Today I get to share with you more photos from Sarah and Gavin’s Newmarket Waterstone wedding!
How They Met
Sarah and Gavin met through a mutual friend. They went on their first date to the movies, and 4 years later, they were engaged!
The Proposal
Sarah and Gavin have a unique proposal story, one I haven’t heard before! When Sarah met Gavin’s grandma for the first time, Gavin’s grandma feel in love with her. She pulled Sarah aside and told her to put a ring on her own finger while Gavin was asleep, then when he woke up in the morning, she should just act as if Gavin had popped the question the night before. haha, sneaky grandma! Sarah didn’t do that, but a few years later, after Sarah fell asleep, Gavin put her Gran’s engagement ring on her finger! When Sarah woke up the next morning, she noticed the ring on her finger! She woke Gavin up and she asked him about it, and Gavin came over to her and dropped to one knee and asked her to marry him!
The Wedding
You may ask be wondering “Is Gavin’s wedding ring BLUE?!” Yes. Yes it is – and I wondered the same thing when they gave me the rings to photograph and Gavin’s ring was blue, and made of rubber. But there is a good reason for it! Gavin is a mechanic for the military, and he wouldn’t have been allowed to wear a real ring while working, so they found this alternative! It still symbolizes the same thing plus, fun fact, it’s so much easier to pose rings when the groom’s ring is made of rubber! The rings don’t slip around as much.
In the 8 years that I’ve been shooting weddings, I’ve only had one incident of photographing the same wedding dress. There must be a billion different styles of wedding dresses out there, so coming across one you’ve photographed before is pretty rare. Well it just so happens, that Sarah chose the same dress AND the same venue as my 2015 bride, Jenny! Sarah’s dress had pink undertones (Jenny’s was gold) and a few minor differences (Sarah had her dress altered to have a corset in the back rather than a zipper), but I couldn’t believe my luck – same dress and same venue! I knew then and there that Sarah and Gavin’s wedding was going to be awesome, because that’s such an incredibly rare thing to have happen! It had to be a sign of good luck (at least, I thought so!)
The Bride & Groom
Sarah and Gavin did a First Look, as well as all their bride & groom portraits, before the ceremony. This way they could maximize their time with their guests. We had a gorgeous sunny day with blue skies working with us, so it was a great day for outdoor photos, especially at Waterstone Estate & Farms!
The Ceremony
The ceremony was held in the outdoor gazebo, which is always lovely! Their wedding ceremony was at 10:30am, as they were having a lovely mid-day brunch reception!
The Reception
The reception was a unique breakfast/brunch buffet and it was soooo good. Seriously, more couples need to do this. Who doesn’t love breakfast food?! Plus it was so cozy and quaint somehow!
Congrats Sarah & Gavin! You are both so lovely and I’m so glad to have met you (and your wonderful parents!)!
Are you getting married? Looking for a Newmarket wedding photographer? Get in touch to have me, Jennifer Newberry Photography, capture your wedding, whether it’s in Newmarket, Aurora, Richmond Hill, Toronto, Barrie, Waterloo, Hamilton, London, Muskoka, or beyond! I’d love to chat about your wedding plans!
After Sarah and Gavin’s awesome Waterstone wedding, and then Stephanie and Marc’s wedding at The Manor before that, I am sold – I LOVE brunch weddings!!! Seriously people, is there anything better than having breakfast food (yes I’m talking bacon, pancakes, croissants, etc), and then dessert? No, no there is not!
After this super rainy summer we’ve had, I yet again lucked into a beautiful sun-shiny day for Sarah and Gavin’s wedding! They got married at the beautiful Waterstone Estate & Farms in Newmarket (or, technically, King, or King City I think. But it’s JUST outside Newmarket so I’m going with Newmarket!).
I only met Sarah and Gavin the day before their wedding, because they both live in Alberta! The wedding was mostly planned by Sarah’s wonderful mother – who did a really fantastic job of organizing everything, if I do say so myself!
