The “light” reveal: Small West Island of Montreal wedding with portraits at Centennial Park in DDO

A family-first wedding with an afternoon picnic in the park

Your wedding — or in this case, weddings — can be exactly what you want them to be. In the case of Pia and Jad, their Montreal wedding was the first one, and then they would be travelling to Europe for another celebration with family overseas.

They opted out of a formal venue. The couple married at a local West Island Church, and then headed to Centennial park for portraits, where the family gathered for a picnic. Later that day, the family came together again at a local restaurant for an informal dinner - just tables amongst other diners and not a formal reception.

If you’re looking for a Montreal wedding venue that’s a bit more formal than this wedding, you can consider a spot like Auberge des Gallant. Click here to see a wedding at the Auberge.

Doing it differently

While it was a traditional church wedding with lots of family formals to commemorate such a special day, the couple decided to marry on a Friday. Post-pandemic, it hasn’t been unusual to book a day other than a Saturday, and this day just worked better for the couple who actually live outside of Montreal but returned to exchange their vows.

The “light” reveal

In the spirit of my eternal duality, a light reveal has a double meaning:

To feature select photographs from the wedding
To comment on the light and other elements to be considered when planning your wedding photography at this venue

This Montreal wedding had only 20 guests, mostly family. While it was a small number, there were many family portraits, as it was important for the couple to capture all who attended with formal portraits. It’s amazing how many combinations can result from 20 people! It was a very warm day in May, one of our first heat waves, but we found a shady spot with nice landscaping and went through the list. Luckily, everyone was in great spirits and in a celebratory mood, so things went very smoothly.

Centennial Park in Dollard des Ormeaux is a large park nestled in a populated residential area, but feels very much in spots like a nature reserve. It features some trails, forested areas, a small gazebo and a lake, as well as more manicured spots like the playground and picnic tables. It also has a chalet with washrooms.

I have photographed in the park a few times and while it’s a popular spot, it never feels overly crowded. And when you’re photographing a wedding, people are very understanding and accommodating and will move to allow you to claim a space. While this wedding was too early for a sunset, this park boasts a lovely sunset view over the lake, and definitely a spot that can be considered for golden hour photos.

Watch for the full reveal of this fun and colourful daytime wedding!

Here’s to joy,

Lucy