July | 2016 | Emily Beatty Imagery

One hot July day in 2016, two souls were joined in marriage as a plethora of guests from all corners of the globe looked on. After Emily and Patrick’s heartfelt church ceremony, their friends, family, and small wedding party headed for Victoria Park Pavilion in Kitchener where a massive celebration would soon be underway. After the nuptials, the sky opened up for a terrific thunderstorm, but luckily by that point the party had been safely relocated to the Pavilion and dinner was underway.

With many of the groom’s Irish family in attendance, a very green theme made perfect sense for Emily and Pat’s wedding reception. There was plenty of good food and drink on hand as guests took in all the thoughtful little touches that reflected both Emily and Patrick and their mutual loves. From shamrock sugar cookies to family heirlooms and wee bunny rabbit decorations in honour of their pet, Simon, there were plenty of unique things to behold at this wedding.

Then there was the photo wall! After plenty of discussions over the past year, Emily and I agreed that I would attend their reception and photograph some key details of speeches and decor, but my main job would be to create a totally unique customized photo wall that would contribute to their green, green and more green theme. In the end I painted an abstract botanical pattern for the main backdrop, and accented it with handmade giant paper succulents. By setting up a freestanding photo wall on the stage at the Victoria Park Pavilion the day before, I was able to simply walk on set and start photographing the guests the evening of the wedding. As an added bonus for the happy couple, the custom photo backdrop provided extra ambiance to the venue throughout their whole reception.

As usual, the guests took to the photo wall like ducks to water and before long I found myself sorting through hundreds of hilarious group shots. Here are a bunch of my favourites. Emily and Patrick, I hope that as the years stretch on you and all of your friends and family get a real kick out of reliving your fantastic wedding celebration through these images.