A Handcrafted Winter Wedding
KATHERINE & MICHAEL at the MONTREAL SCIENCE CENTRE
Katherine and Michael's winter wedding at the Montreal Science Centre was a celebration shaped, almost entirely, by their own hands. The save-the-dates and stationery? Designed by Michael. The matchbook favors? Made by Michael. The cake? Baked together by Michael's mother and Katherine's father. The officiant? Michael's cousin, Ryan. Even the rings were sourced from family heirlooms and a small handful of trusted local jewelers. This was a wedding designed the way the most meaningful weddings are: by the people getting married, with the people they love.
The most telling detail came on the invitation itself. Katherine and Michael — based in New York and rooted in a worldview that shapes how they live — asked their guests not to buy anything new. Anything worn that day was to be vintage, or something already loved. They led by example: Katherine in a vintage wedding gown, vintage Dior shoes, a vintage handbag that had a story before it had a wedding day. It wasn't a styling choice. It was a value, carried into the celebration the way they carry it through the rest of their lives.
The day began at the W Hotel, where Katherine had her first look with her father — emotional and unhurried, the kind of moment that asks the photographer to stand back and let it happen — followed by the first look with Michael in one of the hotel's lower lounges.
We made portraits there afterward, working with available light, deep shadows, and a touch of flash to lean into the mood the space invited. From there, the ceremony at the Montreal Science Centre, officiated by Michael's cousin — personal, deeply meaningful, the kind of ceremony that carries the weight of a real relationship between the couple and the person marrying them. Cocktails, then nighttime portraits along the Old Port, then a reception that earned both its speeches and its dance floor.
Most of the weddings I photograph are summer weddings — outdoor ceremonies, golden-hour light, gardens. February in Montreal is a different proposition entirely. Less daylight, colder air, every part of the day held indoors. For Katherine and Michael, that wasn't a constraint to work around; it was the entire point. They wanted a winter wedding in the city they loved, with the architecture and the light that came with it. For me, it was an invitation to work differently — to lean into shadow, into mixed light sources, into the kind of compositional rigor a winter indoor wedding asks of you. Some of my favorite frames I have ever made came from this day.
Why the Montreal Science Centre Is One of Old Montreal's Best Indoor Wedding Venues
The Montreal Science Centre is a venue I now recommend often to couples planning a winter wedding in Montreal — or any couple who wants the architectural drama of a modern industrial space inside one of the city's most historic neighborhoods. Its soaring arched windows look directly out onto the Old Port and the St. Lawrence; its interior is essentially a blank canvas, which is exactly what couples like Katherine and Michael need to bring a vision to life. In warmer months, the rooftop and terrace open up portrait possibilities most Old Montreal venues can't match. For couples drawn to the contrast of contemporary architecture inside a historic setting, it's one of the most flexible and compelling indoor wedding venues in Old Montreal.
