Alecs & Alex - Romanian Orthodox Wedding in Squamish, BC

 How do I know this will be a fairytale wedding, you ask? Well, read the signs:

And above all else, the venue is the beautiful British Columbia.

 Everybody is having a busy morning at the Sunwolf Lodge:

 Liz and Anna are quite fascinated with the bride-to-be and the transformations she's going through:

 Alecs has a record breaking of three moms right now, and none of them is a step mom, but all of them are here to help her:

 Thoughtful gifts for the bridesmaids.

 In the nearby cabin there's a lot more testosterone:

 Not sure if that's a contest in the back there, but the boys sure are having fun:

 As soon as they are ready, Alex and his groomsmen walk over to the girls' cabin to pick up Alecs:

 The cookies are meant to distract them and, briefly, they do a good job:

 But Alex is very determined to get married today:

 And he doesn't stop until he gets his hand - and mouth, in this case - on the love of his life:

 Haven't been to an Orthodox wedding in a long time. The GoPro must be one of those new tools of the trade for the Holy Sacrament:

 Here comes William with a straightforward message for the esteemed gathering:

 Here comes the groom, joined by his Godparents:

 Last, but definitely not least, here comes the bride:

 The Sacrament of the Holy Matrimony is one of the seven sacraments observed by the Orthodox Church. The service has remained unchanged through the centuries and the rituals have special meaning and significance. Each is performed three times to honour the mystical presence of the Holy Trinity.

 Even the first one, the lighting of the candles has to be performed three times, but for a different reason, the wind.

 The sacrament is divided into two distinct parts: the Service of Betrothal and the Service of Crowning.

 The Betrothal Service is comprised of petitions, prayers and the exchange of rings.

 The priest petitions God for His blessings of the rings and thrice blesses the couple with the rings.

 The blessing alternates between the bride and groom symbolically entwining their lives.

 Within the Orthodox theology of the Sacrament, it is God who unites the couple to become one. Thus, there's no exchange of vows; rather, the conjugal union is blessed by Christ through the church.

Climaxing the marriage service is the Office of the Crowning:

The crowns signify the glory and honor of God given to the couple during the Sacrament.

 The bride and groom are crowned as the queen and king of their kingdom, the home, which they will rule with wisdom, justice and integrity.

 It's hard to look away when you're in the presence of royalty:

 The Godparents hold lit candles throughout the ceremony. They symbolize the spiritual willingness of the couple to receive the light of Christ.

 Silently, William is trying to accentuate the message he's carrying:

 The romantic in me finds adorable and refreshing that Alecs and Alex hold hands throughout the ceremony:

 If nothing else, this is a good reason to be a part of this ceremony, the Common Cup:

 The drinking of wine serves to impress upon the couple that, from this moment on, they will share everything in life, joys as well as sorrows:

 Oh, and there's enough for the Godparents, too:

 Toward the end, the priest leads them on a Ceremonial Walk around the table:

 These first steps as partners are to emphasize the focus of their 'life's walk' together.

 Before it's all over, the couple is kissing the crowns goodbye:

 The wedding is sealed with the traditional kiss and the official signatures.

 The newest couple in this corner of the woods:

Anca helps fixing a true Romanian snack arrangement:

As you may notice, the abundant vegetarian options range from mouthwatering carnations to flavorful peonies. This reminds me of an old Romanian saying, dating back to the communist era, when meat was on the menu only once or twice a year for the vast majority of the population: pork is the best vegetable.

 The guys have their own appetizer, homemade palinca:

 Now they look happy:

 We have to leave that for a while and go deep into the enchanted forest for some pictures:

 Alecs: "Alex asked me out in the most romantic way: in a seaplane, as we were cruising overtop breathtaking views of Vancouver. I said no, at first. After all, he was visiting only for the summer. Years later, when I found out Alex was waiting to move to canada, it was my turn to reach out. To my surprise, he replied, and we chatted ceaselessly, day and night, for months until he arrived in Vancouver. That was over 8 years ago, and we haven't stopped talking since. Alex has been my saving grace and a source of inspiration and courage. It was a magical adventure to plan our wedding in gorgeous British Columbia, the place that brought us together."

 Alex: "I had been in Canada for two weeks when I grew restless with waiting for Alecs to contact me and ask me out. Plus, it's the guy who has to make the first move, after all... So, I got her number and made the call. Used to the Romanian cellphones, I said 'Hi, so are we going out?', and freaked her out well. I found out later that Caller ID wasn't that common in Canada. Then, on our first date the next day, I also found out Romanian credit cards don't always work, so she had to buy me ice cream. Later, as we were sitting on a bench in English Bay, I wanted to be romantic so I planned to kiss her as the sun set beneath the lowest branch hanging over our bench - I mean she had greeted me earlier that day with the friendliest of hugs I'd ever received. But boy, did I learn the sun takes a long time to set! So, being ever so impulsive, I mumbled 'Ah... forget it' and planted one on her. And it was all pure love from that moment on, into that sunset, and the life that followed."

 Hunger and thirst brings us back in time for the reception:

 Here's something pretty awesome I've never seen before, books for centerpieces:

 When the bride tells you to drink, you drink:

 The cake cutting goes as expected, Alex missing the target intentionally:

 With their mouths full of cake, this must be the sweetest kiss ever:

 A lot of emotions surface during the first dance. Alex was born with a congenital hip disease and he had many surgeries as a child. His ability to walk is a miracle as it is.

 But he pulls off a beautiful choreographed dance with his new wife in everybody's cheers:

 While Punjabis steal the groom's shoes and demand a ransom as part of wedding traditions, the Romanians prove to be a little extreme by stealing the whole bride:

 The negotiations begin, but this particular groom has a very swift and clear response:

 Backed up by his brother in law, they counterattack immediately.

 And the result is overwhelmingly passionate:

 The bride-nappers get the three bottles of palinca they asked for, but they are empty. They'll have to sharpen their negotiating skills and strategy for the next opportunity:

 We're back to speeches and tears.

 And emotional memories.

 Congratulations one more time, Alecs and Alex! Thank you so much for inviting me to Squamish for your fairytale wedding.
Casa de piatra!

love.more.cosmin

Vendors 'n' Things:

Orthodox Wedding Ceremony & Reception - Sunwolf Riverside Cabins, Squamish, BC
Priest - Nicu Liuta, Sf. Gheorghe Romanian Orthodox Church
Tent & Event Rental - Rental Network
Catering - G-Van Catering
Decorations - Bride, Family, Friends
Makeup - Jena Jacquot
Hair - Marina Pedisic
Flowers - Proline Trading
Wedding Cake - Sweet Kiwi Cupcakes and Cookies
Most Delicious Desserts - Codruta Rotaru
Accordion - Sorin Rotaru
DJ - Radu Stana
Video - Vladimir Ilic
Second Shooter & Photo Assistant - Ella Anderson
Romanian Wedding Photographer - Squamish Wedding Photography

You like? You want? Send me a note: cosmindanilaphoto@gmail.com