I promise to love you, even when you're being a stinker | Emma & Josiah's Wedding Film

Josiah and Emma met in Abbotsford, BC in 2019 at a tiny college called Columbia Bible School. Emma packed her bags and moved across the country and Josiah left California and travelled to a new country. As the year progressed, they spent every waking moment together travelling, hiking mountains, sailing ships, and just learning what it looked like to grow in their relationships with the Lord. Given that their program was so tiny and the amount of time they spent together, Josiah and Emma started to fall hard for each other. They started flirting around a little more, hanging out intentionally one on one until she took him on a DTR walk. They went on this walk and Emma asked Josiah what his intentions were with her because she knew how hard she was falling for this California guy but didn't know exactly where he was at. Their story has always been in God's hands because making this long of a distance relationship work is not always ideal. On January 10th of 2020, Josiah asked Emma to be his girlfriend and also asked if she would move to the states and follow him and his pursuit to go to Grand Canyon University. Her initial thought was ARE YOU CRAZY?! She was not only was a broke college student but was scared to follow a man to a different country and start a new life away from everything she knew. Emma decided to apply to GCU just to see if it was possible and slowly as the months went on at Bible school the doors began to open. They continued to pursue our undergrads in Arizona and would spend long summers apart and stay in contact via Facetime and texting. Josiah proposed on April 21 of 2021 right as the year was closing up and it was one of the happiest times. He totally surprised Emma. They were planning on getting engaged in the fall of that year but Josiah knew how complicated wedding planning would be and he wanted her family to celebrate with them so he proposed on South Mountain on April 21. Emma thought we were going for a sunrise morning hike, something very typical for them to do and little did she know he had their engagement planned. Emma and Josiah both love adventure, love newness and change, and are very sociable people. They love being with and hosting people and their goal in life is to let everyone experience the love of Christ through our actions.
When I asked them what marriage means to them, this is what they said:
"Marriage means a lot of things to us. Not only is it a covenant before the Lord but a commitment to live as "one" through both happy and sad times, through every challenge of life. Marriage means sacrifice, growth, disagreements, laughter, change, family, support, intimacy and SO much more. Josiah and I decided to get married at this age because we are madly in love for eachother. We know that God has brought us together and we are ready to start experiencing life together rather than apart. Long distance is difficult, living a part a couple months of the year is also very difficult. We know our love for each-other and the peace that comes with getting married is immense. We are ready to start exploring, loving and growing together!"
Emma and Josiah's wedding was very DIY and a fairly small get-together at her uncle's farm in Rockwood, Ontario. They both wanted the wedding to be outdoors because they love to be outside. Celebrating with their family and friends was so important to them and they intentionally chose roles for so many people. They had cousins lead worship, family MC, and their pastor marry them. Given that the wedding was in Canada, a lot of Josiah's family could not come and so they are planning to share this video with them at our California reception to show them the special day. In addition, because of distance, Josiah hasn't met a lot of Emma's family and so this will be the first time. When Emma walked down the aisle to see Josiah for the first time on their wedding day, they both were so emotional and excited. It was beautiful to witness their vows (as seen here) and have their family and friends together to celebrate and honour their commitment to one another.
Emma and Josiah are genuine, vulnerable, and goofy people and it was such a blast to capture their personalities and silliness. But also they were so vulnerable in sharing their vows and it was an honour to document that for them to continue to relive year after year.
The Team:
Videography:
Bonsai Creative @bonsai.creative
www.bonsaicreative.ca
Photography:
Brooklynn Leitch Photography
@Brooklynnleitchphotography
Florist/Decorator:
August Tree Flower Farm
@Augusttreefarm
Hairstylist:
M & Co Hair Studio
@hairbycelinamanzi
Attire:
Bridesmaids: Show me Your Mumu
Dress: Sixpence Wedding
Caterer:
In Your Face Foods
@Inyourfacefoods
Dessert:
Krispy Kreme Donuts
Musicbed SyncID: MB01UOWTUXOBLHJ