeds dancing around, giving us a a beautiful canvas as they continued dancing. We feel so fortunate to have been part of their special day. They truly made us feel apart of their family. Thank to Curtis Moore of Moore Photography and Melissa from the Gates on Roblyn. It’s always a pleasure working with a great team.

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Isanne + Jordan | Feature

Posted on by Chris Radtke

Text Messages and a Wedding

This day was very much anticipated by Isanne and Jordan (us too!). One thing we quickly understood about Jordan is that he loves both Isanne and his phone. During his introduction in the film, the footage has a bit more movement than usual; it was impossible not to laugh with them ;). We were so impressed with how Isanne showed her love for Jordan. From giving each other cards, gifts, little winks and smiles throughout the day, they showed the imense love and emotional connection they both had which helps us recreate the feeling in their story. They both looked like a match made in Heaven.

When putting together their Feature, we took a lot of care in evaluating what kind of couple we are filming; Jordan and Isanne made the job fairly easy. When we sat down and discusses what the story was going to be and how it should feel, we soon decided on building the film to a cinematic soundtrack. Listening to what the Rabbi had to say, it was a very meaningful, well thought out message which acted as a cornerstone narration to their film. His message was powerful and it was able to sustain. It set the expectation perfectly, which we were able to build off of. To compliment how the film would look and feel, we decided when lighting our speeches we wanted to capture the dramatic mood at the reception. The room was huge; filled with friends and family. But it wasn’t just any room – it was the hotel his mother worked at for years and we wanted to highlight how fantastic and unique layout in the room was.

As always, we are very happy to have worked with Andrea Mancini from Soiree Event Planning. She is such a help during the day not only to the Jordan and Isanne but also to us. No detail goes unoticed and we are always lucky to work with her. Rachel and Brian of Lucky Girl Photography are a blast as always. We always appreciate the warm workflow and comrodery we have. Over the years, we have been able to work with them and we are lucky to be able to call them our friends!

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Krista + Chris | Highlights

Posted on by Stephen Gray

Destined to Meet

Krista and Chris both met later in their lives, but they both agreed, they found each-other to be well worth the wait.

Chris might very well be the nicest guy we’ve ever worked with. Not only could he beat us in any arm wrestling match, but his amazing journey into the body building world is a story anyone would enjoy. His dedication to diet, exercise and good living is something the Paperback boys could learn from :) Krista and Chris’s gifts for each-other were both so genuine, creative and thoughtful. Between an inside joke from Chris to Krista and a handcrafted book of their journey together through photographs, these were special moments we were so happy to capture and share.

Krista got to the point where she didn’t know if she could trust her own judgement anymore. It was then, in 2009, where she gave it to God. It’s funny how life works when you give up a little control. They both gave an online system a chance, just to try it out. A little magic, and typically on points of personality people are matched with 100, 200. Krista got 7. It only took one and coincidentally, we found out at their reception that they would have met through a friend if that hadn’t worked out. Small world. But when you’re destined to meet, it just works out. Life is like a puzzle and each piece serves a purpose and fits into life’s picture, as Krista put it. We hope you enjoy the way we configured their day’s pieces in their film!

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Heather + Timothy | Same Day Edit

Posted on by Mark Hiebert

Icelandic Scenics

Driving out to Gimli (Manitoba’s Icelandic community) early in morning had us excited for a water front cottage feel to Heather and Timothy’s same day edit.  There was one thing that we were nervous about and that was the dark clouds that threatened the outdoor picturesque filming we would be able to do.  And we are so thankful to say it couldn’t have turned out much better than it did for the entire day’s schedule.  The ceremony and reception took place at the Waterfront Center which had fabulous lighting and the atmosphere fit so well for their celebration.  We were so thankful that their first look on the pier turned out beautifully with the sun shining down.  They were both so ecstatic to see each other that Timothy bolted as soon as he could hear that Heather was close behind and they were so ready to get married.  This location is particularly meaningful for the family with its history of spending time together at the lake.  And now having been married here it will forever hold deep meaning with them.

Thanks to Photographer Rebecca Croft for a day of fun. Always good to work with you!

Music licensed through themusicbed

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Paul + Signy | Highlights

Posted on by Stephen Gray

Let’s travel the world

Paul and Signy are both adventurers – whether it be a social get together in the heart of downtown Winnipeg (meeting all sorts) or flying to and exploring a new country. It’s encouraging to see just how fate brought them together; already carrying the relationship through a long distance beginning. Together they are a perfect combination, where each of their strengths helps build the other and we rarely witnessed a moment where they weren’t complementing each other. Later in the evening, we all experienced Paul’s knack for coming up with an amazing speech on the spot and then we have Signy, a talented writer. How perfect is that? We’re happy to share their story with all of you. It was so much fun getting to work with Coralee of Red Photo Co (check out her photos of the day here) again.

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Michelle & Adam | Highlights

Posted on by Mark Hiebert

Human Geography

Starting with a crush at kids camp and meeting up again in human geography class just goes to show how you can meet the love of your life in the most unexpected places.  Michelle & Adam have a wonderful story shared a gentle character. The whole wedding day was perfect. We started the day at the Fort Garry Hotel and they had their first look in the raised walkway that joins the two buildings. Adam’s reaction to seeing Michelle was priceless, “wow, I am a lucky man”. We’re happy to share their story. It was great working with Ramona and Tracy of Ramona Garbald Photography; we had a fabulous time together.

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Anna & Mike | Highlights

Posted on by Mark Hiebert

 Turn and Watch

Anna and Mike are both as sweet as can be. Even with so many of their family and friends celebrating all day long, the day remained so peaceful and calm. We love to see, experience and be a part of traditions and cultural elements that make a wedding day so special; like when Mike had to ‘pay’ his way to see his bride, and Anna’s parental blessing on the new married couple. It’s easy to see just how sweet and loving these two are, in this film. It was great getting to working with Julie Fulsher of Sterling Images.

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Kiet + Adrian | Highlights

Posted on by Mark Hiebert

All we can give…

Love is a very interesting thing. It doesn’t care where you came from, but only that you are together… the power of love that brought Kiet and Adrian together will continue to reach beyond those boundaries and touch and heal many people.  This day was filled with many cultural and emotional celebrations, filming all this kept us on our toe’s. We absolutely loved their first dance! These two are very driven and talented individuals and seeing them together moving across the dance floor topped off the day.  What an incredibly fun day this was and we are so inspired by their story. A huge thank you to Bond and Leah from BLF Studios.  Check out their stunning photo’s from Kiet & Adrian’s wedding. Thank you Melissa, as well, for filming with us.

 

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