Forest Wedding in Abbotsford

When planning a Forest Wedding in Abbotsford, the key is to find a location and make it your own. We have a lot of forests around here, but not a lot of wedding venue forests…but with a big vision and a team of willing helpers, Jess & Rainer made it happen. A forest wedding, a tree-filled ceremony, a piano in the woods, and all their dreams come true.

But I’m getting ahead of myself, because the tone of this day was set from the moment that Jess & Rainer chose not to see one another prior to the ceremony, but wanted to take a few moments to be in the same place before walking down the aisle. With line of sight obstructed by a corner, Jess & Rainer started their wedding day with a conversation together. One part photo op and three parts being us on our wedding day, this was probably (no, definitely) one of the most meaningful ways they personalized their wedding day. (A close second for “most meaningful personalization” came right after the ceremony when they actually walked away from their guests [not through their guests] to take a stroll through the forested trail and cherish their wedding day before starting family photos.)

I also loved the spontaneous love and overflowing joy that was evident through out the afternoon — depicted especially here by Dad’s joy when seeing his daughter in her wedding dress and Mom’s delight in her son.

Of course, any wedding that manages to incorporate beautiful themes into the decor? It’s my happy place! To go along with the Forest Wedding theme, the paper suite and the reception decor were greenery-filled with just a hint of wild.

After her first-non-look, Jess hid again to wait for the ceremony to start. TALK ABOUT A BEAUTY OF A BRIDE!

(Spoiler: I’m hiking a mountain with these two and that dress for an adventure honeymoon portrait session and I didn’t think it was possible to get more excited…but then I saw this dress and the giddiness increased exponentially!)

Jess entered her ceremony through a clearing in the forest. For a forest wedding, I can imagine nothing better than this moment. Right here.

I have the privilege of a team of talented associates to photograph weddings when I am not personally available or when the client needs a customized package (associate photography definition: I still do the communication and editing and relationship, but they are not guaranteed to have me show up and help shoot the wedding!) and when I can, I love to be able to show up on the wedding day with my associate! So these guys got two angles on their ceremony and its basically my favorite thing that we had both of us there for the “solid” money shots AND these “unique” alternate shots.

Also: HUGE shout out to my assistant-turned-associate Greg for rocking another wedding season with me.