The Knox Wedding
Nicola and Ben | a wedding at the knox in merrickville, on
It’s no secret that The Knox is one of my all-time favourite wedding venues in the Ottawa area. Tucked away in Merrickville – a small town south of Ottawa – the venue is actually an old church that has been restored by Michelle and Matt, the owners. With giant gothic windows and a spectacularly minimalist space, this venue is everything you could ever want for an intimate wedding. And not to mention, Michelle and Matt are two of the best humans I know.
When Nicola and Ben reached out to me and told me about their wedding day, I nearly fell over with excitement. Not only are they two of the world’s sweetest humans, they also had a vision that embodied everything I love about weddings. They wanted a stress-free, adventurous, emotion-filled day surrounded by their closest people. Can you get any better than that?! And their day ended up being exactly that: it was perfect.
I’m going to share a little more about Nicola and Ben’s story with you, interview-style. In their own words:
"How did you two meet?"
“Honestly it kind of just happened! We are both involved in the Ottawa cycling community and we had a ton of mutual friends and would see each other at local races and events. We had been introduced by friends and gradually started going on rides together and spending more time together both on and off our bikes. Eventually the relationship just changed, and I (Nicola) was hesitant because I didn’t want to screw it up and lose my best friend. I remember talking to one of our mutual friends, telling him I was nervous, and him just saying to me ‘that boy is in love with you, go get him’. That was the best advice ever.”
"How did you get engaged or decide to get married?"
“We had been talking about it for a while and joking that buying a house together and committing to a 25 year mortgage was more daunting than the idea of getting married.
Ben and I went mountain biking Nov 1st, 2020 and before we started riding, it started raining. We agreed to still ride, but that if it started to downpour we would just turn around. We set out and were having a good time until this one long climb, he just rode away from me. Usually he is good at gauging my effort and riding at my level. He completely dropped me and left me to dig deep up the climb to try to keep up to him. I was wet from the rain and not super impressed that I was now having to ride alone.
When I got the top of the climb, he was there waiting for me and I was breathing heavy. He gave me a second to compose myself and asked if I had caught my breath. When I said I had, he pulled a ring out from his pocket and got down on one knee and asked me to marry him. I, of course, bawled and sat on the ground hugging him and said yes! We still had to ride back to the car and I was so shaky and excited on the way down the trail it was actually kind of scary to ride haha!”
And here is the list of local Ottawa and Merrickville vendors who worked hard to bring this day together:
vendor team:
Photography: Lauren McCormick Photography
Venue: The Knox Wedding and Event Venue
Officiant: The Ceremony Company
Music: Duo D’Amore on Cello
Florals: DIY by the bride
Omg such a lovely day!! The Knox looks like the perfect venue to get married at! You captured them and their day so wonderfully!
That is not what I expected the interior of that building to look like! I love how modern & bright the space is while still preserving that cozy historic feel. Also – their first look is the sweetest! You captured the day so well.
Beautiful quaint little venue that makes for stunning photos! Beautiful work!
Such a beautiful venue! Love the photos of their beautiful day – you really feel their sweet personalities in them. Bravo to a job well done!!
Love how you captured this Knox wedding! The moments, the soft light, and the beautiful architecture…absolutely gorgeous!!
These are stuuuuunning. What a beautiful day and you captured it so so well. Really well done.
These are stuuuuunning. What a beautiful day and you captured it so so well. Really well done.
Small weddings with family and a few friends are simply the best! Love the way you capture this day and all of the emotion in each photo.
That first series of outdoor photos is so beautiful and whimsical! Also, what a cute venue and I love your clean style!
WOW!! I love old buildings and love when they are restored too. The Knox is so beautiful! I love all the details of this day and all the candid moments you captured!