Some wedding days you photograph. Others you get to live in a little, because everything about them feels like your kind of people — and Sophie and Josh’s Aquatopia wedding was so completely that. It had all the things I quietly hope for when a couple books me: real emotion, a dog (okay, dogs) front and centre, families who actually liked each other, and a sunset that made me gasp behind the camera. I drove home that night a little giddy. Let me tell you about it.
The dress that made me tear up before I even started
Sophie is a three-outfit-changes kind of bride, and honestly? I’m obsessed. She moved through the day in looks that each felt like a different side of her — but the one that got me was the first. Sophie wore her mother’s wedding dress, and you could feel the weight of that the moment she stepped into it. There’s something about a daughter standing in the same gown her mum once wore that turns a getting-ready room quiet in the best way. I’m always honoured to document the sentimental details, but this one was extra special.
By the end of the night she’d swapped into looks that let her move, dance, and celebrate — which, knowing how this crew likes to party, was very much the right call.
A first look at my favourite covered bridge
Before Aquatopia, I snuck away with them for a first look at the little covered bridge just down the road from my place — a spot I love so much it feels like a treat every single time I get to bring a couple there. There’s a hush to it: the light comes through soft, the world goes quiet, and it’s just the two of them for a moment before the day picks up speed.
Josh’s reaction when he turned around and saw Sophie? I’ll let the photos do the talking. Let’s just say he set the emotional tone for the whole day early — and I was here for it.
The dogs. Front and centre. All day.
If you know me, you know a wedding with dogs in it is a wedding I will talk about for weeks. Sophie and Josh’s pups weren’t tucked away for one quick photo — they were part of the day, and I loved every second of it. Nothing loosens up a group, softens a nervous moment, or makes a portrait feel like this couple quite like their dogs being right there in the middle of it.
The ceremony at Aquatopia
Aquatopia in Carp is one of those venues that does half the work for you — lush, green, and glowing, like a little tropical escape tucked into Ottawa. But the room could have been anywhere and this ceremony still would have wrecked me, because Josh was so beautifully emotional.
Watching a groom feel every word — the kind of guy who lets the tears come instead of blinking them away — is one of the great gifts of this job. It gave everyone permission to feel it too. By the time they said their vows, there wasn’t a dry eye in the place (mine included, behind the lens).
Two families who just… fit
You can’t fake this part, and you can always feel it when it’s real: Sophie and Josh’s families meshed like they’d known each other for years. There was that easy, warm hum all day — sides mingling, people laughing at each other’s jokes, everyone genuinely glad to be in the same room. When two families come together this well, it shows up in every candid I take, and this gallery is full of them.
The sunset of the year (I’m not exaggerating)
I have shot a lot of sunsets. This one goes near the top of the list. The sky did the absolute most — warm and golden and endless — and I pulled Sophie and Josh out to soak in it while their guests carried on inside.
This is the light I’m always chasing, and when a couple is as easy and in-love as these two, all I have to do is give a little nudge and get out of the way. These portraits might be my favourite frames of the whole year.
The kindest speeches
The speeches were, in a word, kind. Not the roast-and-cringe kind — the sort that make the whole room go soft, where you can tell every person at the mic really knows and loves this couple. Josh got emotional again (of course he did, and I adored him for it). I always tell couples that speeches are where the day’s heart lives, and Sophie and Josh’s proved it.
Dancing it out — an EDM love story
Here’s the detail that made this one feel like mine: Sophie, Josh, and their whole crew are EDM people. So am I. I was at Escapade this year too, which means we may well have been in the same crowd, hands in the air, months before I ever pointed a camera at them. When the reception opened up, this group did not hold back — and neither did I. Shooting a dance floor full of people who genuinely love the music is a different kind of magic.
Sophie & Josh, thank you
Every now and then a wedding day just flows — no scrambling, no stress, everyone exactly where they need to be — and yours was one of them. Sentimental in all the right places, joyful everywhere else, and packed with the details that make me love this job: the dress with a history, the dogs, the tears, the two families, that sunset. Thank you for letting me witness it, and for being so unmistakably yourselves all day long. I’ll be humming EDM and grinning about it for a long time.
If you’re dreaming up your own day here, you’re in wonderful company. Have a peek at the full Aquatopia Conservatory wedding feature with Hayley & Long, then wander through a few more favourites at this glowing venue — Gabby & Nico, Kaitlin & Ethan, and Jenna & Chad. You can browse more weddings in the wedding galleries, get inspired by the guide to the best Ottawa wedding venues, and when you’re ready to chat, I’d love to hear from you.
The Dream Team
Venue: Aquatopia Water Garden Conservatory | Ceremony: Ottawa Wedding Officiants | Photography & Video: Grey Loft Studio | Hair & Makeup: Hair and Makeup by Kelly | Dress (ceremony): the bride’s mother’s gown
