EDMONTON WEDDING PHOTOGRAPHY: PIGEON LAKE WEDDING
My talented associate Megan met with Maria & Kris by Pigeon Lake for their gorgeous outdoor wedding. Everything was gorgeous from the little details to Maria’s stunning dress. Here are a few of the vendors that made this day possible, as well as a few notes from the bride:
Photographers: RedTree Photography Associate, Megan. Second shooter, Kristina Steinbring
Amy, Thank you for setting us up with Megan on our wedding day! She was calm, in control (gently and effectively organized), so so professional, kind, approachable, and just a delight to have with us on the wedding day. I hope you never let her go- she is a great photographer through and through. – Maria, Bride.
Bridesmaid Dresses: The bridesmaid dresses were originally supposed to be a light blush skirt as I had seen pictured on Pinterest. Everyone was going to have their own unique top. Having been a bridesmaid before, my true hope was to treat my bridesmaids as well as possible, cost them as little as possible, and let them shine for who they are as natural summer beauties in a camp setting. The dresses came in after the skirt scheme fell apart in West Edmonton Mall. In desperation, a bridesmaid and I went to H&M and found these lovely flowy, suitably coloured dresses that really came together – fitting everyone with minimal alterations, being breathable and comfortable all while looking so pretty with all of the flowers!
Hair/Makeup: I am so grateful to Kelsey Seib who not only did our hair so well, but also hand painted the little heart on my ring finger. She joined the group in the morning and brought a lot of happiness to our day! Kelsey works in a salon in Edmonton and loves doing weddings. Bri Sanche did the make-up. She is a professional working between Calgary and Sherwood Park at a couple of salons. She was referred to me by Monika (bridesmaid) after she did another friend’s wedding. Her work was great. Kris complimented me on makeup for the first time!
Tuxedos: It felt like a lazy Saturday morning when all of the groomsmen (minus Jon in Ontario) sauntered into Moore’s clothing for men around 10:30 or 11:00 am to get their necks and waists measured. The best man, Ryan, already had clothing that fit close enough so he didn’t need to buy anything additional. Ryan’s wife, Krista Zimmerman, ordered all of the dark forest green suspenders through Amazon Prime. All of their help and laid back attitudes made this part of the wedding easy and enjoyable. I got to join the guys for beers and wings afterwards!
Officiant: Pastor Aaron Schnell from St. Matthew’s Lutheran Church in Spruce Grove. He has been Kristoffer’s family’s pastor for a number of years and they have attended that church since Kristoffer was born. I am also connected to Pastor Aaron through camp connections. He saved the day with his phone when the DJ couldn’t pull through with the groom/groomsmen song for the ceremony. Pastor Aaron did marriage counseling with us prior to the wedding as well. He does an exceptional job with all that he sets his mind to!
Decor: The decor was a major group effort- the groomsmen did a lot of heavy lifting, the bridesmaids and flower girls made the reception hall and dining hall look stellar. My family helped all the way along. I rented the archway, benches, among other items from Charla Jans- a nursing colleague from Wetaskiwin Hospital on Unit 43 and her sister, Marisa Castillon who works with us as well as a Speech/Language Pathologist. Wedding planners did great work organizing things and making the seating table chart. My sister, Grace, stained wood and created lots of little pieces to add final touches. Mrs. Lee drove a lot of the decorations from Camrose out to the lake.
DJ: Derek Gilchrist.
Cake: Cheryl (mother of groom) made the Norwegian Kransekake wedding cake with help from Marlene Guest (her sister). On the wedding day, I was told later that some little hands got into the cake- it is hard to resist! I also heard that there was quite the team reconstruction effort to rebuild the rings. Originally, as per tradition, there were 18 ring/tiers, 14 of those made it to our official “cake cutting”- the tradition is for the bride and groom to pull upwards and the number of rings that lift represents the number of children they will have. We got 3 rings!
Flowers: Jayla Lindberg, a seriously beautiful soul and role model, did our flowers. Her creativity, hard work, attention to detail, and exquisite artistic flare made the flowers one of my favourite parts of the day. The way she personalized the bouquets and boutonnieres is worth mention as well.
