Chloe & Colby - Tent Wedding on the Ocean in Little Pond, PEI

Wedding Date - August 30th, 2019

Over the years I have photographed Chloe & Colby many times so being there to capture their wedding day was a must for me! I love working with them and this day was no different. Looking back on their wedding after all this time brings happy memories of the great (pre pandemic!) celebration we had.

Chloe & Colby met in high school, became best friends for a while, and eventually their relationship progressed to the point where they started dating. They’ve stayed strong through a lot of long distance, big career moves, buying a fishing fleet, and raising their pup Sherman! In 2017 after Chloe returned from her second semester away at university in Scotland, Colby met her at the airport baggage claim and surprised her with a ring. After 7 years together he still pulled off a great surprise!

Chloe comes from a farming family and Colby is a lobster fisherman. When planning their wedding they wanted to highlight the Island’s best cuisine and host a memorable meal for their guests, and Gallant’s Seafood & Co definitely pulled that off. The location of the reception was also important to them. The house that Chloe’s Dad grew up in was moved to a waterfront property in Howe Bay a few years ago by his sister and it’s one of their favourite places in the world to be. The perfect spot to set up their Caseley’s Tent overlooking the ocean. Thank you Chloe & Colby for trusting me with these special photos!

From the couple:

What was your favorite part of your wedding day, or a favorite memory that sticks out?

“During the band’s first break, Colby pulled me aside. We stood out by the cliff and watched all of our loved ones in the tent. It was my favourite moment. We stood back for a quiet moment together and just took everything in. And the stars that night were on another level.”

What is one piece of advice you would give to other couples planning their wedding?

“Delegate! So many friends and family are willing to offer any help that they can! So just be clear about what your vision is and delegate any task you can! Also, make sure to set aside time with your wife/husband”

Number of guests - 155

Ceremony - St Mary’s Catholic Church, Souris
Venue - The Olde House in Little Pond (VRBO), Caseley’s tent
Hair - Rae-Anne Kelly- Divine Hair Design
Makeup - Rebecca Powers
Wedding Dress - Perfect pear bridal
Florals - island meadow farms

cupcakes - Bryson Family Bakery
catering - Gallants Seafood & Co.
Videography - Mel Guray Creatives
Band - Muddy Buddy
stationary - Just Handwritten (Kelsie Campbell)

photography - brady mccloskey photography

Nadia & Dave - July Wedding in Tignish, PEI

wedding date - july 6th, 2019

Nadia and Dave knew each other since they were kids through Nadia's brother and Dave's buddy Dexter. It wasn't until adulthood when Nadia pressed Dexter on what Dave's story was and what he was like. After hearing she was interested, Dave sprang into action and contacted Nad. The romance grew quickly as they saw exactly what they both wanted - and needed - in the other person. Sixteen months and six days after their first date, Dave proposed to Nadia along the beautiful cliffs of North Cape!

I met Nadia & Dave a few years ago when they starting playing on our multisport league and we’ve since become great friends. It was so fun to be invited to photograph their wedding and I loved getting to know them even more throughout the whole process. They are kind and welcoming people who alway make sure everyone is having a great time in their company. From their wedding they really wanted to have an epic, all night long party with friends, family & community there to celebrate and support them and I think they achieved just that! With over 250 people in attendance, the atmosphere was fun and lively despite all the unpredictable downpours throughout the day. They were married in Tignish and had their cocktail hour and reception in a huge Caseley’s tent on family property. I hope you enjoy these photos as much as I do!

Thank you so much Nadia & Dave for having me capture your wedding day, and congrats to the Brothers!

wedding advice from the couple: 

“Make sure you are both bought into it. It is a lot of work so you may as well have fun together planning it.”

Number of guests - 260

Ceremony - St. Simon & St. Jude, Tignish

Reception - tent provided by Caseley’s, private property

Hair - Phyllis Bernard
Makeup - Rebecca Powers
Wedding Dress - Maggie Sottero, With Love Bridal Boutique, Ottawa
Florals - Alberton Florists

Decor - Miss K's Kreations
Cake - Butter
Catering - MJ's Bakery - Tignish
Transportation - Eclipse Entertainment Company
DJ - DJ Dekz
Late Night Food - Up West Fire Fries

Lauren & Stephen - Fall Wedding at Wintermoor Apple Orchard

wedding date - september 20th, 2019

Stephen & Lauren’s story started in 2014 at UPEI where they were both students. She was a vet student and walking a training dog (Pearl) across campus one day. As Stephen approached on the path, Pearl stopped, rolled over, and waited for a belly rub from Stephen. He kneeled down to pet the dog and chatted up Lauren too, while getting a look at her name tag. A Facebook friend request led to chatting more, and their dating began. Three years later, they got engaged one evening after dinner at the top of the CN Tower.

