SNAPSHOT: Jessica & Cody's Lakeside Wedding in Kingston

When Jessica and Cody first reached out to me about photographing their wedding, there was an entirely different date and location. They knew that there was a chance that their wedding day might have to shift because of Cody’s work and sure enough, he had to move temporarily to Hawaii. Obviously there are worse places to be, but it meant changing plans again after they thought that they were in the clear from Covid times (and not to mention being away from Jessica and their little one!).

What was initially supposed to be a wedding in Prince Edward County turned into a wedding at the Royal Military College in Kingston. I was able to make the date change work just fine and being a Prince Edward County photographer, weddings in Kingston are no sweat. The Officer’s mess hosted both the ceremony outdoors by the lake and the reception indoors. The venue has a very traditional feel to it, though there is plenty of potential for personalization, which is exactly what Jessica and Cody did.

Jessica was keen to have some photos of her and her daughter getting ready, so I paid them a visit after arriving and found her crew very relaxed. There was optimism that we might be able to get a photo of Jessica’s daughter in her dress, but she was having none of it. Of course, as a documentary style wedding photographer, I couldn’t help but snap some shots of the effort anyways.

Cody was essentially dressed already when I arrived and was greeting guests at the door. His groomsmen were all too happy to oblige when I asked them to straighten out his tie, etc. Once guests were present, Jessica helped her daughter, P., into her own dress before sliding into dress and having her bridesmaids button her up.

Cody, his groomsmen and the guests made their way outside to their seats and were in eager anticipation for Jessica’s entrance alongside her dad. Their kiddo was the first to rush down the aisle and met her dad at the front before finding a seat in the first row. Wedding party followed, before Jessica stepped out with her dad looking absolutely stunning.

A strong wind was starting to kick up, but the ceremony managed to dodge most of that. (It made photos afterwards a little tricky, but we found some cover among the trees.) The ceremony was largely formal in nature, though P. made sure that people were not taking things too seriously, as she handed out flowers, snuggled her parents and danced around playfully. As a parent of two little ones myself, it’s exactly as anyone would expect.

As I mentioned, the wind made things tricky, but we were efficient next to the lake during couples photos and group photos. We moved inside soon after and joined the guests as they mingled ahead of dinner in the Officer’s Mess. A buffet-style dinner was followed by the cutting of the cake. There was a nice moment for all to enjoy the cake with some coffee before the couple took to the floor for a first dance. As Jessica and Cody held each other, kids playfully ran around the dance floor. Some couples choose not to invite kids for this reason, as their vision for a perfect wedding day does not include little ones taking attention away from the couple. Others, however, embrace the youthful energy and playful nature of kids at a wedding. I could not have imagined Jessica and Cody’s wedding any other way.