WEDDING BLOG

This Bride Used Her Skills as an Architect to Design an Epic Balloon Installation for Her Fairmont Banff Springs Wedding

January 9, 2019 | Junebug Weddings

Whitney and Brian’s Fairmont Banff Springs wedding was as elegant as it was artistic. With loads of space in their reception hall, the couple got creative with the decor and designed an architectural balloon installation that can only be described as a masterpiece! They also treated their guests to lots of DIY personalizations and made their Banff weekend feel like a true getaway rather than just a wedding. The planners of Lynn Fletcher Weddings went above and beyond in helping the couple tie together their outdoor ceremony and indoor reception, using a mix of grasses and neutral florals from Occasional Bloom. In the end, every inch of this wedding was sheer perfection, and Kris Turner Photography captured it all beautifully!

The Couple:

Whitney and Brian

The Wedding:

Tunnel Mountain Reservoir and Fairmont Banff Springs, Alberta, Canada

The two most memorable parts of the day were the processional during the ceremony and the bridal party entrance at the reception. The ceremony was outdoors and, though the forecast called for sun on our day, it poured the day before. The weather ended up being absolutely perfect and walking down the aisle with all of our loved ones together was one of the best moments of my life. Our “grand entrance” at the reception was equally meaningful. We had a vision for the space and we did as much as possible to coordinate all of the moving pieces but we really had no idea how everything would come together. When we finally entered the hall we were completely blown away. All of our vendors truly went above and beyond.

One of the main reasons why we chose to get married in Banff was that we wanted to be able to share not just a day but an experience with our closest friends and family. Banff is so breathtakingly beautiful and one of the best parts of the weekend was seeing everyone’s reactions as they reached the mountains. While there were certainly a lot of logistics that went into planning a destination wedding, it was really important to us that, once we arrived in Canada, it felt like an adventure with all of our favorite people (and a little bit of paperwork along the way).

Three pieces of advice for brides and grooms to be. First, try not to sweat the small stuff but, if you do, make sure you’re at least having fun along the way. We ended up doing a lot of DIY projects and, while it was a little overwhelming at times, enjoying the process was key to our happiness. Second, especially if you’re planning to have your wedding at a large hotel or other venue, hire an experienced planner or day-of coordinator. Our wedding day was incredibly smooth and that was in large part thanks to the team at Lynn Fletcher Weddings. Third, do not skimp on documentation. If it is at all feasible in the budget, hire both a photographer and videographer.

I am trained as an architect and while Brian is also artistically inclined. As a result, there was a lot of DIY in our wedding! With the help of our family and friends, we made custom laser cut wooden notebooks as favors, acrylic table settings, garlands, and more. The biggest project was the creation of a balloon installation in the reception hall. We knew that we wanted to do something different and somehow spatial in nature but many of our initial ideas quickly put us outside of our budget. Mt Stephen Hall has gorgeous soaring ceilings — too high to propose hanging anything from them. So, we got creative! I used my 3D modeling software to create a model of the space and define the heights of the balloons. Brian painstakingly measured and labeled all of the LED light strings. The folks at the Banff Dollar Store were total rockstars and delivered over 100 inflated balloons to the venue the morning of. We refined the design with our amazing planners in the months leading up to the wedding and, on the big day, they somehow managed to bring the vision to life. It was a full team effort and the result exceeded all expectations!

The Wedding Team:

Photography – Kris Turner Photography
Second Photographer – Worn Leather Media
Event Planning – Lynn Fletcher Weddings
Ceremony Venue – Tunnel Mountain Reservoir
Reception Venue – Fairmont Banff Springs
Floral Design – Occasional Bloom
Cake – Kake by Darci
Officiant – John Stutz
DJ – Revolution DJ
Videography – Jeric Reyes
Hair Styling – Iconic Salon
Wedding Dress – Lili Hod via Marina Morrison Bridal Salon
Bridal Accessories – Enrico Cuini
Groom’s Apparel – Kenneth Cole Reaction
Rings – Amoroso Jewelers
Rentals – Modern Luxe Rentals
Lighting – Silvermoon Productions

Congratulations to Whitney and Brian, and a special thanks to Kris Turner Photography for sharing this gorgeous Fairmont Banff Springs wedding with Junebug! Can’t get enough Banff weddings? Then you won’t want to miss this thrilling and romantic Banff helicopter elopement at Marvel Pass!

Dazzling and Vibrant Big Island Wedding at Puakea Ranch

January 8, 2019 | Junebug Weddings

bright red champagne coral kelly green purple

Between the bridesmaids’ sparkly dresses and the vibrant tropical florals, this Hawaii wedding at Puakea Ranch was the ultimate combination of classy and casual! Claudia and Nick worked extra hard to make sure their destination wedding felt like a true love fest for their nearest and dearest, treating them to a healthy dose of local flair, stunning views, and personal touches. The bride also pulled out all the stops for her not one but two looks that included a Wtoo ballgown for the ceremony and a white bodysuit with custom sequin skirt for their first dance. From beginning to end, this was the perfect cool and casual island wedding, and Couple Cups could not have captured it more beautifully!

