As seen on: Desiree Hartstock Weddings & Clever Wedding Ideas
Scans by: PhotoVision Prints | Ceremony: Maligne Lookout | Reception: Sawridge Inn
Invitations: Destroythebox Creative | Bands: 100 Mile House & JP Hoe
Suits: Derks | Hair & Makeup: Wild Orchid Salon | Shoes: Aldo
Dress: Mikaella Bridal from Novelle Bridal
A few words from the lovely couple: Our wedding theme was home made, rustic, musical and cozy. We wanted the decor to be a part of the night and not be obtrusive or too much. Soft candle lit corners and low hanging warm bulb lighting. Little details if you looked closely. We wanted people to feel a part of the night, not just onlookers.
A year before the wedding Garry (Jessica’s Dad) and I spoke about destination weddings and what made them so great was that the family that hadn’t met yet get an opportunity to get to know each other at a resort for a week instead of a 1 day wedding and a “nice to meet you… see you at the reunion”. Jess and I really wanted to have that but in a place we love so much. We invited people to come to Jasper and camp leading up to the wedding. We had 50 people join us at Whistlers campground and we had drinks, played games, went biking, hiking and just really got to know each other.
We met online through E-Harmony. We chatted back and forth for maybe a week before Jessica asked for us to meet up. It was June and we met at the Sugarbowl since they have a great patio and I remember I looked out the big bay windows and saw her before she saw me as she walked up and right there I knew… somehow I knew that she was going to be amazing. I don’t know why but it was just a feeling that I knew she was the one. Within 20 mins of our date Jessica was telling me she had a good feeling about me and asked if I wanted to hang out that weekend? I was hooked. It literally was love at 1st sight. I knew from that 1st 20 minutes that this was the girl I wanted to be with. We both went away for a month (separately) after that but we were so confident in how we felt after such a short time we actually grew closer while apart (email and the occasional phone call) and we really haven’t slowed down since. I’m pretty sure we talked about marriage fairly shortly into dating. We’ve been together for 3 years.
Everything was unreal. The food was amazing. The staff at the hotel were great. All of our hard work into the set-up and decor came together and looked amazing. Music is a huge part of our lives so we wanted to bring that into everything we could. We asked our friends Pete and Denise from 100 Mile House to play our first dances. They learned a few songs we has requested (even an acoustic version of Daft Punk Get Lucky to lead into the dance part of the night) It was really something that they agreed to come and play. THEN, to have JP Hoe surprise us on top of that and play 4 songs of his own was just unbelievable… We had daydreamed about something like that happening… but when does an artist come and play a wedding? Really! Thanks to Jessica’s sister Carly who set up the surprise and my brother Blake for the last minute change to the have him play during the slideshow. It meant so much to us.
We spent a lot of time designing the look of the wedding. We wanted it to be unique to us and we also wanted it to be things we did on our own. We designed all of the invites, website (www.chrisandjess2015.com) all of the little frames with the wedding party info, the seating chart, the song lyrics to our first dance. All were put in frames we purchased from another wedding and were rustic feeling.
For our favours we wanted to have something useful and fun that spoke to our family and friends. We wanted something unique. Our family spends a lot of time visiting, camping and at the lake. We thought a beer kooky would be great for everyone since we all use them when we get together. We used our graphics and fonts and came up with some cute sayings that go along with our theme and are a little cheeky.
The cake and cupcakes were made by a woman in Edmonton named Sonia who was recommended by some friends of the family. We looked online for styles we liked and brought her photos, did a taste test and had her mix n match the styles we liked to create our own. The cake went along with the flowers we chose which were pink / white roses. All of the flowers were purchased in bulk and then arranged by my aunts the night before.
It turns out our favourite part of the day is the same! The anticipation and the final walking down the aisle / waiting for each other. Watching her walk down the aisle and watching me at the end of the aisle waiting with all of our friends and family surrounding us. All of the guests around us. The weather was perfect and the setting was incredible. It all came together perfectly and we both remember just feeling so content in those moments.
