#lavington

New Post has been published on https://www.drahtphotography.com/the-riverside-wedding-at-mabel-lake-sampler/

The Riverside Wedding at Mabel Lake Sampler

That’s from our sneakaway. Right behind Mabel Lake Hall, there’s a beautiful, grassy meadow where the sun comes in just right. It’s a hidden gem in the Okanagan. Right beside a rushing river, and a little out of cell phone reception, this incredibly stunning venue has breathtakingly gorgeous views in every direction.

We’re getting a little ahead ourselves though – our morning starts with the detail shots at Vernon Lodge.

I was hesitant to take dress photos at the venue – our groom and a lot of family members were walking about. I drove to the nearby rec centre – there’s some trees right by the creek.

Over in the guys room, we had a respectable trouser-train going.

A few final touches, and our groom was ready to marry!

Upstairs, the girls were getting the dress ready. Shout out to Mikaela Decoffe for the amazing makeup job!

Let’s talk a little about Mabel Lake Lodge. It’s a magical place, deep in Lumby. Right along the creek, it also runs adjacent to a meadow and some unique trees. You can walk up the old fisheries path right to the river and dip your toes in on a hot day. It’s a little slice of heaven, and one of my favourite places in all the Okanagan to shoot.

Outside, ceremony time was right at three, and everyone was ready. Including our groom, when he first glanced his bride.

That, just above, is one of my favourite shots. I have to use a two camera set up to get it, because there needs to be an immediate switch from face tracking 70-200mm and 35mm, and it’s so worth it.

The ceremony was lovely, like something out of a fairy tale. Light filtered through the tall evergreen trees, as they recounted their vows in front of a rapt audience.

And then, the kiss and the dance up the aisle!

After family photos, we disappeared into a meadow behind the hall to take some formals. Some of my favourite formals actually.

That’s how you arrange a group shot. Now, the girls. Let’s take a good look at these flowers!

The guys looked great too.

After a show of support to show our groom how much he is loved, him, me, and his bride disappeared into the woods for more photos.

The photos turned out better than I could have hoped. If you’re been following this blog, you know I love the green unmanicured grass, tall trees, leafy greens, and blue skies. We had an abundance of all of this. Also driftwood!

Unfortunately, though, this is where I’ll have to leave you. Keep in mind, this isn’t all the photos. This is a whopper of a sampler though, 48 of the photos taken today.

If you’d like to register to receive access to the photos once they’re done, please register here.

If you’d like to save any of these photos, simply long press on them on your cell phone, or right click on them on your computer. Then select, “Open in new tab” – you’ll be able to save from there.

Thank you for reading this far. I put a lot of time and work into these sneak peeks (It’s 3:00am I write this!) so it’s great that you’ve taken the time to read all this!

Lastly, if you’d like to stay updated, feel free to follow me on Instagram, Facebook, Twitter, or Tumblr for frequent updates. Talk to you all in a few days!

….Maybe just one more.

New Post has been published on https://www.drahtphotography.com/the-red-car-wedding-at-camo-country/

The Red Car Wedding at Camo Country

Yup, that’s our cover image, though it was a pretty tough choice. When you’ve got a header like this, you want to show it off:

    We’re lucky today. I got to shoot at the amazing Camo Events. It’s huge and right by Lumby, so you can really party. On the grounds, there’s a giant love sign, forests everywhere, and surprisingly enough, tanks. Yup, in this venue you can ride in on a tank if you want to.

So that’s where we begin, with dress shots.

    I fell in love with it immediately. Look at the hand-folded patterns right above the train.

    The fall leaves complimented it just perfectly. I love a good fall wedding.

    Then, the rings, and the flowers.

    I found an old nail on a fence. The reflection of the fall leaves in the diamond completed the look.

    A shard of light, filtering through the trees, complimented the flowers.

    Inside, our groom was just getting ready. There’s an old saying – Chekhov’s gun – “If you say in the first chapter that there is a rifle hanging on the wall, in the second or third act it absolutely must be used.”

    We used it. Later. A quite portrait, and I was on my way back to Camo.

    Back at the girls, the mom was helping with the dress.

    Of course, Dad approved. Daddy-daughter first looks are becoming a favourite thing of mine.

      Just outside, we had a groom anxiously waiting for his new bride.

      The ceremony was heartfelt, small,  and beautiful. Hand written vows ensured there wasn’t a dry eye in the house.

    And then, Man and Wife.

    And champagne.

    Family formals are always after the ceremony – no matter what the lighting is, that’s always the situation. Otherwise they run off. Right after the family photos, I like to do bridal party photos. However, today the sun was just too perfect. We skipped warmup period and jumped into formals!

    That’s where you hold your girl to get that S shape. Posing is a very important part of being a photographer!

    The sun filtered through the trees and spoilt us. Pale blue tones mixed in with bright oranges.

      If you look closely, you can see how the smoke lingers around the foliage. Low lying haze is one of my favourite things. Time for some bridal party photos!

    It was a fun crowd. I like getting those serious, formal shots, but I try to mix it up every time. Here they’re going in for a group hug.

    And rubbing the grooms face for good luck. Surprise!

    Let’s take a moment to just appreciate how beautiful this dress is.

            Lumby is an amazing place for formals. Forestry roads, elm trees, fields everywhere, and the best part – we always get everything to ourselves. Our couple had managed to find a beautiful old red hot red. It was mint inside and out. Even the paint didn’t have a single rock chip in it. Mint. Of course, I don’t get opportunities like this every day.

    You can use a window for framing the shot, you know.

    This is one of my favourites. Those old colours, the mountains, the tint of the window.

    Of course, this wouldn’t be a Draht Photography wedding if we didn’t turn it up a few notches.

      Remember that antique shotgun? We sure did!

      This couple, the trees, the leaves, and the lighting were just perfect. I was in photographer heaven.

        But we had to head back. It was a little past six, all our light had left us.

    Back at Camo, the boys were enjoying cigars.

    This couple told me they had never had a professional picture taken. Here, enjoy this! Just long-click on the image and you can save it to your phone.

      I used a prism in that second shot to offset the balance from the love sign. There’s your artsy shot! And there’s where I leave you. This was a huge sampler – almost 50 photos! But the photos won’t be ready for another three weeks. Maybe longer. This is just some of my favourite photos from the day. If you’d like to keep a picture, even on mobile, just click it and it will open in a separate window. You can save it from there.

    Thank you for reading this far. I put a lot of time and work into these sneak peeks so it’s great that you’ve taken the time to read all this!