Kendra + Ryan - True Romance

A couple weekends ago, Andreas invited me along to shoot a wedding in Owen Sound - the marriage of Kendra and Ryan.

Their story is most likely as close to storybook/movie script as they come!

Kendra and Ryan met back in their university days at Queens University in Kingston, ON in 1996. They quickly became best friends - spending all of their free time together and helping each other through ups and downs, including terrible relationships.

After graduation, they split ways for a few years - Ryan taking his MBa in Business, and eventually moving out West to Calgary to work for his Uncle's business, while Kendra was chasing her dreams at med school at Queens. Distance did not hinder their friendship however, and only strengthened their relationship.

Kendra decided to go visit Ryan one winter - to visit her best friend, and to enjoy a nice week together in the mountain ranges outside of Calgary. It was this weekend specifically (according to both Ryan and Kendra anyways!) that they finally clicked, and decided to get together - now being many years after they first met!

The story of their actual engagement is easily just as 'storybook'! Kendra was working her first shift at an infertility clinic to build hours towards her medical degree, when she was sent to a room full of men with fertility problems (what else would the room be filled with?). Little did she know that the nurses at the clinic were tipped off by Ryan, who told them about his plan to propose, and in preparation, they filled this room full of good looking men - one of them being Ryan! Sitting with his back facing Kendra, a nudie magazine in his hands, Kendra called out his name. You can imagine her reaction when this 'infertile guy' turned around and having it be Ryan - she was angry that he would visit on her first day of work - not to mention confused as to the reason why he was in an infertility clinic to begin with! He quickly stood her on a hospital bed, knelt down and proposed.

Ryan still maintains his job in Calgary, while Kendra has just finished her residency at a hospital here in Ontario. Anyone who has been in a long distance relationship definitely knows the difficulty of maintaining a healthy connection, but Kendra and Ryan are perfect examples of how love can truly conquer kilometres - and in this case, thousands of kilometres! Ryan plans on moving to Ontario within the year, so this couple will finally be able to finish their story.

Back to the big wedding weekend!

We decided to drive up Friday morning, which would allow us to scope out Owen Sound, the church in which the marriage would become official, and the Cobble Beach Golf Club, which is where the cocktail hour and reception would take place. We attended the rehearsal at the church, and were invited to a BBQ by Kendra and Ryan that same evening. The food was great, but what was truly amazing was the crowd we were surrounded by - both families couldn't have been any more warm and welcoming!

Thousands of images were taken over the course of two days - and there are at least a dozen that I would like to share with you! Below are just a couple photographs from the 2 days - a web gallery with 20 or so images will be uploaded onto my site for tomorrow - the link being exclusively available via this blog, so check back!