Strathmere Destination Wedding » Steve and Daphne

I first met Steve and Daphne at Sharon and Peter’s Waring House wedding in 2016 and I was so excited when they contacted me to photograph their destination wedding in the Ottawa area. You may remember that I did their engagement at Queen’s University, since that is where they met!

The location for their Ottawa wedding was the stunning Strathmere, which is located about 40 minutes south of Ottawa. It is an amazing outdoor/indoor wedding venue and has a great variety of options based on the amount of guests. There are accommodations on site which provides easy access for guests as well. Since the wedding took place over Thanksgiving weekend, the leaves were starting to change (a bit late due to the late September heat wave) and Steve and Daphne included fall elements for their decor. The small maple syrup bottle as a gift was too cute!

The ceremony was held outside in a gorgeous courtyard next to the garden house and I couldn’t imagine a more perfect spot for Steve and Daphne to share their vows.  I must say, this outdoor Ottawa wedding ceremony had one of the widest emotional ranges I’ve seen! There was laughter, tears, puns and heartfelt emotion. My favourite image from the outdoor ceremony is definitely the one when they were we’re reaching for tissues at the same time! These genuine moments are my favourite and as a photographer, I loved the symmetry! The ceremony concluded with a gorgeous song sang by a relative and Daphne wearing out her Queen’s tartan for the processional.

For the bridal party photographs, we did not have to venture far because Strathmere has tons of beautiful outdoor spaces that can be used for photographs. We stuck to the more traditional arch and fountain for the whole group photographs and made our way to the tree covered lane way for some photographs of Steve and Daphne alone. Strathmere’s attention to detail really showed when they went out of their way to bring them appetizers during our photo session. Steve had been quite ill and the hand-delivered appetizers was the first time he had eaten in while! Him biting into the burger is one of my favourite moment-driven photographs of the day. My other favourite images of the two of them were when we went into a giant empty field. I am so glad that Steve and Daphne trusted my vision while they were walking through the grass, because the evening light against a dark cloudy background was so dreamy!

The reception kicked off with their first dance outside in the courtyard. They have a super romantic story about one of their early dates that involved them slow dancing under the stars while camping, so this outdoor first dance was perfect. We revisited the courtyard close to the end of the night once the party got started! You’ll notice that Daphne’s traditional red dress made an appearance and her grandfather’s expression when he saw her brought tears to my eyes. The whole celebration was a blast!

If you’re thinking of a destination wedding, there are so many beautiful options in Ontario! Steve and daphne wanted a location big enough for their family and friends, so Strathmere was perfect for their outdoor Ottawa wedding. Your destination wedding could be as big or as small as you wish! The main thing is that you and your partner get to celebrate in a way that makes the most sense for your relationship. I absolutely love photographing destination weddings, and Steve and Daphne are a perfect example of how your vision can come to life in a location outside of your hometown!