Over 17 years and hundreds of weddings later, it is wild to look back at the moments that changed everything for us as photographers. These are the days that taught us how to think on our feet, chase light in every direction, and fully embrace the chaos that comes with rain, snow, travel, and timelines.
We have grown into a Vancouver wedding photographer duo that is obsessed with light, weather, travel, and adventure, and these stories are a big reason why. Here are some of the most unforgettable weddings we have photographed, in no particular order.
1. The rainy garden wedding that started it all -2011
2011 will forever be the year that rain became part of our identity, not something to fear. It rained for almost every wedding and photoshoot we did that year. This Minter Garden wedding was pouring rain for most of the day, from the outdoor tent ceremony to the portraits. Our couple was up for the adventure in the rain, and we equipped ourselves with umbrellas to shield our cameras and Ziploc bags over our flashes to keep them dry. We all leaned into the storm instead of hiding from it.
The portraits from that day became some of our first true portfolio pieces, the kind we still show couples today. That wedding is the reason so many couples now come to us specifically for dramatic rain photos and moody Vancouver weather weddings. We still use the Ziploc bags to this day, but we have upgraded our umbrellas to hands-free umbrella hats (which is actually cooler than it sounds).
Minter Gardens in Chilliwack may have closed back in 2013, but it will always be one of our all-time favourite garden wedding venues, with its 32 acres of themed gardens nestled at the foot of Mount Cheam. A fun full-circle moment for us was getting to photograph the Minter family themselves a couple of years ago; they now pour that same love of plants and beauty into Minter Country Garden, their incredible garden centre in Chilliwack. We actually visit Minter Country Garden every year for our own gardening, and you can check them out too at https://mintergardening.com if you want to see where so much of that original Minter magic lives on today.
- View more rainy day weddings on our site: Vancouver rainy wedding inspiration
2. Sayulita Wedding and Day of the Dead -2021
In 2021, we flew to Sayulita for a Halloween wedding and Day of the Dead portrait session, just down the coast from the resort where we got married in 2018. Within an hour of landing in Puerto Vallarta, we rented a car, and were pulled over. Will’s license was taken, and a cash solution later, we were laughing in the rental car, thinking that, of course, this happens right before a wedding. It still is a story we tell.
The wedding itself was gorgeous; the couple’s villa had panoramic Pacific Ocean views, surfers below, and lush garden paths, which we used for their first look. They had a fully outdoor ceremony with a mariachi band and a reception under the stars. It reminded us why being a Vancouver wedding photographer also means embracing destination celebrations. On Día de los Muertos, we photographed the couple and their guests for face painting, then we took the couple and headed into the cemetery, where locals warmly invited us to photograph among their decorated graves, before finishing the night walking into downtown Sayulita as the streets filled with music and celebration. We were a little weary of bringing our gear into the city at night during a huge celebration, but it was beautiful and safe, and it holds a fun memory of that time.
We also chose to stay at the Grand Palladium resort where we got married in 2018, to enjoy the area where we got married.
- Venue inspiration: Villa Amor wedding and event venue in Sayulita offers oceanfront villas and cliffside ceremony spaces.
- Check out their full celebration: Sayulita, Mexico destination wedding at Villa Amor
3. Sea to Sky Gondola sunset ceremony – 2022
The Sea to Sky Gondola is famous for its views, but this particular sunset ceremony pushed our lighting skills to the edge in the best way. The light was harsh, the sky was bright, and the couple’s faces were in deep shadow, which is exactly the kind of scenario off-camera lighting was made for. As a Vancouver wedding photographer, lighting control in extreme conditions is essential.
They hired us because they knew we could balance that intense sky with flattering light on them, and every moment, from vows with Howe Sound in the background to the sun just kissing the horizon, reminded us why having your own light matters so much in mountain weddings.
- See more mountain and gondola weddings: Squamish and Sea to Sky weddings
4. Brix and Mortar night wedding in Yaletown – 2023
Brix and Mortar in Yaletown is already one of Vancouver’s most atmospheric restaurants, and this 2023 wedding leaned fully into that mood with an all-evening timeline. The ceremony took place in the intimate brick courtyard lit by candles and ambient light, followed by portraits during blue hour when the city was dark and glowing at the same time.
With no natural light to rely on, we built the entire look with off-camera flash, taking the couple around nearby streets for portraits overlooking the water and the city in Yaletown, and created images that simply would not exist without intentional lighting. This couple booked us specifically for the style of wedding they wanted because they know low light will not be a limitation, but a feature. This is exactly why couples book a Vancouver wedding photographer who specializes in low-light creativity.
