After spending the past few days in the Rockies for engage!14, I’ve found myself with elegant mountain weddings on the brain. So truth be told, these winter ski resort nuptials captured by Christina Louise couldn’t have come at ANY better time. Decked in blooms by Revelstoke Florist and a blanket of snow as far as the eye can see, this scenic gallery is not to be missed.
From the Bride… I have always known I wanted a Winter Wedding; the trick was persuading my fiancé that it was a good idea. I was able to convince Jon that a Ski Wedding at our favorite resort, Revelstoke Mountain Resort, would be the perfect place to have a winter destination wedding. Jon and I are avid snowboarders and have been using a local company, Backside Tours, to get us to and from the mountains for a few seasons now.
Backside provides transportation, accommodations, and lift tickets (plus a great time!) for weekend getaways to the Canadian Rockies. They were happy to help us create a ski trip to get all our guests out to the mountains safely and provide them with amazing accommodations at the Sutton Place Hotel at the base of Revelstoke Mountain. With two buses loaded with our guests (and an ample amount of snacks, drinks, and a pumping sound system) we headed out on the 7 hour drive from Edmonton, Alberta to Revelstoke, British Columbia.
After a night of rest, Jon and I’s big day had finally come! We opted to have a morning ceremony so our guests could ride the mountain in the afternoon before the reception in the evening. The girls started their day at the salon while the boys relaxed at the hotel. At 11AM I walked down the aisle to Vigil by Jack Wall. This song holds a special place for both Jon and I as it is the theme song of the video game franchise we both worked on for the last 5 years – Mass Effect. The ceremony was a traditional Catholic wedding, and included Filipino traditions from Jon’s family. Our wedding party helped us with the candles, veil, cord, and coins; the addition of these traditions made for a very memorable, and unique ceremony.
The reception was the first Winter Wedding at the Mid Mountain Lodge on Revelstoke Mountain Resort. Revelation Lodge is usually only available for summer weddings as the chalet is used during the day by resort patrons. I was told if I wanted to have my reception during ski season I would have less than 2 hours to decorate. I knew that I wanted to have my reception ‘on top of a mountain’, so I had to get creative with our venue décor! After skimming through Pintrest and tonnes of wedding magazines, we finally decided on a rustic, alpine theme with simple winter colors – green, blue, and brown. We got our sewing machine tuned, Photoshop installed, and started in on creating everything from our Wedding Invitations to our monogrammed burlap table runners.
Not one of our decorations were purchased ‘as is’ – all were hand made by either Jon and myself, or another member of the family. The highlight of our wedding décor was the handmade candle centerpieces that were created by my grandfather. All decorations were there to be taken, and almost all the table runners and candle holders were gone by the end of the night! We tried to keep with the ski theme in our reception as much as possible; for example, our tables were not numbered instead they were names of our favorite ski runs, and our first snowboards acted as our guestbook! Jon created custom stickers for our guests to sign, then they put them onto our snowboards creating a great keepsake for us. Jon and I also decided to have guests drink from a shot-ski instead of the traditional glass clinking to have us kiss. As a result, our guests were ready to party by the end of dinner! DJKing (Jon’s cousin and Jon’s uncle) provided a dance party that did not stop, and at the end of the night we had trouble convincing guests it was time to head down the Gondola back to the hotel!
On Sunday, all our guests loaded back into the Backside Tours buses for the ride home. Jon and I stayed on the mountain for our honeymoon; however, I was told that the bus ride home was much quieter than the bus ride out to the mountain. Overall, it was an amazing weekend that will create lasting memories for Jon and I, and our guests!
Wedding Photography: Christina Louise Photography | Floral Design: Revelstoke Florist | Wedding Cake: Flirt Cupcakes | Ceremony Venue: St Francis Of Assisi Church | Reception Venue: Revelstoke Mountain Resort | Bride's Shoes: Design Your Pedestal | Bridesmaids' Dresses: Aritzia | Groom's Suit: Simons | Bridal Party Hair: Church Of Evangelical Faith | Bridal Party Makeup: Diva Den Day Spa | Bride's Dress: Sophia Toli 'Allanah' | Groom's Shoes: Steve Madden | Guest Lodging: Revelstoke Mountain Resort | Invitation & Placecard Printing: Vista Print | Reception Stationary Printing: Staples | Wedding Shuttle Service: Revelstoke Tours | Wedding Stationery Design (Invitations, Menus, Placecards, Etc): Bride, Kris Schoneberg, Consulted With Epik Creative | Wedding Transportation & Lodging: Backside Tours