Sarah and Gavin are such sweet and kind people, and they have a wonderful circle of friends and family. I’m so happy I got to meet them all, and be a part of their wonderful day!
Congrats Sarah & Gavin!!
Are you getting married? Looking for a Newmarket wedding photographer? Get in touch to have me, Jennifer Newberry Photography, capture your wedding, whether it’s in Newmarket, King, Richmond Hill, Toronto, Barrie, Waterloo, Hamilton, London, Muskoka, or beyond! I’d love to chat about your wedding plans!
Being Lindsay and Mark’s Newmarket wedding photographer was an absolute joy – working with a wonderful couple, at a gorgeous venue, on a sunny day, what more could a wedding photographer ask for? A cool theme, that’s what! Lindsay and Mark had a travel-themed wedding, and Lindsay turned out to be quite crafty by adding all sorts of DIY (“do it yourself”) touches, like origami made out of maps, hot-air-balloon shaped lanterns, a very awesome seating chart, and she even made Mark’s cufflinks!
Lindsay and Mark met at work. After working in the same building for some time, their paths crossed while practicing yoga at the company gym and then they started carpooling to work with a mutual friend (who did a reading during the ceremony, and is married to the Best Man!).
After countless hours of flirting on the company’s internal instant messenger, Mark finally got up the courage to take Lindsay out on a date. They had dinner at Fred’s Not Here and went to the Toronto Symphony Orchestra to see Beethoven’s 9th. After 2 years of dancing, cooking, doing yoga, and travelling the world together (6 continents!), Mark completely took Lindsay by surprise and popped the question! I’d say it’s fairly obvious what her answer was 😉
The proposal: Mark invited Lindsay out for a nice, casual dinner at Sassafraz. It was an incredibly hot day, but Lindsay paid no attention to the fact that Mark was in a dress shirt and blazer (because he needed a pocket for the ring). After dinner Mark suggested going to a gelato restaurant down on Queen St. E. (which doesn’t actually exist). They got out of the cab at Kew Gardens and Mark suggested a walk through the park. As they approached the gazebo, a musician starting playing (the same musician who played during cocktail hour at the wedding!). Mark and Lindsay danced a few times, and still Lindsay had no idea that Mark was about to propose. At the end of the second song, Mark dropped to one knee and proposed.
The wedding ceremony was held in the gazebo at Waterstone Estate & Farms. I love these styles of open gazebos, because you have the roof for shade, but there’s still enough light coming in for great photos. In line with the travel theme, the front row of seats had these unique “air mail” reserved signs!
Lindsay looked absolutely perfect in her vintage-style wedding dress. I didn’t realize it until I put the music together with the photos for the slideshow (at the bottom of this blog post), but Lindsay and Mark really have this very elegant, classic look. If I ever plan a stylized shoot with an elegant 1920s couple, Lindsay and Mark are definitely my first choice! (That and they’re both fantastic dancers!)
Lindsay’s bridesmaids are such a fun group of girls! Not to mention that the day after the wedding, I realized that one of them is practically a local radio celebrity! (Yes you are Jocelyn!)
Mark looked great in his tux, as you can see! He actually seemed very comfortable in it, oddly enough. As I mentioned earlier, Lindsay actually made his cufflinks! At first I thought they were little globes, because that would go well with the travel-theme, but they are actually made from tiny gears from a clock or a watch. They looked great!
Mark’s groomsmen (and groomsmaid!) were a great bunch of people also! And I must say, Heather’s dress was PERFECT! She totally matched the guys, yet was different and stylish in her own way.
The ceremony was wonderful. Kate (the best man’s wife, and Lindsay and Mark’s mutual friend who they carpooled with to work originally) did a reading, as well as Mark’s uncle (another local radio celebrity! I actually recognized his voice, and was just a tiny bit starstruck when I realized who he was. ha), who was stepping in for Mark’s grandfather.
The entire wedding party, with the newlyweds!
