There are all kinds of weddings. There are elopements, traditional cultural weddings, arranged marriages… for someone in the industry, I thought I’ve heard of basically all of them. And then I was approached by Cowboys Night Club to be a part of this wedding event called the Cowboys Shotgun Wedding, I was quite surprised. The Cowboys Shotgun Wedding is a contest hosted by The Calgary Sun and CJAY92 with 2013 being it’s second year running. The premise of the Cowboys Shotgun Wedding is to enter the contest by submitting a photo of yourself and your girlfriend/boyfriend and to explain why you are the “most spontaneous couple ever”. The winner of the Cowboys Shotgun Wedding receives a stunning engagement ring (valued at $10,000!) by Tacori to propose and marry your significant other on the stage of the Cowboys tent during the Calgary Stampede. Um, wow!! Talk about amazing. I sponsored this event and was very happy to be invited to photograph it as it happened, even though I was on the cusp of what would turn into a huge flu. That definitely didn’t stop me from coming, though. (You can see the Cowboys Shotgun Wedding contest page here.)
As it turns out, our winners of the Cowboys Shotgun Wedding of 2013 were Sherri and Troy, a couple from High River who were unfortunately affected by the awful floods we experienced earlier this year. According to The Calgary Sun’s article, Sherri signed herself and Troy up for this contest after hearing about it on the radio – saying that they’ve wanted to get married for a long time but it was never the right time. Sherri opted into the contest saying that this would be “fast and fun”. :) The two have been together for 8 years and have a 6-year-old daughter together.
It was an interesting experience as a photographer; there were 4 other photographers and media persons there in a tight fitted VIP spot in front of the stage to maneuver around in. The entire ceremony was over in less than 15 minutes and boom, the couple was married and Sherri cried while Terry fist pumped. They went straight to their cake cutting and family was also there to congratulate them on their nuptials. I’ll never forget the look on Sherri’s face when she saw the beautiful Tacori ring… she was definitely swept off of her feet! The Cowboys Shotgun Wedding was a really cool event and I’m pleased to be a part of it!
Read more about the first Cowboys Shotgun Wedding!
