Origin Story | 1980’s Gulf Island Micro Wedding
ORIGIN STORY
What started it all – a 1980’s Gulf Island MICRO WEDDING
Kate’s parents always said they “built their wedding chapel” – it took a year of boating the supplies into a remote Gulf Island (Ruxton), and working long hours into the dark after work. They lived in a small 400-foot beach cabin at the time and balanced their careers as the build.
Her mom, a passionate rock mason, took over designing and building a sandstone fireplace (all 10 tons of it). Her dad, a biologist, and his friends took charge of the footings, framing, and amenities, including their much-loved seaside cedar sauna named “Insaunity” and then “Insaunity Two” – after the first drifted away in a high tide.
Their wedding was an intimate seaside ceremony on their deck, followed by a 3-day potluck-style reception – all shot on 35 mm film by a favourite Uncle – on an August long weekend in 1983. There were enough friends and cold champagne pops that the sauna windows didn’t survive the weekend.
The albums they created of this era are at the heart of her family’s legacy. This cabin and their goal setting were truly the foundation on which they built their family on.
No matter what happens, what changes in your life, and what stays the same – create, document, preserve and cherish the beauty in your life. The memorable, the lovable, and that which made you feel most alive – these things help ground and centre you, during the best days and the hardest.
Our photos contain the energy of our greatest moments – they become all that we have, and all that remains.
Photos – 1983 // Ruxton Island on Film