Oana & Carl – Mountain Wedding at Gaucho Canmore

Oana & Carl – Mountain Wedding at Gaucho Canmore

The skies were bright and the sun was hot. As I drove out to Canmore for Oana & Carl’s Wedding, I reminisced about the first time I met them and their plans to have a love-filled Mountain Wedding at Gaucho in Canmore. I couldn’t believe two years had passed and the day was finally here.

As I rolled up to the Wind Tower Lodge & Suites, I found my way to the girls’ suite, where everything was in full swing. Heather from The Pretty Haus was getting in a final few sprays to Oana’s hair before moving over for Zandrea to start on her makeup. As the girls chatted and giggled, it really sunk in that the day was about to be beyond fun! Oana’s girlfriends are super fun and just as adventurous. Before long it was time for Oana to go see Carl for the first time. The wedding party hung out by the cars and tried to get a sneak peek of their first look while I walked Oana down to where she was about to see her groom.

She met him at the bottom of a tree-lined path, and with a little tap on the shoulder he turned to see his beautiful woman. The moments were full of excitement and joy. I can’t even, or I might start crying from the pure happiness I witnessed.

After they exchanged rings, we headed out for a mountain adventure.

Oana had mentioned wanting to go to a lake in Kananaskis that she had seen me shooting at the previous summer. As we walked through the trees along the mossy ground, we stopped for a few moments before we continued on to the lake. Normally you would think climbing up rocky shores in the mountains barefoot would induce a slight hesitation, but it was no big deal for this adventurous bride.

After the wedding party joined us, we shot at another spot, and then before we knew it it was time for the family photos before heading to the ceremony.

As we headed back to the cars, I found one more spot that was a little more adventurous to get to – but all the girls were game and climbed up into the trees for a few more shots.

The ceremony was set in the most majestic area in Quarry Park, Canmore. Friends and family watched on as Oana made her way down the winding path to come down the aisle to Carl. The looks on their faces were beyond moving.

After a beautiful ceremony by Dave Mohr, the couple were cuddled and congratulated by everyone before heading off to Gaucho for their amazing Brazilian Barbecue Reception.

From the Bride & Groom…

Wedding vibe and colours:
Mountains and good food. While at a Brazilian BBQ in Toronto we joked that it would be awesome to have a wedding reception catered by that restaurant. Instead of getting catering we went right to the source and rented out the whole restaurant in Canmore. Carl very much loves the mountains and with such glorious geographical formations near us, it would have been a major missed opportunity. The colour scheme was midnight blue, white and soft pink which believe it or not were picked by Carl! He picked the colours by modifying cars on GTA V and seeing how well they paired.

The couples theme:
Our theme you can say was MOUNTAINS, we love the mountains and with our families and friends being in Ontario and some of them have never been here in Alberta, we really wanted to make sure that the mountains were a big part of our wedding. We wanted them to see God’s amazing creations and to experience what we experience every time we are surrounded by the mountains. The feel we were going for was that we wanted to make sure that all of our guests, wedding party, family, pretty much everyone that was invited to the wedding felt loved and knew how much we appreciated them being there with us on our special day.

Top 3 best moments:
First look – Originally Oana wanted to have Carl’s suit be a surprise since it was custom built. Carl and groomsman went to the mall to look at ties and shoes one day wearing their suits and Oana spotted them on the sidewalk returning to their condo. That meant that only Oana’s dress would be a surprise! Carl had no idea what the dress looked like, even though it was being kept in his closet the whole time. Because picture were taken before the wedding, there wasn’t a chance for Carl to be surprised at the altar so the first look was that much more precious.

Ceremony – Walking up and then down the aisle in front of our friends and loved ones was so great. The location and wedding party was stunning, words prepared by the pastor were on point, Carl and Oana couldn’t stop smiling and weather could not have been more cooperative. There is a very special moment when you are saying your vows in front of the people you love that we will never forget ;

Speeches – Everyone prepared such great speeches, drawing from various friendship quirks without relying too much on inside jokes. There was everything from heart felt comments, light roasting from all parties, fun reminiscing, embarrassing stories to well timed quips. Everyone delivered quality speeches for everyone to enjoy just like when Tom Brady and the Patriots came back from 28-3 in the third quarter to win Superbowl 51.

Wedding song, explain choice for song: Sade // By your side
I’ve heard the song a few times and when I listened to the lyrics I knew it was our wedding song. The lyrics speak for themselves. We will always be by each other’s side. Whatever we go thought, we do it together, if one falls, the other one will be by their side picking them up.

Wedding day breakfast: Carl and his groomsmen had a proper feast in the morning after having a kegger the night before. There was orange juice, bacon, eggs, toast with jam, fried bologna, fresh fruit and rainbows. Oana and her bridesmaids had yogurt and water. Which breakfast do you think was better?
BEFORE THE WEDDING DAY
How did you meet?:  We met at University, we were in the same residential building. We met through a mutual friend. I didn’t think Carl was my “type” but he totally is now:)
Engagement story:
Carl proposed to me on my 26th birthday. I was at work during the day and I remember Carls best friend Zac sending me a birthday message saying that this will be the best birthday ever! I wasn’t sure what he meant by that. I usually get home before Carl and that day when I got home Carl was already home cleaning the kitchen haha. I was surprised to me see since he wasn’t expecting me to be home so early. He had flowers for me. He said he was going to go get my birthday present so I had to close my eyes and when I opened my eyes, he was down on one knee. (I’m not sure if i should include this or not but all this was happening while carl was just in his boxers. We lived in a tiny condo with no AC and it was so hot )

Kind Words…

“We are beyond happy that we chose Sarah to be our photographer. From the first time seeing her blog with the weddings she did we loved her style, locations,the mood of the pictures, pretty much everything! She is super sweet in person and it feels like your best friend is taking pictures. We love that she likes to joke around and laugh and be silly but also super professional and good with directing poses ( which Carl and I needed help with). Pictures mean a lot to us and we will be looking back at our wedding pictures years from now and still loving every single one of them. We would totally recommend Sarah as your wedding photographer.” – Oana & Carl