Backyard Alberta Wedding by Matthew Keoni Photography

by in — Updated February 8, 2013

You can really see the love and care that went into making Sarah’s and Randal’s wedding as beautiful as it was. Held in the gorgeous backyard of a family friend in Alberta, Canada, their big day blends 1950’s style and colors with fresh country chic details handmade by friends and family. As stressful as weddings can be, these two seem to have such carefree energy about them, and it clearly lights up the photos below. Read on for the sweet details of how they met and how he proposed!

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Before the Ring (From the Groom):
Funny ‘cause it almost sounds cliché, I met Sarah for the first time at the movie theatre. We went with two separate groups of friends that were all friends and Sarah and I were the only ones not acquainted. As the fairytales go, I fell head over heels in love with her at first sight! Sadly we only talked for a brief moment. BUT a strike of luck happened and I saw her again the next day! We chatted and things just started to work, and work fast! By the end of the evening we both had exchanged numbers. Within a week we were dating, and within a month I knew she was the one!

The Proposal (From the Groom):
So the story is very simple. Matthew is actually my best friend, so I came up with the idea for Matthew to ask Sarah and me to do a “couples” shoot so he could try some photographer type “stuff.”  The hardest part for us was how to intro into the proposal so that she didn’t know what was happening ‘till it happened. Matt came up with a great idea – to get us to write letters which we would read to each other in order to get genuine reactions. We set up a picnic scene and started the shoot. She read her letter to me, matt took some photos, then I read my letter to her. In the end I asked her to marry me

Details of the Day (From the Groom):
The location was actually a family friend’s backyard; she let us use the place for free. All the decorations were put together by Sarah and my mom, Kim. Sarah really wanted to have a 50’s theme give subtle hints to the entire wedding. The dress was made by a local seamstress and my outfit was a collection of articles that I put together, with Sarah’s approval, of course. The cupcakes and cake topper was a gift from a friend that bakes. All the food was from GFS and baked the night before (we had a baking party). Sarah made all the chalkboard signs and my Grandfather and I built and painted the gazebo. We wanted to keep the wedding as simple and cost effective as possible but also beautiful so only having the one best man and maid of honor allowed us to keep costs down. My sisters did Sarah’s hair and makeup which was another cost saving tactic. Over all you can see that we really relied on family to pull off the big day and they loved being a part of it as well.

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Photography: Matthew Keoni Photography/ Venue: Friend’s backyard / Floral: Fresh / Potted Plants: Golden Acres / Chairs: Grand Rental Station / Bride’s Dress: Stitches for You / Groom’s Shoes & Accessories: Jack Threads / Catering: GFS / Cake: The Cakery

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