Green | You May French Kiss The Bride

Mar 2014

Jessica + Mike

A Yellow and Green Themed Wedding Close to Nature in Canada

Jessica and Mike had a beautiful and relaxed wedding close to nature in Canada. They like to host dinner parties at home – lots of home-style food and loud music – and wanted everyone to feel confortable on their wedding day, just as if it would be at home… Apparently, the bride’s 80+ year old grandmother ended up dancing to the band playing Footloose, so I guess we can call this a success! I love their ceremony backdrop, the idea of using song names for the different tables and the venue with all those windows looking onto the surrounding nature! Photography by Tomasz Wagner, out of Vancouver, Canada.

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The wedding took place on July 13, 2013, at the Squamish Lil’Wat Cultural Center in Whistler, British Columbia, Canada.

After Mike proposed, our toughest decision was which province to have the wedding. Once we decided on British Columbia, Whistler was an obvious choice. The Squamish Lil’wat Cultural Centre was such a fun venue, with attributes like a beautiful outdoor space and the Istken Hall, which is a unique round room made up of all windows that shows off the gorgeous scenery. It would have been impossible to pass up. After that, all the decisions came easily thanks to Jessica Minnie at Petite Pearl Events. She was so integral to making our day easy and special that I can’t rave about her enough. It was Jessica that put us in contact with Tomasz Wagner, whose photos were exactly what we were looking for in terms of style. We didn’t want anything overtly wedding-y, and what we got with Tomasz was beautiful fine art photos that happened to be of our wedding. Perfect. Mike and I love to open our home to family and friends. Jessica Minnie coordinated Whistler Cooks and the Last Scene, our caterer and band respectively. They were so perfect that it seemed as if people were coming to dinner at our home.

Of the whole day, the top moments started early and continued until the band played the last song. An early morning run with my mom will forever be such a great memory, and we followed that up with a huge group of the women both in and invited to the wedding being part of a private morning yoga practice before we started getting ready. I’ll never forget the first time my stepdad saw me in my dress and the look on his face, which was right before I saw the look on Mike’s face and his huge grin. Walking down the aisle to Mark Woodyard playing ‘Longing to Belong’ was beautiful, I only wish it had been a longer aisle. Right after we said our vows and turned to the crowd of family and friends was when it hit me that we were both having such a fun day and then ‘holy cow all these people are here to do this with us, how great is that?!’. After our first dance, the band started playing and got everyone on the dance floor. It was never empty the rest of the night! The only time people took time out from dancing was to hit up the Polaroid Photobooth set up outside, which was a huge hit with all our guests. When we finally headed back to the hotel, a short walk from the venue, we took a moment to look up and see the beautiful clear night absolutely filled with stars and knew that it had been our perfect, perfect day.

Name one thing you regret…

Whistler Cooks did such a beautiful job on the family-style dinner and in particular the salads. We wish that we had thought of cute takeaway containers as there was so much left over that our guests expressed they would have loved to take them home. It’s nice to have wedding food that people rave about and remember!

… And one thing you’re really happy about/ proud of.

Everyone had such a great time, we were just so happy to have a party that was so close to hosting all the people we love to our home.

The word of the photographer.

Thinking back, the whole day mirrored Jessica and Mike to a T. Both were happy to keep the event simple and understated, which really only helped amplify the sense of closeness between all of the attendees. The groom, who was full of nerves, took solace in the brotherly advice of his cohorts and that same support was mirrored, if perhaps softened, in the bride’s room. The ceremony was short and sweet. Anxious excitement melted into tears of joy which then flipped back to smiles and laughter.

Once the formalities were dispensed with, we stole the wedding party away for a quick jaunt through the surrounding forest where the couple could collect their thoughts and bask in the reflection of their newly cemented nuptials. The light peeking through the overgrowth was spectacular and I can still remember how excited I was to see the images on a larger screen. The ethereal greens and flares still vivid in my memory.

The calm eventually gave way to a raucous celebration of drinking and dancing at the Squamish Lil’Wat Cultural Centre. A live band played the group into the night where our very own Polaroid Photobooth was a huge hit.

Thank you, Jess and Mike, for letting me share in your special day. It won’t soon be forgotten!

Jan 2014

Sarah + Ethan

Outdoor DIY Green and Purple Wedding

Today, I’m sharing the wedding of Sarah and Ethan. I’m sure you’ll notice Sarah’s beautiful dress and the original colors they chose for the tables’ setting; I also love how Sarah and Ethan made the details at their wedding mean something to them: for instance, they found a way to have some lost family members present at their ceremony by creating a nice setting with photos of them, how sweet? Photography by Rhema Images Photography.

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The wedding took place in June last year at the Keen Lake Resort in Waymart, Pennsylvania, United States. Here are some memories form the bride.

