When Morgan proposed on top of Fairview Mountain overlooking Lake Louise we knew the Rockies would have to play a feature role in our wedding. After hiking back down the mountain we cleaned up for a beautiful engagement dinner at the Banffshire Club in the Fairmont Banff Springs Hotel and walked away with a wedding brochure and the hope that we might just be able to pull off a wedding in a castle.
The idea was to have a classically elegant wedding with some unique personal touches to make the day feel like it was truly ours. I had grown up in Calgary with the mountains in my backyard but my family moved here from Northern Ireland and I hoped to incorporate their history into a spectacular Canadian setting. My mother and I had gone dress shopping shortly after the proposal and as soon as we saw an ivory mermaid gown with cap sleeves of the most beautiful lace we knew it would be something even my paternal grandmother who made lace herself would be proud of (you can see her handwork on the gown's hanger). My maternal grandmother's locket was included in my heart shaped bouquet of old fashioned flowers and contained a picture of her and my grandfather on their wedding day with a snippet of her wedding dress from 1934.
Morgan grew up in Ottawa so Banff became a true destination for his family, also bringing their own traditions. During our ceremony we both drank champagne from a Quaich (a Scottish loving cup used to seal an agreement) which was engraved with our names along with Morgan's parents, his grandparents and great grandparents. Morgan is also a military man, currently a Captain with the Canadian Forces, and took great pleasure in cutting the cake with his ceremonial sword. In fact, Morgan was lucky to even make the wedding as the army was responding to a domestic emergency in Manitoba. He was only released a day before we were scheduled to make the drive to Banff and had to return to the flood a few short days after the wedding.
One of the greatest compliments we received that day was how relaxed we were. Our wedding planner, Connie Grace of Elegant Banff Occasions, thought of everything. She brought our amazing vendors together and thought of things we never would have dreamed of on our own. She encouraged us to get a vintage Bentley that took us to a most incredible location for photos. It might have been a small hike but Morgan bought me special wedding day Uggs to get us to a ridge with stunning views of the mountains and our Fairmont castle. Connie did a wonderful job of coordinating our stationer, cake maker and florist and helped provide decor to create a stunning event in ivory, gold and green. Every detail was perfect and we could not have been happier, and it shows in all of our photographs. We cherish this day of love and laughter with friends and family that became a true fairy tale and our happy ever after.
Photography: Orange Girl Photographs / Event Design: Connie Grace of Elegant Banff Weddings / Event Planning: Connie Grace of Elegant Banff Weddings / 1952 Silver Bentley: Highland Executive Chauffeur / Flowers: Forget me Not / Ceremony Location: Mount Stephen Hall at The Fairmont Banff Springs / Reception Location: Mount Stephen Hall at The Fairmont Banff Springs / Dress: Pronovias, Adela, 2011 / Harp: Harp Angel / Cupcakes: Cake Creations /
Wedding stationery: Jenelle of PinkPolka Design / DJ: Patrick Smiley