Espace Canal wedding photographer in Montreal

After 6 years of dating long distance, with lots of travel across Canada and the U.S., Mollie and Johanu finally decided to tie the knot and celebrate their wedding in one of their favourite cities: Montreal.

When they were planning their wedding, the couple were looking for a photographer to help them feel comfortable and to capture the spontaneous moments and all the fun emotions of the day.

Mollie and Johanu had the most amazing day filled with laughter, dancing, tears of joy and tons of fun. It was such a pleasure to be there for their wedding day!

Hope you’ll all enjoy their story!

The Espace Canal wedding venue

Espace Canal is a great alternative wedding venue in Montreal’s Saint-Henri neighbourhood. It’s located in an old industrial brick building called Chateau St-Ambroise, which is filled with a labyrinth of corridors and stairwells. Espace Canal has an outdoor terrace where you can host your cocktail hour, facing the Lachine Canal. The indoor reception area has exposed pipes and ducts for a bit of a warehouse look, but otherwise, the space is a blank slate that each couple can adapt to their wedding.

The wedding venue’s location is ideal for wedding photos, as it’s on the Lachine Canal. There’s a path to stroll along the canal, with pretty locations for portraits with vines and greenery as well as worn brick walls. Another benefit of this wedding venue is that in the event of a rainy wedding day, the inside of the St-Ambroise building is full of interesting nooks and corridors with plenty of spots for creative wedding portraits.

Their first look photos

Mollie and Johanu saw each other before their ceremony for a first look beside the Lachine Canal. They were both a bit giddy and overwhelmed with all of the emotions from their day. It was such a sweet moment to share with these two!

Since they saw each other for the first look right next to the canal, people were strolling by with their dogs and riding by on bikes. It gave their first look photos a fun, relaxed weekend vibe.

Their big bunch of friends

Mollie and Johanu had a huge wedding party with 8 bridesmaids and 8 groomsmen. Everyone travelled from far and wide to attend the wedding! Their friends played such a big role in their day. One of the groomsmen officiating the actual wedding ceremony, while others played acoustic guitar for the first dance. Friends also did readings during the ceremony and gave toasts during the wedding reception. They brought the tears, the laughter and the AWESOME!

A heartfelt memorial at the wedding ceremony

Before walking down the aisle, Mollie released some balloons in honour of her dad, who had passed away. Mollie’s mom and brother were teary-eyed as they hugged and watched the balloons float away into the sky. It was such a touching moment and it made the emotions even stronger as Johanu went to meet her and they walked down the aisle together.

Every detail tweaked to perfection

Mollie and Johanu wanted details that would show off their personalities. They created a lot of the wedding decor and chose a travel theme to highlight their long-distance relationship and their love of adventure. They had a world globe for their guests to sign in place of a traditional guest book. A string of origami flowers made from map pages hung from the ceiling. A large world map hung on the wall over the sweet table and was painted with the quote “Home is wherever I’m with you”.

They also included a few nods to their love of reading. A vintage library card catalog was there to help the guests find their seats. Each table was named after a favourite book that the couple loves and had a copy of the book as part of the centrepiece decorations. As a bookworm, I approved!

There’s no doubt about it: Mollie and Johanu are such a sweet couple together. They couldn’t stop smiling at each other throughout the entire day–from the first look along the canal until they were singing along with all their friends during the dancing at the end of the night. I am beyond happy for this lovely couple and wish them nothing but happiness moving forward!

Special thanks to John Koo for photographing this special day alongside me!

Planning an Espace Canal wedding?

If you have any questions about the Espace Canal wedding venue or would like to see more photos from my time with this awesome couple, just let me know.

If you’re looking for natural and spontaneous photography for your wedding, send me a message to check if I’m available. I’d love to hear more about your wedding plans.