Murray's Pond Wedding - Jessica + Julia // St. John's Wedding Photography

Jessica and Julia's wedding was last month here in St. John's and it was such a beautiful wedding. An intimate outside ceremony with their cloesest family and friends held at Murray's Pond Fishing and Country club filled with the most amazing DIY wedding decor. The cake made by Jessica's sister Andrea may very well be my favourite cake I've photographed. It was simply amazing to look at. I think both Jess and Julia didn't want to cut it at the end of the night! :) 

As with my previous posts this year, I asked them a few questions about their wedding day so my blog visitors could get an idea of how they chose their vendors. See their responses below. Congrats Jess and Julia! 

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The Couple: Jess and I have been friends since we were small, and played on the same soccer team together as kids. We didn't know each other well at the time, but stayed in touch through a mutual friend. In university, Jess became part of my regular friend group and I nursed a pretty debilitating crush on her. We started dating in July of 2011 and got engaged in May of 2016.

How long did it take you to plan your wedding? One year (13 months, if I'm being persnickety)

Vendors you choose and why?

Dresses: Although we visited a few bridal salons, Jess and I both bought our dresses from Ever After Bridal Boutique. The customer service we received was beyond stellar, and we both found dresses that we loved. Even I wound up walking out with something pretty much the opposite of what I went shopping for.

Decor: We did our own decorations for the wedding. **Heavy subtext: our families helped enormously with creating and assembling the decor for our wedding.

Photography: That's you Jim! We had a recommendation from another photographer (Alex Stead) who thought that we would like your style. (She was right.) You made the day and all the planning a lot more relaxed for both Jess and I. We genuinely enjoyed getting together with you and hearing your thoughts on our plans for the day, and hanging out during our engagement shoot and the wedding day. A++ would hire again.

Flowers: We had a pretty DIY wedding. Ours (and our bridesmaids') bouquets were generously provided by the gardens of Jess's parents, grandmother, and aunt.

Hair and Makeup: Mobile Hair by Allison handled both brides and our bridesmaids' hair on the wedding day, as well as my mother's. She was fast and very personable and we highly recommend her. Jess's and her sisters' makeup was done by Sephora in the Avalon Mall. Mine was done by my sister.

Other vendors you'd like to acknowledge?: Andrea Major (Jess's sister) made our wedding cake, which was OUTRAGEOUS. I haven't stopped showing people photos of it, even months after the fact. The hand-sculpted sugar succulents blew everyone away.

Rev. Carl Major, Jess's grandfather, always hoped to be the one officiating the marriages of his grandkids, but we sort of threw a wrench into that by being a same-sex wedding, which he couldn't legally perform due to religious restrictions. Instead of settling for that, he went out and got a one-day license as an officiant to marry us in a civil ceremony, which I still can't think too hard about without getting weepy.

Nicole at The Newfoundland Tea Co. We gave out her organic teas as our wedding favours and she was an absolute doll to deal with. Her Wild Blueberry tea has changed my life forever.

Chris and Rodney Philpott handled the alterations for both of our dresses and couldn't have been more accommodating or more enjoyable to work with. We were genuinely disappointed to no longer have an excuse to go down to their studio to visit them when the dresses were done.

Melanie O'Brien came through in clutch when we were left without a musician three weeks before our wedding date. She was unbelievably sweet and managed to put together something we absolutely loved. The comments we got after the ceremony were almost all about her amazing playing (guitar) and incredible singing.

The team at Murray's Pond Fishing & Country Club went along with all of our visions for the wedding and went to every length to make it perfect. We spoke a lot with Lisa, who was always genuinely excited and positive about every question we had and every request we made.

Julia's favourite moment? "I stole Jess away from the party so we could sit together in the lit gazebo in the dark and finally have a minute to ourselves in the middle of all the excitement. I think that was the moment the whole wedding day really hit me."

Jess's favourite moment? "This is really cheesy, but honestly the whole day was my favourite. But if I had to pick something, we had a First Look and some time together before the ceremony, and that was really special."

