Wedding Planning by Alicia Keats | Wedding Photography by Shari + Mike
I have been dying to share this intimate vegan dinner party wedding, set in the botanical gardens of the University of British Columbia, for a year now and finally-today is the day!
From the beginning of our planning process, I knew we had two important goals: to serve a vegan feast that was so tasty and impressive that our guests wouldn’t notice that it was a vegan meal, and to serve this impressive meal in the form of an intimate dinner party under the stars. With all of their guests traveling great distances to celebrate their marriage, Mari Toni and Tal wanted their guests to fall in love with Vancouver as much as they had.
Mari Toni and Tal were married in an interfaith ceremony surrounded by an intimate group of family and friends. We incorporated some Jewish traditions, but put a few twists on them, including a birch chuppah adorned with fresh vibrant flowers. Seven flower girls, each with flower crowns in their hair led Mari Toni down the aisle to her groom. Tal worn a vegan suit and Mari Toni wore an organic custom vegan dress custom made by Patti at Pure Magnolia.
Being avid animal lovers, Mari Toni and Tal were passionate about creating an intimate vegan dinner party for their wedding guests. The UBC Botanical Gardens was the perfect spot. We worked with Delovely Creative to fill the arbor with cabaret string lights, two chandeliers and tons of candles. With such an intimate group, we sat everyone at long harvest tables and filled the tables with greenery garlands and vibrant red and deep magenta flowers. Great care was taken to ensure that all of the decor was vegan. As guests made their way into the garden, they were greeted with ruby red and cool cucumber cocktails and trays of vegan canapés. A fiddler played gypsy music as the sun started to set. Guests were then invited to make their way to the long tables for dinner and the magnificent vegan meal began, with course upon course of local sourced decadent dishes created by Donna and her team at Savoury City. Following the meal, guests danced under the stars into the wee hours of the morning.
It was one of the highlights of my career working on this wedding with this team and you, Mari Toni and Tal. Happy first anniversary to you both!
With love, Alicia xoxo
