Antonya + Bhavy - August 28, 2020

Three dress changes, two ceremonies, and all before 6pm! Check out this STUNNING wedding that we planned in 8 weeks for the most fun couple you’d ever meet!

Have you ever met someone who’s kindness radiates wherever they go?! I first met Antonya at a networking event over a year ago. At that breakfast event, we bonded over solo-preneurship and what it means to be a Boss-Lady, and we stayed in contact through social media and through our mutual friend, Katie.

So we were SOOOOO excited when she reached out to us to help her with her upcoming wedding to her handsome fiance, Bhavy! They had a very quick engagement, and decided to have a small Covid-style wedding now, with thoughts of the big party next year when they can.

This was another example of starting from scratch and planning an entire wedding…in less than three months! And we were here for it! We met over lunch to go over all the details and specific requests and got to planning. STAT!!

We had three very big challenges with this wedding: finding a venue that would allow for two separate ceremonies and a reception in a short window, and navigating through the changes due to covid with changing timelines and no dancing.

Challenge #1: WHERE TO HOST A WEDDING THAT CAN HOST A TRADITIONAL SIKH CEREMONY (or Anand Karaj) AND CIVIL CEREMONY, AND A RECEPTION.

It was very important for Bhavy to have a ceremony celebrating his background with Antonya and her family. As it was for Antonya, to be able to celebrate with Bhavy’s family through an intimate civil ceremony. We had to find a venue that could hold both! They wanted a ‘garden’ style, and so we reached out to the beautiful Stanley Park Pavilion, in Stanley Park. Centrally located in Vancouver, it offered a stunning garden area for both ceremonies, and places for family photos after the ceremonies, as we prepared the Reception room. We decided to change the ‘direction’ of the ceremonies – the first ceremony faced the Pavilion (while we used the stairs to elevate the Bible and Priests, and the second ceremony faced the fountain. This allowed us for an easy transition in between! And best part about this venue, is the Rain Plan – in the Tea Room, which has a beautiful bay window overlooking the gardens. The lunch reception itself was held inside, in the Lord Stanley Room. A gorgeous white room that allows you to add in any decor and it looks amazing!

Challenge #2: HOW TO PLAN THE DAY WHEN THE TIMELINE KEPT CHANGING

As like any event we manage, it takes a village to bring the day together. This was no exception! We had the Officiant + Priests, a DJ, an AV tech assisting with the Zoom link, our florist, the photographers, and of course us as planning and decor. And we worked very closely with the venue to ensure all new guidelines were met. Antonya + Bhavy had originally planned to have a late lunch for their guests in lieu of the fact that they couldn’t have a huge dinner reception. We planned to have their ceremonies starting at 9am and have lunch by 12:30pm. However!! The week of the wedding, a new guideline came out that stated all events must start after 12pm (and be finished by 10pm). Um….soooooo!???? That meant no more breakfast events, and it definitely meant we couldn’t start the ceremonies until 12pm. Everything was bumped by 3hrs to allow for this new adjustment. This meant – it was high noon during the ceremony (so squinting eyes during the ceremonies which makes it hard for the photographer!!), lunch is now dinner (which means you have to revise the menu and portion size), and now the ‘sunset’ photos that would have been leisurely taken after ‘dinner’ were now in a rush. And we all know that timelines are just a ‘guideline’, and we always expect to be a little bit behind in general with last minute speeches, tears, etc!!

Challenge #3: HOW TO TELL A DANCE TEACHER, SHE COULDN’T DANCE (Well, almost).

In addition to the new changes of the timing, it was also reiterated that no dancing was allowed. But did this mean, no 1st dance either?!!! This had been the one thing that couples could cling to. Being able to have their first dance. Especially considering they had eliminated the ‘parent’/father-daughter dance. Side note – Antonya is a professional Dancer and dance instructor, so to say that she couldn’t perform their choreographed first dance was just….ugh *facepalm*. SO!!! Ask the questions. And we did. The venue was able to clarify that we were still able to have the first dance. Phew!

We truly couldn’t have done this without the other vendors, who supported us as we quickly planned and executed this wedding. In addition to the Stanley Park Pavilion providing the venue, we had Diamond’s Edge Photography beautifully capture the whole day, florals provided our lovely Jorbelina Flowers, stationary provided by Paper Poet, Hair + Mua provided by Black Rose MUA, DJ/MC duties managed by our favs iDJ Services, accommodation at Fairmont Pacific Rim Hotel and snacks in between the Ceremonies by Chai Wagon!