- Learn about the venue: Brix and Mortar wedding venue photos
- See a full Brix and Mortar celebration: Intimate Brix and Mortar wedding
5. Waterfalls, boats, and 4x4s during Covid – 2020
During the toughest days of Covid, elopements were where creativity thrived. One Harrison area elopement stands out, a boat-access-only waterfall where the couple did their first look on a fallen tree, then exchanged vows right at the base of the falls with just two friends as witnesses.
After the ceremony, we boated back across Harrison Lake, jumped into our 4x4s, and drove up backroads to a paragliding launch to finish photos with their friends, trucks lined up against mountain views at sunset. It was pure joy in a season that desperately needed it and reminded us how adventure elopements can feel more true to a couple than any traditional timeline.
- See more Harrison adventure sessions: Harrison Hot Springs weddings and elopements
- Explore adventurous ideas: Adventure Photography Sessions
6. Luxury and freedom at Rosewood Hotel Georgia – 2014
In 2014, we photographed a wedding at the Rosewood Hotel Georgia in downtown Vancouver that was all about luxury and intention. The couple were locals, deeply invested in hosting a celebration that felt elegant, personal, and completely true to who they are.
At that time, there was a very real contrast between how free couples in Canada were to design their own wedding day and how restricted many couples still felt in the United States around who they could marry and where their marriage would be recognized. Having the freedom for anyone to marry in Canada was something we never took for granted, and this wedding highlighted how powerful that freedom really is.
Later, our work from LGBTQ weddings was featured in Cosmopolitan, during the same period that the United States moved to legalize same sex marriage nationwide, and it reinforced the belief that love is love and deserves to be celebrated everywhere.
- See more from their wedding here: St. Andrews-Wesley Church | Hotel Georgia Wedding
- See our venue gallery: Rosewood Hotel Georgia wedding venue photos
7. Helicopter elopement in Hope – 2023
For one spring elopement near Hope, snow still covered the mountaintops, and the couple wanted their first look right on the peak. The heli ride was only about five minutes, so the plan was to send Will, Lauren, and the groom up first, then bring the bride and her family on the second flight.
As the helicopter landed and took off in swirling snow and wind, we shielded cameras and lights while setting up a first look that transitioned into a mountaintop ceremony with their parents. After toasts and tears, the parents flew back down, leaving us time to roam in the snow with the couple, ending with the bride jumping into the snow to make snow angels, a photo that later won an award and is still one of our favourite images ever.
- See more photos from their wedding day: Hope Helicopter Elopement
- Helicopter tours in BC: 15+ Helicopter Tours in BC
8. 4×4 sunset family elopement on the Fraser – 2022
When restrictions were constantly changing, one family chose a simple, adventurous plan, a 4×4, low river levels on the Fraser, and a ceremony with just their child and best friend officiating. We scouted a spot with open mountain views and soft sunset light and ended up on a sandbar where it felt like we had the entire valley to ourselves. This was an unforgettable wedding because we got to take our 4×4 and ride on the Fraser River.
They wanted photos riding in their 4×4, followed by a beach fire as the sky went blue and the last light dropped behind the peaks, and it felt like the pure essence of what an elopement can be, focused on connection, family, and experience. Being trusted to photograph days like this is exactly why we love intimate, adventure-forward celebrations.
- Explore more Fraser Valley elopements: Fraser Valley weddings and elopements
9. Rockwater Secret Cove Resort and that flying veil – 2018
Rockwater Secret Cove Resort on the Sunshine Coast is already the definition of coastal romance, and this 2018 wedding made it unforgettable. The couple planned to say their vows on the dock while guests watched from the shoreline rocks, and suggested that one of us head out in a small rowboat, paddled by a friend, to capture the ceremony from the water.
Balancing in a little boat on wavy water with pro cameras is an experience, but the perspective was worth every second. As the bride walked off the dock at the end of the ceremony, a huge gust of wind ripped her veil off and launched it into the ocean, and the officiant grabbed an oar, reached out, and fished it back while Will captured the exact moment that later won an award.
- See this type of celebration: Rockwater Secret Cove Resort wedding
- More from the Sunshine Coast: Halfmoon Bay wedding photography
10. Fraser River Lodge and finding home -2016
Fraser River Lodge in Agassiz is one of those venues that feels like stepping into a painting, with Mt Cheam dominating the horizon and the river at its feet. At a winter wedding in 2016, the couple decorated the lodge with hundreds of candles, held an outdoor February ceremony on the patio, and gave us the kind of crisp, snow dusted mountain backdrop photographers dream about.
One of the photos from that day is still one of our most used images, but the part that changed our lives came at the end of the night when the couple told us to grab a drink and we stood on the patio with beers in hand, talking about how incredible it would be to live out there. A year later, that conversation turned into reality when we found our dream home in Harrison Hot Springs, and Fraser River Lodge became forever tied to the story of our own life.
