The day I got off of my first phone call with Elisia, I just knew I had to plan her and Justus’s epic wedding. It was November 2019, and we had just had one of those conversations where the ideas flowed easily and I could totally visualize what she wanted for her big day.
Fortunately, Elisia felt the same way! Within a few hours of our call, she got back to me saying that she and Justus had chosen me to help them bring their vision for their wedding to life. And I’m so glad they did.
From there, we hit the ground running. Elisia and Justus had set a date in May 2020, and they planned to host over 300 people in the Fairmont Pacific Rim’s Star Sapphire ballroom. This venue was particularly special to them, as it’s where they first met.
It was right in the middle of getting everything finalized that we started to hear about a new virus that was spreading across the globe. So, like many other couples that were due to get married in the spring and summer of 2020, we had to make the heartbreaking decision to postpone.
Unfortunately, this wouldn’t be the only time we had to make that call. All in all, I think we changed the date or format of this wedding eight or nine times—and after many tough discussions, we had landed on pushing the wedding out to the summer of 2021.
As most 2020 couples will know, waiting for your postponed wedding to happen is not a fun task. It can feel like your life is on hold as you wait to celebrate your love in the way you had envisioned; and there’s no guarantee that it will even happen on the new date. This feeling is what prompted Elisia to reach out to me at the end of July 2020. She wanted to know if we could have the wedding in three weeks, at the Fairmont Pacific Rim, and with a reduced guest count of 50 to meet the regulations at the time.
Pulling a wedding together in three weeks may feel like a daunting task, but throughout the whole process, I was continually reminded of my first conversation with Elisia. I really wanted to make this wedding happen—and there was no way the pandemic was going to get in the way of that.
To this day, I am so grateful for the team of vendors that rallied to make this wedding happen. Merina and her team at the Fairmont Pacific Rim worked with us to find spaces that made sense for the smaller number of guests we now had. Instead of the Star Sapphire ballroom, we used the Owner’s Suite on the rooftop terrace for the ceremony—which is beautiful in the summer—and the Botanist restaurant space for the reception. The latter was a rare treat as the restaurant isn’t usually rented out for events!
Despite flower supply shortages, Flower Factory created stunning arrangements of white and pale pink orchids, roses, and hydrangeas that framed the ceremony and reception spaces with lush opulence. There were even flowers on the chandelier!
The design of the space was magical. I worked with Neda of Éclat Decor Inc. to transform the two spaces into Elisia and Justus’s dream wedding. For the ceremony, Neda had the idea to cover the entire tent floor with white panels—instead of just the aisle. This completely transformed the space and made it completely ethereal. Later, when Elisia and Justus were standing under the gorgeous ceremony arch, it looked like they were floating on air.
After the ceremony, there was a cocktail hour held on the rooftop terrace. Guests were treated to live music and champagne glasses with their names written on small scrolls.
The reception was also filled with magical moments. Beyond the wonderful food from Botanist (highly recommended!), the tables were set up beautifully with white and gold elements, and stunning day-of stationary from Cornwall Stationary. We had also planned to delight guests with live music, an artist who created a painting of the reception on-site, as well as ballet dancers.
Talking to Elisia after her wedding, I was so glad to hear that she didn’t have any regrets. Yes, her wedding ended up having fewer guests. And yes, it wasn’t on the original date they had planned for. But when the time came, that didn’t matter. This was still a stunning, wonderful wedding—and Elisia and Justus will remember it for the rest of their lives.
If you’d like to see more from this wedding, check out the Wedluxe feature! And if you’re starting to plan your wedding and want to talk about your vision, please reach out. We’d love to chat with you about it!