A Glamorous Wedding at Saint Elias and the Infinity Centre

Weddings

Jun 14

CARINA + CONNOR

We had the pleasure of photographing Carina and Connor’s wedding at Saint Elias and the Infinity Centre. As you’ll see from the photos below, it was simply incredible. Here’s what the couple had to say about their big day:

Planning a large wedding, with all sorts of traditions and expectations, was not easy but one thing we really wanted to incorporate as much as possible were our personalities.

Being Lebanese, we knew we were already going to do all the Lebanese traditions. Since Connor and his family aren’t, I wanted to incorporate some personal elements from his background too. A wedding is a union, and there are many traditions, so I wanted to make sure it was shown as a union of our two families, backgrounds, and cultures. We had the traditional “zaffeh” at the brides parents house, where the drummers walk me out. One of the most special parts of the day was experiencing this with Connor’s parents, aunts, uncles and cousins, who had never seen anything like it before.

To incorporate some Scottish elements, we had a bagpiper playing for us as we walked out of the church, along with Scottish biscuits and coffee waiting outside. Even more special, was that bagpiper happened to also be my boss. As a wedding favour, we gave out arak, a Lebanese spirit, and Connors favourite, scotch.

It’s hard to put into words the feeling we had all day. We felt so loved by everyone. It was amazing to see the most important people in our life, our families, becoming one. Thanks to our wedding planner, Julie, we wouldn’t have known if anything had gone wrong because she was always handling things. We were able to just be with each other and dance all night without a care in the world.

One of my favourite parts of the wedding was our photobooth. With each photobooth portrait, we had them put them in a frame for people to take home. The reason I loved this so much, is now I get to go to people’s houses and see it displayed and it always brings me back to the best day of our lives.

We asked Carina and Connor a couple questions about their wedding day, and about how they first met:

When did you know that Carina / Connor were "the one"?

For me, it wasn’t as much a moment as it was many moments combined. The more I learned about him, the more I loved.

When I found out how much family meant to Carina. Growing up people didn’t understand the bond we had with cousins, aunts and uncles. Finding someone who cherished family as much as I did made it obvious she was the one for me.

What's your favourite memory from your wedding day?

Our first kiss as a married couple, holding Carinas hand and turning around to see all our friends and family cheering.

The moment the doors opened in the church, walking down the aisle with my dad and seeing Connor at the other end. And not leaving the dance floor for a second all night.

Are there any little tidbits that make your story special?

Something we got to find out a couple years after we started dating, is how much we talked to our friends about each other before we even met. We both had huge crushes without knowing much about each other that we verbalized quite a bit with our friends, and it’s always fun to hear about it from their perspective.

Do you have any tips for other couples who are planning a wedding?

Always go with your gut and your personal style when making decisions. Use the support around you, we wouldn’t have been able to plan this wedding without the help from our families.

Why we chose Union Eleven?

Choosing union eleven was an easy choice for us. My older sister first used them in 2015, and there was never any other option since then. At this point, Derrick is family. In terms of their style, we wanted wedding photos that would last the rest of our lives. You get classic wedding photos, but Union will always add their unique style that makes you wonder how they were able to get such a great shot.