Stormy Backyard Wedding

This was one of my favorite weddings to date. One of the most difficult to photograph, for reasons I’ll explain in a bit, but one of the most fulfilling. Tyler & Amanda had been planning their backyard wedding for what seems like forever. It was all Amanda had ever wanted, and they have a gorgeous view from their backyard on the top of Sumas Mountain.

The wedding was set for August, which generally comes with nice weather here in the PNW. Little did they know, that they would wake up to the worst storm the Lower Mainland had seen in a very long time. And the repercussions of that weather affected every. little. detail. they had painstakingly crafted for their big day.
I showed up before the weather really got going. We hung out upstairs for hair and makeup, and despite the weather predictions, Amanda was in great spirits. I love this photo!! You can just feel the emotioN.

The drama started with the giant tents they had rented to cover the ceremony. They had been watching the weather, and knew they weren’t going to get the sunny ceremony they had originally envisioned, so they hired a company to come and set them up. Once the wind picked up, the tents literally lifted off the ground, and would have blown into the neighbor’s home it it hadn’t been for the line of trees bordering the two properties. We heard someone scream from the backyard, so we quickly went over to the window to see what was going on.

Amanda doing some documenting of her own.

A bunch of the cute mason jars that were prepared to go as table centerpieces once the reception was to be set up were blown off the tables and smashed to smithereens.

But this girl kept calm through all of it. I can’t get over how composed she stayed all day!!! Girl after my own heart.

Tyler and the guys were getting ready at a separate location in Abbotsford, and because of all the trees across the road, could hardly make it back to the house!!

These two got married, outdoors, during the worst windstorm I’ve ever seen. But they were able to let it go and enjoy the day despite all the craziness!