WEDDING BLOG

Set among the sweeping landscape of the Okanagan Valley in Naramata, BC, Kym and Rey teamed up with wedding stylist Yuriko Larson of Vintage Origami to plan a beautiful vineyard wedding at the Bench 1775 Winery – and Whitney Lane Photography captured every wonderful minute!

The Couple: Kym and Rey

The Wedding: Bench 1775 Winery, Naramata, British Columbia

The Goals: While planning our wedding, we definitely knew that we wanted a relaxed and intimate celebration shared with our closest family and friends. The decision to have our wedding in Naramata , BC was an obvious choice for us. With it’s abundant wineries, sparkling lake views and rolling hills, Naramata is a beautiful and special place that we couldn’t wait to share with our guests. Our main priority was to make each guest feel special and give them the chance to fall in love with Naramata throughout the weekend festivities.

The Design: We wanted to create a laid-back yet very personalized celebration. The decor was rustic with some vintage flair and a side of ever after. We chose our two venues based on their character and gorgeous views. Each of our guests were welcomed at their place of accommodation with a welcome bag containing a map to the Naramata wineries, a jar of our favorite local peach jam and a few other survival goodies for the weekend. Our flowers were picked up from a woman with a beautiful flower garden just down the road from our venue. We used an assortment of seasonal flowers and greenery including dahlias, rosemary, dusty miller and baby’s breath for all the bouquets and arrangements. Guests were welcomed to our ceremony with lemonade while a solo guitarist played mellow tunes in the yard. We incorporated personal touches into our ceremony by having an antique dresser at the start of the aisle that held several possessions passed down from my late grandmother.

Our cocktail hour and reception took place at the Bench 1775 Winery where we had the most beautiful sunset just in time for dinner. Our table settings included gold chargers and mismatched antique dinner plates. Local peaches were placed on each plate which also held the guest’s name. We used gold chevron burlap table runners and loose arrangements of dahlias on the tables. Antique teacups were used to display cupcakes on our “Sweet and Salty” table and gold mercury glass candle holders were spread about the room. We wanted everything to look warm, welcoming and “perfectly undone” to go with our family style meal which included a delicious local and organic spread prepared by Joy Road Catering. We were so lucky to have Yuriko Larson from Vintage Origami to bring our vision to life by providing beautiful vintage rentals and assisting with styling of all our wedding design.

The Look: I must have tried on 30 dresses before I eventually found my dream dress, but fortunately it was love at first sight. I chose an ivory peach colored wedding dress by Reem Acra which also inspired the peach color scheme for the rest of the wedding. I splurged on a pair of very comfortable sparkly gold Jimmy Choo shoes and kept my makeup and accessories to a minimum. 

The bridesmaids each wore a light pink/peach colored dress which they picked out themselves. It was more important that the girls loved their dresses rather than having them all match each other. The groom and groomsmen wore gray suits with black ties and black shoes which complimented the mismatched bridesmaid dresses beautifully. Our adorable flower girls definitely stole the show in their poofy feather dresses and our ring bearer wore the cutest pin striped suit with a pair of stylish pink converse sneakers.

The Moments: There are two moments that stand out as being the most memorable to us. The first was our romantic “first look” together in the vineyards. It was a special and emotional moment where it felt like no one else existed. We didn’t even realize that Whitney and Kel our photographers were there, yet they captured every moment beautifully. Our first look allowed us to spend quiet time together to share our feelings of excitement, nervousness and joy. It was so comforting to see each other before the wedding and helped to put us at ease for the rest of the big day.

The other very memorable moment of our wedding day was during our ceremony. A ceremony that started off as a sunny celebration and ended with heavy rainfall, and I’m talking pouring rain, just in time for the exchange of our personal vows. We made the decision to move inside into a cozy room with a balcony overlooking the lake and vineyards for the second half of our ceremony. Obviously we did not plan for such heavy rain to commence during our ceremony, but looking back it was a truly memorable moment and one that we and our guests will never forget. If it’s true what they say about rain on your wedding day then we can’t thank Mother Nature enough. A vow location change, surrounded by our friends and family while slightly wet on a balcony overlooking the lake and vineyards made for romantic vows and perfect memories. Immediately after the ceremony, champagne was popped while everyone watched the rain stop and the sun make it’s return.

The Advice: The biggest piece of advice I would give to future brides has been said time and time again…enjoy every minute of your wedding day no matter what obstacles might arise. It’s not often when all the the people you love from different stages of your life come together all at once to share such a special milestone. Take some deep breaths and take it all in. Don’t sweat the small stuff and focus on having one of the very best days of your life!

The Wedding Team:

Photographer: Whitney Lane Photography
Wedding Stylist: Yuriko Larson of Vintage Origami
Ceremony Venue: Apple D’or Guesthouse
Reception Venue: Bench 1775 Winery
Invitation Designer: Starboard Press
Catering: Joy Road Catering
Cake: The White Apron
Wedding Dress: Reem Acra via Blush Bridal & Special Occassions
Bridal Shoes: Jimmy Choo
Bridesmaids’ Apparel & Accessories: Aritzia
Groom & Groomsmens’ Apparel & Accessories: Indochino
Hair Stylist: Natasha Borthistle
Makeup Artist: Suzanne Attew of Sublime Makeup Artistry
DJ & Live Music: Airwaves Music
Transportation: Grape Escapes
Rentals: Westminster Party & Tent Rentals, Vintage Origami

Thank you Kym and Rey for sharing your gorgeous wedding day with us!

Looking for more winery weddings? Check out this pretty vineyard wedding from Ashleigh Taylor Photography!