I wanted to create an experience that felt like dancing barefoot in the moonlight.
Tell us a little about yourselves, what you do, what you love…
(M) We live in Vancouver, Canada with our three-year-old golden retriever, Huxley. We both work in marketing; I run community engagement for a local property development and management company, and Ben works as an analyst for Nintendo. We can often be found out walking in the nearby parks and trails with our dog, or hanging at our neighbourhood breweries with friends.
How/where/when did you meet – and what were your first impressions?
Our love story is quite serendipitous. I’m from California, and Ben’s from England. We were both on holidays in Thailand in December 2016, where we met on the beach one night. We both felt an instant connection, and we spent two nights hanging out before we had to go our separate ways. After getting home, we were messaging and FaceTiming a bunch, and I booked a trip to London to go see Ben….I couldn’t bear to just let what we had fade away. This turned into a year of messages, phone calls, video chats, and weekends together in London, San Francisco, and Amsterdam.
At that time we were both looking for a way to escape the 9-5 grind, and Ben mentioned that he was thinking of moving to Australia for a year to travel, live and work, which sounded amazing to me. After looking into it more, I learned that Americans can also apply for a working holiday visa in Australia. I knew immediately that was what I wanted to do, and a few months later we both quit our jobs and were headed for Melbourne.
When did you first realise that this was someone you’d like to spend the rest of your life with?
Because we had spent a whole year getting to know each other from afar, as soon as we were both in Australia together, it felt like – this is it. One of the first things we did together was a road trip along the Great Ocean Road, and I think that trip really solidified for us both that we were serious about each other.
Ben – After Maddy visited London, as soon as she left, it set in that she was the one. I messaged my friend (now Best Man) and told him how I felt. He then brought these messages back up at his speech at the wedding!
Was there a proposal? Tell us a little about it…
There’s a beautiful forest in Vancouver that’s full of trails where we have enjoyed many amazing long walks with our dog over the years – it became our favourite place in the city. We were there walking one Friday afternoon, and Ben surprised me with a proposal, and a weekend full of celebrations with friends.
Tell us about the vision you had for the mood or style of your wedding…
I named my Pinterest board “Ethereal Garden Party” if that gives you any idea. I wanted to create an experience that felt like dancing barefoot in the moonlight. As a California girl at heart, I really wanted a fully outdoor wedding, which is not only difficult to find, but also extremely risky in rainy Vancouver! The Botanical Garden was the perfect spot for us because it’s absolutely stunning, but also a blank canvas – perfect for someone who wants a lot of control over the design. My vision came together with a pastel colour palette, vintage glassware, blue checkered picnic napkins, wax paper parasols, and pallet-style wood lounge seating. Bridgerton-inspired instrumental covers played in the background as we ate dinner at one long table under the stunning greenery-covered arbour.
Our closest friends and family were flying in from all over the world to celebrate with us, so the most important thing to us both was to create an atmosphere that was intimate, fun, and laid-back; we wanted our guests to feel our love and gratitude.
Ben is big into music and I love a good dance floor, so the music was a priority. Ben created a mix that kept the dance floor full from start to finish. Highly recommend choosing your own music, seriously so much fun!
What was one element you were happy to splurge on?
Photography was so important to me – I really wanted to find someone who I felt aligned with to capture our day. When I found Brooklyn, I knew her style was exactly what I was looking for. When we finally met in person for our engagement shoot, Ben and I were both SO thrilled that we made the right choice, that we were so lucky to find someone who was extremely talented but also a joy to be around.
Did anything happen on your wedding day that you laugh about in hindsight (even if it was stressful at the time)?
Because we DIY’d so much, Ben had to go out to the venue in the morning to set some stuff up, and he brought his dad and a few friends to help. He was only supposed to stay for an hour, but the setup of the string lights went completely wrong and he ended up running really late. Luckily, our friends sent him off to get ready, and fixed everything for us. We’re so lucky we had them to save the day!
Tell us about your main outfits, what was unique, is there a story?
I was always planning to wear my mom’s wedding dress. When I finally tried it on, it actually fit perfectly, but the style didn’t feel like me. So I decided to design my own dress, planning to use the fabric from my mom’s dress to create it. Then, I spent months pulling together design inspiration and mocking up different potential dress designs in Canva. I found a local dressmaker, Liaz Diaz, who specializes in re-working vintage gowns, to execute my vision for me. She took the design I created, added her own expert ideas, and created the most beautiful custom gown for me. It looked nothing like my mom’s gown, but it was made from all its pieces. I made my mom wait until the morning of the wedding to see it, which was a beautiful moment for us.
LOCATION UBC Botanical Garden, @ubcgarden / PHOTOGRAPHER Feather and Folk Photography, @featherandfolk / CELEBRANT Bride’s best friend and bridesmaid performed the ceremony / ENTERTAINMENT Music done by the groom / STYLING & PLANNING All done by the bride, @madsmats / HIRE A&B Partytime, @abpartytime; Custom Event Rentals / FLORA Bouquets and boutonnieres by Lizi + Fern, @liziandfern; Table flowers done by the bride and her aunts / CATERING & BEVERAGES Dinner by Local Pizzaiolo, @localpizzaiolo; Cocktail hour charcuterie boards by Wake and Cake, @_wakeandcake / CAKE Brownies by Wake and Cake, @_wakeandcake / STATIONERY Made by the bride / REGISTRY Zola, @zola / GROOM’S ATTIRE Indochino, @indochino / BRIDE’S DRESS Re-designed her mom’s vintage wedding dress to create a custom gown, working with seamstress Liza Diaz, @handmadeweddingdress / MAKEUP Makeup by Supernova, @makeupbysupernova / HAIR Hairline Vancouver, @hairline_vancouver
