After Kaitlin and Dane's wedding at Cheakamus Centre in June, I was really excited to go back and coordinate Traci and Andrew's wedding. In fact, Traci and Andrew contacted me through a referral from Kaitlin (thanks again for that!). I can't stress how important referrals are to me, not just for business reasons, but also because it means that the clients are really appreciating the job that I am doing for them.
Unlike the first time I was at Cheakamus Centre though, this wedding day ended up having some rain which unfortunately meant that we had to move the ceremony spot to the back up plan. It keeps everything and everyone covered and dry but at least it is outside to still get the west coast feel. I have to say that the sound of the rain on the trees was pretty amazing. Traci and Andrew did a first look earlier in the day and even though they needed to use umbrellas, they were troopers and the professional photos from Melissa Baker of Bake Photography are amazing. Thankfully, after the ceremony the rain stopped (in fact right about dinner time there was blue sky... of course!) and they could do their family photos outside to take advantage of the natural backdrop that the venue provides.
The couple, along with their family, took advantage of being able to rent out the venue on the Friday night and did all of the decor set up that night. On Saturday, the only thing that needed to be put out were the flowers from Billies Flower House and the cutting cake and cupcakes from Sweet Jeanie's Cake Co. As you can see from above, the flowers were gorgeous although that's not surprising from Alanna and her team at Billies. They completely transformed the ceremony arch with their arrangements (which we then used for the head table during the reception) and some blush pink fabric provided by Traci's mom. I was so in love with the look I didn't want to take it down!
Unlike the first time I was at Cheakamus Centre though, this wedding day ended up having some rain which unfortunately meant that we had to move the ceremony spot to the back up plan. It keeps everything and everyone covered and dry but at least it is outside to still get the west coast feel. I have to say that the sound of the rain on the trees was pretty amazing. Traci and Andrew did a first look earlier in the day and even though they needed to use umbrellas, they were troopers and the professional photos from Melissa Baker of Bake Photography are amazing. Thankfully, after the ceremony the rain stopped (in fact right about dinner time there was blue sky... of course!) and they could do their family photos outside to take advantage of the natural backdrop that the venue provides.
The couple, along with their family, took advantage of being able to rent out the venue on the Friday night and did all of the decor set up that night. On Saturday, the only thing that needed to be put out were the flowers from Billies Flower House and the cutting cake and cupcakes from Sweet Jeanie's Cake Co. As you can see from above, the flowers were gorgeous although that's not surprising from Alanna and her team at Billies. They completely transformed the ceremony arch with their arrangements (which we then used for the head table during the reception) and some blush pink fabric provided by Traci's mom. I was so in love with the look I didn't want to take it down!
The ceremony music was provided by a string quartet from V & G Entertainment and the ceremony was officiated by Michele Davidson from Modern Celebrant. If you are looking for a fun, meaningful ceremony that celebrates who you are as a couple and gets the guests involved please check out a celebrant. It means that you have some (or maybe quite a bit) of work to do beforehand in regards to providing the information the celebrant needs to write the ceremony but to me the end result is always worth it. It is so meaningful and I guarantee that your family and friends will most likely even learn something new about you both. And, isn't the entire wedding about celebrating your story anyway?
One very important thing to remember after choosing your wedding date is to check out if there are any major celebrations or events (other than your wedding :) of course) happening in the area that could affect traffic and your guests or vendors from arriving on time. In this case, the Gran Fondo, a bike race from downtown Vancouver to Whistler was happening on this date and it shuts down all lanes of the Sea to Sky Highway northbound for varying parts of the day. When your venue is along this route it can cause a few problems but Traci and Andrew made sure to inform all of their guests well in advance and the vendors took a lot of precautions as well. Whenever I'm doing a wedding in Squamish I'm lucky enough to get to stay with my parents so I left their house that day as soon as the highway had some partial openings. I knew I would arrive much earlier than needed but I'd much rather be safe than sorry... plus, I got the opportunity to do some Instagram stories and respond to emails. Neither of those things do I typically get to do on a wedding day!
The guests all made it in time for the ceremony and the weather even started cooperating for family photo time. The guests enjoyed cocktail hour with passed hors d'ouevres, more music from V & G and games rented from Bespoke Decor. Guests then moved into the main reception area where Man About Town played the night away.
If you have any questions about the vendors involved or want some more information feel free to contact me!
Happy planning,
Sara
One very important thing to remember after choosing your wedding date is to check out if there are any major celebrations or events (other than your wedding :) of course) happening in the area that could affect traffic and your guests or vendors from arriving on time. In this case, the Gran Fondo, a bike race from downtown Vancouver to Whistler was happening on this date and it shuts down all lanes of the Sea to Sky Highway northbound for varying parts of the day. When your venue is along this route it can cause a few problems but Traci and Andrew made sure to inform all of their guests well in advance and the vendors took a lot of precautions as well. Whenever I'm doing a wedding in Squamish I'm lucky enough to get to stay with my parents so I left their house that day as soon as the highway had some partial openings. I knew I would arrive much earlier than needed but I'd much rather be safe than sorry... plus, I got the opportunity to do some Instagram stories and respond to emails. Neither of those things do I typically get to do on a wedding day!
The guests all made it in time for the ceremony and the weather even started cooperating for family photo time. The guests enjoyed cocktail hour with passed hors d'ouevres, more music from V & G and games rented from Bespoke Decor. Guests then moved into the main reception area where Man About Town played the night away.
If you have any questions about the vendors involved or want some more information feel free to contact me!
Happy planning,
Sara
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