Advice to couples currently planning their wedding: Don't get bogged down by tiny details. Don't focus on little things you have no control over. (I got a massive grass stain on my dress right before the ceremony, personally. Nailed it!) It's a crazy time, but enjoy spending time with your family and friends in the days around the wedding. If you have a chance on the wedding day to sit down and take it all in, do it.

Bridal dress from Ever After Bridal Boutique hangs in a window before a Newfoundland wedding in St. John's
Bride in her Ever After Bridal Boutique dresses gets ready for her Newfoundland wedding in St. John's
A bride and her rings before her St. John's, Newfoundland wedding.
Bride prepares for her Newfoundland wedding in St. John's
A bride prepares for her wedding day in St. John's, Newfoundland
A couple prepares for their first look during their St. John's, Newfoundland wedding
A couple is about to see each other during their first look at their Newfoundland wedding in St. John's
A couple reacts to seeing each other for the first time during their St. John's, Newfoundland wedding
A couple shares an intimate moment after seeing each other for the first time at their St. John's, Newfoundland wedding.
A couple shares an intimate moment after seeing each other for the first time at their St. John's, Newfoundland wedding.
A couple laughs after seeing each other for the first time at their St. John's, Newfoundland wedding.
Moments after seeing each other for the first time at their St. John's, Newfoundland wedding.
Intimate moment with a couple moments after seeing each other for the first time at their St. John's, Newfoundland wedding.
Intimate moment with a couple moments after seeing each other for the first time at their St. John's, Newfoundland wedding in their parents backyard
Backyard wedding portraits with a couple in St. John's, Newfoundland
Backyard wedding portraits with a couple in St. John's, Newfoundland
A couple walks to Quidi Vidi for their wedding photography in St. John's, Newfoundland
A bride in Quidi Vidi for her wedding photography in St. John's, Newfoundland
Wedding party photographs in Quidi Vidi - St. John's, Newfoundland
A couple in Quidi Vidi for their wedding photography in St. John's, Newfoundland
A couple in Quidi Vidi for their wedding photography in St. John's, Newfoundland
A couple in Quidi Vidi for their wedding photography in St. John's, Newfoundland
Same sex couple in Quidi Vidi for their wedding photography in St. John's, Newfoundland
Same sex couple in Quidi Vidi for their wedding photography in St. John's, Newfoundland
Same sex couple share a moment in Quidi Vidi for their wedding photography in St. John's, Newfoundland
Bridal party during the outside wedding ceremony held at Murray's Pond in St. John's, Newfoundland
A father reacts to walking his daughter down the aisle during the outside wedding ceremony held at Murray's Pond in St. John's, Newfoundland
Vows during an outside wedding ceremony held at Murray's Pond in St. John's, Newfoundland
Outside Newfoundland wedding ceremony held at Murray's Pond in Portugal Cove-St. Philips
Outside Newfoundland wedding ceremony held at Murray's Pond in Portugal Cove-St. Philips
DIY decor at a wedding reception held at Murray's Pond in Portugal Cove-St. Philips
DIY decor at a wedding reception held at Murray's Pond in Portugal Cove-St. Philips
DIY decor at a St. John' s wedding reception held at Murray's Pond in Newfoundland
DIY decor at a St. John' s wedding reception held at Murray's Pond in Newfoundland
DIY decor at a St. John' s wedding reception held at Murray's Pond in Newfoundland
Succulent cake at a St. John' s wedding reception held at Murray's Pond in Newfoundland
Brides laugh during their wedding reception held at Murray's Pond in Newfoundland
Newfoundland Wedding held at Murray's Pond Fishing and Country Club
Happy coupe during their wedding reception held at Murray's Pond in Newfoundland
Sunset photographs of a couple at their wedding reception held at Murray's Pond in Newfoundland
Sunset photographs of a couple at their wedding reception held at Murray's Pond in Newfoundland
Wedding PhotographyJP MullowneyMurray's PondEver After Bridal Boutique, Mobile Hair by Allison, Sephora, Rodney Philpott Designs, Melanie O'Brien, Murray's Pond Fishing & Country Club, The Newfoundland Tea Co.