The Lyon’s Wedding at the Medalta Pottery Centre in Medicine Hat
A Wedding Rooted in the Prairies
Their Ceremony at St. Anthony’s Church
We met Christy and Boyd at St. Anthony’s Church, a historic abandoned church outside of Medicine Hat. It sits in the middle of a field, surrounded only by the endless golden prairies.
The ceremony took place in front of the church, with twenty of their closest friends and family. It was a warm and windy day, the grasses in the field swaying to the ceremony accompaniment on acoustic guitar. Videographer Allison Knodell with All-Dae Videography was there to capture the service, so it could be shown later in the evening for the guests who were joining for the reception.
Boyd waited at the doors of the church, decorated by a floral arbour that wound around the lintel. Then, the bus pulled in, and Christy emerged from behind it, joined by her parents. The wind created great motion in the photographs, Christy’s veil and gown swirling around her. The couple stood together and shared their personal vows, both finding the delivery a bit more emotional than they had expected. Even a few members of the audience shed a few tears. Officiant Jake Knodell then pronounced them husband and wife, her grandmother blessed their union, and they shared their first kiss as a married couple! The newlyweds walked down the aisle, hand-in-hand, and popped the champagne. We photographed the newly united family, who was an easy and fun group to work with!
The Creative Formals in the Heart of the Prairies
After the ceremony, the guests headed over to the reception, and we remained at the church with the wedding party. A line of bushes on the edge of the road blocked some of the wind, so we found ourselves out on the sheltered highway. With prairies in every direction, it was clear to see we had the road to ourselves, so we lined the party up along it, getting some unique group shots. We took shots of the group walking, and even caught a photo of the guys as a lone motorcycle crossed our path.
We said goodbye to the party and headed into a nearby field with Christy and Boyd. The winds were still high, but it didn’t phase them at all, and it created beautiful movement all around them. The sky was bright blue with beautifully lit clouds and the sun shining overhead. In one of the fields, we came upon a beautiful wispy tree which was recommended as a photo stop by one of the groomsmen. We wrapped up in the field and headed out to the Medalta in the Historic Clay District of Medicine Hat.
The Beautiful Spaces in Medalta
The Historic Clay Museum in Medalta, a National Historic Site, is a gorgeous, century-old factory that served as our next space. Medalta itself is a non-profit museum, an educational space, and an arts facility, gallery, and hub that serves the community of Medicine Hat and beyond. It is a fantastic venue and emits a historical Albertan vibe, perfect for their prairie wedding.
The Medalta is also home to a colony of bats, that have lived on the property through generations, and have remained on the site for over 100 years. There are also reports of paranormal activity in the area, so around Halloween, the Medalta opens its doors for spooky history tours!
Before the wedding, we visited Medalta and took a tour of the museum. We picked out a few locations for the creative formals session, including the massive kilns that were once used to fire the pottery at the factory. The brick ceilings of the kilns are around 20 ft high, with gigantic pillars to support the dome ceilings.
We headed into the space with the bride and groom, lighting the area in red to give the brick an ethereal glow. To finish off the creative formals, we headed down to the back rooms of the factory, where the antique machinery provided us with a unique and layered backdrop.
The Lyon Reception at Medalta
The bride and groom entered the reception gallery for the grand entrance. The hall was filled with nearly 180 guests, and a further 100 were expected later on for the dance. The gallery was decorated beautifully, and the door arbour that had been used as the ceremony backdrop made another appearance, this time as the backdrop for the cake table!
Dinner began with a game to determine table order. Boyd has a great love for Arnold Schwarzenegger movies, so every table had a screenshot printout from one of his films. Up on the big screen, a short movie clip played, and whichever table had the matching screenshot got to go up and grab a plate! It was an imaginative way to get people engaged, and one of the neatest ways to serve dinner!
After dinner, the speeches commenced, and videographer Alison Knodell arrived with her same day cut of the ceremony. They played the video for the assembled guests, and we followed up with our same day slideshow of the creative formals. When the slideshow wrapped up, the dance began, and Christy and Boyd shared their first dance together to the timeless classic, ‘You Are My Sunshine.’ Then, it was into the evening with DJ Pennie of Flannigan Music SVC!
We had a beautiful day with Boyd and Christy in the prairies, and we hope they love their images as much as we loved taking them!
Online Gallery
An online gallery of all their images is available for the next 90 days. From the online gallery you are able to favourite images, order prints and share the gallery with your family and friends. The gallery can be accessed via the link below and you can contact the couple directly for their secure password.
The Lyon Wedding Day Slideshow
Above you will find the Wedding Slideshow that we created from a selection of the best edited photos that we captured on their special day.
Additional Blog Posts for Christy and Boyd
In addition to their incredible wedding day celebration, they also have other blog posts you can enjoy. Click the links below to check out those posts.
We are so fortunate to have had the opportunity to share this special day with them and all their family and friends. We wish them many years of happiness together.
Want to share in the experience? Contact us today for a free consultation or click here to book a portrait session! We also have a wickedly fun Calgary Photo Booth that is great for any event as well as Corporate and Event Photography for all sorts of events and corporate functions.
Calgary Wedding Photographers – JM Photography © 2018
The Lyon’s Wedding Credits
Date | 9.8.18
Officiant – Jake Knodel
Ceremony Location – Historical Church in a Medicine Hat Field
Reception Venue – Medalta in the Historic Clay District
Hair Salon – Chambers Salon
Makeup – Julie B Makeup
Wedding Cake – Made by a Family Friend
Florist – Costco Flowers
DJ – DJ Pennie Flannigan with Flannigan Music SVC
Photography by Jeremy Martel & Muhammed Alsalim
Videography by Allison Knodell with All-Dae Videography
Learn more about our studio
JM Photography offers Calgary brides the very best in wedding photography! Our unique style and best in class experience is one of a kind. Each wedding is treated with the greatest of care and creativity, resulting in breathtaking imagery. We also offer Calgary newborn photography, capture maternity sessions as well as family portraits.
We are one of the top studios in Western Canada, servicing the Calgary area, including but not limited to, Canmore, Banff, Cochrane, Chestermere, Airdrie, Lethbridge, and Red Deer. We also offer coverage in Edmonton, Vancouver and to destinations worldwide.
