I blog this as my first entry of 2015, though I am terribly behind on posting all of the wonderful weddings and sessions I’ve done in 2014! If there was one word I could use to describe last year, it would be “learning”. I felt like I’ve learned so much, and have been taught much about my craft, the business, how to listen, how to communicate. I can’t wait to start 2015 with all of this new knowledge. :)
Adela and Jamie’s wedding was a special elopement event, held at the beautiful Emerald Lake Lodge. Adela has this fantastical love of Gatsby, so she included a lot of very cool and antique details in her outfit. She looked absolutely stunning – Jamie thought so, too, when he shed a tear as she came down the stairs to see him for the first time. :)
It goes without saying, but….. that lake, you guys. Emerald Lake Lodge is very aptly named. Couldn’t have picked a more gorgeous backdrop!
I asked Adela to share some words about her story with Jamie. She writes, “We got engaged 5 years ago when we lived in England and the thought of ideal wedding changed over these years from very traditional church wedding with all the family to the very personal elopement with just the two of us. In those 5 years we have been engaged we emigrated to Canada and settled here and there have been years during this process when getting married was not even talked about. When we finally started to plan the wedding at first we wanted the ceremony to be in Europe but the amount of legal procedures and paperwork made this rather daunting, so we decided to have the ceremony in Canadian Rockies – one of the reasons why we moved to Canada. We wanted a very private wedding ceremony for just the two of us, and we decided to have the wedding reception in Europe with both our families. To plan the wedding took about 10 months. To plan the actual ceremony was relatively easy, but planning the reception on the other side of the world made it feel like planning 2 weddings! And because I was very specific on details (which I’m sure didn’t help!) I spent a lot of time online searching for items that would be just right, and they absolutely had to be :) As I already like vintage style and pastel colors that was the initial choice, but after we both saw the movie Great Gatsby, which we really liked, I started to incorporate more glamorous aspects into the theme, and somehow the colors shifted towards pinks and gold. Everything was personalized and given a lot of thought. We picked our wedding day 11th of August on my grandparents wedding day to remember my grandad who passed away a year ago. Also as a strange coincidence me and Jamie have met for the very first time on the same day.”
When I asked her about her favorite part of the day, she says, “There were so many favorite parts! Saying the vows that were personalized and felt just right. The beautiful setting on the lake with mountains in background. All the strangers at the Emerald Lake giving us their wishes. And I loved wearing my wedding dress. Because the wedding was about just us the day felt long and not rushed, we had time to enjoy every aspect of it.”
Adela’s advice on wedding planning: “It really is a good idea to start early. It might seems crazy to start year in advance, but the time really goes fast. I had little notebook where I entered all the information and all the things that had to be done. For last month I wrote down day by day what needed to be done on a separate sheet that was on my desk. For all the crafty things I’ve set aside a day in a week when I would work on them.”
Ceremony venue: Emerald Lake Lodge / Officiant: Kim Chapman / Bride’s attire: dress by Oleg Cassini / Groom’s attire: suit from Le Chateau / Hair and Makeup Artist: Botega / Florist and cake: staff of Emerald Lake Lodge
