My first wedding of the season and it was a good one. It has been on my bucket list for years and now I can finally say I’ve photographed a winter wedding at Le Belvedere in Wakefield! This wedding venue is everything – elegant, picturesque and such a dream to work at. Bonus: they have a breathtaking indoor ceremony space if ever the weather doesn’t cooperate. But in Jen and Jared’s case, their wedding day was perfection!

You might recall this bride and groom from their engagement session at Carleton University, where they met years ago. Jared has been wrapping up his PhD in the U.K. so the two have not only been doing long distance, but also trying to plan a wedding at a distance. If ever you needed a test of their relationship, this would be it.

Their wedding day started off with the guys getting ready at the Guest House at Le Belvedere.

groom's shoes, watch and boutennieregroom and groomsmen laughing while getting ready groom's suit jacket hanging from dresser groom putting on his tie in the mirror overhead photo of groom putting on his shoesgroom and groomsmen putting on their tiesgroom tying up his suit jacket

Over at the Wakefield Grand, the girls had just put the finishing touches on hair and makeup when I arrived. I had time for a few detail shots of the dress and flowers before Jen started to put on her wedding dress with the help of her mom.

wedding dress hanging from mirror in bedroom at Wakefield Grand Pollen Nation wedding bouquet on wooden bench engagement ring on mirrorbeaded cap sleeves on silk wedding dress flowers and wedding shoes resting on mirror mother of the bride helping bridesmaid put on her necklace mother of the bride helping bride into her wedding dress mother of the bride tying up buttons on back of wedding dressPollen Nation wedding bouquet bridesmaid watching as the bride puts on her wedding dress bride putting on her fur shall

The bride and groom decided to do a first look at the Wakefield covered bridge. It was the perfect setting for photos on this gorgeous winter day.

first look on the wakefield bridge first look on Wakefield covered bridge groom seeing the bride for the first time groom seeing the bride for the first time bride and groom holding hands in black and white bride and groom walking down Wakefield covered bridge bride holding wedding bouquet bride and groom kissing on Wakefield covered bridge in black and white bride wearing a fur holding wedding bouquet bride wearing beaded hair piece groom looking into the light in black and white portrait of groom on Wakefield covered bridgebride and groom kissing on Wakefield covered bridge bride and groom cuddling on Wakefield covered bridge beaded cap sleeves on wedding dressbride and groom smiling on Wakefield covered bridge Bride and groom smiling on Wakefield covered bridge in black and white bride and groom outside of Wakefield covered bridge bridesmaids in blue carrying bouquets bridesmaids in long blue dresses wearing furs bridesmaids in long blue dresses wearing furs wedding party on the Wakefield covered bridge groom and groomsmen walking on the Wakefield covered bridge groom and groomsmen at Wakefield covered bridgegroom holding open his suit jacket with fancy silk lining

We arrived at Le Belvedere in time to freshen up and get ready for the ceremony. But as luck would have it, the bus full of wedding guests got stuck coming up the hill so a few guests already at the venue had to shuttle people from the bus to the ceremony. The ceremony was almost an hour late starting but the light was so yummy at that point, it made for the most beautiful backdrop.

Wedding reception table settings with blue napkins at Le Belvederetable settings with blue napkins at Le Belvederetable settings with blue napkins at Le Belvedere yellow and blue wedding cake table settings with blue napkins at Le Belvedere seating chart on old wooden window

So I mentioned the beautiful indoor space at Le Belvedere where you can choose to have your ceremony if the weather doesn’t cooperate. Without knowing if it would be -30 on the day of their wedding, the bride and groom asked Pollen Nation to create this gorgeous arch for their indoor ceremony, should they need it. Don’t worry…it didn’t go to waste. We used it for family photos and then it was later used for their photo booth during the reception. But man..wow!

cedar arch with white flowersLe Belvedere in the winter bride and her father walking towards the aisle smiling bride and her father walking down the aisle groom seeing the bride as she walks up the aisle father of the bride giving away his daughter wedding guests smiling during outdoor wedding ceremony father of the groom officiating winter wedding ceremony

Jared’s dad officiated the ceremony…there wasn’t a dry eye in the house.

bridesmaid wiping away a tear during wedding ceremonywedding guests smiling during outdoor wedding ceremony first kiss at Le Belvedere bride and groom walking down the aisle as husband and wife floral arrangement on wooden table

Even though the ceremony started late and we kinda missed sunset photos as a result, we still managed to sneak away for some beautiful photos at dusk. These are some of my faves.

bride and groom walking down the aisle at sunset outdoors bride and groom kissing in the snow at sunset bride and groom holding hands at Le Belvedere at sunsetbride and groom at sunset at Le Belvedere silhouette of bride and groom at sunset overlooking Gatineau Hills

Congratulations Jen and Jared!

Wedding team

Venue: Le Belvedere
Wedding dress: La Maison Bridal Boutique
Bridesmaids dresses: Laysieng Couterier
Groom and groomsmen suits: Surmesur
Florist: Pollen Nation
Hair stylist: Marie-Josee Lebel (Liaison Hair Studios)
Makeup artist: Denae Van Blitterswyk
Second photographer: Carley Teresa

Wedding

Le Belvedere winter wedding: Jen and Jared

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  1. Anonymous says:
    March 20, 2019 at 2:07 am

    Beautiful

    Reply

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