Aquatopia Conservatory Wedding in Ottawa: Andy and Shannon |

I am so flippin happy to share my first ever Aquatopia Conservatory wedding with you on the blog today! I had been looking forward to this one for so long and it did not disappoint. This wedding was a mix of boho and tropical with the most beautiful floral design you have ever seen. So in love.

You may recall Shannon and Andy’s engagement session at Dow’s Lake a few posts back. Andy was without a doubt the most enthusiastic and excited groom I have ever worked with. He could not wait to marry his girl.

My day started off at Shannon’s parents home where the girls were putting the finishing touches on makeup and getting dressed.

bride adjusting her dress in the window engagement ring with wedding invitation and florals bridesmaid putting on her earrings in the mirror mother of the bride tying up the bride's dress wedding invitation with engagement ring and boutonniere lyz plant doing bridesmaid's makeup bride looking out the window aquatopia conservatory on a rainy day

It was a rainy and windy day at Aquatopia but the nice thing about this wedding venue, is that it’s beautiful both inside and out.

bridesmaids getting ready in bridal suite bride smiling before her ceremony green plant unplugged ceremony sign amongst plants

Can we talk about an unplugged ceremony for a moment? I love when couples choose to do this. And not just because there are often cellphones and cameras in my photos. Unplugged ceremonies encourage guests to be fully present during the ceremony. We are all guilty of it – we want to document our lives to the fullest extent. But lets be real. You are not going to get the money shot from your seat as a guest. You are not going to do anything with this photo except post it to your insta story. And most likely, the couple would be MORE than happy to share the professional photos with you after the fact so that you can sit and enjoy every little moment of the ceremony.

seating chart with leaves on wooden plank groom seeing his bride for the first time

The bride and groom chose to see each other before the ceremony, however they decided to do so in private. This is the first time I haven’t photographed a first look and I have to say, I really respect their decision. I always encourage couples to do a first look because it is often the only moment you have just the two of you on your wedding day. In this case, it really was just the two of them. Bless you both for doing what felt right! The photo above is Andy after seeing his bride for the first time…and letting everyone know that he officially shed his first tear of the day.

bride and groom after seeing each other for the first time groom smiling at the bride bridesmaids with wild boho bouquets sage green bridesmaids dresses with boho bouquets in greenhouse

These bridesmaid dresses are flippin’ beautiful.

sage green bridesmaids dresses with boho bouquets in greenhouse

The rain held off for us long enough to sneak outside for a few photos of the wedding party. Can I just say, there needs to be more greenhouse weddings in my future please.

wedding party outside greenhouse in sage green dresses groomsmen outside greenhouse sage green bridesmaids dresses with boho bouquets in greenhouse groomsmen in navy boho bride smiling holding clear umbrella on rainy wedding day

The rain started back up again so we headed indoors for more photos. Good thing Aquatopia is gorgeous both inside and out!

bride and bridesmaids holding clear umbrellas on rainy wedding day sage green bridesmaids dresses with boho bouquets in greenhouse boho bride and groom at greenhouse wedding bride's sparkly shoes

So listen. When a butterfly lands on you on your wedding day, I think you’re destined for good things.

butterfly on bride's dress in greenhouse wedding bride and groom at greenhouse wedding boho bouquet at greenhouse wedding bride under wooden arch at greenhouse wedding boho bride at greenhouse wedding bride and groom under wooden arch at greenhouse wedding bride outside greenhouse bride walking down the aisle with her parents

The sun came out just as the ceremony started!

bride and groom standing under wooden arch at wedding ceremony groom laughing during wedding ceremony bridesmaids laughing during wedding ceremony bride laughing during wedding ceremony bride and groom laughing during wedding ceremony bride and groom first kiss during wedding ceremony bride holding up her bouquet while pronounced husband and wife bride and groom walking down the aisle greenhouse wedding reception decor place cards at wedding reception

Guys. Believe it or not, these are not real flowers. Icing baby…this wedding cake was unreal.

the girl with the most cake boho wedding cake greenhouse wedding reception decor MC introductions groom smiling during wedding reception bridesmaids speech during wedding reception So bride smiling during wedding reception speeches

So many laughs during these speeches. It made for some great candid moments!

groom laughing during wedding reception speeches groomsmen speeches during wedding reception bride smiling during wedding reception speeches bride and her mother laughing during wedding reception speeches bridesmaids giving speech during wedding reception bride and groom laughing during wedding reception speeches groom in shock during wedding reception speeches couple with baby during wedding reception at sunset guest laughing during wedding speeches sisters of the bride giving toast at wedding bridesmaid trying not to laugh during wedding speeches parents of the bride giving speech bride smiling during wedding reception speeches parents of the groom giving speech groom laughing during wedding reception speeches bride and groom thank you speech