Gorgeous Wedding at the Fairmont Le Château, Montebello

The Wedding Day

Becca and Mitch decided to tie the knot at the Fairmont Le Château Montebello, a venue known for having the world’s largest log cabin (wild right?). I also had never been to Montebello and so I was so excited to be there for these two and explore the surrounding area. If you’re ever in the area, I highly recommend checking out Parc Oméga. It’s this really cool spot where they have Canadian animals like caribou walking around freely and it’s massive. Bring lots of carrots!

Getting Ready – Bride’s Party

Their wedding day began in the Fairmont Le Château Montebello Manitoba and Saskatchewan meeting room and the Nova Scotia and New Brunswick meeting room. These rooms were perfect for getting ready shots because they were both very bright and spacious – perfect for hair and makeup and photography. I also really loved how close the rooms were from each other because it made going from one space to another super quick!

My day started with Becca’s wedding party. I entered the room and was greeted by Becca’s friendly mom and welcoming party and got started right away with some detail shots including: the wedding bands, invitations, the dress, vows, bouquets and more. Starting with the details is always great because it allows for folks to start feeling comfortable with the idea of having a personal paparazzi around.

Here are some photos from the getting ready portion of the day.

Getting Ready – Groom’s Party

After spending some time with the ladies, I walked over to Mitch’s getting ready space and photographed some special details, toasts and moments with loved ones. As a photographer I love getting ready sessions for so many reasons but my favourite reason why I love them is because it gives me a chance to capture the intimate moments between loved ones before the party begins!

Prompt: Make a toast to Mitch’s best physical feature. The guys picked his eyes and lips. 😂

The Ceremony

Becca and Mitch had fantastic weather on their wedding day which was perfect for their outdoor ceremony by the water. They kindly asked their guests to put their phones away during the ceremony which I always love because it encourages guests to be more present in the moment while I do the documenting for them. Besides, having your guests smile and cheer for you after the first kiss always looks a lot better, from the photo perspective, than having your guest smiling and cheering behind their phones or iPads (we all have that one person in the family who carries one around for photos).

Here’s the sign they had to let their guests know it was an unplugged ceremony.

Beautifully crafted unplugged ceremony sign dressed with flowers arranged by Ottawa Flowers.

Flowers by Ottawa Flowers.

The First Look

One of my favourite moments on a wedding day is seeing the couple see each other for the first time. That moment is when it all becomes real for them and some couples are good at keeping in the feels and some, not so much (aka me 100%).

I had no idea how these two would react and honestly nothing could prepare me for the tender moment and reactions that were quickly approaching. Keep scrolling!

Just Married

After the ceremony, Becca and Mitch spent some time taking family formals and once those were wrapped up we went and captured some just married photos around the Fairmont Le Château Montebello! I was so happy because Becca and Mitch budgeted a good 45 minutes for this session which was perfect because we were able to explore multiple locations around their venue.

This part of day can definitely take less time but having more time is always preferred because you’ll have more portraits and intimate time together.

Here are some of my faves!

The Reception

After the Just Married session, we headed over to the reception space. Becca and Mitch’s wedding reception took place at the Fairmont Montebello golf club and I really loved their set up.

They had a sweetheart table facing the podium, with the dance floor in the middle, which was perfect because their guests all had a good view of the couple and speakers. I also really loved the overall atmosphere of the space. Such a beautiful venue.

Cake by the Fairmont Le Château Montebello.

Grandpa adding to his speech with his granddaughters by his side.

Becca’s dad was asked to prepare a speech and not wing it which made this moment of him throwing the pages into the air especially hilarious.

The First Dance

Last but not least, the first dance.

I’m going to nerd out real quick here… I loved my light setup here. I’ve got the Godox AD 200 in the back (back lighting my couple), the Canon 600 ex-rt on camera with a Gary Fung lightsphere and another AD 200 to my left with a shoot-through umbrella (beside the DJ booth). I’m so happy with the results and setting this up was so much fun. I can’t wait for my next reception to do more of this. And most importantly, Becca and Mitch loved these!

And that was their wedding day in a nut shell. What a perfect day inside and out. I feel so blessed to be able to do what I get to do with such amazing couples. There’s really nothing like seeing two people, perfect for each other, on their wedding surrounded by so many people that love them.

Hope you enjoyed this blog! Happy to answer any questions you many have in the comments about the venders, the Fairmont Le Château Montebello, photo locations and more! If you have any questions about me, be sure to check out my FAQs page.

Last but not least, congratulations Becca and Mitch! And thank you for having me be part of your special and perfect day.

Vender love:
Hair: Parla Hair
Bridesmaids dress: JJ’s House
Wedding gown: Sinders Bridal House
Hair piece: Ulyana Aster
Flowers: Ottawa Flowers
Venue: Fairmont Le Château Montebello