Author: Stephanie Lauren

Katelynn has always had a very special place in my heart.

Born 6 years apart my little cousin and I were always together, at 6 I thought that a new little girl in our family was sheer awesome. I remember spending summer days at their house and giving her cuddles and her learning to give awkward baby kisses back; and as the years went by we went camping with our families and had sleepovers at our grandma’s house. Never were we without fun and amusement, including our many meals with grandma’s homemade bread, peanut butter, and canned goods. We had an amazing childhood and that will never be argued!

Time passed as it often does and I had the opportunity to rent with a few different amazing people, but early on in my ‘independent’ life I lived with her family for a year when my parents moved to the Philippines, we made memories with her mom and dad that I’ll treasure forever. 

A couple years passed and the moment  that evolved our relationship from cousins to close sisters was when Katelynn lost her dad to cancer and I moved into their home again for a couple years. Ken had been a sudo father in my life and was exemplary in showing both Katelynn and I how we should be treated by our future husbands. That we should be treasured, loved unconditionally, and have some true deep laughter along the way.

Now that you have a glimpse into how Katelynn means so much to me, you can understand why I was beyond honoured to be asked to photograph her wedding. Her father helped support my jump into professional photography gear and never asked for anything in return, he cheered me on and I am forever changed by his love. My ability to show Katelynn my love through photographing her wedding is a reflection of her fathers love invested into me. There was rarely a moment that a thought of her father wasn’t close in my mind as I captured each moment of the day. He would have loved their quiet intimate family wedding, he would’ve been proud of his wife for planning such an amazing event, and praised his little girl and her new husband as they promised each other forever.

Enough about all my sentimental attachment to my favourite little cousin Katelynn, here is but a taste of the love that Mike and Katelynn’s love story…

Mike and Katelynn were quite simply destined for each other. In high school they met through mutual friends, and for a boy who lived in the Kootneys and a girl who lived in the Fraser Valley it may have seemed like a dream to fall in love with such distance between them at such a young age, but Katelynn has told me that she knew then that he would be her forever, and his love for her was echoed in his teenage poem recited by their maid of honour at the reception.

It wouldn’t be till years later after her dad had passed away that Mike would come into her life full force and it was clear as soon as he was here, that it was the right season to pursue this relationship. Mike’s deep love for Katelynn and respect of their shared faith often sparked long conversations with Katelynn’s mother Linda on their porch on warm summer nights. There was something unique about them as a couple from the start, and to watch my ‘little sister’ fall in love with her future husband melted my heart. 

I wish you only the best, a marriage full of love, and a friendship full of laughter for the rest of your life and there after!

Mikes father was his best man, and when he asked to have a photograph with his new daughter in law I nearly fell apart when he placed a kiss on her head, such a fatherly gesture on a day like this meant more than anyone could possibly know.

It was a beautiful touch on Katelynn’s bouquet had a opened faced locket with a picture of her father, he was there in memory for every moment, including walking her down the aisle.

The cake stand was an amazing labour of love, hand crafted by Mike’s father and sister, with gourmet cupcakes on rugged tiers and a lovely birch inspired wedding cake at the top it was a conversation piece of the night.