Love & Family

Cristina & Court  |  September 8th  |  British Columbia, Canada

From the photographer, Carmen Adams of FRESH:
Cristina and Court’s wedding of apple green, cantaloupe, and ivory included many personal details and nods to their cultural heritage. The mother-of-the-bride’s lace was lovingly sewn into the hem of Cristina’s gown.  She also paid homage to her mother’s Filippino heritage with the veil & cord ritual – symbolizing the joining of the couple – and the coin ritual (aka Arras) – symbolizing blessings on the marriage.  St. Anthony’s was the chosen ceremony location for the Catholic couple who appreciate its’ simple beauty. Their reception at The Colombo was chosen based on its historic significance in the Italian community and its personal history, being the site of the groom’s parents’ wedding decades prior. These are just the kind of people that Cristina and Court are. The kind that regard each other, their family and their in-laws with respect and honor. They are definitely a couple who prioritize marriage over wedding.

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An Enchanted Forest Wedding in Canada

Sydney  & Aaron |  July 20th  |  New Westminster, British Columbia, Canada

From the bride, Sydney:
Our wedding was based on untraditional ways of the traditional wedding.  We followed the wedding format, but twisted tradition to make the day feel more like us.

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we were supposed to be married in the rose garden, but due to rain, we moved the ceremony indoors. While it was a last minute decision, it worked out beautifully and it felt like it was supposed to happen that way.  It was far more intimate indoors. 

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To honour my Chinese side of the family (my mother was Chinese) we wanted to do an untraditional version of a tea toast with each table.  My husband and I’s favorite choice of drink is tequila, so we did a tequila toast with each table individually (of course we sipped – they shot! Lol).  This fit in well with our wedding favors as well considering they were shot glasses.
JacilynM08  The wedding party surprised us with a fun questionnaire game.  We’ve lived with a lot of roommates during our time together – of which 4 were part of the wedding party.  So they asked us fun questions and we’d have to hold up a his/her shoe depending on who we thought it was about.  It was quite fun!

 I changed into a traditional Chinese dress for the cake cutting and end of the night festivities.  I loved both my dresses and felt amazing in them!!

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My advice:  Marry your best friend.  Have fun with the wedding planning – if you make everything a big deal and overly dramatic then what’s the point? Decide with your fiancé what you want the overall feel/vibe of your wedding to be and what’s most important (food? booze? etc.).  All in all, I would say – relax – if things don’t work out exactly as planned, smile and move on.

Sydney’s RECOMMENDED VENDORS

Photographer: Jacilyn M Photography.  Absolutely AMAZING! The photos will be cherished forever.

Venue: Queens Park, New Westminster.  Amazing place.  The price was amazing, plus you can bring in your own caterer and booze which is fabulous and a great way to save money!

Caterer: Sugar Mountain Catering. The food was amazing, the best part was their served cocktail hour appetizers – they were delicious!!

Honeymoon Location: Maui! Spectacular… and RELAXING!