- See more from this venue: Fraser River Lodge wedding venue photos
- Rustic winter inspiration: Unforgettable Canadian winter wedding at Fraser River Lodge
11. The 21-hour wedding day – 2011
In 2011, during the era of all-day packages, we photographed a wedding that lasted 21 hours from coverage start to coverage end. We began at 5 a.m. with makeup and, by 2 a.m. on Granville Island, every battery, flash, and memory card we owned was completely maxed out, and Will was down to one remaining frame on his last card.
The couple was lovely, and we captured a lot of great moments, but that day taught us that couples do not need endless thousands of photos; they need the right photos and intentional coverage. We completely restructured our packages afterward to focus on quality over quantity, and we still joke about the three-day recovery from that ultimate wedding hangover.
- See how we work now: Latest Blog Posts
12. Halloween theatre wedding and embracing the dark – 2022
One of the most technically challenging weddings we have ever photographed took place in a dark theatre on Halloween. The ceremony was on stage, with the wedding party and decor under theatrical lighting, while guests sat in deep, blacked-out seats.
The couple booked us because they knew how difficult the lighting would be and trusted us to figure it out with creative flash and careful exposure. That wedding pushed us to communicate even more as a team, think outside the box, and prove that even a nearly black room can become a canvas with the right approach.
- See their full wedding: Rio Theatre Halloween Wedding
- See more low light work: Will My Photos Be Amazing in a Dim Reception Hall? Yes. Here’s Why.
13. Grand Palladium Vallarta and the wedding that inspired our own – 2015
In 2015, we received an inquiry for a destination wedding at the Grand Palladium Vallarta Resort and Spa in Mexico, and we had just returned from spending two weeks there and were already in love with the place. Between the surfing, water sports, beaches full of shells, and whales breaching offshore, it had already become a favourite escape for us.
When we met the couple, we could talk about the resort from real experience, and they connected immediately with our excitement and our work. Their day included portraits in the jungle on the resort grounds and on the beach, a ceremony on a private patio overlooking the water, and a reception in an Italian restaurant, and afterward, we ended up going back to that resort several more times because it felt like our happy place.
When Will proposed, friends and family asked if we were going to get married there too, and we did. That wedding planted many of the seeds for our own, made destination weddings feel personal, and helped us better understand what our couples experience when they plan from far away.
- Learn more about Grand Palladium Vallarta wedding options: Weddings by Palladium
- Check out more photos from their wedding: Grand Palladium Mexico Destination Wedding
14. Tofino micro wedding on the edge of the West Coast – 2025
This Tofino wedding will always be unforgettable because it was the first time we photographed a wedding on Vancouver Island, and it felt like stepping into an entirely new version of the West Coast. The couple were incredibly stylish, from their outfits to every little detail, and the photos turned out beautifully moody in a way that fit them perfectly.
Instead of the clear blue skies you might expect in summer, the Pacific Northwest gave us its signature August fog, rolling in over the beach and creating the most cinematic, soft light for their ceremony at Long Beach Lodge Resort on Cox Bay. The setup was rustic, the backdrop was the open Pacific Ocean, and with only thirteen people present it felt intimate, relaxed, and very true to who they are.
The west coast fog wrapped the whole scene in atmosphere, turning their beach vows into something that felt quiet, wild, and dramatic all at once. It was such a cool experience to be part of their day, and it cemented our love for Tofino’s rugged coastline and misty, moody wedding days.
- See the full story: Micro wedding on a West Coast beach in Tofino
- Learn more about this venue: Long Beach Lodge Resort wedding venue photos
17 Years as Vancouver Wedding Photographers: Looking Forward
These weddings and elopements are only a tiny slice of the hundreds of stories that shaped our 17 years as a Vancouver wedding photographer duo, but each one shifted something in the way we work, travel, see light, and serve couples. They taught us that weather can be the magic, not the problem, that travel days and cultural traditions become part of the story, and that no one needs thousands of images, just the best, most meaningful ones they can enjoy for the rest of their lives. It’s all about quality over quantity.
Most of all, they reminded us how lucky we are to have built this life together, two photographers, best friends, and partners, documenting people in love. Choosing the right Vancouver wedding photographer means finding someone who thrives in challenging conditions and brings creative vision to every moment, as well as creating timeless photos that you will love forever. If you are planning a wedding or elopement in Vancouver, the Fraser Valley, or anywhere in the world and want photographers who thrive in rain, snow, harsh light, and wild locations, reach out through our contact page at https://www.willpursell.com/contact and let us start planning your own unforgettable story.