Havin' a Time, B'y (That Newfie Wedding ~ Part I)

East of Nova Scotia, in a timezone all it's own, a large rock juts out of the Atlantic Ocean. It's inhabited by the most friendly, easy-going bunch of people you could ever hope to meet en masse. They speak a dialect so far gone from English that it's practically a language all it's own. They're Newfoundlanders: they work hard, they play hard, and when they have something to celebrate, well, it's guaranteed to be one hell of a good time.

At the end of July, 2013, I found myself in Port Au Port, Newfoundland, where indeed there was something to celebrate. Tammy and Trenton were getting married, but first: preparation, Newfie-style.

We arrived at the Deer Lake Airport to a glorious welcome from Mother Nature herself.

After a two hour drive to Port Au Port, we hit the ground running with a good old fashioned campfire and beer courtesy of the parents of the bride.

 Friday afternoon brought on a different kind of campfire; a homestyle barbeque replaced a 'proper' sit-down rehearsal dinner, where there was plenty of food...

...and maybe a little bit of THIS:

Day: 2. Campfire: 2.

Family fun for everyone!

 After dinner, we all headed to the church for rehearsal, drove to the hall to investigate the decorations, and then called it an early night so we could get some sleep before the chaos of the actual wedding day was upon us.

Tammy and Trenton (That Newfie Wedding ~ Part II)

After days of rain, Saturday, July 27, 2013 was only slightly overcast and humid. I had put in my bid to the weather gods for some blue sky and puffy white clouds, and I assured Tammy and Trenton that the gods would deliver as usual. 

My morning started exactly as I had planned: camera in hand, and a hunt for wedding props that could be photographed as the hectic chaos of the day began. I was lucky to be able to hide myself away from the others, who occupied themselves steaming bridesmaid dresses and finding the right number of pocket squares so I could get these:

 Before long, we were heading to the salon, where we met up with the rest of the bridal party for some hair and makeup girl time.

 Tammy's little check-in with the groom to remind him of just how much of a great wife-to-be she was:

And then back to her parents' to finish getting ready.

 The ceremony took place at Maria Regina Church in East Port Au Port. It was ridiculously hot, to the point where even the minister made a crack about the temperature. It didn't stifle anyone's spirit though, and there was still no rain. The ceremony went off without a hitch.

Alright, so there was on hitch: these two!

Parking spots, as the rest of the world know them, mean nothing in Newfoundland.

And we made it all the way through family photos and on to the beach for the formal shots with barely a spot of rain! Check out those *cough* PUFFY WHITE CLOUDS, that so nicely brought out the socks of the second groomsman from the left. I won't even bother with a comment here: I'm pretty sure he heard enough that day to remind him to never ever again wear white socks with this black pants and shoes!

 

Introducing the groomsmen, who we lovingly came to refer to as The Newfoundland Olympic Wrestling Team. These guys were such good sports, and this is one of my favorite wedding photos I ever shot.

The ladies were quite pro themselves, strutting their stuff like runway models and mastering the art of looking hot!

 The reception was held at "the club", more formally known as the Viking Lounge. What we walked in to, however, was like no other lounge I had ever seen. The decorations were absolutely out of this world!

 There was dinner and wine,

 some fantastic speeches from the wedding party,

and the traditional first dance as husband and wife.

The boots were put on,

the garter removed,

and then things got a whole lot of.... Newfie.

Most d.j.'s will play until midnight or 1:00 a.m. On this night, the d.j. was paid to stick around until 4 in the morning. When four rolled around, so many people were still on the dance floor that he just kept going... and so did they! 

I can remember the moment both the best man and the father of the bride brought me a drink, one after the other. I drank them both. It might've been at the same time. Then, at the behest of the groom, I changed out of my 'professional' outfit, put away my camera, and broke my own cardinal rule: I enjoyed the rest of the night and into the morning as a wedding guest.