JOSLYN KILBORN

The Moments Before: A non-traditional approach to “Getting Ready” | Intimate Hornby Island Wedding | Comox Valley Wedding Photographer

The final moments before nuptials are sacred. 

A sudden calm, after months of planning and the previous days and weeks of preparations. There is simply a certain hour at which you must surrender anything not yet perfect and begin the ritual of preparing your body for the day to come. 

This is the part of wedding photography called “getting ready.” It refers, on a surface level, to styling your hair,  tying your tie. But it’s more than that. It’s the last transitional hallway you walk from your relationship, towards your formal commitment to growing a life with this person. It’s you, as an individual, getting ready to step very intentionally unto union, or its you, as a couple, grounding in each other before the wild day ahead.  It is the brief calm between planning your wedding, and beginning your wedding. Peace pools here. 

And in this space you can do whatever you darn well please - it’s a great part of your day to think creatively about. 

This collection of images tells the story of one thoughtful couple’s morning-of, the moments leading up to their ceremony at Ford’s Cove, on Hornby Island, BC. They began the day with coffee on the beach, sitting together as they finished their vows. Alistair went for a ceremonial late-fall ocean dip. Camille arranged flowers for herself, Alistair, their dog Noush. They spent some time preparing with family - Camille’s younger sisters did her hair and makeup, and Alistair had a last minute cut from Camille’s visiting grandmother. Then they met back down on the beach for a private moment together before heading to their ceremony in a nearby orchard.

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