Penny + Will’s Stanley Park Pavilion Tented Wedding

Shortly into the planning process, Penny sent me a picture of her wedding dress from Bisou Bridal in Vancouver, British Columbia. She had fallen head of heels for the unique dress by Ines Di Santo which inspired the entire wedding design. Mixing the feminine and pastel palette of the wedding dress with edgier elements such as reclaimed wood, metal chandeliers, and black marble, we were able to craft an event that was truly matched the couple’s personalities.

Throughout the planning process, we worked closely with Koncept Event Design to bring the vision for their wedding to life. The celebrations began with a welcome champagne + oysters cocktail hour. Then guests were invited to main lawn outside of Stanley Park Pavilion, one of our favourite outdoor wedding venues in Vancouver, for the wedding ceremony lead by Young Hip and Married’s Shawn Miller, surrounded by the gardens and evergreens of the park. The aisle led to a backdrop made of greyed wood with a dramatic floral installation. The colour palette of whites, green, gold, and touches of muted pink and lavender here set the stage for the rest of the evening. Two of my favourite moments took place during the ceremony. The first was when Will walked down the aisle to White Wedding and everyone cheered and the second was when Penny walked down the aisle with her son. I also loved the moment following the ceremony where Penny and Will were surrounded by their family and everyone was in tears. After the ceremony, guests moved to the deck that was set with white market umbrellas and vignettes of plush ivory sofas with live-edge wood coffee tables. Cocktail tables dressed in shimmering gold linen were placed in between lounges.

The dinner was held in a tent just down the steps from the Pavilion. The tent was fully draped in a muted nudes with dramatic floral arrangements hanging amongst circular ‘mismatched’ chandeliers. Instead of a traditional head table, the couple opted to have a family table which was set in the centre of the tent with a lush floral garland running its entire length. Each place setting was set with a gold charger with an ivory satin napkin on top with a small calligraphed name card. The other tables were a mix of long rectangular tables and square tables, each having its own style of centrepiece from tall golden candle holders or tall floral arrangements on iron pedestals. Cornwall Stationary provided the stunning paper stationary and Jill of The Uncommon Cake provided the cake, inspired by Penny’s dress.

After dinner, guests moved into the Pavilion’s ballroom where Koncept had transformed the space into a lounge with a bit of a night club vibe for the after party. A back marble wall was installed for the backdrop for the 8-piece live band, a circular black bar was set just off the dance floor, and grey velvet serpent couches were set at the back for those who wanted to relax. In the adjoining room, there were activities such as a poker table and basketball hoop game for the kids.

Other than décor, another huge focus was music with each part of the day featuring a different musical ensemble. From a three-piece band to a DJ to a full eight-piece band for the after party, Penny and Will made sure that the party vibes kept going throughout the night!