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It's not that often we get to feature Canada weddings so I'm thrilled to share this sweet one with you today! This lovely retro inspired wedding had 72 guests and tons of handmade details to make the day unique. The bride got a designer gown at a sample sale (score!) and was very intentional about deciding between wedding “wants” and “needs.” I absolutely love the retro vibe that the wedding party attire invokes, too! I know you'll love these gorgeous photos! xoxo Jessica

Rebecca + Bryan

August 2nd, 2014

Qualicum Beach, BC, Canada

St.Mark's Anglican Church | Eagle Crest Golf Course

What was your budget?

Budget: $10,000 CAD; We spent $10,185 CAD

Breakdown:

• Bride
  • Dress: £450 ($811 CAD)
  • Alterations: £150 ($265 CAD)
  • Shoes: £18.99 ($34 CAD)
  • Head piece: £160 ($278 CAD)
  • Bridal bouquet: $100.80 CAD
  • Hairstylist: $80 CAD
• 3 Bridesmaid bouquets: $218.40 CAD
• Flower girl outfit: $30 CAD
• Grooms Tux: £185 CAD
• Mother of the Groom Corsage: $21 CAD
• Father of the Groom Boutineer: $11 CAD
• Venue: $2100 CAD
• Church: $250 CAD
• Organist: $150 CAD
• Invitations & Reply card : £49 ($89 CAD)
• Bunting: £229 ($430 CAD)
• Wedding favours – personalised coasters: $184 CAD
• Photography: $3,559 CAD (incl. usb with all the pictures)
• Appy Couple Wedding Website/App: $30 CAD
• Her Ring: £270 ($494 CAD)
• His Ring: $800 CAD
• Other stationery (maps, puzzles, order of service, colouring sheets): $52

How many guests did you have?

We had 72 guests.

What creative or personal aspects did you include in your wedding?

• 250 ft of hand made fabric bunting
• Designed the coasters which were our wedding favours. Identified a Chinese supplier through Alibaba.com. Was very happy with the process and helped make our wedding even more personalised. Since we've lived in Europe, I collect coasters in every country I've visited — making our own coasters helped us share the love coasters as mementos
• Friend Karli made the Wedding cake
• Friend Gwen made the peg people cake toppers — I was going to make them myself, however my friend Gwen wanted to make them for us since she wouldn't be able to travel over for the wedding.
• My Matron of Honour, Laura made the UK Post box style card box
• An unorthodox walk down the aisle: Bryan walked up to meet me half way, and we walked up to the alter together
• Created a clue based word search for our guests to keep them entertained ahead of the ceremony

What was the biggest sacrifice you made to stay on budget?

I don't believe we made any major sacrifices, however we stayed realistic and and approached every decision with the following question “Do we need this or do we just want it?”

What was the biggest thing you did to save money?

• Made the fabric bunting ourselves.
• Bought wedding dress at a wedding show sample sale
• Friend made the wedding cake
• Mother of the Groom created the lovely centre pieces
• Designed out own double sided ‘post card' styled invitations, and since the template wasn't from the wedding section the price was considerable lower.
• Decided that there was not need to decorate the church — it looked lovely as it was
• Chose not to order boutonnieres for the groomsman
• Wedding website to register the majority of the RSVPs

What’s the best advice you have for planning your wedding now that you’re on the other side?

For a long distance wedding (bride and groom in different countries) communication and delegation is very important. Since I was living in the UK for the length of our engagement, and Bryan in Canada, we determined what was important to each of us: I wanted to choose the photographer and Bryan wanted to ensure we had a good meal. I took the responsibility of vetting photographers, and Bryan chose the venue and menu — I didn't even know what our menu was, and trusted him that our venue was up to par and able to accommodate bunting.

I feel having kids there really made the wedding. To ensure that they didn't get bored at the reception we placed crayons and wedding themed colouring sheets (free images downloaded from google image search) at the tabled they'd be sitting.

What was your biggest splurge?

Our photographers — I profiled each photographer I came across, rated their portfolio and then decided on my top three choices. We were very happy with the couple we went with!

What was your favourite detail?

The bunting — it added character to our reception!

What is the most memorable moment of your day?

Our walk down the aisle as husband and wife!

VENDORS

Photography: Julien Photography   •   Church: St.Marks Anglican Church   •   Reception Venue: Eagle Crest Golf Course   •   Flowers: Qualicum Beach Florist   •   Invitations: Printed.com   •   Coasters: Fuzuo Goldensun Promotions  •  Bridesmaids Dresses: DaisyBridalHouse   •   Bridal Head Piece: HF Couture  •   Wedding Dress: Justin Alexander    •   Website + Wedding App: Appy Couple