I tried something new with this wedding, and it worked out really well! We were a bit tight on time between the ceremony and reception, so what I did to make sure I got all the shots I wanted was this: I wrote out a posing workflow. Yep, I actually wrote out a list of the poses I wanted to do, and put them in order for time efficiency. We got all the shots done so fast, we had a good 20 minutes to do some extra shots and more creative stuff! It was great, I’m so happy it worked out so well!
There were a lot of travel-themed decorations at the reception, naturally. The name cards were actually maps, folded origami-style into hearts! There were also maps origami-folded into flowers placed in various places. A banner made of maps cut into triangle ‘flags’ was hung above the fireplace. Each of the tables was named after a place that Lindsay and Mark have travelled to. There were globe centerpieces at every table. There were even photo books on display from Lindsay and Mark’s various trips. The lighted M & L sign kind of gave a “your name up in lights” feel to it all as well. It was great! And to top it all off, Lindsay made the seating chart herself, a map of the world with the various places they’ve visited, and guests placed at each city. “Where in the world are you sitting?” was the perfect seating chart title!
To win the centrepiece (the globe), guests at each table had to find countries on the globe. Sounds easy enough, right? Except they were countries like Croatia, Algeria, etc… It was more challenging than you’d think!
These two, in the photos below, are Mark’s grandparents. They have been married for 59 years! Since they were married the longest, they won Lindsay’s bouquet – and they are just the cutest couple too.
Lindsay and Mark had been taking swing dancing lessons, and they performed an awesome choreographed swing dance as their first dance! It was definitely the best First Dance I’ve witnessed to-date! I found out later that Lindsay is quite the dancer, and Mark isn’t too bad himself. I can say for sure that in all the years I’ve been photographing weddings, this was the first time I wish I’d brought my video camera so I could do a cool fusion video or something!
Lindsay and her father also did a choreographed dance. Lindsay’s mother told me that they (Lindsay’s parents) have been taking Latin and Ballroom dancing classes for years, so apparently they are a family of dancers! Definitely the best Father-Daughter dance I’ve seen to-date as well. Though, I guess that’s expected from people who have been dancing for years and years!
There was a fantastic sunset, just as the party was getting started. And Lindsay and Mark were kind enough to let me borrow them and try doing a “sparkler photo without using any sparklers” – I think it came out pretty well!
Congrats Lindsay and Mark! You two are so perfect together, and I loved being a part of your special day!
To see more of Lindsay and Mark’s Newmarket wedding photos, watch the slideshow below! (If you can’t see the slideshow below, click here.)
Are you getting married? Looking for a Newmarket wedding photographer? Get in touch to have me, Jennifer Newberry Photography, capture your wedding, whether it’s in Newmarket, Aurora, Richmond Hill, Toronto, Barrie, Waterloo, Hamilton, London, Muskoka, or beyond! I’d love to chat about your wedding plans!
Jenny and Mason‘s WaterStone Estate wedding happened on a special day, for them and for me! It just so happened that their wedding date was the same day as my baby’s 1st birthday! Birthdays are a big deal in my house, but we celebrated my little guy’s birthday the day before, so that at Jenny and Mason’s wedding I could fully focus on documenting their day! They certainly made it worth it too – the wedding was phenomenal! It was a bright, beautiful day, and they went with a rustic theme, but with a bit of a vintage twist. For example, instead of a guestbook, they had a long piece of wood, featuring their names and wedding date, that their guests could sign.
WaterStone Estate & Farms is an equestrian centre with real live horses! The grounds are beautiful and there are lots of great photo spots!
Jenny’s Lazaro wedding gown was stunning, and looked absolutely perfect on her!
The bridal suite at WaterStone is fantastic! It’s a huge room in the basement, with a private dressing area and bathroom. The large space was perfect for Jenny and her 6 bridesmaids to get ready in!
Jenny wore a floor-length veil, and I used it in many, many photos, as you will soon see!
