Sunset Ceremony at Le Belvédère
Lisa and Dan | A spectacular sunset ceremony at Le Belvédère
Lisa and Dan decided to host their wedding at Le Belvédère and were blessed with the most amazing sunset ceremony. For those who have never visited the location, Le Belvédère is a spectacular cliffside wedding venue located just outside of Ottawa in Wakefield, Quebec. Surrounded by the Gatineau Hills, it’s a popular wedding venue that is known for it’s incredible service and attention to detail. It’s always been one of my favourite venues to photograph weddings at, and this particular day proves why.
The vendors involved in the day
Before I dive into the photographs of the day, I wanted to give a quick shoutout to the amazing team that worked hard to bring this all together. I truly believe weddings are a team sport, and this wedding was certainly no exception:
Photography: Lauren McCormick Photography
Venue: Le Belvédère
Decor: Sage Designs
Music: Oxygen Entertainment
Florist: Sage Designs
Hair: Parla Hair
Makeup: Lyz Plant MUA
Getting Ready and First Look
As you’ll come to notice through their photographs, Lisa and Dan are two of the most wonderful, kind-hearted humans around. They share a love that I truly believe is rare. They are both very in tune with their emotions, and it radiated through them as they lived out their wedding day. Capturing their first look had me (and a few onlookers) in tears.
As Lisa grew up Christian and Dan grew up Jewish, they decided an interfaith wedding was the best way for them to celebrate their wedding. Seeing how they respected one another’s traditions and actively worked to incorporate both religions into their day was one of the most beautiful things I’ve seen.
Portraits and Details
After their first look, I took them down to one of the terraces overlooking the Gatineau Hills for their portraits. It was here that they exchanged letters to one another. We then retreated back to the ceremony backdrop for some wedding party portraits. Followed by some dreamy detail shots inside!
Signing the Ketubah and the Sunset Ceremony at Le Belvédère
Lisa and Dan hosted their wedding in November, which means that we had the nicest light. It also meant that we had pretty limited light to work with. Besides thinking about things from a photography perspective, it was also important to factor in religious components. Having the wedding ceremony take place before sunset was crucial. So we made arrangements to plan around the lighting pretty carefully.
Since this was a mixed faith wedding, the couple wanted to have both a Jewish ceremony and a Christian ceremony. They started by hosting a small “pre-ceremony” signing of the paperwork. Lisa’s father oversaw them signing their marriage liscence, while Dan’s brother oversaw them signing the Ketubah. Both documents were witnessed by their immediate family members only.
Once this took place, they were ready for their outdoor ceremony. And just moments before it was due to start, the sun came out in full force, showering us in warmth and beautiful golden hour light. It was one of the most magical moments I’ve witnessed!
