Neil and Rory live on opposite sides of the US-Canada border. They both traveled to the island to elope in Victoria, with a few close friends in attendance. They love the pacific northwest, so Ross Bay Beach was the perfect spot for their wedding with the ocean and mountains in the background.
Barbara Densmore officiated and when she’s there, you always know there will be something a bit different about the ceremony. They included an ancient celtic tradition of oathing stones, where they held stones in their hands while saying their vows. Barbara says that the basic symbolism of the stones is that they’re indestructible. They then took the stones, hand in hand, to the ocean and threw them in.
Before the wedding day, they each wrote up some of the things that they loved about each other and Barbara read those things out during the ceremony. They both heard what the other wrote for the first time and there was a lot of laughter between them.
Afterward, there were a lot of hugs, smiles, and some champagne. We took a few quick portraits and then they headed off to dinner with their joyful crew.
I love this photo of them waiting to start the ceremony. They look so serious and nervous, and then the emotion and laughter started with the ceremony. 
They each wore socks with the flag of the other’s country on them. 
