Secret Winter Elopement At The Rosemount Inn | Val and Thomas Tied The Knot In Secret
Wow, do I have a good story for you today! (itās a bit different from usual, because the images youāll be seeing are actually the full spreads of the coupleās wedding album)
FINALLY Iām able to blog about this wedding, because Val & Thomas have revealed their surprise elopement to their family and friends. All in all, the news was received really well!
Some family might have been completely thrown off, and maybe even unhappy. When I had a spur of the moment elopement, my aunt wasnāt thrilled about missing it. But it was nothing personal - we didnāt omit her because sheās not special to us - she definitely is! We didnāt invite anyone because we literally had two days to plan, and it required an overseas tripā¦
Anyway, what Iām trying to say isā¦ When youāre planning your elopement - secret or not - you CANNOT consider everyoneās wishes. Just focus on what you and your partner valueā¦ start there. Because itās you and your partner that will be braving this world together, through thick and thin. Your partner is the person that needs to be considered first when elopement planning.
Soā¦ hereās how this secret elopement went down.
We met at 1pm on a Monday afternoon (hahaā¦ I think itās super cool when people decide to get married on a Mondayā¦ in the middle of winter!)
Originally , Val was scheduled to have a film class that morning at Queenās University. But class got cancelled. So that meant the whole day was just for them and their secret elopement.
They had a gorgeous suite at The Rosemount Inn. When I arrived, Val was on her laptop looking at schooling options after Queenās. I remember thinking it was so progressive that she was browsing for career opportunities on the morning of her elopement.
Val & Thomas got ready really quickly, but they had to drive to their apartment for a couple of last minute thingsā¦ I hopped in the car too, so that I could take photos of this relatively āmundaneā and āordinaryā activity: driving home.
Why? Because one day, they wonāt live here. They wonāt drive this car. They wonāt know this street. It will be a distant memory. Having a photograph of that front door, that driveā¦ it will spark memories.
Back at The Rosemount, they got ready quickly.
Val did her makeup, and I couldnāt take enough photos. She looked stunning. It was such a simple setting - a bathroom mirror, a young woman, and a makeup brushā¦ but it looked so interesting. I took many photographs.
Their āfirst lookā, was short and sweet. It was obvious they loved seeing each other all dressed up; it was a tender moment.
The ceremony took place next door, at The Rosemount Inn Parlour.
Heather (of Bowtied with Love) was their planner; she had created a simple beautiful bouquet, bought a tiramisu cake, and was also acting as one of the witnesses. (Have I mentioned how much I love Heather? She makes every elopement and wedding seamless and stress-free! Itās like sheās able to think about EVERYTHING, so no one else has toā¦)
The ceremony was really sweet and not too long. They exchanged vows in front of the big fireplace, and then sealed the deal with a kiss.
The signing was done on top of the grand piano, which presented an opportunity for me to get āartsyā and try a reflection shot.
The Parlour is a gorgeous space with a floor to ceiling mirror, which we made full use of. Val and Thomas took coupleās photos there, making silly and serious faces. Then we headed over to the window, where Val touched the glass, and looked out. There was also a silhouette shot of the two of them that I lovedā¦.with the reflection on the piano.
They cut their cake, and sat down to have a glass of bubbly. Many more photographs were taken.
Finally, they changed into their āstreet clothesā and headed to one of their favourite places - Musiikki Cafe. It was still mid-afternoon, so they grabbed some hot tea, and had a relaxed chat knowing they were now married! I took some photos from inside and outside to capture the scene. Then I said goodbye, and left them to enjoy each otherās company as newlyweds!
I was thinking it would be years before I got to share this secret elopement with you allā¦ We spent a couple of weeks working on their wedding album: I presented an initial design which they loved. We made small tweaks, and they chose a gorgeous brown leatherette cover option, coupled with rose gold gilding on the side. I delivered their album a week ago!
And then today I got the text from Val that they had broken the news to family. So the first thing I did was write this blog :)
I hope you enjoy these pages from their album, and they inspire you to plan your very own secret elopement - in winter, or any other time of year!
And if you loved what you saw, please leave a comment below! ā¤ļø