One of my favourite things about being a wedding planner is how it offers me the chance to work with so many different wonderful people. Emilie was no exception. What stood out to me about Emilie — from the very beginning — was how intentional and thoughtful she was in her decision making. She was entirely focused on being present and grounded during her wedding weekend in Whistler, and she and James wanted their guests to have the best possible time.
The couple picked the Fairmont Chateau Whistler as their venue, because it had so many great spaces to host the different parts of their wedding weekend. To start things off, we hosted a welcome party on the Croquet Lawn. Here, guests were able to mingle, reconnect, and get to know each other while they were treated to beer, wine, and tasty canapes. We also had corn hole and spike ball set up for anyone that was feeling a little more active.
Planning tip: If you’re planning on inviting a lot of guests from out of town, hosting multiple events — like a welcome party and/or a post-wedding brunch — is a great way to spend more time with your guests. A hotel like the Fairmont Chateau Whistler is a great choice as it offers multiple venues that can accommodate each event.
The wedding itself was filled with lovely little details. As we were designing the event, we worked with Emilie and James to make intentional choices that would reflect their warm and serene personalities.
Emilie’s mother also contributed with her own little detail. As a way to include the children attending on the big day, she made goody bags for each of them. She even had one put aside for my son, Liam, which was such a lovely touch.
The wedding day started early with hair and makeup with the team from Denise Elliott Beauty in the penthouse suite. Once Emilie and her bridal party were ready, they toasted to the day with mimosas, and had a girl’s lunch.
The first look — a tradition we always recommend our couples take part in — took place down by the creek. Christine Pienaar was the photographer for the day, and she took some absolutely lovely portraits as the couple saw each other for the first time on their wedding day.
This was followed by photos with the wedding party, clad in navy and mauve, who all looked fantastic against the backdrop of trees and greenery.
When we first looked at the venue, Emilie had loved the little chapel that sits on the rooftop of the hotel. She wanted it to be a feature in the ceremony — and we made it that and more. The doorway to the glass chapel was framed beautifully by the pink, blush, and pale green floral installations from Celsia Florist. She also lined the aisle with the same selection of summer blooms, and the whole space felt as if we were in the prettiest garden you could imagine.
After a beautiful ceremony with heartfelt vows — and a lot of happy tears — guests were asked to descend onto the lawn for cocktail hour. This was followed by a spectacular tented dinner up on the rooftop.
The design for the reception was inspired by summer gardens and muted, warm tones, and it turned out exactly as we had hoped. Even the vases for the floras, which we were certain we weren’t going to get due to a supply chain shortage, made a surprise appearance at the very last minute. We will always be endlessly grateful to Celsia Florist for making that happen!
Once dinner was over, we invited guests to come inside for the after party in the MacDonald ballroom. In this space, we leaned into the design and feel of the Fairmont hotel and created a Roaring 20s-style party space for everyone to dance the night away. Led by the live band from SideOne, Emilie, James, and all their guests had a fantastic time.
Are you thinking of making your wedding a multi-day affair? We’d love to help make that happen! Get in touch and let’s start planning.