Jen & Mat | Muttart Conservatory Wedding
I feel so lucky that Jen and Matt chose me to photograph their wedding. From the initial consultation with Jen, and her mom and sister, I felt like a special part of the planning process. When they told me their colours were going to be grey and yellow, I was so excited because I LOVE that colour combination and I knew they would design a beautiful day.
The bride’s mom and dad got into a serious accident on their way into Edmonton the day before the wedding on highway 16 and ended up totalling their truck. The father of the bride ended up breaking his elbow and he and his wife were in quite a bit of pain on the wedding day. With a trip to the hospital before the rehearsal things were running a little late, but everything turned out great on the wedding day.
We had an early start with this wedding party at 7am for their 1030am wedding ceremony, but we had a wonderful day with the bride & groom, their families and bridal party. It was an emotional moment when the bride’s dad saw her for the first time, even more so because of the close call the day before. This family is so sweet together, and you can feel the love between them all.
The moment the doors opened, and Matt saw Jen for the first time brought tears to my eyes. He truly loves her, and it was special to be a witness to it, and capture it. It is moments like that that make me love my job even more. I don’t think there was a dry eye as witness to that ceremony, it was so special.
Photographer & Veil Saver - Her veil came out of her hair as she was walking down the aisle. Was able to catch it before it hit the ground and slip it back into her hair!
We went outside and did some quick family photos, went to the limo so the bridal party & family members could have some bubbly, and did some formal set ups at the Muttart. We jumped in the limo and headed to the Legislature grounds to do some more photos. Shout out to the stranger and Government of Alberta employee who was driving the yellow Camaro that let us use it for a few photos!
I left their wedding day feeling like part of their family, and I look forward to just hanging out with Jen and Mat soon! Congratulations to this beautiful couple!
and now for some of Jen and Matt’s story, as told by the bride herself…
how did you meet?
We met at a house party that Matt was hosting. He was 20, I was 17. Inseparable since we first met!
what was the proposal like?
Matt convinced me he was working that day and could not attend a trip to Costco with my sister, parents, and myself that we had planned. My parents had staged a big ordeal about a forgotten “cake” and I suggested we just go get one from our local grocery store. Upon entering the bakery, all together, I was scanning the shelves and saw a cake that said “Jen Will you Marry Me?” Matt popped out from behind the counter and the rest was history.
tell us about the planning process! was there anything you were worried wouldn’t work, but turned out awesome?
We gave ourselves a lot of time to plan, 15 months to be exact. At the time I was working, going to school, attending practicums and at the same time meeting with vendors to compare prices. In order to save stress I loved having a little extra time to ensure we were making the best decisions for us! It’s feeling rushed that can really put pressure on the couple and then you lose sight of why you were doing it in the first place – because two people fell in love!!
what was the best moment of the day?
We had our ceremony at 10:30am on a Friday morning, although the time crunch was present it was so much fun to be with your closest girls and family before you take the most important walk of your life. We had a little scare the day before involving both of my parents in a potentially serious car accident. Luckily no one was seriously injured but just spending those crazy few minutes with my dad set a very emotional tone. And of course when we both saw each other for the first time we were blubbering messes.
got any advice for someone planning an edmonton wedding?
Yes!! Edmonton is home to so many great locations no matter what theme you decide to go with!! Because we held our ceremony in the morning on a Friday most people were working so very little traffic and great options for photo locations! I would highly recommend doing a lot of research to ensure each place you plan on attending either for hotel, photos, ceremony/reception is relatively close to each other. We ran into trouble the night before when the rehearsal dinner was held at a spot 45 minutes from our downtown hotel! Eliminate as much stress as you can. What is out of our control seems to stress us out more and city traffic is one of those!
vendor shoutouts from the bride herself
photography: A HUGE thank you first and foremost to our photographer Katlyn Jane Photography. She came in and left as family, if you are one of the lucky ones to have her at your wedding she will exceed every expectation you have!!
ceremony venue: The Muttart Conservatory, no matter the time of year they offer several different options for an indoor location with an outside feel!
rehearsal dinner: West end CHOP for the wonderful back room that comfortably housed forty friends and family members for the rehearsal dinner great food, drinks, and service!!
bridalwear: My wedding dress and the guys suits all came from The Bridal House in Edmonton. The ladies there really know what there doing and encourage you to not settle until you find the one!!
limousine: The AMAZING limo driver was John with Last Minute Limo Services. Who we used for both the bachelorette party and wedding ceremony… Highly recommended!
ceremony music: Violinist was James Damman, found through an ad he had online
hair: Shakera from Eveline Charles Downtown