An outdoor western wedding: Christine & Jeremy

Did you know that the two most popular searches on our website are outdoor wedding and do-it-yourself? (cheap wedding ideas is a close third). Today's real canadian wedding provides a lot of both: It features the spectacular landscapes of south-easter Alberta, it is filled with creativity and personal touches, from the decor, to the amazing favours and its original western theme. Enjoy! -ed.

Christine & Jeremy
August 4, 2007 - Airdrie, Alberta

Story and photos by Jennifer Jacula Photography, east-central Alberta.

Western Theme

Christine and Jeremy are an authentic ranching couple, so for their wedding, they chose a western theme that carried throughout their wedding day, with burgundy, navy and green for their wedding colors. Guests were also encouraged to dress western!

The couple married in the loft of the barn on the ranch they share with Jeremy's parents and grandparents. Originally built to house draft horses, the barn's loft was certainly large enough to accommodate all of their guests! Guests of honour were seated on hay bales, while regular guests were seated on rows of straw bales. At the end of each row, a weathered fence post held a bow and sunflower. More hay bales, real potted flowers, saddles and other authentic western touches were used to decorate the loft.

Outdoor

Once all the guests were seated, the ceremony began with the groom and his groomsmen climbing a ladder into the loft. The bride and her attendants arrived in a horse-drawn white carriage, driven by a family friend - but they took the stairs into the loft!

Marriage Commissioner Lynda Halliday officiated the ceremony. The bride's dress was from Sunshine Bridal in Calgary and the bridesmaids dresses were from Bryan's. The men wore tuxedo jackets from Black & Lee over their Wrangler jeans and boots.

Once the ceremony was over, the bride and groom made their getaway in the horse-drawn carriage to the first photo location - a neighbour's yard just up the road from Christine & Jeremy's ranch. All of the locations used for photos had special meaning for the couple - their own ranch, their neighbour's yard, Jeremy's boss's yard and the original homestead of Jeremy's family, which includes a beautiful, private lake.

The couple returned to their ranch for the reception, which was held in the dirt-floored machine shop. The building was decorated inside and out with the western theme, including horse shoes, glass jars containing different types of grains, red-and-white checkered table runners and favours made of tiny lassos. Most of the decorations, including the girls' bouquets, were made by the bride and her mother-in-law, Peggy, with supplies from Michael's.

The theme continued when guests had to compete at roping a "steer" (plastic head mounted on a straw bale) to determine the line up for supper. The food was done by the Irricana Lions Club and included down-home favourite - steaks, hot dogs for the kids, beans, coleslaw and buns. The bride's father also had wine custom bottled for the couple by Vine to Wine in Chilliwack, B.C.

The wedding cake was made by a friend, and the cupcakes enjoyed by the guests were from Safeway. Both the cake and cupcakes were decorated with western-themed chocolates, made by the bride with supplies from Michael's.

Search Keywords: Alberta, western, barn, ranch