One of my best memories of the day involved how the wedding had turned into a family affair. Everyone had helped in one aspect or another so that it really felt more like a celebration of two families as opposed to two people. For example, my bridesmaids made the boutonnieres that morning, the groomsmen and cousins helped with the setup, my grandmother and mother landscaped the area and my aunts helped find and paint the mason jars for the tables.

Name one thing you regret…

Weddings are stressful times in general, and can be more so if you don’t let go. I tried to do as much as possible myself to save on costs for the wedding and ended up inconsolable the morning before the rehearsal dinner because a bird had died -outside. That was really the turning point and a more relaxed attitude helped me to enjoy that night and the wedding – especially when the hair stylist decided to change my hair, the officiant was late, and I forgot to order the number of tables the caterer requested.

… And one thing you’re really happy about/ proud of.

Happy about/proud of: One the most memorable details for me was the ceremony spot. That was a collaborative effort. My grandmother had spent the last few months landscaping her entire yard for the cocktail hour and ceremony site. I was trying to incorporate those family members that had passed on, like Ethan’s father, and found that including the family wedding photos at the site seemed the most natural way to remember and include them. Of course, I was busier than expected on the day of, so I relied on the groomsmen to set up the entire lawn area. It’s the memories like that, of people pitching in and helping to create the wedding that are my favorite. It reminded me of an old fashioned wedding and made it feel so much more family and friend oriented and less like just another big party.

I was also happy how the wedding incorporated so much of us. Among my favorites, the boutonnieres and confetti were made from Jane Austen books, my favorite author, the plates were made of bamboo and easily compostable, and the tables reflected our geeky side and were named after fictional and historical places we’d love to visit.

Dec 2013

Tamara + Stefano

Italian Vintage Wedding with Songs to End the Day With

A simple countryside wedding… Except that it took place in the middle of Milan! This couple is the living proof that when you really want something, there’s always a way. I love the sweet atmosphere they created and how the day ended with everybody singing together! Photography: Davide Zanoni out of Italy.

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The wedding happened on the 9th of June in the outskirts of Milan, in a place called Cascina Boscaccio. The place consists of an 11th century villa, a farmhouse hosting animals and a huge park, all this located in this isolated, sort of a natural oasis, surrounded by a beautiful lake. From the bride.

Stefano is italian, born in Milan and I am Serbian, I came eight years ago to study architecture in Italy. We met by pure accident at the university. I say by accident, because when we saw each other for the first time, Stefano was already a full employed architect while I was doing my last exam. At that time, he was coming to the university only because he was working on a competition together with his old school mates. As a matter of fact, he even got to see me cry, as the exam didn’t come out as I was hoping it will be, so while I was releasing my frustration through the tears, his big brown eyes were looking at me. :)

After some thinking, we got excited about having a wedding in a rustic style, but the idea to have hay bales as our furniture was a huge problem for us. Just imagine trying to find the perfect rectangular hay bales in the middle of Milan?!? O.K. Now imagine the trouble it is getting them transported, making armchairs out of two, three, four of them… not to mention the traces that it leaves behind!!! Not only did we have to talk with like every farmer in the area, going in the middle of nowhere to get the hay and transport them in the car, but we also had to hide them in our basement in order to make our experiments. Try doing that in the building where the average age of your neighbours is 70 years old?!? Eventually, it was fun and it created a nice atmosphere as a part of our wedding decoration, so it was quite successful move!!

Name one thing you regret…

One thing we regret is having too much people at the wedding, that is, we wish we had made it a smaller and more intimate wedding. Not that we had people we didn’t want to, but having less people means being more interactive, involved and dedicated to each other to enjoy this day as much as it is possible.

All of us were pretty much stressed thinking about everything to be perfect. To people planning to get married : ”Don’t be so stressed!”. It is inevitable and you know it, but the best part is that on your wedding day, all this stress is forgotten and you only care about having the greatest day of your life together with the people you love.

… And one thing you’re really happy about: proud of.

Even if you are trying to be original, you will find difficulties achieving it as it seems like everything has already been done, like every possible style and form has been carried out, so it’s important to try to be yourself by doing the things by yourself!

Stefano and I are the type of people who would never get a wedding planner, even though it makes everything so much easier – but maybe less personal as well. This is also why we chose to get married with our close friends. Having a familiar face in front of you gives you the insurance that the words you are saying and things you’re promising to the person next to you are more alive and worthy.

So, bottom line, this is what we are proud of – the fact that we did everything on our own, especially the things that we’ve done manually: from the complete design of our invitations to the favors, table decor, venue decorations & center pieces. Those are the things that today have a special place at our home so every time we have a look at them, it fills us with the joy of that day.