When someone you love from the wedding industry asks you to document their wedding, you dutifully accept first and then go shit your pants, in that order. Yvan is the co-founder of Exclusive Events, one of our favourite DJ / Emcee combos of all times, and we met when i was shooting my second wedding ever back in 2012. I’ll be the first to admit I still get just as nervous now before a wedding as I did during my first year of shooting, but there is just something extra nerve-wracking when shooting for someone who has worked with countless other talents in the business.
From our first encounter, we hit it off so well and have since kept in touch and updated each other on life’s happenings. We were one of the firsts to hear about Tatiana, his love conquest whom he knew he wanted to marry right away. We had only met Tatiana once through Skype, but completely saw and understood why he loved her so much. She has the most sincere and heartfelt smile that matched her soul, we knew right then and there that we could not wait to photograph this beautiful person marrying our friend.
We love couples who change things up and do things their own way. A day before their wedding, Tatiana and Yvan held a secret ceremony to exchange their vows in the Old Port of Montreal, just the two of them. It was so special and personal, a moment we feel privileged to have been invited to share with them. On their wedding day before the ceremony, they had a first look, another little private frame in time to savour every little moment together before officially becoming husband and wife. When it comes to the topic of first looks, we always get worried that it will take away from the couple seeing each other at the ceremony, but not for these two. Tatiana and Yvan made our job so easy for us. One of the biggest challenge we face as photographers is the daunting task of capturing the fleeting moments that passes you by in a heartbeat, but Tatiana and Yvan were that couple who lovingly gazed into each other’s eyes, who held onto every hug and lingered with every kiss. They were the perfect subject a photographer could ever ask for.
We can’t pinpoint exactly what it was we loved so much about this wedding, perhaps it was everyone’s uplifting energy, or maybe the unlimited sushi served during cocktail (yum!) followed by a never-ending meal (double yum! it seriously never ended!) or perhaps it was their guests dying need to party as if it were 1999. To be honest it was probably a combination of everything, triumphed by the amount of love everyone showed for Tatiana and Yvan. But what really tugged at my heart was just how sweet and attentive Yvan was to his bride. You can see it in the way he cares for her as if she was the only thing in the world.
After years of watching him enthusiastically post photos of his view from the DJ booth for the weddings he was entertaining, some of which we were right there working alongside him, it felt exceptionally exclusive to be chosen to capture his wedding. See what i did here?
Yvan, we are humbled to have been there to share in your joy in marrying Tatiana. Your love is inspiring and we are so happy to call you our friends. We wish you both a lifetime of happiness, xo