WaterStone has an expansive 100 acre property, which means lots of fields and gorgeous backdrops for photos!
Mason looked handsome in his suit, as he walked up the aisle to escort his mother, and then Jenny’s mother, to their seats.
Jenny’s family dog, Gilligan, also escorted Jenny’s mother down the aisle to her seat. Unfortunately Gilligan passed away suddenly last month, but I am so thankful that I got to not only meet this wonderful dog, but photograph her as well!
I was so, so happy that they had the ceremony set-up with the sun behind the altar! No one wants to be squinting in their wedding photos 😉
Love the fist-pump!
I just love the candid photo of Mason and his mother (in black & white) below. I definitely want a photo like this of me with each of my sons on their wedding days! And how adorable is the flower girl!
Usually larger wedding parties are harder to wrangle and organize for photos, but not in this case! Jenny and Mason’s wedding party was well-organized, present, and best of all, FUN! Jenny and Mason certainly do have some good friends!
Jenny and her bridesmaids – what a gorgeous group of ladies!
Scout is a beautiful white horse at WaterStone, he’s extremely gentle and photogenic! He’s a big guy at about 16.5 hands (or 66″), and looked great next to Jenny in her gorgeous wedding dress!
Some photos with Scout in the background.
More pictures with the veil! I do love long veils 😉
Are Mason and Jenny not THE most gorgeous couple?! (I’ve said it before and I’ll say it again – I LOVE Jenny’s hair!!! I’m totally jealous because my hair won’t hold a curl for very long. And her hair always looks that amazing!! Oh okay Mason, your hair looks pretty good too.)
WaterStone also has a gorgeous barn! And what’s a rustic-themed wedding without a barn?
I absolutely love how Jenny had the day’s schedule painted onto a wooden pallet! She had a lot of wooden signage, but the pallet was my favourite I think!
Here are the other custom signs – each of them gorgeous! It’s really all the small details that really pulls a wedding together, and this is a perfect example of that!
The reception room is a lovely big room, complete with stone fireplace and adorable lights strung from the wood-paneled ceiling!
And last (but not least!), as a tribute, I wanted to include these 2 photos of Jenny’s sweet dog Gilligan. I could totally tell that this dog was thoroughly loved, and will be greatly missed!
All in all, it was a beautiful, wonderful day, and I’m thrilled that I got to be a part of it!
To see more of Jenny and Mason’s WaterStone Estate wedding photos, watch the slideshow below! (If you can’t see the slideshow below, click here.)
Are you getting married? Looking for a WaterStone wedding photographer? Get in touch to have me, Jennifer Newberry Photography, capture your wedding, whether it’s in Newmarket, Aurora, Richmond Hill, Toronto, Barrie, Waterloo, Hamilton, London, Muskoka, or beyond! I’d love to chat about your wedding plans!
I knew Jenny and Mason‘s Waterstone Estates Wedding was going to be awesome, but it was even better than I expected! I loved all the wedding day details, the weather was beautiful, and Scout the horse was awesome! But, Jenny really stole the show. Not only was her hair AMAZING as usual (seriously, why can’t my hair look like that?!), but she blew everyone away when she put on her Lazaro wedding dress. And I’ve said before and I’ll say it again – I LOVE LONG VEILS! 🙂
WaterStone Estate & Farms is an equestrian centre, and that means, horses! We did some photos with a beautiful white horse named Scout. Scout was about 16.5 hands (or 66″), so he was a big guy! But very gentle and photogenic!
I know the girls want to see the image below – they said it was their favourite wedding party pose.
Congrats to the new Mr. & Mrs. D! Your wedding was absolutely perfect and I can’t wait for you to see all the images!
Are you getting married? Looking for a Newmarket wedding photographer? Get in touch to have me, Jennifer Newberry Photography, capture your wedding, whether it’s in Newmarket, Aurora, Richmond Hill, Toronto, Barrie, Waterloo, Hamilton, London, Muskoka, or beyond! I’d love to chat about your wedding plans!
