Banff Wedding Photographer
The Fairmont Banff Springs Hotel – Ivor Petrak Room
Wedding Vendors
Venue – Fairmont Banff Springs, Ivor Petrak Room
Coordination – Something New Weddings Banff
HMUA – Lilies and Lace Beauty Co
Florals – The Prairie Willow Co
Dress – Novelle Bridal
Designer – Watters
Bridesmaids’ Dresses – Birdy Grey
Suit – Indochino
Rentals – Rustic Ties Wedding Rentals & River City Events
DJ – Denen Stembridge
Transportation – AM/PM Limousine
Photobooth/Audio Guestbook – Olive Booth
Cake – Rachel’s Cakes
Rings – Spence Diamonds
A Note from the Photographer
S & J live out of town so our first meeting was of the video type.
Thing is, they also work in a whole other town and they hadn’t quite made it back home by the time our call was scheduled for. Instead of postponing, they just went with it, found a parking lot, and hit dial.
It was evening time—and dark out—so their only glow-up tool was the very glamorous light above their heads in the car.
So I couldn’t exactly see what they looked like, but I absolutely could tell who they were, and that we were the perfect kind of pairing.
I knew we were going to be able to roll with just about anything.
Which is exactly what happened when the weather turned to wet snow and very limited visibility in the mountains on their wedding day. We rolled with it and had a limo party and more time for editorial portraits in a literal castle.
Oh yes, they also asked for a ton of editorial portraits and I was right there for it!
Your theme “Long Live the Kings” was a big deciding factor in choosing your venue and decor style. Did the Fairmont Banff Springs deliver?
“Absolutely, we could not have felt more royal than we did that day. They couldn’t write fairy tales better than this. For a day, it felt like we owned the castle.”
What was your favourite part of your wedding day — if you can even pick one?
“Everything about our wedding day was perfect. But if we had to pick one, our favourite memory of the day happened to be the part of the day that went off script, the limo ride. Although being the one event of the day that didn’t go as planned, we are so happy it happened. Initially, we had planned on taking the limo out to a few outdoor spots to take photos. With the weather being snowy and wet that day, we opted on having a mini celebration in the limo with our wedding party instead, since we had the limo booked out for that time anyways. In that moment it felt like time froze, and we didn’t have to think about what time it was or where we were going, or what was next on the schedule. We just got to be in the moment. It was our own private party with energy and laughter that could not be topped. It set the stage for an energy that carried on for the rest of the evening. It didn’t feel rehearsed or forced, just an authentic moment with our favourite people.”
What would your advice be for other couples who are thinking about having their ceremony and reception on different days?
“Do it! It’s not conventional, sure, but it was the perfect balance. We technically got two weddings without paying for two weddings. We had an intimate and family-focused ceremony to celebrate our families coming together but still got to have an extravagant celebration with all our close friends who watched us grow as a couple. It made the day far more enjoyable and less stressful because we had all that extra time during the day and weren’t on as tight of a schedule. It made for more lively guests since they didn’t have to wake up early, drive out to Banff, and stick around the venue all day. And it was exciting for us as a couple because we spent the entire day taking photos and having fun with our wedding party but then by 5pm we were just getting started when we finally got to make our entrance and see our guests for the first time. It also gave us some flexibility as we wanted to keep our wedding small. We were able to fulfill our quality time with our families for the ceremony and for the reception we were able to focus on our friends. We would commonly hear from other couples that they were hardly able to get around to all their guests at their reception but splitting up our time allowed us to have a moment with every single person we invited.”
Can you tell us about the poems and quotes that were on the tables?
“We wanted every detail on our wedding day to represent us. Something truly tailored to who we are and that wasn’t replicated in every wedding. Since it was a smaller wedding, everybody there knew us on deep personal levels. They know who we are and what we love, and we couldn’t think of having a wedding without our personal stamp all over it. Jordan’s love for golf had to be incorporated somehow so we made a little putting game with prizes for our guests to take home as a keepsake to remember the day. And Sarah’s love for poetry had to be sprinkled in there as well with poem stickers on every table for guests to read, fall in love with, and take home with them.”
Some of their favourites coming your way. Keep reading…
“I’ll run out of paper long before I run out of words to write about you”
– William C. Hannan
“If I did anything right in my life, it was when I gave my heart to you”
– Unknown
“No matter how many miles divide us, I am at peace knowing my roads will eventually meet yours, as long as I keep driving”
– Jessica Katoff
“We were together, I forgot the rest”
– Walt Whitman
“When I saw you I fell in love, and you smiled because you knew”
– William Shakespeare
“You said ‘us’ and in that moment, I knew words were magic”
– K. Towne Jr.
“We are so happy fate brought you to us. We could not have picked a better person to capture our day. You were perfect for us, not only as a photographer, but your personality and energy were everything we could have hoped for and more.” Sarah & Jordan
Valerie Richer Photography 
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