An Aquatopia Wedding in Ottawa
DANIELLE + BRANDON
Brandon and I met coincidentally at a mutual friend’s themed house party in London 4 years ago. I was almost literally dragged by my roommate at the time and Brandon clearly didn’t know it was a theme party. It was a “full moon” themed party so neon lights, body paint and everyone except Brandon and his friends were dressed in neon colours.
Brandon not only stood out because he was one of the tallest guys at the party but also because he was wearing variations of grey. He pointed at me from across the kitchen and it was so awkward that I couldn’t help but remember him when he asked to dance later that night. The rest seemed like very smooth sailing, we were basically dating within a month despite Brandon knowing that I was moving to either Hamilton or Ottawa to pursue my Master’s in Nursing.
We did long-distance for a solid year and then he decided to move to Ottawa which is when he says “he knew” I was the one. It was in Ottawa that Brandon really found his love for house plants and gardening. There’s not a room in our house that doesn’t have at least 3 plants, not to mention the 3 large raised beds of veggies and fruit that could feed a small community. So we naturally felt right at home and relaxed as soon as we walked into Aquatopia, and where we’re so happy we could still have our downsized wedding. We weren’t initially planning to, but because we just had our immediate family and wedding party, we lengthened our speech and made it so much more personable. Although we didn’t envision such an intimate day we enjoyed it so much more and would honestly recommend it for future couples.
Brandon grew up barely being photographed and I was especially nervous to be the center of attention, but Derrick just felt like a buddy that we were hanging out with. We immediately felt a connection with him, from his jokes to super friendly personality we LOVED having him photograph our engagement shoot and big day. A month later and our families and friends cannot stop raving about him.
Overall, working with Union Eleven has truly surpassed my expectations, especially with how they handled all the back and forth with moving the wedding date. We cannot recommend them enough!
