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Wedding Makeover

Capturing their Love Story as it deserves to be told

By Tineke Ziemer

August 28^th, 2020

Every couple has a story...

Shana and Alex have a beautiful one to tell, full of ups and downs, love and heart ache, steady faith and a strength that can only be found in supernatural places. The thing with stories is that they need to be told with attention to detail, with a real heart for the people, and an understanding of who they are. Sometimes in the midst of a busy wedding day, with all the obstacles faced, the love story just isn't captured the way you, as the bride and groom, wish it would have been.

These two are not alone in the having that experience. I've had countless couples come to me and tell me that they were disappointed with their wedding photos and they wish they could redo them. Shana has been dreaming of this opportunity for years - to capture the wedding photos she'd always dreamed of. It was my absolute pleasure to be a part of making that dream come true on July 23, 2020, exactly 13 years after Alex wrote a message in the sand on a beach asking Shana to be his wife.

You can guess that she said yes, and here they are 4,748 days later, long-since married with two beautiful twin girls and many chapters added to their love story. Some characters arrived and stayed, while some were only meant to share their journey for awhile. Those memories are a part of who Alex and Shana are now, the layers of love, pain and resilience have shaped them into the beautiful people who stood in front of my lens on this day.

It was an honour to rewind the clock back to the moment they said "I do" and carry-out the trusted role of retelling that page with vibrancy, emotional-connection and beauty.

If you are in the same boat and wish your wedding day photos captured the real you, don't wait any longer to turn back time and recreate the most important day of your life. I would love to share the experience with you.

"Family is the anchor that holds us through life's storms."

We started our evening by including the girls in some very special family photos. They had their hair done, beautiful dresses on, and giggled while they took turns posing with mom's bouquet. How memorable for them to share in the experience of celebrating their parents' love.

"Life is either a daring adventure or nothing at all."

A storyteller must capture the very essence of the characters, going as far as necessary to capture their spirit of adventure and curiosity.

After our family session at the house, we loaded up all our gear, the wedding dress, bouquet, and everything else needed for this dreamy wedding session. Our little entourage headed out on an hour-long trek, through narrow gates, giant mud-holes, fields full of curious cattle, and eventually, down into a magical cedar forest.

By the time we arrived, Shana was splattered with mud. No matter, she quickly washed herself off in the creek and was ready to become a bride for a second time to the same man.

"Once in awhile, right in the middle of an ordinary life, love gives us a fairy tale."

A new wedding dress had been purchased for the occasion, and it was time to make its debut. They each hit behind some trees and proceeded to transform into a bride and groom. Shana had her best friend along to help her into her dress. Her name was Shayna, which made for a confusing evening whenever I called one by name and said the wrong annunciation. Shayna was amazing, taking care of all the little details to perfection. When Shana emerged from the trees to meet Alex, she soon found that walking through the forest with a long train was a good way to wipe the forest floor clean and pick up all the big sticks along the way! Not to worry though, her attentive husband was happy to carry her dress everywhere they went.

When you are dressing in a forest, a cell phone on selfie-mode becomes a much-needed mirror for fixing hair.

"Into the forest I go, to lose my mind and find my soul." - John Muir

The bride was bare foot and beautiful amongst the moss and cedar trees of the forest. The setting for these once-in-a-lifetime photos was as much a part of the story as the characters themselves.

And as with any story, sometimes there are obstacles and unexpected challenges. We had just started to click away when the thunder started rolling and the rain came pouring down. And it wasn't just a quick cariboo shower (are those even a thing anymore?!? 2020 has been so unprecedented), it carried on raining for hours. Knowing the hard work and preparation that had gone into this evening, I was determined not to compromise on the quality of the photos. Shana and Alex didn't even blink. They were so in-the-moment and elated that the rain didn't wipe the smiles off their faces for a second. I learned something deeper about their resilience and courage through this experience and I was proud to capture it in these images.

My husband had his hands full carrying all of my stuff, controlling light with the reflector, and now ALSO holding an umbrella over me and the camera. I couldn't have achieved these images without his hard work.

Some behind-the-scenes shots that Shayna took with her cel phone during the making of these images.

"Listen to the rhythm of the falling rain. My heart beats in time with its song."

We shot images in the forest until the clouds got too thick, the mist rolled in and the light was gone. Then this adventurous bride jumped on the quad in her bare feet and wedding dress, and we headed back the way we came, stopping along the way to create gorgeous images in the rain-swept, misty landscape. When images turn out this good, while some credit certainly goes to the photographer (why thank you!), SO much of it is the willingness of the subjects to do whatever it takes. Shana and Alex stopped at nothing to create one-of-a-kind images. That is one of the advantages to a wedding makeover session. There's no need to worry about the dress getting dirty or your hair staying perfect - you are free to lay in the wet grass, climb up onto rustic cattle shoots, and make a huge splash through giant mud holes.

"Although the world is full of suffering, it is also full of the overcoming of it." - Helen Keller

As we picked up the girls and headed to the lake for our final stop of the night, something beautiful happened. The rain stopped, the clouds broke, and the most spectacular sunset filled the skies. The water was warmer than the air and the kids were keen to jump in and splash around with mom and dad. It was a peaceful, romantic way to end our the day. A bit like life, a bit like the road this family has travelled. There are hard days, but there are beautiful days too.

Shana & Alex, thank you for this experience. May your family be blessed with many more exciting chapters in your story, filled with love, life, beauty and adventure.