Sarah & Robb - July 14, 2019

Are you thinking about having a shorter engagement? We met Sarah & Robb at the All dressed in white wedding show at the anvil centre just before Easter weekend. The couple told us their plan to get married in July, a meer three months away! We advise the couple by hiring us, we’d streamline the planning process and secure quality vendors quickly. We show you how you can have a short engagement and still have the beautiful and elegant wedding you’ve always wanted!

We start this journey in April, three months prior to their wedding date. Once we discovered they had no vendors booked, we had to act fast. The couple expressed they really loved Dockside but had not visited in a white. The good news is we have an amazing relationship with Dockside and can speak very highly of the venue and the level of service. So we acted fast. We emailed our friend Mark, the sales and catering manager of dockside, set up a site visit and put aside three hours for the meeting. We discussed flowers, with our friend Dina of Jorbelina Flowers and we reviewed layout, menu, decor and overall timeline. Once that was secure, it was just up to us as planners to help the couple make the best decision they could in a limited amount of time. Sarah & Robb really had to take a leap of faith with our recommendations. We promised we’d give them quality vendors they could trust.

The couple decided on a Sunday wedding. This offered them a lower minimum spend for Dockside, which worked in their favour. They selected a plated dinner. Often plated dinners can be challenging collected all the meal choices for the guests. However Dockside is a full service restaurant so there was a menu offered to guests and they could select their meal, making this one less step for the couple to confirm with guests.

Dockside offers a bonus being attached to the Granville Island hotel. Sarah got ready in a beautiful suite overlooking the water. Tianna of Tianna Tran hair and makeup got Sarah. Pamela of Aiota photography and Danie of Easttowest productions (both who were also showcasing their work at the all dressed in white wedding show) snap and caught moments from the very start of the day. The beautiful invitation and custom stationary were provided by Inky dot and Paper poet.

The first look took place on the docks. This is directly behind the Dockside restaurant so it’s perfect for couples and photos.

Following the first look and portraits, the ceremony took place in the restaurant. Dockside is already so beautiful on it’s own, so it just needs personal touches. We framed the couple with two large arrangements from Jorbelina Flowers. The rod iron chandelier compliments the bright space and floor to ceiling big bay windows. The guests were greeted with the sounds of a harp and violin, provided by Elisa Thorn. This set the tone of the ceremony. Brent of Young Hip and Married put together a modern ceremony that did feel fresh but also personal to the couple. The couple chose not to have a wedding party, but had their friends sign the registry. To end the ceremony, champagne was passed to guests to cheers the newlyweds!

Cocktail hour takes place outside on a private patio. The guests enjoyed passed canapes and a seafood station with scallops and prawns! As the cocktail hour takes place, there are two things that need to be done on the back end. One, is to get family photos completed in this time frame. Two is to transform the ceremony to a reception. There are many floor plans that can be put together for this room. Sarah & Robb chose a sweetheart table and long rows of guest tables. They left a little space in front of them for the dance floor.

The tables were decorated with white, blush, cream and burgundy centrepieces in a gold pedestal mercury vase.Paired with gold and clear votive candles, custom tented name cards, menus and a honey jar guest favour from Lulu island honey.

The beats and emcee duties were all provided by our friend Alex of IDJ Services. We actually met Alex at a wedding in 2018 working together at Dockside. From there we created a great working relationship and work together often!

The first dance between the couple took place after dinner and speeches. The couple ended up taking lessons with JC Dance Co. We love sending our clients to Joel and Clara, because they customize the dance to your comfort level. It gives the couples confidence not to feel like they have two left feet. It’s also a nice way for the couple to spend some quality time together before the wedding day.

Following the plated dinner, we set up a donut wall provide by Bespoke decor and local donuts from Lee’s donuts. (literally local, we walked to the famous Granville island market to pick them up). The wiggle booth set up in the ‘nook’. Instead of portraits, The Wiggle booth offers a boomerang feature! They came with a ton of props and even a bubble machine! (these guys were also at the ADIW show!) Guests also enjoyed a late night poutine station as they danced the night away.

A wedding in three months is possible! The best choices Sarah & Robb made was choosing the right vendors. All of us as a vendor team had worked together before on past events so naturally it gave us the confidence to say, yes we can do it!

At the very end of the wedding, our groom Robb came up to us and said: “Ladies, we couldn’t have done it without you” and I responded with a simple: “I know”. Then we all burst out laughing. It takes a village to plan a wedding, but Sarah & Robb trusted the village we recommended.