Ernie Flaming's Memorial: Personal

On August 4, 2012, Steve's uncle, Ernie Flaming, passed away suddenly at the age of 50.  He left behind his wife, son, 2 daughters, and son in law.  We attended his funeral on August 15, 2012.

I contemplated whether I would post a couple photos... I know they're not the usual type of photos I take.  We take photos at births, baptisms, graduations, and weddings... all events that hold special memories.  A funeral is also time of remembrance and celebration of life, although it's sad compared to the other events.  It's a key moment in any family's history and another chapter in our lives that we pass through.

A few years back, my husband's grandfather passed away and I was asked if I would take photos at the funeral.  Right away I felt really apprehensive about it and instinctively I would have left my camera at home.  I know a lot of people think it's intrusive and taboo to take photos at a funeral, but both sides of our families (my husband's and mine) have a Mennonite background where it's quite common to take photos at funerals.  So I did it... and it was really uncomfortable at first, but then I realized as I documented the day, how beautiful a memorial/funeral really is.  It's a sad beautiful, but a time of mourning, remembering and celebrating someone's life.  The following year I took photos at my grandmother's funeral.

For Christian families, a funeral isn't just sad, it's a time of remembrance and a celebration of life.  Family and friends get together to remember loved ones, share memories and stories and it's an honor to capture those moments where family is loving on each other and celebrating someone special to them.

This is exactly how the funeral for our uncle Ernie went.  Family and friends shared stories and fond memories they had of him.  It was great to learn more about how he impacted others and touched many people's lives during his life.  He will definitely be missed by many, but not forgotten.

So I am sharing a couple photos from the graveside service.  This is the time where many family and close friends took time to say goodbye, remember and celebrate the life of Ernie Flaming.  The burial and graveside service took place at the Mennonite Cemetery in Abbotsford, BC, followed by the memorial service at King Road MB Church and a reception at Bakerview Church.  

There is a time for everything, and a season for every activity under heaven;

a time to be born and a time to die,

a time to plany and a time to uproot,

a time to kill and a time to heal,

a time to tear down and a time to build,

a time to weep and a time to laugh,

a time to mourn and a time to dance,

a time to scatter stones and a time to refrain,

a time to embrace and a time to refrain,

a time to search and a time to give up,

a time to tear and a time to mend,

a time to be silent and a time to speak,

a time to love and a time to hate,

a time for war and a time for peace.

~ Ecclesiastes 3:1-8 (NIV)

Shealyn & Matt: 2nd Shooting for Shanna Elizabeth Photography

Near the end of July, I had the opportunity to second shoot for Shanna of Shanna Elizabeth Photography again!  Matt & Shealyn's wedding took place at the UBC Boathouse in Richmond, BC.  This was the first time I had the chance to shoot at this venue and it was gorgeous.

My morning started out with heading over to the groom's house, Matt, where he was getting ready:

Matt reading a letter from Shaelyn...

From there, we headed off to Richmond to the UBC Boathouse along the water.  Shealyn and Matt's wedding ceremony took place on the dock by the water... a gorgeous setting for a wedding ceremony.

Photo on Right: Shanna shooting with the ladies!

After taking their family photos, the whole wedding party headed off down the road to the Richmond Olympic Oval for photos! 

While Shanna continued working with Shaelyn and Matt, I headed quickly back to the UBC Boathouse to take some detail shots of the reception before guests started to arrive and sit down.  I loved the cupcakes and the umbrellas hanging from the ceiling!  It was a really unique set up and the colours matched their wedding perfectly.

Thank you again Shanna for the opportunity to work with you again! I had a blast! :) 
Make sure you all check out Shanna's photos from Shealyn & Matt's wedding HERE!

All photos in this blog post were taken by Cecilia Flaming for Shanna Elizabeth Photography!  

Rustic Wedding Chic: Featured! // Part II

Rustic Wedding Chic has featured the "On the Farm" styled wedding shoot on their blog in two parts!  (You can check out Part I here! ).  Part II is up and they've picked more gorgeous photos of Luke and Lindsey as well as the details and decor for farm wedding inspiration!

