Canmore Wedding Photographer

Cody & Irina’s Cornerstone Wedding

Red Bloom Photography

How did I get so lucky to not only photograph the most amazing couples but also in the most

beautiful places so close to home! Documenting weddings in the mountains forever feels so

amazing and fresh to me and same with photographing at Cornerstone Weddings. This wedding

is my third of five there this year and I just love every single one of them.

When I look back on this day, I just feel so so so much joy and love and laughter! These two really

know how to laugh hard and love hard together! They are so adorable together which just makes

my job so so easy. And you can tell that their friends are just like them cause their wedding party

was so connected and so full of laughter. It really makes my day fly by when I am laughing all

day with my couples! There is so many special parts about this day that I just love and if you keep

reading below you will hear about them from the couple. I absolutely adore their first look and

how Cody reacted. He put his hand to his mouth and I noticed this is something he does when

he gets emotional as he did it during the vows as well. After tears and cuddles they immediately

were laughing together and dancing in the park! After their private first look we headed to their

ceremony where they shared their emotional and candid vows that really spoke to who they

are as a couple! And when Cody dipped Irina for the first kiss it was just epic and she let out

the cutest little yelp of surprise! After we were finished shooting the family photos and wedding party,

I had some time just the two of them. And this little tiny bird just followed us around everywhere.

I have seen this happen on wedding days with a bunny or a deer and I mentioned to them how some

of my couples feel it is a loved one with them on their day. They have a few words about this below where

they share about their day. And on that point, here are some words from the newlyweds.

How did you guys meet?
Cody – One night in July 2014, my friend Michael Hauer invited his high school friend Irina, who

had just moved back to Calgary from Halifax, to come have some drinks at Craft. I knew she was

going to be special by the way Hauer looked at me when he described her. He was giving me the “don’t

even think about it” look. My suspicions were confirmed. She was as fun and personable as she was beautiful.

I proceeded to tease her about her bright orange battery charger (Irina’s phone is nearly

always on low battery). The playground technique must have worked, as I managed

to get her number. I laid in bed texting her that night with butterflies in my stomach.

I knew it wouldn’t be the last time I saw her.

Due to my prior reputation, Irina wouldn’t quite give me a chance. Around 8 months later,

Hauer (and our love for his delicious guacamole) brought us together again. Hauer had invited

us both for drinks at his condo. I didn’t give her as much attention this time around.

As many of you know, Irina is quite charming. By the end of the night we were two-stepping in his kitchen.

It took three months of traveling back and forth from Cold Lake, countless brunch dates, and plenty of

Cody Anderson character references (thank you to all of the supporters),

for Irina and I to become an official item.

Please share the proposal story with us?
Irina – Last year, Cody and I were going on vacation around the Maritimes! Because

I went to Uni in Halifax, I took on the planning for this trip to show him around my old stomping grounds.

In Halifax, we’d met up with my bestie (and bridesmaid) Meaghan and her man, Kevin.

We drove to Cape Breton to explore the Cabot trail and watched Cody eat his way around the Maritimes,

one (more like three) lobster rolls at a time. In the town of Inverness, we’d already had the

best day walking, beaching, eating fresh mussels, and going to the Cabot Links golf course. (Cody’s real love story here.)

I’d booked us a room at the Dusky Diamond hotel (how amazing is that!?!?!), overlooking the ocean.

That evening we were going for dinner at the Clubhouse with Meg and Kevin. Cody was

taking forever to get out of the room (because he couldn’t grab the ring while I was

hovering around him, aw). Meg subtly came in and asked me to come out and take

photos by the ocean. Being a basic girl, it didn’t seem weird at all – had to do it for the ‘gram.

Leading up to this, I didn’t suspect anything or know that all three of them were in on the

proposal plan! So we finished up dinner and had decided to watch the sun set at the beach.

We pay, but Meg & Kevin aren’t ready, and suddenly there’s this huge sense of urgency to get. to. the. beach.

We literally leave Meg & Kev behind and Cody starts jogging (me in tow) to the boardwalk.

I look back while we’re running and Meg & Kev are also running several feet behind us. Shouldn’t we just wait?

Cody: “nope. Can’t”

As we near the boardwalk and beach, the sun is setting. It looks spectacular. Cody turns

to me with the biggest smile on his face, gets down on one knee, and asks me to marry him.

I was immediately overwhelmed and teary eyed and I think I said “no way!?” and then “I mean YES!”

