“Brandon and I met on our first day of high school in September 2004 (20 years ago)! As all the nervous eighth graders were filed into the auditorium for home room assignments, he caught my eye. I anxiously watched as the auditorium dwindled down to the last few home rooms. He was still there. I remember hearing his name called, and I hoped mine would be too. It was. Within a month we were dating, though, as most teenage romances do, ours eventually came to an end, but as most don’t, ours came back around. Our relationship officially started in the last few weeks of high school, and we’ve been together ever since. We spent the following years accompanying one another through the transition to adulthood. We went from a cross-country relationship, navigating the ups and downs of university, and ill-timed Skype dates, to completing our degrees at the same university and doing an exchange in Denmark together. We supported one another as we got our first jobs, then second, then third, we travelled to exciting new places around the world, hosted dinner parties, danced the night away at friends’ and family’s unforgettable weddings, welcomed an army of nieces and nephews, and we bought our first place. And (finally) after 13 years, we got engaged on a beautiful day in Seattle.With the help of our amazing Planner, Nicola (Andree Events), we hosted our wedding on a warm summer weekend in Whistler, British Columbia. We wanted the weekend to feel vibrant and joyful, yet relaxed. It was meant to not only be a celebration of our relationship, but also of our community who supported us throughout the years and waited (somewhat) patiently for our big day. We integrated games (a pickleball tournament as our welcome party) and family traditions (scratch and win tickets under the plates) to foster a sense of community and keep the energy high. Aesthetically, we wanted the wedding to be colourful and modern, with a west coast flair. The Squamish Lil’wat Cultural Centre made for the perfect setting, with three architectural spaces for us to host the ceremony, reception and dance party. I knew I wanted to integrate paper fans from the beginning, and Nicola helped me design a show-stopping fan-shaped seating chart, where guests could grab their fan to find their table. Each table was named after a street in our childhood neighbourhood. An essential aspect of the wedding was our long table dinner. Our vision of an elevated and intimate backyard dinner party, with plenty of conversation, laughter, florals and wine, came to life with the help of our incredible tablescapes by Flowers and Jules and our caterers The Collective Kitchen. The dinner seamlessly transitioned to an outdoor dance party to take full advantage of our late summer sunsets in BC, before heading indoors for dessert, late-night snacks (dumplings) and dancing. All in all, the wedding was magical. I am so grateful to be able to hold on to each memory through Henny’s beautiful photos. My favourites are from our first look, the dinner, and of course my bridesmaids’ reaction to my dress (I had kept it a secret, and as someone typically in workout gear, my Martina Liana gown from Bisou was a BIG surprise). The pictures so perfectly capture the candid joy of the day; each photo taking us back to the day’s butterflies, belly laughs, and tears of joy.”
– Adrienne, the bride
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