Intimate Chalet Wedding at Domaine William Wentworth
When it comes to modern wedding planning, there really are no rules! As unique as your relationship is and how you connect as a couple, so should your wedding be distinctive to what you value most, how you want to feel on your wedding day, and who you want to share these feelings with. Take Y&V’s distinctive intimate chalet wedding as a case in point…
Who would have thought that a handful of years after selling Vitor (V) a camera bag online, that we’d become industry colleagues, and he would invite me to document his intimate chalet wedding to Yaëlle (Y) at Domaine William Wentworth in the eastern townships of Quebec. Little did we know upon signing the contract at the start of 2020 that Y&V would have to postpone their wedding date for 2 years while the world shut down, but finally the date had arrived, when their intimate circle of close friends and family could safely arrive from Brazil, England, and the west coast of Canada to celebrate this beautiful love story over the course of a wedding weekend reunion for the books.
Following a few hours of scenic driving into the countryside, I arrived to a low key pre-wedding chalet vibe, quickly dropped my things in my room, and found Vitor chatting and reminiscing with a couple of his guests. They were sat by an amazing full length wall, covered with photos from a lifetime of treasured moments shared with all of their valued guests. My day began with the groom's and bride's preparation sessions on separate floors of the chalet, followed a brief but touching first look among the trees around the corner from the ceremony scene. Finally, Y made her way down the aisle, locked arms with her young teenage son who couldn’t have looked more proud.
It was an emotive ceremony officiated by two of Y&V’s dear friends who’d prepared a whole script with props for all kinds of shenanigans, and “iykyk” storytelling in the couple’s honour, evoking laughter and all kinds of good vibes. A heartfelt moment of silence, denoted by the sounding of hand chimes was observed in honour of Samuel, Y’s brother who’d left too soon from Leukemia when Y was just a teen. The officiants sealed the ceremony by successfully surprising Y&V with a tandem bicycle to ride off into the literal sunset, where we lucked out on a few perfect moments for their intimate newlywed portrait session against a stunning Quebec countryside sundown backdrop in August.
The reception was pure joy and love, complete with a string of Moroccan jewish wedding traditions, a super touching version of U2’s “One” on the keyboard by Y’s sisters, tugging at the heart strings in honour of their brother, Samuel, before shifting into all kinds of happiness accompanied by live professional Quebec style gigue music generously played out by their wildly talented friends, bringing everyone onto a vibrant dance floor of gigue dancing for the rest of the night. And in the end, a late night “after party” ensued for the die-hards in the basement dance club room, replete with disco ball, where the nuptial festivities extended into the wee hours of a perfect day to remember.
Enjoy the following highlights from Y&V’s intimate chalet wedding, done their way in rural Quebec. The honour never gets old. ♡
**Click on the first image to activate the lightbox for full frame viewing.
Flowers: Fleuriste Bergeron; Decor: Simplement Ambiance; Cake: Concept Gateaux; Traiteur: À La Bonne Vôtre; Shoes: Bella Belle Shoes; Suit: Gamache Tailleur [Many of Yaëlle’s wedding details were gifted to her from various friends and family. ♡]
“Everything is beautiful! Your text was such a heartwarming souvenir of that day, I love it. ❤️ ”
~ Vitor [In response to this review of his wedding day!]
