This Wedding Wednesday is an extra special one for me… my own wedding! On May 19th, 2019 I married the love of my life, Colin. I’m very excited to share the details and magic moments from this special day.
I can’t believe it was over 5 months ago now! Time flies.. and now we are getting ready to go on our honeymoon!
Over the last 10 years my job has given me the privilege of working with hundreds of brides and I have seen SO much from decor, venue…getting ready ideas, the dress…ceremony, reception… and the list goes on! All that exposure was a big advantage when it came to wedding planning, however, it made the decision process a bit more challenging and overwhelming in some ways.
How was I going to choose?!
I learned you can never be prepared for the amount of decision making there is involved. It was harder than I thought, but also something I had so much fun with it!
When it came to picking a venue, most of the options in Vancouver reminded me of work. To make sure my wedding felt unique and special to us, I knew I wanted to get married somewhere outside of Vancouver.
We decided on 50th Parallel Estate Winery, a mini destination for all of our guests to enjoy a long weekend away. The Okanagan (Predator Ridge) has a special place in my heart, so it was fitting to have everyone stay there. We enjoyed a welcome party on Friday night in the ballroom at Predator Ridge to start the celebratory wedding weekend with our family and friends. Along with Saturday golf and wine tours!
My vision for the day was clear: clean lines, contemporary and high contrast.
Smitten Events were the talented planners who helped me bring this vision to life! Devon and Jordan are long time friends I have made in the industry. We bonded over the last 10 years at the many the weddings and shoots we have been a part of together. Having worked with them on the studio’s big opening launch party (almost 3 years ago now) I couldn’t wait to have them support me. It was so valuable to have them as full planners helping with all the details while running my own business.
To capture the day, I knew I wanted to work with Christie Graham, who is also a long time industry friend. She made everything so relaxed and enjoyable! I love her natural light photography and was so excited when I got these photos back!
We started the day getting ready at Sparkling Hill Resort & Spa, where I had spent the evening with my sisters enjoying some pre-wedding relaxation. Hair and makeup was done by my team Sarah, Christina, Jenny and good friend Caitlin. I couldn’t have asked for a better beauty squad! I loved my modern wedding shoes from Manolo Blahnik, along with my Pronovias Dress I was so excited to wear from Blush Bridal. Colin decided on a black Giorgio Armani suit from Harry Rosen.
A very special moment was driving up to the ceremony with my dad in his collector Mustang that he has had since he was 16 years old.
The ceremony was held up at the top of the Infinity Pad. This overlooks the entire lake and the views are seriously SO stunning. We had Greg Neufeld of Musos playing Unchained Melody as my dad walked me down the aisle. Our ceremony wouldn’t be complete without our dog, Stella. It was so much fun having her walk down the aisle and be there with us.
I decided to have ghost chairs instead of the vineyard chairs on the infinity pad creating that polished, clean style I was envisioning. We had a marble runner down the middle of the aisle which I loved as well!
The ceremony was followed by cocktail hour at the crush pad. Our guests were excited to get a memorable photo taken by the super talented, Dennis of the The Collective You.
From there, we moved to the event centre for our reception. I was blown away when we walked in and saw it for the first time!
We worked with a few amazing vendors in Kelowna for the wedding. Yuriko of Vintage Origami Events is INCREDIBLE!! Seriously, anyone wanting a decor person up in the Okanagan, she is your girl! They built the spectacular marble backdrop at the head table this was one of my favourite decor elements in the reception room. Along with all the marble cheating chart, all the fabulous candles and
Melinda from A New Leaf Floral is the sweetest person and her floral eye is perfection! I was amazed when I saw what she did in our reception room! I had worked with her in the industry and knew from previous brides how talented she is. She went above and beyond with the florals and greenery install!
Violet Grey did the stationary for the wedding. Her attention to detail was very impressive and everything was just perfect. Some of my favourite details from the tablescape were the gold and black cutlery and the marble chargers from Winston’s in Vancouver! I love how crisp and clean the room looked 🙂
After a few pictures, I snuck away for a quick touch up and hair change! Christina swapped my half-updo for an elegant low ponytail. It was great to get my hair up and out of the way for the rest of the evening!
A fun little surprise we had up our sleeves was the location of the dance floor. After dinner our guests were so surprised when we opened the doors to the tank room revealing the dance floor and party set up.
I had Urban Walls create a floor decal that said, “Your Love Is All I Need” as an extra surprise for Colin from our first dance song.
We had The Collective You for this portion of the night too, which was a huge hit!
Mark Woodyard was the amazing musician we hired and he had everyone on the dance floor all night. His unique style is so much fun!
Thank you VERY much to everyone who was involved in helping me create the wedding of my dreams!
I will be breaking down the beauty look I did for my wedding day makeup and hair in the next blog. Stay tuned!
xo, Denise Elliott