Check out part II on Rustic Wedding Chic's site here! 

Rustic Wedding Chic: Featured! // Part 1

I'm excited to share that the Styled Wedding Shoot from earlier this summer (June 24) has been featured on Rustic Wedding Chic today!  Check out the "On the Farm Wedding Inspiration" Feature here. (Part II will be posted tomorrow!)
Big thanks to Luke & Lindsey who were one of the couples that modeled for the shoot! :)

Lasitha & Marcia: City in the Park // Old Orchard Hall Wedding

Lasitha and Marcia were married on August 4, 2012.  Their wedding took place on a gorgeous, sunny and HOT day.  (I think the temperature reached up to 32 degrees! (celsius) Definitely the hottest wedding of the year so far!).  I can just say that we drank a lot of water and Gatorade throughout the day! :)

Lasitha and Marcia's wedding marked the first wedding of a long run of weddings for me in August... every weekend for the following few weeks I will be shooting a wedding!  We started out the afternoon by meeting up with the bridal party for photos at a park in Burnaby.
We were able to take most of the bridal party photos before the ceremony that day, which meant a first look!  My assistant, Alyssa and I arrived early at the first location: City in the Park, in Burnaby, to scout out a spot for Las and Marcia's first look.  Let's just say I am in love with the location... have you seen the staircase yet??  Marcia and her friends discovered this park when they were 16 years old.  They were driving around and came across it.   City in the Park is a private park with gardens that are inspired by those at Hampton Court (London, England), and Versailles (France).  The gardens are made of plants and materials suited to our own West Coast climate.

We were able to use the lovely staircase to stage Las and Marcia's first look!

The wedding party huddled around Marcia and "hid" her while Las walked through the park with my assistant Alyssa to a blind spot underneath the staircase.  Marcia stood at the top of the stairs with her back turned while Las walked up the stairs.  He tapped her on the shoulder to turn around and it was exciting to capture their reactions when they saw each other.  :)

We had about an hour at this location, which gave us plenty of time to shoot Las and Marcia and the wedding party.  My favourite feature in the park was this staircase (you'll see a wide shot of it further down!)

Despite the HOT, bright, sunshine shining down on us, we had a pretty easy time finding spots in City in the Park to take photos.  I want to thank everyone in the wedding party for being such good sports in the hot weather!  They all were willing to stand in the open sunshine for us to get some great shots before heading back into the shade.

We then headed off to Rocky Point in Port Moody, BC.  Marcia had visited this location earlier with her mother and found this fabulous concrete ramp area!

The rest of the wedding day was spent at Old Orchard Hall in Port Moody, BC, just minutes away from Rocky Point.  The hall is gorgeous!  The view was amazing, and their wedding was so much fun to be a part of!  There was no shortage of laughter or jokes between the groomsmen and ladies and the rest of the day was like a party!

We had some time before the ceremony to take more photos, so we headed down the hillside to the train tracks for these shots.

Did I not tell you that this wedding party was a fun bunch?  Check out the groomsmen on the swings! :)

Las & Marcia had their ceremony and reception at Old Orchard Hall.  It's a perfect venue for a wedding, here are a few shots from their ceremony.

The reception followed shortly after family photos outside.  Dinner was fabulous, thank you Lasitha and Marcia for inviting us to eat dinner with you and your guests.  The buffet was catered by Catering Visions.   The table settings, centrepieces, place settings and wedding favours were all gorgeous and made the room look elegant.

There were speeches from the bride & groom's parents, followed by the bridesmaids and groomsmen.  It was great to hear more about Lasitha and Marcia from their family and friends and learn a bit more about this amazing couple.

Thank you Lasitha and Marcia for the honor of capturing your wedding day!  It was a blast spending time with you and your wedding party and we wish you all the best as you start off your marriage.
Congrats!!!!

Vendors:

Ceremony Location: Old Orchard Hall, Port Moody BC
Reception Venue: Old Orchard Hall, Port Moody BC
Limo Service: Limo Concierge Services
Caterers: Catering Visions
DJ: 2 Scoops Productions DJ Services - Saiyaz Shakur