Brandon & Selena —
Ashgrove Acres

Getting Ready

The morning was soft and unhurried. Selena getting ready with her bridesmaids, her mom pulling her in for a long hug that said everything without a single word. There's a reason I always ask to be in the room before the dress goes on — the quiet before the transformation is always where the most honest moments live. That hug is one of my favourite frames from the whole day.

There was a lightness in that room. Nobody was stressed. Everybody knew what kind of day this was going to be. When the bouquet came out — sunflowers, coral blooms, sage greens — it matched the mood exactly. Wild. Warm. Genuinely beautiful.

The Ceremony

The ceremony at Ashgrove Acres is set in an outdoor garden area shaded by towering trees — a wooden arch draped in white fabric and white florals, white folding chairs lined up on either side, and the kind of dappled Manitoba summer light that makes everything look like a film still. The setting does the heavy lifting. Your job as a couple is just to show up.

Before the processional, there was a detail I've never quite seen done the same way: the baby — their little one — was carried down with a sign reading "Daddy, it's time to give Mommy our last name." The room went quiet. That one detail told you everything about what this day actually meant. This wasn't just a wedding. It was a family making it official.

The bridal party came down one by one in coral dresses with sunflower bouquets, and then Selena appeared — and the whole day shifted. Brandon's face said everything. The vows were personal, read from paper with shaking hands, and Selena was smiling through every word of them in the way you do when you already know how the answer ends.

The recessional out — couple leading the way, every guest on their feet, applauding — is one of those frames that sums up a whole day in a single image. The arch behind them, the coral dresses on either side, the trees overhead. That's Ashgrove Acres doing exactly what it's designed to do.

The Venue

Ashgrove Acres has two distinct spaces that photograph completely differently, and both are excellent. The outdoor ceremony area is treed and intimate — a natural canopy overhead, stone pavers underfoot, the wooden arch as the focal point. It feels like a garden that happened to grow exactly right. The transition from this space to the reception tent is seamless, and the contrast between the two — from dappled outdoor light to warm chandelier glow — gives the day a natural visual arc.

The reception tent is stunning inside. White draped fabric across the full ceiling, chandeliers hanging at intervals, wood-panel walls with windows looking out to the grounds. It's elegant without feeling overdone. The proportions are right — the room is large enough to hold a full crowd comfortably but intimate enough that nobody feels like they're in a convention centre. When the couple made their grand entrance walking between the tables, every guest was already there, already seated, already ready — and the room felt full in the right way.

Golden Hour Portraits

I planned for it. We built it into the timeline. But golden hour still always surprises you with how good it actually is. At Ashgrove Acres, the light in that last hour before sunset comes across the property in long horizontal beams — the kind that cuts through the white fence slats, spills across the fields, and turns everything copper and warm. I've photographed a lot of weddings in Manitoba. The light at Ashgrove Acres at 8 PM on a clear summer night is something else.

Selena and Brandon were complete naturals. A twirl. A slow walk. A moment where they forgot about the camera entirely and just leaned into each other. That's the one. That's always the one. The images from this hour alone would fill a full gallery.

We also had sun flare working in our favour — the kind that happens organically when the angle is right and you don't fight it. Some photographers dodge it. I chase it. At a venue like Ashgrove Acres in summer, the sun and the white fence and the couple in the frame create something that looks like a painting and photographs like a dream.

The Reception

The reception tent at Ashgrove Acres was stunning — white draping overhead, chandeliers glowing warm, coral and blush napkins at each place setting that picked up the tones from the florals. Callia Flowers did an exceptional job. The space felt romantic without trying too hard, which is exactly the right balance for a countryside wedding.

Selena arrived at the venue sign and paused. Smiled. There's a photo of that moment — her in front of the Ashgrove Acres sign, grinning like she can't believe this is actually her day — and it tells you everything you need to know about the energy she brought to every moment.

The first dance was one of those slow, quiet ones. Just the two of them under the chandeliers, the room watching, not making a sound. I shot most of it in black and white because the emotion was so clean — no colour needed. Brandon lifted her at the end. The room erupted. That's the frame.

And then there were the toasts. I won't spoil them — some things belong in the room and nowhere else. What I'll say is this: there was a moment during the speeches when the camera caught something entirely unplanned, a flash of genuine, unbridled joy between two people who had been watching Brandon and Selena fall in love for years. That one candid shot ended up being one of my favourites from the entire night.

The Night Shot

There's always one frame from a wedding day that ends up defining the whole thing. For Brandon and Selena, it wasn't the golden hour twirl by the white fence — as good as that was. It wasn't the first dance or the recessional. It was the last shot of the night.

There's a massive old tree on the Ashgrove Acres property, and someone had strung it with globe lights — the warm, Edison-bulb kind that glow amber against a dark sky. By the time we got out there it was late in the evening, that deep blue that comes just after the last light fades. I had Brandon dip Selena under the tree, the lights framing them from above, the whole canopy lit from within. The camera picked up everything — the texture of the bark, the warmth of the bulbs, the blue of the sky through the leaves. The two of them at the centre of all of it.

That's the one. That's the image that tells you who these two people are and what this day felt like.

Why Ashgrove Acres

If you're considering Ashgrove Acres for your wedding, the venue sells itself — but it rewards good timing. Schedule your couple portraits for golden hour and you will have images that look like nothing else. The property's white fence, open fields, and mature trees create natural leading lines and depth that make for effortless compositional work. And then after dark, there's that tree.

There's a warmth to Ashgrove Acres that feels genuinely Manitoba — not a trendy venue concept imported from somewhere else, but a property that knows exactly what it is and does it beautifully. Summer evenings at Ashgrove Acres are when it really comes into its own.

For couples still choosing between venues, I'd also recommend reading our guide to the best wedding venues in Winnipeg and Manitoba for 2026, where Ashgrove Acres is featured alongside other top properties in the province.