Shelby's Pond Wedding| Farhana and James

Farhana and James win for the hottest wedding of the year. I don't think Ive ever been so sweaty in my entire life. With the forrest fires in BC the smoke had drifted into the Fraser valley creating a blanket in the sky trapping the late summer heat. Originally the two of them planned to have their wedding on a private property but with Farhana having such a large family they decided to change locations and booked Shelby's Pond in Chillliwack. They were drawn to the venue for the space along with the mountains the surrounded the property.

The week before the wedding was a bit of a whirl wind for the couple. Farhana had tested positive with covid raising us all to start leaning towards alternative plans. We all thought the nuisance of covid was over but here we were again, planning for the worst case scenario. We were as supportive as we could for the couple, willing to mask up or even post pone if necessary. I did hear rumour that James slept in his moms backyard in a hammock since he was still testing negative and symptom free, he wanted to mitigate the risk of spread. The day before the ceremony it was decided that since Farhana was feeling better the ceremony would still go on with masks and strict social distancing. With a little luck on everyone side Farhana and James both tested negative the morning of the wedding so all plans were back on!!

They decided not to have an official wedding party and instead invited all of their friends for photos before the ceremony started. There was no set colour scheme or dress style and yet their smiles and love for the couple was cohesive enough to make their photos shine. Their wedding was a blend of cultures and family coming together. Their ceremony started with a Ismaili muslim traditional ceremony which Farhana's cousin MC'd explaining what each part of the ceremony was to everyone. This was a real treat for us as we typical shoot westernized weddings and love to experience new things. Once the Ismaili Muslim ceremony was complete it was followed with a vow ceremony that Jame'sfriend conducted utilizing the speech from the Princess bride skipping out on the lisp yet some how I and many others still managed to hear.

After the ceremony we escaped to the shade in attempt to minimize our sweatyness. Before every wedding we make sure to go over a family list with our couples. This makes sure that no one gets forgotten but also gives us a chance to set the order to maximize efficiency. Farhana has a very large family and all of the aunties, uncles and cousins were included. Amazingly everyone cooperated and we got them all done and back to the cocktail hour within 30 minutes. We migrated from shady spot to shady spot admiring all the spots at Shelby's Pond.

When it was time for the reception we returned and Farhana and James participated in more of the Ismaili Muslim traditions. Traditionally the Groom's mother leads the ceremonies. Jame's mom with the help of Farhana's mom did a fantastic job. Once again this was such a treat to witness. We thoroughly enjoy learning about other cultures and traditions. Everyone took a break for dinner and then the speeches began. The families started off sharing stories and well wishes to the happy couple. We all took a dessert break and also took a few minutes to catch the golden hour. The owner of Shelby's Pond let us into the back field with the horses. With the sun setting mixed with the smoke it gave us what looked like a painted sky of reds and oranges. Even though Farhana really wanted to see the mountains this was a gorgeous alternative. Their friends finished off the speeches enlightening us on some funny stories finalizing with one of Jame's band mates sharing a drunken voicemail that he had left with the idea for a song. This story transitioned perfectly for them to share their first dance. The song was played by Jame's band Best Night Ever Band, which he had written a song for them to dance to. The evening continued and Jame's jumped in with his mates playing a concert for all of their guests. The evening ended for us with a special request from Farhana. Early she talked about ho she wanted to jump on the trampoline and of course we were all over that. When we couldn't fit it in earlier in the day plus it was way too hot, we decided it would be fun to attempt some photos in the dark and let's just say they are some of our favourites!

Venue: Shelby's Pond

Band: Best Night Ever