Katy and Ben had their wedding in September 2017, years after first meeting at a friend’s house to watch the OC
Many friends and family commented that theirs was not love at first sight, but love built on friendship, trust, and common interests.
Since both the bride and groom were enthusiasts of the outdoors, Old Orchard Hall in Port Moody was perfect for their wedding, with a meadow only a five minute walk away. Weather threatened, but on the morning of, things looked brighter. After the first look and photos, rain DID begin early in the afternoon. In hope of a reprieve, indoor set-up was delayed as long as possible. At exactly four o’clock, the rain cleared, leaving only the fifteen-minute buffer for rearrangements. (It’s always a good idea to plan the start of the ceremony fifteen minutes after the time stated on the invitation, to make allowance for latecomers – and things like this!) While Ben was concerned about water making the meadow unpleasant for guests (as well as the possibility of more rain), Breanne knew how important an outdoor wedding was to the couple, so after a quick phone call to Katy, everything was a go!
After a quick change from ceremony to reception set-up indoors, the chairs were moved downhill to the meadow, and guests ushered outside. Following a quick legal officiation, a friend of the couple’s led the personalized section of the ceremony, a choice the two made with encouragement from Breanne. Ben and Katy’s vows complemented each other perfectly – not surprising, as they’d written them together!
The buffet-style meal, like the rest of the wedding, was personalized and suited the couple to a T. Their caterer went above and beyond, even helping to flip the room! Instead of table numbers, each table was assigned the name of a place Ben and Katy had visited, such as Haleakala or Yellowstone National Park. The décor was largely made by the couple, along with friends and family. The centrepieces were rich red wooden rounds topped by painted mason jars filled with silk peonies and fresh greenery. All wooden décor was made by Ben, and the father of the bride contributed wooden coasters as favours.
The reception featured a photobooth with a background made by Ben, as well as a photo backdrop and a number of beautiful wooden signs, such as the agenda for the day, a card box, and more, which were hand-lettered by a friend. The couple hosted a twonie bar and donated the proceeds to the BC Wildfire Relief Fund. At the end of the night, they stayed at an Airbnb location five minutes away.
The photographer for the wedding was Amanda Coldicutt Photography, while DJ Zavarella provided the tunes. The truly amazing caterer was Mark from Catering Visions. Gaylene Shapka was the legal officiant. Katy and Ben also utilized ThistleBEA’s A Day In The Life package.
From the Couple
I can’t say enough amazing things about Breanne. She came to our house to meet with us twice before the wedding to discuss details, and she was super prompt, thorough and helpful when responding to any questions over email.
Breanne and her helper Winnie worked about 17 hours on our wedding day, with huge smiles the whole time. They were at the venue when we arrived in the morning and were the last to leave. Breanne took all our cards, gifts and valuables and delivered them to us at home the day after our wedding. She was competent, calm, accommodating and intuitive. She was always one step ahead, knowing exactly what might be needed. Breanne and Winnie did anything and everything to make our day run smoothly, including bussing tables, handing out tissues during speeches, redecorating tables as they got moved after dinner, and thoughtfully packing up our uhaul full of our decorations.
One example of her unflappable and professional nature was our indoor/outdoor ceremony decision. In the morning on our wedding day, the weather looked good and we planned for an outdoor ceremony. Later on, it started pouring with lightning and thunder and Breanne moved the ceremony indoors. When the weather cleared up just in the nick of time, she had absolutely no issue moving the ceremony back outside again.
We trusted Breanne to set up all the decor at our wedding, and we were totally thrilled with how it came out. My husband is very detail-oriented (he was called Groomzilla more than once on our wedding day), and he had nothing but fabulous things to say about how well everything was executed.
Thanks to Breanne and Winnie we were able to relax and enjoy our day, without imposing on friends and family to do the heavy lifting. I recommend Thistlebea 100%. Hiring them was the best wedding money we spent.
