When I first booked Amanda and Nick’s wedding for August 27th, 2016, I never would have imagined it would be my most inquired about date ever.  I had 13 other people contact me about shooting their weddings, the most I had ever had for a single date before that was 4.  This is a good example of why it’s good to book your wedding vendors early.

I was fortunate enough to photograph Amanda and Nick a year earlier for their engagement session.  It was nice to get to know them both a little bit and see how they felt in front of the camera. It was definitely a help for us all on the wedding day.

I met up with Nick and the boys at Tommy Gun’s Barber Shop in Mic Mac Mall on the morning of the wedding where they were all getting a hot shave.  It’s not something I’ve experienced before, but they all recommended it.  This is where I first got an idea of what the day was going to be like.  One of the groomsmen was already doing a little dancing while he waited for some of the others to finish up. He just couldn’t help it, like some excitement, or maybe a compulsion.  Either way, I’ve learned over the years that when the groomsmen dance, more people in general dance, so this was going to be good.

The girls were all getting ready at Amanda and Nick’s house in Lawrencetown.  As I arrived at the house, I saw a guy walking up to the door with a tiny baby.  That baby turned out to be just a few days old which is fairly inconsequential until you learn that the baby’s mother is the maid of honour.  Talk about commitment, not many new mothers could do what she did.  Despite a minor hiccup with some bridesmaids dresses, the girls were all looking beautiful and ready to go to the ceremony on time.

The ceremony was held at Sambea Farm with the water in the background, it was a beautiful place for a wedding.  When the girls walked down the aisle, the last one brought along a special guest, Amanda and Nick’s dog Bucky.  I’ve mentioned it before, but as someone with dogs, I always love seeing people include their pups in their wedding as they are most definitely part of the family.  The ceremony itself was nice and highlighted by the struggle with the knot on the rope, and Nick jumping the gun with his ‘I do’.  I loved how Amanda joked about it immediately.

We did the family photos outside on the hill after the ceremony and as those wrapped up I took the wedding party over to the barn for some shots and I really loved the light we had to work with there and the orange really popped from the background.  While it was cool to get some shots in the barn, that’s not where Amanda and her bridesmaids ride, so we went over to Pinehill Equestrian a few minutes away so Amanda could get some shots with the horses she rides.  We took some photos with Amanda and the horses and I think they turned out wonderfully.  I don’t have a ton of experience taking photos with horses, so I am glad how everything went and that Amanda had no issues with the restrictions that come along with a wedding dress.

Next on our Lawrencetown tour, we stopped at Nick’s Fire Station.  He drove one of the trucks out and we took some pictures with the Firetruck because it’s pretty damn cool and definitely not something many people get to do.  The only stop left was at our final destination for the evening; Cole Harbour Place.

The room was dressed up perfectly with nice touches throughout, like the wheelbarrow full of trees for guests to take home, the horseshoes in each centrepiece, or the custom cake topper, and they could even take care of these trees with the use of services from treequote.com.  With the dinner nearly done, I noticed Amanda was missing and Nick looked concerned.  I learned that Amanda wasn’t feeling well and had left the reception for a bit with her bridesmaids.  Nick, like a good husband, was worried about her, but really couldn’t do much but wait and periodically check in on her.  The guests patiently waited for Amanda’s return and at some point the decision was made to get the DJ’s to start up the dancing, so they did.  Not too long into the dancing was when Amanda was feeling up to a return so the music was halted for a bit while the speeches were made.  Then we went into the first dances and everything seemed to be turning around for Amanda at that point, she and Nick even pulled off their choreographed first dance without a hitch.

With her sickness seemingly behind her, Amanda and Nick enjoyed the rest of the night with their guests.  The dance floor was awesome with the wedding party spending a lot of time out there.  Everyone I spoke to had a great time and I can only hope that Amanda doesn’t let illness taint the memory of what was an otherwise amazing day.  She and Nick are two great people with an amazing support cast of friends and that was definitely evident on their wedding day.  I’m so glad that of all the people who contacted me to photograph their weddings on that day, I was lucky enough to get to be there for Amanda and Nick,  Congratulations guys, you deserve the best! Here’s a look at Amanda and Nick’s wedding;

Enjoy!!!

www.DustinHallPhotography.ca