Upscale Campus wedding at Robert E Lee Alumni Centre

So, personal story first. Kate-Lynn and I (Tarina) met in elementary school! (Gilmore Elementary to be exact). Who knew you could meet your planner so early in life!

Flash forward some years late, Kate-Lynn was engaged to Matt! Through the magic of Instagram, she messaged my childhood and best friend Sarah asking if I had a wedding planning company. Sarah confirmed, we than connected by sliding into each other’s DM’s and the rest was wedding history planning!

Planning a wedding with Kate-Lynn and Matt was SO FUN since our meeting place always happened to be in a brewery. It’s so much easier to plan weddings with flights of beer.

Matt & his brother started the day by dropping off all the liquor to the venue. Followed by hanging out with his family in the morning, which was about a 10 minute drive to the church.

TIP: Typically, the guys have time in the morning as the ladies get ready. What better way to occupy their time by having them run a simple errand or task. This works if everything is close by or it’s done early enough so it doesn’t conflict the overall timeline of the wedding day. Don’t have your poor groom running all over the place, but a simple drop off is a great example.

Every bride starts their wedding morning differently. Kate-Lynn was no different. Being the runner she is, she went for an early morning run! Brave girl! The ladies got ready at the bride’s family home, in the “mores!” (if you grew up in Richmond or went to Gilmore, you’ll get the reference). Hair provided by the bride’s friend Desiree, and hair provided by Kaitlin Hargreaves, who just happens to be a makeup artist for local celeb and I like her style Vancouver ambassador Jillian Harris. Also, Kate-lynn being the smart cookie she is, she wore sparkly rose gold kicks all day! I can confidently say she never kicked off her shoes at any point of the evening.

The intimate ceremony took place at St. Augustine’s Parish in Kitsilano. The Bride & Groom said their I do’s and vows in front of family and friends, with a modern catholic ceremony. Each had one person stand next to them, the maid of honour and best man only. Following the ceremony, we transferred the flowers from ceremony to reception. Of course, we left a couple arrangements on site for the church as a thank you for the beautiful service.

TIP: Why pay for your flowers twice? Re-use any ceremony flowers you can for your reception. Often florist can make this accommodation as long as they know in advance. We as your planners will move them to the reception.

Luxury life limo (our go-to set of wheels, because we dig them so much!) provided the transportation for the day. In true Kitsilano fashion, the couple headed to Jericho beach for photos with Teryn Lee Photography. Can you believe these photos were taken on a day in November?

As photos were being taken, our team was setting up along side The Savoury Chef & our friend DJ Bfad at the stunning venue Robert H. Lee Alumni Centre at UBC in the Jack Poole Hall. The space can seat up to 300, so it can accommodate large weddings and events!

“This 4,700 sq ft area is located on the second floor. Its 14 ft glass walls and exposed cedar ceiling enhance the spaciousness and allow natural light to flood in.” – Robert H. Lee Alumni website

Design was a combination of silvers and whites, and paired with the beautiful flowers by Jorbelina flowers. Little did we know, meeting this florist would create a partnership! We met Dina here for the first time on this wedding, and from here our relationship has remained strong. We’ve paired up with her on a number of shoots and weddings this year.

Matt works with metal, so provided a lot of pieces incorporated into the look – like the handmade metal table numbers and seating board. To soften the look, we included ‘bistro’ style linen napkins at each setting. We also played with textures with silver pintuck runners, ferry lights for each centerpiece (as no candles we’re allowed), silver chargers and kept most of the items neutral to match the venues chairs.

A two tier cake was provided by Cadeaux bakery, which had silver marbling to tie the theme together.

We also created a lounge space for guests to enjoy with items from our friend Alexandria at Past Pieces, another vendor you’ll see us with on Instagram quite often. The space had warm globe lights which really provided a lovely backdrop for photos and guests could enjoy through the evening through that winter 4 pm sunset.

TIP: Always look up sunset times, especially in the winter. Kate-Lynn & Matt decided to do family photos inside where there was lighting available, as it would have been to late and maybe even to cold, to do them outside.

Dancing is always a hit but these two had a unique twist! The first dance was a choreographed but simple dance. We often recommend our couples to Broadway ballroom. They offer 4 sessions for couples to come in, get comfortable and learn an elegant first dance. We like this option as it prepares the couple but also gives them a fun activity to do together!

However, the party got started when Matt’s family led a traditional Goan March. What is this you ask? Well from what we understood, it was a huge conga line led by two family members that get’s everyone on their feet. And what better artist to kick it off than JLO’s track Let’s get loud! We are a fan!