Meg & Kev were purposely hanging behind so that they could have their phones ready to capture

the moment! Turns out Cody had told Meg before we arrived that he wanted to propose.

I am still so touched he planned this months in advance and had it captured in this

beautiful place, in a region he knew meant so much to me!

Most memorable moments from your wedding day?

Our favourite overall part was the ceremony. We loved seeing everyone there

and sharing our vows. Funny fact… Irina actually missed a page of her vows!!

Ha. But I don’t think you could tell. Read them to Cody later.

Especially loved when our awesome officiant told us to soak it all in and look out over the audience.

Having a moment to see the faces of all our friends and family looking back at

us was incredibly moving and one of the things I won’t forget.

Also can’t forget that impromptu dip for the kiss!

We also loved our first dance. It was so fun!! We love dancing and we’re so happy

picking something more upbeat. Irina loved being twirled around!!

Tell me about the special aspects of your day that made it unique to you two?

After the first dance the guests did a special dance they did for irina: that was a Romanian

veil ceremony! It was super uncoreographed haha but we loved that it got every one on the

dance floor! The godmother of the bride (in this case my auntie and my moms twin!) removes the

veil to symbolize the bride “leaving her parents house” and becoming a woman. The bride denies the

head scarf two times, kind of like babushka style, and then allows the god mother to wrap her head!

This is her transition to now being able to lead her own household and family.

Meanwhile our guests all near witness and dance a Hora around us – which is

just a type of three-step dance in a circle.

The brides jewelry: All the women in my family wear these bangles! All of mine are

inherited: from my mom, my grandma, and my auntie/godmother. We never take them off and we

all have slightly different ones but the same style! The evil eye was a gift from one

of my bridesmaids Meaghan, ages ago. But it’s so Irina and I’ll never take it off!!!

The gold necklace on the bouquet is a gift from my dad on my wedding day. It’s traditional

to receive a gold medallion and this one had the Virgin Mary and baby Jesus.

My earrings were my “borrowed and blue” from my mom! They’re her pair of sapphire

earrings and she’s had them foreverrrrr. She told me she saved them just for this moment aww.

Cody’s paternal Grandpas dog tags: grandpa Anderson’s tags from the Korean War.

His cuff links were his maternal Grandpas so it was nice he got to incorporate both!

Cody’s watch was a gift from Irinas dad! It’s a Patek Phillipe watch and we love that it’s mechanical!

Honestly the whole day was so magical. I am really struggling with just a few things!

One thing I also won’t ever forget is that tiny bird that kept intruding in our photos…. and when

you mentioned that it’s symbolic of a loved one it really moved me.

None of my grandparents were there and Cody lost two of his this year.

It was so meaningful and spiritual to reflect on.

Besides making the choice to marry each other, what was the easiest decision

you made for your wedding? What made it so easy?

Choosing our minister, actually! We saw Joel live-in-action at our friend’s wedding and just knew

right away that HE WAS THE ONE (for us). He’s actually married a few of our friends so the

familiarity and his reputation made it an easy choice.

What was the most difficult, time consuming choice that you made for your wedding day?

And advice to couples on this?

Suspenders vs. no suspenders?

Advice to couples planning their wedding day?

Try to get as much of the “big” stuff planned early on, soon after you’re engaged. We found

that venues, photographers, videographers all book up incredibly fast.

These are big decisions so spending a few weeks back-to-back really helps with planning everything else!

We also tried to do a little bit every month and asked for help when we needed it!

Break the tasks down and do them in time. We are sooo grateful to our

families and wedding party for helping with planning too.

Cody & Irina’s Fall Engagement Session -> HERE

And now here is Cody & Irina’s Wedding Story

canmore wedding photographer Cody wore his grandpa’s cufflinks and dog tags on his wedding dayI love how all the bits have meaning. This watch was gifted to him by his father in law. Who also

helped him put it on that day. canmore wedding photographer I just adore Irina’s beautiful details. She spoke about her jewelry above and how it all has meaning. Their first look was just so sweet! It was emotional and full of laughs at the same time. This gorgeous bouquet is by Willow Flower Co rundleview park wedding canmore Now that is a good first kiss!!! canmore wedding photographer I am totally obsessed with these bridesmaids hoops! The popped some champagne twice! And it is their wedding day so that is allowed ha haI didn’t even have to ask them to dance and twirl! They did it all on their own and it was so fun! cornerstone weddings Irina talked about this special dance above.