21 Jul Heidi & Shane’s Wedding
There’s nothing quite like starting off your summer by shooting your friend’s wedding. I was beyond flattered when my high school friend, Heidi, asked me to be her wedding photographer. Heidi and her now-husband, Shane, are a really laid back couple with a love for the country lifestyle. When they told me they were having an outdoor wedding at the Lone Star Ranch, I knew the day would be amazing, just like they are. They requested my boyfriend, Vince, to be the second photographer, as he had helped take couples photos of them a year before. Their engagement session was very fun and full of surprises. Here are some of their engagement photos.
As you can, see they are an adorable couple with a good sense of humour. This is the first wedding I have done as a main photographer but I felt very confident that I would be able to get them the photos they wanted. I spent the morning at Heidi’s parents’ house which is her childhood home. While the ladies were getting dolled up I took my time photographing the rings and flowers. I love detail shots!
Heidi hired makeup and hair stylist Teresa Moss to get herself and her bridesmaids all wedding ready. The morning was super relaxed with a handful of hilarious jokes being tossed around. These ladies were a hoot to spend the day with.
After the makeup was all done and the ladies were ready we did some formal shots in natural light. I love having the mom of the bride in the photos. I remembered Heidi’s mom, Debbie, from our childhood where she was a leader in our Brownies Girl Guides group. It was so nice seeing her again. Decades have passed but her mom seems like the same I remembered. She still has that beautiful and warm smile. I always really liked her.
Heidi had this funky bright green jeep she was going to ride in to the ceremony. We had to get some photos of her and her bridesmaids in front of it. Her dad was a big help and moved it from the front of their house to a more photographic spot and we had some fun.
We had a little time before leaving so Heidi requested to have photos of the first look in her beautiful gown and some portraits outside her parents’ house. Heidi looked so beautiful on her wedding day, which really was no surprise because she looks amazing on a daily basis.
While I was photographing the ladies getting ready, Vince was taking some candid shots of the guys at the Lone Star Ranch. They looked like they were having a lot of fun with their photos. Just like the ladies, jokes were being tossed around and memories were made to look back on.
I was afraid that we would get rained out and have to do the ceremony inside, but the weather held off. Heidi and Shane had a beautiful ceremony outdoors, with a blend of religious and casual style to cater to both sides of the family. It was on the shorter side, with lots of jokes in the mix.
We did the photos of family and friends right after the ceremony, at the same time as the bar opened. We got everyone together after they had a chance to have a cold drink. It was the beginning of the summer after all. Everyone was in a great mood and all were very happy to have their photo taken. I feel it went rather smoothly. Here are some group shots and family portraits.
Heidi and Shane have lots of close friends so the most of the photos taken were with their close buddies. Here are some of my favourites. We had such a great time with these shots because everyone involved was throwing out fun pose ideas and we did as many of them as we could. It’s nice seeing people having fun and letting loose.
My favourite part of the day was once we got Heidi and Shane alone for about fifteen minutes to take couples photos. I love couples portraits and Vince and I were able to do them in a short amount of time. With weddings you have to roll with the dice and take whatever time you have and make the best of it. Heidi and Shane are so sweet and it’s very easy to capture how in love they are.
Lone Star’s food is amazing and we were all fed very well. Heidi and Shane went around the room chatting with their guests while the tables took turns going to the buffet. The rest of the night was spent listening to some heartwarming speeches, playing a few games, and the watching the first dances. And don’t forget about the nightcaps before everyone headed home for the night. It was beautiful wedding and I was so happy to be there to witness and capture some loving moments. Thank you Heidi and Shane for trusting us with your big day.
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