Trinity Church London Ontario Wedding Photography
Why did you choose Woodgate Photography?
So as you know, our particular situation is interesting as we were supposed to have another photographer originally. When we first found out she was not available we were pretty upset, however we understood. Thus commencing the hunt for a new person to capture our day, that is when I stumbled upon your page on FB. I noticed that you had photographed our friends Craig and Michelle’s gender announcement and family photos and I fell in love with your work. I loved how beautiful and real all of your wedding photos were and how awesome of a person you looked. But, from the moment that we started talking to you over zoom during lockdown we both knew you were the right person to photograph our wedding. I’m so glad we made that decision.
- How we met is actually an interesting story. We both attended the same high school, John Paul II, and knew of each other. We had many of the same friends but never had been at the right place at the right time. There was a couple of nights out with friends where Josh drove my friends and I to our friends house and even had a glowstick fight in our friends basement. But nothing more ever clicked, until.. We rekindled though one of those mutual friends when we were in our bar scene years and just hit it off. Big thank you actually goes to Kari’s bridesmaid Alyssa for convincing me that the girl I was looking for was dancing on stage at the bar. Needless to say that Josh’s sweet dance moves were pretty hard to ignore, and once I got down off the stage and we started talking things just went so perfectly and well here we are today.
- When I first saw Josh, and I mean actually seen him once talking to our friend Alyssa, my first thought was wow, he’s really handsome, he’s got dark hair and a bit of scruff (at the time lol), but the biggest thing I noticed is that he has the kindest eyes I have ever seen. I just instantly felt so comfortable around this man I barely knew and felt like I could talk to him all night. From that moment on and until this day actually I still look in his eyes and see this connection we had from the beginning and I adore him. With regards to seeing Kari for the first time, the one thing I remember the most was “wow this girl can really move.” She was tearing up the dance floor in her vibrant red hair and her floral pattern shirt and didn’t have a care in the world. Once I finally got a chance to catch her off the dance floor I knew that I had one chance to sweep this beautiful woman off her feet and looking back I’m so happy I did because that night, I found my one and only, my soulmate.
- Our proposal story is a little unique, as it comes 6 ½ years after dating and basically already being married, plus living together for almost 5 years. So, for years Josh and I would attend concerts and we really just loved to listen to live music. I feel very passionate about music, and actually one of my favorite bands is Theory of a Deadman. I knew instantly when concert tickets came on sale that we needed to go, little did I know what Josh had planned. The crazy man actually proposed during the concert in front of tons of strangers and had given his phone to some random person while he got down on one knee. Luckily this lovely lady did not steal his phone and was surprisingly crying with happiness for us after. We actually got some pretty awesome photos of it all and a video I keep watching back, haha. We also go a shout out by theory which is amazing, did not expect that! Ironically though, before all this we had gone to the mall a few times prior and he thought he was being so smooth when we just so happen across places like peoples and he thought we should go in and “window shop” I knew something was up. So I guess you could say that it wasn’t surprising, but it didn’t change how special he made me feel in the moment.
- Despite Josh being such a good cook, we love to go out and treat ourselves to some of our favorite restaurants and find new ones to love along the way. Sitting across the table from each other, waiting for our food to come and just chatting about our day or future plans is some of both of our favorite past times. It’s nice to have good connected memories to all of these places for not only good food but also great company. Besides eating food, we have never shy’d away from a good concert or a movies date. Kari isn’t the biggest fan of watching movies so when I can get her to agree to go see one it makes me happy. Also, Kari is definitely the more sporty one out of the two of us, so when we go downtown and attempt ice skating is quite memorable since no matter how many times I tell Kari I cant skate, I try and try again hoping, one day we could skate the ice trail in story book gardens without me falling on my tushy. Overall, we just love spending time with eachother, our friends and family.
- When Josh and I try to talk to eachother about how we feel we seem to have an issue expressing our emotions and it typically turns into a joking, laughing fit. But that is exactly why I love him, and why I’m assuming he loves me. I absolutely love how kind he is and how his one goal is to make me laugh and feel happy daily. I think he has succeeded. In my life I have had a lot of hardships and the one thing I can count on is that Josh is always there to make me smile and feel better about the situation I’m facing. He understands me, does not judge me when I do not have it all together and supports me through every difficult time I have gone through in the last 9 years. I love how positive he is about every situation, even when I’m anxious and feel like my life is hitting rock bottom he is always there to pick me back up. Josh knows that one of my biggest love languages is acts of service and I love how he is there to help me around the house or to fix the things I break and he truly understands how much those small things mean to me. I could go on forever but I love most about him is how much he loves and cares for everyone else, including strangers. He is empathetic, non-judgemental and compassionate with everyone he meets. He makes me a better person. When I spend time with Kari, it’s not just spending time with someone you love but spending time with a person to whom you couldn’t ever imagine ever living without another moment. Someone who is your entire world and who you would give everything for and do anything for. Spending time with an individual that you wish to be as much a part of them as the breath within their lungs. I don’t need to have a fancy car or some huge house to be happy, all I need is her in my life. She brings me calm and peace in a life that is so hectic and crazy. Her compassion for others along with her pure heart are one of the many traits that love about her. I only wish that when we start our family together that our children, boy or girl, will share that same pure heart. When it comes to humor, she gets my crazy jokes and sometimes I cant tell if she is laughing at me or with me but all in all just seeing that beautiful smile and hearing her adorable laugh are all worth it.
- When we think about our wedding day and how our friends and family are going to see us we truly hope they just see us. We want them to see the happiness and love we have for eachother, but we also want them to see the vulnerability we have and despite all the difficulties we have had as a couple that even we can be happy and have our ever after. Our family and friends know how long this wedding has been in the making for us and ultimately want them to be super excited that we are finally getting married. On the aesthetic side of things, we both love autumn and we want that to reflect in our wedding day. Something about the leaves changing, the temperature getting colder and everything feeling cozier makes us (especially Kari) happy. We want everyone to feel like they are having a family get together, with a lot more people of course, but we ultimately want them to feel happy, relaxed and just enjoy the evening with us.
- josh and I bought our house this year and immediately when we moved in we knew where we wanted to hang our wedding photos. When you walk into our living room there is a small wall that is perfect to have a banquet table and a plant or even a Christmas tree during the holiday. Above the table there is just the right amount of wall space to hang some photos and a mirror. Right now we have some of our older photos but we cannot wait to hang up our wedding photos one day soon! We also want to display our wedding photos in other rooms such as the hallway and in our bedroom, this way we can be reminded of the amazing day for years to come.
- Any wedding planning advice?
If we could give any advise to anyone planning a wedding, we would both say to not stress the little stuff and remember that at the end of the day it is about you and your spouse that are getting married. ALSO.. do not buy a house and get married in one year haha.
The vendor team-
Reception and possible ceremony, also caterer & bartender: Trinity Church, contact name Nancy Mcsloy – she will be coordinating the reception the day of
DJ /officiant: Derek Schwartzentruber. One of his team members will be djing our ceremony and then Derek will take over for the reception.
Cake/donuts: Spicers bakery
Wedding dress: opportunity bridal, alterations by Bree McQueen
Bridesmaids dresses: David’s bridal
Suits: Moores
Wedding rings: Peoples (vera wang), etsy for Josh (ringsbylux)
Transportation: dorchestor limo
Invitation suite: vista print
Rentals: raymond brothers tents and awnings
