Calgary Wedding Photographer

Dolan & Cassie’s Willow Lane Barn Wedding

Red Bloom Photography

I am gearing up for my 2019 wedding season and I realized that I had not yet blogged

this beautiful Willow Lane Barn wedding from last September. Willow Lane Barn has been on my venues

bucket list for quite a few years now so I was so pumped to finally get to capture a wedding there.

It is a rustic wedding venue of my dreams and just a short drive from Calgary.

Dolan & Cassie’s wedding was just one of those days that was full of laughter and love.  From the moment the

day started Cassie was laughing with her girls and telling them all how beautiful they looked.

Their ceremony was short and sweet saying I do inside of the barn rather then outside in the gardens.

They opted to have these doors open but this makes it quite tricky for light so If you are planning your wedding

there I would recommend keeping the doors closed and have the beautiful wood as your backdrop.

After their ceremony we did all their photos on the property and I even snuck them out at sunset for some epic

golden hour photos.

Here are some words from the Bride & Groom

How did you guys meet ?
– I would like to tell you some elaborate romantic story of how we met in Italy sharing a single

strand of spaghetti but that would be a lie! Dolan & I met the new age way .. online! 

– I was new to the city and didn’t know a lot of people, and the night life wasn’t for me so online

dating seemed to be my best option. 

– For Dolan he worked 7 days a week, and would much rather unwind in front of his computer

after a long day! 

-We met for the first time at a mall parking lot where he surprised me with my favourite flowers, which at

the time he didn’t even know they were! We walked around and chatted and ended spending

the whole day together getting to know each other! 

Please share the proposal story with us? 

– It was October.13, my favourite time of year .. fall! Nothing more romantic than layered

cozy clothes, fall evenings with the brisk air & a corn maze! One of my childhood friends asked

what we wanted to do while in Calgary so I said “oh I found this super cute corn maze/ pumpkin patch that

we should go to” little did I know she was getting me to basically plan out my own engagement!

So the 4 of us met there and went around the maze and as we were getting ready to leave

there was this huge rocking chair and Dolan said let’s get a photo together, I was totally

game and as I was climbing on the chair and I turned around he was on one knee! 

Most memorable moment from your wedding day?

Bride: Honestly for me it was walking down the stairs to Dolan and seeing him

standing at the alter, as a little girl all you dream about is your wedding day and for me it was

all about the man waiting for me at the end of the isle, i without a doubt had no hesitations and

couldn’t wait to get there to him! 

Groom: “Cassie walking down the stairs, and seeing her for the first time in her dress”

Tell me about the special aspects of your day that made it unique to you two?

– I think what made our wedding so special is Dolan grew up on a farm his

whole life so getting married in a barn just seemed so fitting! As well Dolans dad was very ill

and we weren’t sure if he would be able to make to the wedding, and he ended up being there which was pretty special! 

– For my something borrowed, my sister had gotten married a year before me

and her mother in law made her a clothes pin with something blue on it, a dime and a locket with

our late grandfathers photo in it, which held so much importance to my sister and I! The reason there was

a dime was because since he has passed in the 10 years it all me my mom and sister find is

dime laying around everywhere! So when she came up to see me in my

dress she clipped it onto my bouquet. 

Can you tell me more about the Newfie Screeching in tradition?

 – This was a complete surprise, I knew that they were going to be screeching

in my sister in law and Dolan but my sister and I had no clue we would be involved as well!

Basically what happens is if you are not born on the Rock then you can become an

honorary Newfie by participating in a screeching. It is a very serious affair and not optional.

– There are a few different ways of doing it but basically you have to take

a shot of Newfie screech, kiss a cod fish on the lips, do the Newfie jig, and recite

“Indeed we do me old cock and long may your big jib draw” 

– Which means: Indeed we do means indeed we do, Me old cock is an old English cockney

term meaning dear friend And long may your big jib draw is a mariners term meaning may

you always have favourable winds and a safe voyage.

– Then you get a certificate saying you are now a Newfie ! 

Besides making the choice to marry each other, what was the easiest decision you made for

your wedding? What made it so easy? 

Honestly everything was quite simple, the best advice that I could give a newly engaged

couple is pick one option and go with it don’t exhaust all your options because that’s when it starts

getting stressful! I had one location in mind, one photographer (you of course), one style of

bridesmaid dress, etc! I’m not a very indecisive person, I knew what I liked and I just went with it 🙂 

What was the most difficult, time consuming choice that you made for your

wedding day? And advice to couples on this? 

The most time consuming believe it or not was the men’s suits! Because it was so restrictive,

you don’t have a lot of options unless you do everyone custom which isn’t practical!

This was difficult because I only had one option in mind so when it came down to it we had to make some

changes to make it work with what they had for rentals! But the best advice for situations like this is to

breathe and remember why your there, your planning one of the happiest days of your life for

you and the person you love! Enjoy it and don’t sweat the small stuff! 

Advice to couples planning their wedding day?

My advice would be what I said above, don’t have to many options limit yourself

to 2 options for a everything, don’t over think it and just really enjoy it! I found that it all went so

fast and I can truly say that I loved the planning process it wasn’t until the week before that I found myself stressing.

Also make sure to include your hubby to be even if it’s in the smallest way, my husband

didn’t really want a huge say but when he did have an opinion I made sure that w

incorporated in no matter how wild or crazy the idea was! 

And now here is Dolan & Cassie’s Wedding Story

Cassie did a first look with her sister and her dad! Her sister was so emotional. It was so sweet!

And then they took a family selfie! ha haCassie is an interior designer and her amazing style showed in the details! Everything was so perfect. If there is an opportunity to take sunset photos at your reception then say yes…always say yes !!

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Red Bloom Photography

Intimate Photography for Adventurous Couples