When planning their wedding Lauren & Stephen wanted a relaxed, happy atmosphere where family and friends could enjoy themselves. Their day was definitely the fun and easy celebration they had hoped for.

I always love photographing weddings at unique locations across the Island and this was a new one for me, Wintermoor Orchard in York, PEI. I’ve photographed there several times before but never a wedding ceremony so this was fun. The nice thing about Fall weddings is the timing of photographs usually syncs up perfectly with the best looking light of the day. That was the case for Lauren & Stephen’s photos. They had the most perfect golden hour sunshine coming through the apple trees, and a great sunset at Covehead Lighthouse.

Congratulations Lauren & Stephen - it was a pleasure!

one piece of advice from the couple:

Stephen - Don’t sweat the little things/details. It will still be the best day of your life. Lauren – Have fun! Find ways to make it personal and representative of you individually and as a couple.

number of wedding guests: 100

Ceremony space - wintermoor apple orchard, york, pe

reception space - pei brewing company

coordination - elysian weddings and events

hair - grand senses salon and spa

makeup - kate ellis, rebecca powers

officiant - brenda bulger

Wedding dress - Morilee, The Wedding Chapel Bridal Boutique

florals - bernadette’s flowers

cake - Ellie Bakes Cakes

Transportation - coach atlantic

DJ - robbie doherty

stationary - shutterfly

Kelsey & Allison - Mountain Estate Wedding in Kimberley, BC

wedding date - June 1st, 2019

Kelsey & Allison are friends of mine who met and live in Calgary, and I was lucky enough to travel to photograph and attend their destination wedding this past June in British Columbia! I was actually there to capture their fun surprise proposal during a family photo session in PEI in 2017 too. I also photographed Kelsey’s brother’s wedding (Rory & Hannah) in 2016 so it was great to work with everyone again!

Kelsey & Allison wanted a fun destination in the mountains where everyone could come together so they chose the small town of Kimberley, BC - about a 4 hour road trip from Calgary. A big group of friends and family travelled from PEI and all across Canada for their wedding and we made a full week of activities around it. They wanted all of their guests to stay close and get to know each other, so they organized events and hangouts before the wedding day too. Our group rented a big house and spent a lot of time with everyone beforehand.

The wedding was held at Cherry Creek Estate, a huge property outside town with a view overlooking the ranch and mountains. The staff were wonderful (shout out to Dave), the photo locations were so good, and it was a really unique spot that we had all to ourselves. They had a quick outdoor ceremony, a long relaxing cocktail hour, a reception with incredible food, and an even better DJ.

I’ll always remember this wedding and was so lucky to have been a part of it. A great destination wedding can really bring people together and make it a whole experience, and theirs definitely did just that. Congratulations Kelsey & Allison!

One piece of wedding advice from the couple:

“We wrote and read our vows to each other the night before so we could half keep it together during our ceremony. It made us feel really connected going into the next day.”

Planning a destination wedding yourself? I’d love to hear more - it can cost a lot less than you think!

number of guests - 85

Hair - Nicole Wilhelm (@nicoledidit)

Makeup - Candace Janisch (@ladylipstickslinger)

Wedding Dress - Designer - Nicole Rita Tomney (@nrtfashions)

Wedding Suit - Stylist Lauren Larsen (@atelierbyensemble)

Florals - MJ's Floral Boutique (@mjsfloralboutique)

Transportation - Free Spirit Travel Bus

DJ - DJ Ray

Travel - Portland, Oregon

Years ago I read an article in The Globe & Mail about Portland's interesting vibe and culture and that made me so curious to check it out one day. Since I was heading to Vancouver/Whistler this January, I booked a multi city flight to Portland for 3 nights on the way! I had been excited to see the city and the forests and they did not disappoint. I even managed to dodge most of the rainy weather that Portland is known for. 

The food and drink options in Portland were everywhere, and overwhelming at times. Everyone had a suggestion on where I could find the best of this and that, but it was so fun to eat my way through every day. The donuts, the beer & cider, the ice cream, the breakfasts.....everything was delicious. 

A few things I loved about Portland:

• Every area of the city had something interesting, or somewhere amazing to eat

• Transit was so great and easy and day passes were only $5!

• Food trucks (or carts) were embraced and were all over the city, including circling an entire block downtown

• Forest Park (where all these forest photos were taken) was just a short ride away on transit and held a gigantic network of trails of all skill levels.

• Portland has the world's largest independent bookstore. Powell's City of Books is so fun to walk around and get lost in.

• Bike lanes were everywhere, Portland is referred to as "Bike City USA"

• Everyone drives a Subaru!

• There are around 70 microbreweries in Portland

If you find yourself in the Pacific Northwest, consider stopping into Portland. I plan to be back one day to check out more of the surrounding forests and mountains, and to drive out to the coast. Until next time!