April 11th 2026

I met up with Christine as she was putting on the final touches at MEC Riverside. Once Christine and Peter found each other, we spent some time simply wandering the Riverside space together, and I have to say, this venue does not do anything halfway. When we stepped into the ceremony room for the first time, I actually stopped in my tracks. Crystals hung from the ceiling in this sweeping, cascading wave, catching every bit of light in the room and scattering it back down in glittering fragments. It felt less like a ceremony space and more like walking into something out of a dream, bright and glowing and completely stunning.

And then the ceremony itself began, and if I'm being honest, I don't think I stopped smiling the entire time. Christine and Peter were beaming from the second they saw each other, laughing their way through their own vows, the kind of laughter that is just pure unfiltered joy bubbling up because two people are genuinely thrilled to be marrying each other. Above them, that crystal light kept raining down in slow, shifting patterns, and every time I raised my camera I caught something new, a flicker here, a burst of light there. It was, without question, one of the most visually stunning ceremonies I've had the privilege of shooting.

From there we moved almost immediately into the reception, and let me tell you, the food alone deserves its own paragraph. Peking Garden brought out a full family-style Chinese dinner, dish after dish landing on the tables in this steady, generous parade, the kind of meal that turns a wedding reception into an actual feast. Christine and Peter made their way from table to table throughout dinner, stopping to greet every single guest personally, and you could feel how much that mattered to them. This wasn't a couple content to stay tucked away at a head table. They wanted to be in it, with everyone, the whole night.

The toasts that followed came straight from family, warm and sweet, setting up their first dance beautifully. And what a first dance it was. That same crystal light from the ceremony returned overhead, this time washed in deep blues and purples, turning the entire dance floor into something that felt almost otherworldly. Christine and Peter moved through it like the room had been built specifically for this exact moment, and honestly, maybe it had.

We closed out the night in the outdoor courtyard, the two of them twirling together under a sky full of stars, the noise of the reception fading behind them for just a few quiet minutes. After a day full of crystal light and family-style feasts and a room bursting with laughter, that final stretch outside felt like the perfect exhale, still, soft, and completely theirs.

Vendors: MEC Riverside (venue), Peking Garden (catering), Buttercream (cake/desserts), Silk Stem Collective (Megan) (florist), Ambient Entertainment (Adrian Quilling) (DJ/emcee, lighting, and photo booth), Entourage Events Group (Leah Bartizal)(wedding planner), The Peterson Brothers (videographer)