Ashley & Stewart| Sanctuary Garden Intimate Wedding

June 9, 2016

I get the feeling that while we are all inundated with updates, notifications and endless streams of information, there's a new push for simplicity. It's like all the noise is making us crave a new kind of richness that is only found in simplifying. Which is why I am loving that simplicity is finding it's way into weddings. I see couples who are infusing their day with themselves, making it a reflection of how they truly want to remember their day, instead of how they think they have to do it.

Ashley and Stewart took simplicity to heart, and planned an intimate, family-centered wedding day. It had everything you would expect. Tears, laughter, hugs, boundless joy. I can't express how touched both Tiffany and I were at being involved in such a beautiful day. These two were made for each other. Their kind hearts and loving demeanor will undoubtedly help them navigated all the adventures to come on their path.

Thank you for letting us capture your day you guys. xoxox

Clearly one of the many stupid things I said throughout the day made for a perfect candid moment ;)

Love this setting photo by my second shooter/assistant extrordinaire Tiffany

Vendors:

Hair: JG Hair stylist

Makeup: Bri Stein Artistry

Dress: Maggie Sottero

Suit: Vera Wang

Ceremony Site: Sanctuary Garden

Reception and getting ready: Hotel Eldorado

Flowers: Creations by Mom and Me

image by Rebecca Siewert Photography

WELCOME! I am Katie, a photographer, momma and wife based in Kelowna BC. My love of photography stems from a desire to tell my clients’ stories in a real, honest way. My blog space stems from a love of many things, the good, the bad, the beautiful. I believe life is an adventure and hope you’ll enjoy my thoughts along the way.

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In case you didn't believe me about the whole snowing thing.

Back when we were knotty. Working on winning the lottery so we can all go somewhere hot and laze around and pretend it isn't snowing (because you guys it IS up here in the mountains) and we can also pretend the world isn't a shocking place but is just a big beautiful beach vacation. Who wants to come?

She was my very first friend at school. And 31 years later, I still think it was the best decision I ever made in school. She was definitely around when I made the worst decision which is still up for debate 😏

Some days I look around at my life with all the lovely things and all the roles I've become and I think "whoa I'm really fucking do this life thing" and I'm all passion and gratitude and seizing the day. And other days I feel like I'm in a Groundhog Day of telling my kids they can't do something I know I definitely would have wanted to do at that age, but I am now the destroyer of all things wild and fun and free spirited. And when they ask why not, I want to bend down and look them in the eye and say "I don't know I think that's just what adults say and I somehow turned out to be an adult when I swore up and down it would never happen." And some days I miss being stupid (so stupid) and selfish and smoking and drinking and pretending I would never have to grow up. I miss turning up to a job that didn't require much of me and pondering life's meaning on a beach somewhere with strangers who might become my lifelong friends, but more likely would fade off into the dawn. I miss falling in love every other week (so many heartaches) and thinking the key to life was just avoiding the pitfalls. I miss who I was when I wasn't someone's wife or someone's mom or someone's something but was just trying to figure out who I was in the first place. And then one of my kids grabs my face with both hands and says "can I PLEASE do the totally stupid and not even a little bit safe thing?" And I tell them to put on their damn helmets if they're going to try it. It's a complicated thing wanting to make the world safe and also give your kid the space to be dumb and reckless and feel all those feelings I know you need to feel to get wiser.

Spear fishing in Nicaragua 2012. 6 years later elodie still has the same undies. My mom game is 👌🏽

Sometimes you just need to hit pause. I think that's what it means to have grace. To know when the pause is needed... #kodakfilm

I see you.

When it feels like summer even in September. #outtakes

Sometimes all you need is a tutu to make it a good Monday.

I reached out to @hopeokanagan a while ago, because to be honest I was feeling like I was living in a bubble. I believe in the theory that there is a thread woven between all of us. Maybe you believe in God, or love or the universe. And it's easy to find that thing we believe in, in people like us. People who talk like us, look like us, do the same activities, practice the same principles. It's easy to be open minded when you are opening your mind to minds like your own. But can you find the same connection in people who are different than you? Can you see the mirror of yourself in someone who's life looks vastly different than yours? I think that's what @hopeokanagan is trying to do at its core. It's trying to bridge the gap and meet women in crisis where they are. And these two women are out every week meeting those women with small necessities, a shoulder to lean on, an ear to listen. They and all the other volunteers are putting themselves out there and saying I see you.

You guys.... I haven't really been sharing my work work on here for a bit. But!!! This! This was for one of my absolute favourite companies in Kelowna. @urbanharvestokanagan has been the BEST service I have ever paid for. They are the best and oldest food delivery services in the okanagan. I started ordering their food box when it was just chad and I. And I have been a loyal customer since. Their service has saved my mom brain from imploding on itself. Every week new organic and local produce is delivered to your door, along with other goodies which you can add-on and customize every order. I LOVE the idea of supporting local growers and suppliers but the idea of stopping at 40 different vendors to grocery shop doesn't work for my life. Which is why I am forever grateful for @urbanharvestokanagan. Lisa (the owner) is an incredible woman and has an amazing staff of some of the best humans I've met. They take customer service to the next level. I can't say enough about them and tell all my friends about them when I get a chance. Working with them on this shoot was a dream so I wanted to tell you all about them in this gushy lovenote. If you live in the central okanagan I strongly suggest checking them out.

Faded

During a conversation with my in-laws about the merits of the education system (they are both retired teachers and firm believers in the paved path) chad and I were joking that not going to university worked out for both of us. My father in law turned to me, with a twinkle in his eye, and said "well at least you got your MRS degree" as in at least I married up. 😖 He is one of the kindest men I know and meant it in jest but WHOA did that one take my breath away. And it still does. But why? Why does it feel like a slap in the face when other comments I know to be untrue simply roll off my back? Maybe because somewhere in the shadowy part of my gut, I believe it. Maybe by marrying young, and staying home to raise my kids, while also building up a photography business from scratch and helping chad build his company, I can't really see my own worth. Sometimes it feels like none of those things carry enough weight for me to be "enough" on my own. My autonomy as a woman is somehow muddled by my title as wife and mother. My accomplishments seem less when I have leaned on others for support, than when I have muscled through on will power. Is it any wonder so many women are afraid to reach out? In the thousands of conversations I've had with female clients, friends and entrepreneurs the underlying theme is- I'm not enough. This isn't enough. What I'm choosing to expend my energy on, isn't enough. We are afraid to lift others up for fear of dimming our own brilliance. How F//ked up is that? By having men at our side supporting us, it is somehow a crutch but a woman supporting her man is a strong woman. This story line is exhausting and archaic. There is work to be done in how we see each other's worth and value in the world. ALL of us beings stumbling around the world trying to find our way. But how do we start to see our own worth and shed some of these stories we keep believing in?

I can feel summer slipping away and moments like these make me want to catch it in a jar and stick it on the shelf to gaze upon. Not pictured is the complete and total mess the wild children make when they tear through the morning with open arms.

I use to think parenting was going to be 90% blissful moments Like this. I did not anticipate trying to convince tiny humans that pants are,in fact, pretty necessary most of the time.

Her house, the one she built with my grandpa 50+ years ago, belongs to someone else today. We're in the process of moving out of our house, the first one my husband and I designed and built with our own hands. Do you think your stories soak into the walls and stay hidden there?

There is something so beautiful about the trees in Africa. Something beyond the natural beauty. They are the meeting place for their communities, a reprieve from the sun, a place to take a break and reflect. Beneath them so much life happens. So many connections and resolutions. It got me thinking about the places every community has that are sacred meeting spots. The places we come together to unite. The coffee shops, and sports arenas and hiking paths and churches/temples/mosques. Where are the meeting places that are sacred to you?

Just sitting here trying to figure out something witty and wise and thought provoking to go along with this photo from today, of myself trying to look thought provoking and wise but actually I look hangry. #youwinsomeyoulosesome #selfiefail #myphoneisaniphone4becauseIdroppedmynewoneinthelake

That feeling of the last days of June and the taste of the long stretch of summer ahead of us. Tastes like rocket popsicles with some sand, smells like coconut suntan lotion, sounds like laughing so hard no sound comes out and feels like that moment before the heat comes on and everything’s quiet and no one is telling you what to do. Defining freedom.

If travelling has taught me anything, it’s that our likeness outweighs our differences. Our skin, our culture, our houses may look different but most of us are looking to be seen, to be heard and to feel connected. This image of Hannah preparing the corn kernels for pounding reminds me what I was thinking during our morning together. There she was prepping food for her kids, multi tasking and getting them dressed, fed, thinking about work and I kept thinking “this is what happens in my house in the mornings.” We are different, I have been blessed with privilege and opportunity not afforded to many, but the underlying current of forging our paths and doing our best is there. This print is available for sale.