Wedding couple in vintage car

A vegan wedding at La Vieille Brasserie de Lachine

Here are some of my favourite photos from this wedding at La Vieille Brasserie de Lachine.

Jennifer and David worked really hard to plan and pull off the wedding of their dreams!

Wedding preparations at Pierre du Calvet hotel

The wedding couple got ready at the Pierre du Calvet hotel. It’s an ancient place in the Old Port (built in 1725). Within its halls is a labyrinth of surprising rooms filled with ornate beds, dusty books, old paintings and busts, fireplaces and a little sunny courtyard in the centre.

It’s a fun playground for a creative photographer!

As always happens with wedding, the getting-ready was chaotic! There were lost bras, missing shirts and last-minute ironing. David was hiding in a corner scribbling away at his vows. Meanwhile, Jenny was getting misty-eyed as she wrote hers and having to be dabbed at with Q-tips. Earrings wouldn’t go on. And David’s friends were trying to Google how to do his bow tie. Tourists wandered through the hotel.

Finally, we staked our claim on an old library-turned-dining room.

There, David and Jenny had their first look.

What’s a first look?

A first look is a private moment before the wedding, when the wedding couple gets to see each other for the first time (all dolled up!) and gets to share a quiet minute or two with each other before the excitement begins. And us wedding photographers get to document the moment!

If you like first look photos, check out some other wedding photos featuring first looks at the Westmount Greenhouse, the Montreal Museum of Fine Arts and Fritz Farm.

For this first look moment, David waited by the window until Jenny sneaked up behind him and told him he could turn around. First, they stared at each other beaming. Then, Jenny said: “Your bow tie’s wrong. Let me fix it for you.” Aha! Finally, someone who knew how to take care of him!

Bride peeking around corner of room at Pierre du Calvet hotel
Jenny peeks around the corner as David waits for her
Groom waiting for bride to arrive for first look
Bride sneaking up on groom for first look
Bride reaching out to tap groom on shoulder
Bride seeing the groom for first time on wedding day
Emotional first look
Bride wiping her tears after seeing the groom for the first time on wedding day
Bride fixing the groom's bow tie
Fixing his bow tie
Wedding couple at Pierre du Calvet Hotel in Old Montreal
Wedding portrait of bride and groom standing in window at Pierre du Calvet Hotel
Wedding couple in room full wooden chairs
Wedding couple in vintage car on way to wedding
On their way to the Vieille Brasserie in a vintage car

Vieille Brasserie de Lachine Wedding Venue

The Vieille Brasserie de Lachine is a lovely wedding venue that can accommodate small to medium sized weddings with up to about 100 guests. It’s owned by the City of Montreal, so it’s run a bit differently than most wedding venues, but it’s great for couples who want a DIY approach to their wedding or who are working with a wedding planner who can set up everything beautifully. It’s very affordable to rent. You can bring your own caterer and bartenders/booze. There’s a rental curfew where you need to be out and have cleared the hall by a certain time (it used to be quite early at 1 a.m., but now their website say 3 a.m. so they may have extended the time).

Built in 1861, the building has a small outdoor terrace for the ceremony and a gorgeous reception room with lots of rustic charm. The place needs very little decoration, with its beautiful stone walls and exposed wooden beams. But Jenny’s mom still gathered wildflowers the morning the wedding to brighten up all the tables.

The Vieille Brasserie is also perfectly situated for picturesque wedding photos in the surrounding area along the shores of Lac Saint-Louis. For photos, I love exploring the waterfront, the docks and all the old stone walls.

Wedding couple on dock along St Lawrence River
Wedding portrait along riverside
Wedding portrait with stone wall in background
Silhouette of bride and groom kissing at sunset with sun flare
Wedding couple kissing on the porch of La Vieille Brasserie de Lachine

A Jewish wedding ceremony

The wedding ceremony was officiated by Rabbi Elina Bykova. She included many elements of a traditional Jewish wedding ceremony (the reading of the ketubah, the seven blessings, the circling of the bride and groom and the breaking of the glass). I’ve photographed several weddings Rabbi Elina has officiated. She’s always a pleasure to work alongside.

Groom drinking from cup under huppah
Groom putting on ring at wedding
Groom lifting the bride's veil
Bride drinking from silver cup at La Vieille Brasserie
Emotional bride at wedding
Bride and groom cheering at the end of their wedding ceremony
Happy bride and groom running from wedding ceremony
Wedding guests taking pictures
Ringbearer and flower girls on dock near La Vieille Brasserie de Lachine

Vegan wedding caterer

As mentioned in every single speech (lol!), Jenny is vegan and Dave is vegetarian. So, it was really important to them to have a wedding reception that would be in line with their values. Their caterer, chef Adrian Copeland, exceeded their expectations with a modern, upscale all-vegan dinner that had all the guests in “yums!”

Epic dancing

The lively hora: This amazing spinning dance is a traditional Jewish wedding dance where everyone dances in a big circle and 2 people join hands in the middle and spin around as fast as they can, until one of them flies, falls over or loses their breath. I love it!

Gleeful swing dancing: Jenny and David did an awesome Charleston swing dance to “Sing, sing, sing” played by the Preville Big Band. High energy. High kicks. High jumps.

Hope you guys enjoy these photos of Jenny and David’s wedding at La Vieille Brasserie!

Bride and groom entering La Vieille Brasserie wedding venue
Wedding speech by bridesmaid
Hug from bridesmaid after speech
Bridesmaid giving a speech at wedding reception
Bridesmaid reading her speech
Mom giving a speech at wedding
First dance at La Vieille Brasserie de Lachine
Ringbearer watching the first dance
Bride being lifted up on chair
Chair lift
Close up of bride and groom's feet swing dancing
Swing dancing
Kids sitting on parents lap at wedding reception
Wedding guests looking at old wedding albums
Family members looking at old wedding albums
Family members looking at old wedding albums during reception
Groom reading speech at wedding reception
Thank you speech from bride and groom
Thank you speech at the end of the night
Wedding couple doing a jump move while swing dancing

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3 Comments

  1. Cara Hancox says:

    I really like the photography from this wedding. I would like to know who it was, as our daughter is being married in October and is looking for someone original and edgy.
    These wedding shots capture the special, the artful and the real with an artful realism.

  2. Hi Cara,

    Thanks for your interest! I’m the photographer and I would love to hear more about your daughter’s wedding in October.

    If you’d like to give her my contact info, she can easily get in touch with me by email (info@esthergibbons.com) or by phone (514-432-0273).

    Thanks!
    Esther 🙂

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