One year ago today, I decided to host my first In Studio Spring Mini Sessions. I never imagined that I would be asked to photograph the most sophisticated Calgary studio wedding portraits of my dreams with my dearest friends Katie + Cory. This would be the second time in my career that I would be entrusted to keep the most wonderful secret about a surprise wedding.

Katie and I have been friends for years.

You all know her as the amazing face and owner of The Clothing Bar. When she reached out that she was going to use my In Studio Spring Mini’s as an opportunity to get married that day, I was honoured and overjoyed! I recently asked my beautiful friend some questions about her special day and here’s what she had to say.

Q. How or when did you two decide you wanted to have a surprise wedding?

K. I recall only booking our wedding because you were having studio sessions! Ha ha. But seriously, you were the only person I wanted to capture our day and we woke up thinking, well today is a good day to plan our wedding because Sue is doing studio sessions on April 10th, and we didn’t want to miss out on the beautiful space you had planned. If I do recall, we only started planning the rest of our wedding like 2 months before the actual day, and we didn’t tell anyone except our parents and closest family until the day after. Surprise!

Q. What was your favourite part of the day?

K. Our wedding was quite literally Cory and I, and both our sets of parents(total of 6 people) in our home. Oh and our dogs of course. The best part of the day would probably be watching our parents play the shoe game, and hilariously answer ridiculous questions about their own marriages. For the first time in our 10 years being together we got the chance to really connect with our parents in the most intimate setting and feel closer to them for doing it. I can’t recall another time in my life where I felt more at peace without a care in the world.

Q. Would you have done anything different?

K. Our wedding from the start was exactly how we wanted it to be. In the comfort of our home, with our dogs and our parents. We ordered our favorite foods from local caterers, drank lots of wine, and celebrated the important parts of getting married. Each other. We of course used Covid as an excuse for not inviting more people(LOL) and maybe carried a bit of guilt at the beginning, but looking back the universe has a funny way of working out and we truly believe that the day we chose and the way we planned it was meant to be. It turned out to be the final day we got to spend with Cory’s father due to a tragedy that happened days later, and there isn’t a single moment we would change about our wedding and the way we got to spend it.

Q. Any advice for future couples?

K. In my personal experience, time spent with your closest friends and family is more important then the elaborate décor and celebration. I’m a firm believer in doing what your heart desires, but remember to enjoy and appreciate the people around you first and everything can come second. “The best day of your life” isn’t about how much money you spend, but the people you spend it with.

Q. Any cute message to Cory today on your anniversary?

K. Sorry we have to wait to pop the Dom Perigon bottle waiting in our liquor cabinet for when I’m not pregnant!

EEEEK! There you have it folks! Happy Anniversary friends! Can’t wait for this next chapter for you both and your beautiful families.

Stunning bouquet by the incredible Foxglove Studio/ Venue: Studio Calgary

Want to see another surprise wedding I got to be a part of? CLICK HERE.