In my experience, most wedding days are filled with a little bit of magic, but some definitely have more than others. Here’s one that I think about often.
Jeff and Alessa’s Whistler wedding was planned from abroad, as they were based in the UK at the time. With a few pandemic-related postponements and changes, we spent between two and three years emailing back and forth across time zones.
My job throughout this process was to make sure that I could help them visualize what the day would look like. Neither of them was particularly familiar with Whistler — in fact Alessa had never been — and so I had to get creative in order to help her understand what the final design would look like against the gorgeous Whistler setting.
This is a really important role for planners to take on when working with couples that are planning a destination wedding. Not only do we need to help couples pick and choose the elements that will best reflect their personality and partnership, we also need to make sure that they can “see” what it will look like on the day. Otherwise, you risk having a surprised couple that isn’t quite comfortable on their wedding day.
Since Alessa and Jeff had picked Whistler as their destination, it only made sense for them to get married at the Fairmont Chateau Whistler. Nestled in the mountain range and surrounded by green forest, it’s hard to picture a more beautiful place.
They had chosen the Mountain View Lawn as the setting for their big day, which is a gorgeous location for a late-summer tented wedding. The one challenge with this part of the hotel grounds — which not many people know about — is that at the end of every summer there is a massive toad migration. And when this happens, the hotel closes off access to the venue. Since the toads don’t have a calendar event for their migration, and it’s not always consistent, there’s always a bit of a guessing game that happens for weddings at this time of the year — and we always have to have a plan B.
Fortunately, the toads were kind to us, but the forecast was not looking great. When we woke up on the day of the wedding, it was pouring, and the forecast showed no sign of the rain clearing. We were going to have to use our plan B after all and take the wedding indoors. And while we make sure as planners to have our couples love plan B as much as they do their outdoor plan, we were all very disappointed.
Remember the magic I talked about at the beginning of this post? By the time we were meant to be setting up the ceremony, the temperature started to go up and the sky started to clear.
Once the sun shone down on the grounds, we were all in awe. In fact, many of us were certain that the groom’s father, who was no longer with us, had had a conversation with Mother Nature to make sure this wedding was as stunning and beautiful as it could be. It felt like he was looking down on us, and it really set the tone for a beautiful day.
Most of the guests were from out of town, so we greeted them at the venue with a cocktail before the ceremony as everyone was bussed in.
The ceremony itself was stunning. The couple really wanted to celebrate the outdoor space at the top level of the lawn, so we kept the decor fairly simple with a floral infinity arch that framed them during their vows. The flowers were from Weddings With Billies, who did a fantastic job complementing the scenery.
The team at Dallas & Sabrina Photography took gorgeous, moody photos of the couple — and the contrast of the blue sky against the lush greenery was the perfect backdrop to Alessa’s elegant dress and Jeff’s handsome tuxedo.
For cocktails, we set up an outdoor lounge for guests to enjoy canapes and drinks in the unexpected sunshine. We had Martin from Sound Stripe playing live music, and guests had a lovely time while the couple partook in family photos.
Next, guests were invited to the middle level of the lawn, which housed the dinner tent. Here, they were treated to local wines, a delicious menu that featured local ingredients such as heirloom tomatoes and BC salmon, and speeches from friends and family members.
This was followed by a phenomenal dance party at the dancing tent, on the lowest level of the lawn. When I say this group danced the night away, I really mean it. Given that this event took place in the summer of 2022, most people hadn’t danced in a big crowd of people in a really long time. They had so much fun dancing to the live band and DJ, that it was hard not to join in!
While we dealt with a lot of unknowns for this wedding, it ended up being the most beautiful, perfect, dreamlike celebration. I look back on it fondly, and am still in awe of the magic it held.
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