(Moonlight at Hidden Valley Resort)
If you ask anyone other than Alanis Morrissette, rain on your wedding day isn’t ironic, it’s just incredibly upsetting. People like to say that it’s good luck, but that’s really hard to hear after you’ve spent months planning something that might have to get changed completely at the drop of a hat, and all because Mother Nature had different ideas. Sadly, Lindsay was hearing a lot of this in the hours that led up to her wedding. Driving up to Hidden Valley Ranch in Muskoka with my assistant we went through what seemed like a tropical monsoon and things did not look good for a beautiful lakefront wedding.
We shot the first look reveal with Lindsay’s dad on the balcony of one of their hotel rooms as the rain bucketed down next to us. Despite pressure to move the wedding inside, Lindsay held fast to hopes that those skies would clear. And boy am I glad she did. Mere moments after she turned to face her father and they shared an emotional moment, the rain stopped, the clouds parted and the sun started to shine through as if it had been doing it all day long. The weather could not have been more perfect for the rest of the day. Some wonderful wedding guests got to work wiping off all of the chairs and the sun quickly dried the ground. It was honestly as if it had never happened.
Lindsay came zipping across the lake on a pontoon boats and walked down the aisle from the dock to the ceremony spot hidden under the trees. Here, she and Ben exchanged vows and listened to readings from friends and family. It was a beautiful ceremony filled with so much love. It was clear that no one could be happier with this union and that they were all more than ready to celebrate.
After some family shots, Lindsay and Ben and I spent some one on one time together before they grabbed some drinks at cocktail hour and headed over to make their grand entrance at the reception. After some incredible entrances (Ben’s parents definitely stole the show) we were treated to some hilarious and heartfelt speeches and a delicious meal before moving into the Muskoka room for dancing.
After dinner, Lindsay, Ben and I snuck away once more to get some sunset and moonlight shots by the lake before returning to the reception to take the dance-floor by storm. This group definitely knew how to have a great time and it was an absolute pleasure to get to hang out with them for the day.
Below are some highlights from their day: