Rainy Day Tent Wedding

As a loose rule, we tend to favour weddings that are a bit outside-the-box or in a location we hadn’t yet visited.  Kallen & Tom’s rainy day tent wedding at her family’s summer home in La Malbaie, Quebec was just one of these weddings.

With blue skies and plenty of sunshine warming our moods, we made the long drive up the Rivière St-Lawrence north of Quebec City the day before the event. We left a little early so that we could photograph the rehearsal dinner -taking place that very night – and take in the sights along the hilly topography.  The next day – the day of the wedding – though, the weather seemingly turned against us with the skies darkening and delivering a rainy day the likes of which was extra-sopping, even for the unseasonably wet summer we’ve received here in eastern-Canada. Mother Nature’s unpredictable mood-swing would send most people into a panic – to have a tent wedding in the pouring rain isn’t the dream-wedding most would envision – but with the incredible planning by Kim (KA Mariage), the day was completely smooth sailing and actually even more distinctive than it would have already been had the weather been fair.

Almost counter-intuitively, bad weather has become our favourite to photograph in (blizzards notwithstanding, as we learned on one New Year’s even when our auto-focus froze at minus 40 degrees).  Everyone reacts a little more expressively when it starts pouring; from worrying to giggling, from panic to joy. It’s actually quite a gift to a photographer to receive such candid variety, even if the preference by most would be a warm and dry afternoon.  The atmosphere was indeed something out of a Jane Austen novel or Annie Leibovitz editorial… and the post-rain fog along with dramatic sky… we could not have art-directed it any better with unlimited resources and budget.

The wedding and reception location, a private estate just outside of La Malbaie, was symbolic to Kallen & Tom as well; not only is this where they became engaged, the bride had spent much of her childhood in this quaint Quebec town, her family’s summer home is atop a rolling hill, with views of the St. Lawrence below.

Completely un-phased by the forces of nature, Kallen & Tom were ever-so present in each and every moment of the day. When the rain eased and the skies began to clear later on, their celebration was punctuated by a delightful fireworks display under the glow of the moon.

PHOTOGRAPHY Joel + Justyna; PLANNING + DESIGN Kim Ahonoukoun, KA Mariage; VIDEO Villaview Cinema; MUSIC Three’s Company Band; FLORALS Yves ChenierLIGHTING AND SOUND ContakAV; CATERING Olive Orange;  TENT Chapiteau Fiesta; RENTALS Joe’s Prop House & Sofa To Go; DECOR RENTALS Tenue de Soiree

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