A few words from the groom, Coe:
Sarah and my story centers around adventure. We first met in Ottawa, Ontario and followed each other some 2,000+ miles to Edmonton, Alberta after our friendship flourished into love. We spent the next few years exploring all western Canada has to offer – roadtripping, camping and hiking. We got engaged at the Capilano Suspension Bridge in Vancouver, British Columbia on a surprise weekend getaway. When we started thinking about planning our wedding, it was important that our big day reflect our adventurous spirits.
Since our families and friends span many provinces and continents, we first contemplated a big wedding, then thought about eloping but finally decided that a small, intimate wedding with just our immediate family (25 people) was what we truly desired. Our families hadn’t met before the wedding and we thought what better way to get to know one another than a week and a half of camping in the Canadian Rockies.
Once we established the kind of wedding we wanted, we started focusing on the details. We wanted an outdoorsy wedding in one of our favourite spots – Spray Lakes Provincial Park, We wanted to keep things fairly simple when it came to decor. We wanted to do as much of the planning and detail work ourselves. Finally, we knew having good photo documentation of the day was very important to us. We turned our attention to finding the perfect person to capture our day. We found Justine Milton Photography on Instagram and instantly fell in love with her light, airy style. We booked her immediately.
Next came Sarah’s dress. Sarah knew she wanted her mom to design and contribute to part of her dress, as she is an experienced seamstress. After a bit of searching, Sarah found a lace cocktail dress at David’s Bridal, which paired beautifully with the handmade skirt that her mom had created. With a few final details, like a belt from BHLDN and a flower crown from Boho Halo Company, Sarah’s outfit was perfect.
The rest of our planning fell into place from there. Because we were having such a small event, we knew we didn’t want all the bells and whistles that can accompany a larger wedding. A lot of our decorations and details were handmade by ourselves (with lots of help from friends and family) or purchased locally. We actually found most of these items by chance, which fit with our plans for a simple and carefree wedding.
Our wedding day was everything that we had imagined and more. An easy-going ceremony, an intimate setting and stunning views. After the wedding we had a small reception on the balcony at Iron Goat overlooking the Three Sister mountain range. The entire day was documented so wonderfully by Justine Milton Photography, capturing the essence of everything we wanted that day to represent – family, simplicity and adventure.