The Couple:

Claudia and Nick

The Wedding:

Puakea Ranch, The Big Island, Hawaii

Our advice: If you’re having a destination wedding, organize a trip there early on to get a lay of the land. It will make everything much easier when organizing from afar!

We wrote our own vows and had a family friend as the celebrant… and had a few family traditions thrown in there. We also had everyone ring cowbells when it was time to kiss the bride!

I’m a huge fan of shiny things, so I had all my bridesmaids choose sequin dresses within a metallic palette. I also had two dresses! The main one that was enormous with a glitzy bodice. I loved how the fabric moved in the many layers of the skirt and how effortless the style was to wear (surprising considering the size of the skirt!). The second one was for our first dance because we had a lot of fancy footwork and I was hyper-aware of the proximity of the pool to the dancefloor and didn’t want to ruin my dress if I ended up in that pool (which I did!). I sewed the bodysuit myself and ordered a white sequin A-line skirt that was custom made to my measurements online. I was torn between the two styles so I’m glad I got to have my cake and eat it too!

With a lot of help from family, we ordered flowers and foliage from a local wholesaler and arranged all the bouquets and decorations ourselves (apart from the Haku and the leis). We ordered a ton of ribbon, the cowbells, name places, and Christmas lights off Amazon and personalized it all.

The Wedding Team:

Photography – Couple Cups
Venue – Puakea Ranch
Floral Design – Grace Flowers
Catering – Red Water Cafe
Cake – Pineapple Bakery
DJ – Aloha Got Soul
Live Music – Tristan Smith and Jessica Hamilton
Hair and Makeup Artist – Fix Hair Lounge
Wedding Dress – Wtoo
Groom’s Apparel – Uberstone
Rings – Baxter Jewellery Design
Rentals – Waimea Party Rentals and Big Island Tents
Transportation – Big Island Party Bus

Congratulations to Claudia and Nick, and a big thanks to Couple Cups for sharing this incredible wedding at Puakea Ranch with Junebug! Love these laid-back vibes? Then you have to see our cool casual wedding ideas for low-key couples!

This Cape Town Boschendal Wedding is an Absolute Color Explosion

January 7, 2019 | Junebug Weddings

bright red dark blue dark pink dark red kelly green light pink purple yellow

Inspired by their travels to Japan and South America, as well as the bride’s artistic upbringing, Andrea and Simon’s wedding day was unlike anything we’ve seen before! To say their design was floral-forward would be an understatement as Fleur le Cordeur created some of the most magical ceiling and wall installations, table garlands, and bouquets ever. And, with the entire palette of the rainbow at their disposal, these are some of the most colorful and whimsical floral designs to grace our blog. Andrea even incorporated flowers into her bridal look with an elegant gown from Galia Lahav that featured 3-dimensional applique flowers! Combine all that with the stunning views of the Cape Winelands, and you’ve got a wedding day that dreams are made of. Shanna Jones Photography‘s documentary style could not have been a more perfect match to capture all the unique beauty of this South African wedding!

The Couple:

Andrea and Simon

The Wedding:

Boschendal, Cape Town, South Africa

Being surrounded by all of the people we love most, in throngs of elated celebration, was absolutely awe-inspiring! Our first sense of this was during the Bedekken, where Simon was brought to see me for the first time, seated under the unexpected blossoms of an ancient tree, each of us in the arms of our beloved family and friends.

Simon and I wanted to have a wedding different from anything that we had seen before. We explored various ways of bringing our adventurous and quirky tastes to the day, whilst maintaining strong elements of beauty and elegance. For inspiration, we drew on our travels together, especially in Japan and South America, and sought to feature the vibrancy of nature in full force.

Having picked up origami during our travels in Japan, Simon decided to honour their tradition of folding 1,000 cranes for his bride, only he chose butterflies!

Simon and I both studied in the Cape and have remained enchanted by the breathtaking mountain scenery and rolling green vineyards of the Cape Winelands. With the elegant, raw wood interior of the Olive Press spilling out onto lawns and an incredible vista beyond, Boschendal was love at first sight. Boschendal offers the full variety of features that we wanted our guests to enjoy during their stay – superb accommodation, great interiors in the restaurant, deli and tasting room, vegetable gardens to explore, beautiful Cape Dutch architecture with a refurbished manor house, and so much more.

Having grown up in the home of an artist, and with an obsessive love of flowers, a profusion of colour is my comfort zone! All the same, I provided my florist with a colour chart consisting of shades from maroon to pink with pops of yellow, white, and blue.