Wedding Planner: Stephanie and Tanya with Bel Tocco Wedding Planning were so helpful and essential in getting our day going!
How the Bride & Groom Met: We met for the first time in a Second Cup coffee shop on Jasper Ave in Edmonton, Monday, June 22, 2015. I was studying for my NCLEX nursing exam but Kristoffer peaked my intrigue. The first glance I got of him was when he walked past the coffee shop (I guess he was nervous), and then came back less than a minute later. We shook hands when he came in. His eyes looked so honest and full. Even though he now carries many of our conversations, he was pretty quiet and listened for most of our first meeting. We went for a walk around the legislature buildings and talked about our families, career paths, hobbies… all of the regular stuff. I noticed that as we passed by many of the people on the streets, he would stop to give them the time of day, directions, or a pleasant smile. I knew this was a good man.
The Proposal: The good man I met became a great boyfriend and an even better fiance on Sunday, September 25, 2016. He proposed in Jasper on Pyramid Lake on a bridge to an island, aptly named “Wedding Island”. It was a weekend getaway and I had my suspicions and hopes that this could be the start of a forever commitment for us. We loaded up his 4Runner with all of his camping gear and set up our tent in the campground. All weekend I wondered when and even if he would get down on one knee! Up the gondola, on hiking explorations, at nice restaurants, our favourite little Lutheran church in Jasper, and horseback riding… nothing. I had given up by the time he suggested another walk around a lake despite the grandiose view of the multi-coloured fall mountains. I asked to go on the bridge as we both share a fondness, for different reasons, for bridges. In engineering, Kristoffer appreciates the structure and design of bridges and even more how bridges lend themselves to connecting with nature, hovering over water or a canyon; I, myself, love how bridges connect two worlds and provide views that could not be seen from just one side. From this somehow we’ve together made a habit out of kissing on bridges. The two worlds coming together, the strong and beautiful structure supporting a new perspective underneath us lends itself to our coming together, our lips touching, and seeing something more of each other with our eyes closed.
Just another pleasant moment in our love story, us walking through nature quietly admiring the glory around us. But Kristoffer was really quiet, and I noticed he was wearing the jacket I always compliment him on. When I thought he was stopping us for our usual bridge kiss, he let me kiss him but then pushed my waist back against the railing and looked at me, very seriously, with those big blue honest eyes. In an instant it connected for me and the emotion welled up and poured out of every socket on my face! I couldn’t hear what he said until he asked, “Maria Victoria Metcalfe, will you marry me?” He hadn’t even finished his weighty question before I started screaming, “Yes! Yes! Yes! Yes, yes, yes.. yes!” We hugged and held each other. I looked back at him with my own heart in my eyes. He’s the man. He’s MY man. Absolutely without a doubt, Kristoffer Clay Berke was and is the man I will spend the rest of my life with.
Favourite Wedding Day Memory: Since September 25, 2016, I had been praying for the Presence of God to reach our wedding day and marriage. Kristoffer and I got the very real and wonderful chance to share and serve the Presence of God through communion for all of the guests at the ceremony. Each person who came up and received my small piece of bread heard me say their name and “The Body of Christ, broken for you,” as they passed through. These delicate moments of the bread breaking was the culmination of all the spheres of my life entering into a sacred and ultimate spiritual space together in communion. It felt like a glimpse of Heaven where all of my friends and family shared the Greatest thing to ever touch earth together. The Joy, Love, Family, and total Grace offered through that God-touch-earth moment, both to me through everyone’s relationship with me throughout my life and now to us as a couple, is the living reality of my Heavenly Father who pardons me forgiveness and True Life to be able to stand in a position of service. These precious moments of holding Jesus’ body before a cloud of witnesses, my closest friends and relatives, is what I hope to remember as the pillar and platform for our marriage: to love and serve, here and now and forevermore. My greatest desire remains to serve those around me with both bread from grain, rice flour, or quinoa, and the Bread that is the Eternal Essence of Jesus Christ for life everlasting with Him.