I am so excited to get to share Rebecca & Shane’s love story today!  I originally met Rebecca back in the summertime, when she was searching for a wedding photographer.  She had been referred to me by a photographer in a Greenville photography group I am a part of.  I am so glad she reached out to me!  Through talking with Rebecca on the phone and emailing back and forth, I learned a lot about Rebecca and Shane.  Because Rebecca and Shane live in Canada, it was not possible with both of our schedules to actually meet in person before their wedding day.  But that was okay, as I felt like I already knew them some from all of our communication.  Rebecca is from Charlotte and Shane grew up on a farm in rural New Brunswick.  Rebecca was doing an internship in New Brunswick and met Shane at a party in Fredericton, New Brunswick, where Shane was living, in 2005.  They hit it off immediately, talking the whole night, but knowing they could only be friends as Rebecca had a boyfriend back in North Carolina at the time.  In the weeks following the party, they met different times for walks, going to cafes, and having good conversation.  Shane felt a strong connection to Rebecca and confessed to her that his intentions were not entirely platonic, but he knew she would remain faithful to her boyfriend, so they enjoyed a last night of good conversation before Rebecca left.  Shane had left a strong impression on Rebecca.  During the next 7 years, other than an occasional Facebook message, they hadn’t really kept in touch.  Until late in 2011 they both found themselves single at the same time.  From Rebecca and Shane’s wedding website, they shared, “Rebecca was living in Florida and Shane was in BC, but they started to reconnect through Facebook and found themselves in similar situations. Then a last-minute work assignment brought Rebecca to Seattle, over Valentine’s week. She asked him if he might be able to come down for a visit so they could see each other in person after all that time. They met at the downtown Seattle Hilton bar, where Shane gave Rebecca dried flowers he picked up from Pike’s Place Market. They spent the day exploring a new city together for the first time. Two days later, on Valentine’s Day, Shane texted Rebecca from Vancouver, saying he made dinner reservations and was on his way. For the rest of the week he drove back and forth between Vancouver and Seattle so they could spend every possible free moment together.  After a year and a half of a long-distance relationship and making trips to see each other as often as possible, Rebecca (and Rita!) moved to BC and they’ve been sharing their lives and adventures together ever since!”

 How great is that love story!!!  So, after 5.5 years of dating, they finally got to become husband and wife on October 7th, 2017!!!

  Rebecca and Shane were engaged on May 31, 2015.  Rebecca had been traveling in Europe with her family and while they were in Prague, Shane showed up!  Rebecca’s parents and sister were in on the secret and had been helping him plan his surprise for months.  Shane and Rebecca went to Budapest, and when they first arrived Shane wasn’t feeling well so he took a nap.  While he napped, Rebecca started unpacking his suitcase and came across a little red box.  She couldn’t contain her curiosity so she opened it.  There was a wooden ring with a small pearl on it.  She put it back and didn’t say anything.  A few days later they were in Croatia hiking.  Shane wanted to find a waterfall off the beaten path to take some photos of them together.  They found a small path to a beautiful waterfall with no other people around.  Shane set up his camera timer to take a series of photos of them in front of the waterfall, and as Rebecca was smiling at the camera he dropped to one knee.  The camera captured Rebecca’s surprise perfectly!  He proposed with the wooden ring, and then showed her a photo of the “real” ring that was waiting for her when she got back home.  It was a perfect moment!  And look at the beautiful “real” ring she was given!!!  It went beautifully with her dress she wore from Pure Magnolia, in North Vancouver, BC, Canada.

After the final touches of getting ready, Rebecca and Shane decided to do a First Look with each other before the ceremony.  They had a lot of family and friends travel in for their special day and they wanted to reduce the amount of time that their guests had to wait on them to get into the reception.  I was so happy they decided to do a first look.  Even though it was raining a little, we were still able to capture their time together outside with a couple umbrellas.  And they had one of the sweetest first looks ever!  I hope they enjoyed their time, just the two of them for a few moments before the rest of the busy day continued!

Since it was raining, we headed back into the church to do some family photos before the ceremony.  This is also a benefit of doing a First Look on your wedding day, because many of the family photos can be taken before the ceremony as well.

Then the ceremony began shortly after.  Both Shane and Rebecca chose to walk in with their parents by their sides.  I thought that was such a neat idea.  What a special way to honor both of their parents on this special day!

And even though Rebecca and Shane had already done a First Look before the ceremony, it didn’t take away from the special moment of Shane seeing his bride walk down the aisle for the first time.

The rest of the ceremony was filled with love, joy, and personalized vows that both Rebecca and Shane has written for each other.

After the ceremony we went immediately to the Olde Providence Racquet Club in Charlotte, NC for their reception.  The rain had mostly stopped by this point, so before going in we were able to take a few more group family photos and some more bride and groom portraits.  I was so happy we got to do a few more series of photos for them outside!  There were even some Fall colors peeking through on the trees.

Once we headed inside to the reception, Rebecca and Shane’s guests were waiting for them and enjoyed a beautiful evening together.  They dined on vintage china, which had been rented from Evermore Event Company.  They enjoyed speeches by the Father of the Groom, Mother of the Groom, Father of the Bride, Sister of the Bride, and even Shane gave a toast speech as well!

The rest of the evening was spent enjoying good food, friends, and family.  Rebecca and Shane enjoyed their first dance as husband and wife too, and it was such a great dance to watch!  Rebecca had shared with me that they had been taking dancing lessons together before their wedding, and I must say their lessons paid off!  Their first dance was so classy and elegant, just like them!

he couple enjoyed cutting their cake and their guests enjoyed gourmet cupcakes along with the cake that evening!  The evening concluded with everyone enjoying themselves on the dance floor!  It was a beautiful wedding!