After nine years in our current building, Media Hill Publications, publisher of Real Weddings Magazine, is moving. Beginning next week, you can find us 4965 Marine Drive, Burnaby, just a stone’s throw away from our current location. Our phone numbers will stay the same.
From now until July 10th, Jules & Eve in Kerrisdale has their 50% Off Summer Sale. Brides, take your bridesmaids for chic, wear-again bridesmaids dresses or make a shopping date with your mom (or mom-to-be) for a sophisticated wedding day outfit. (Sale excludes New Arrivals.)
Recently, Semiahmoo Resort & Spa in Blaine, Washington held a Bridal Soiree showcasing the Resort itself as well as select decorators, florists and wedding industry creatives from the surrounding area.
The Resort has several ceremony and reception venue options. Pictured above is the terrace area that is popular for outdoor ceremonies and offers a picturesque view of Semiahmoo Bay with White Rock in the distance.
Just off the main lobby and adjacent to the ceremony terrace is The Seaview Lobby. In this room, string trio Sunrise Strings serenaded guests while florist Kate Fadden of In Bloom Designs and stationery designer Kerri Efendi showcased their work. Fadden presented a seaside and garden theme, incorporating sand and starfish with blooms in fresh white and green.
Efendi’s stationery was inventive and detailed. She designed the media invitations to the event (shown here) and we were especially impressed with her design that housed invitations inside hollowed-out old books about love. It seems her background in landscape architecture influences her three dimensional designs and allows her to push the boundaries of traditional wedding invitations.
The larger Victoria Room was decorated with pretty lavender tablescapes, a collaboration between Blaine florist Stacie Sutcliff of Blush Custom Floral and wedding stylist Hollie Anthonysz of Soiree Memorable Events.
Sutcliff has a distinct style which is unstructured, natural, romantic and garden-like. Three different arrangements graced the tables resulting in a look that was cohesive but not uniform. This variety in centrepieces is a great way to create visual interest and rhythm to your overall wedding decor. The centrepieces sat amidst lavender and silver textiles, glass charger plates and gold coloured chiavari chairs for an overall look of graceful simplicity.
The Pierside Room showcased florals by Allison Miller of Flowers by Design. This water view room lends itself more to an intimate restaurant feel with its mix of long rectangular and smaller square tables. One of Miller’s floral themes used peonies and feathers (shown above).
Another featured a jewel-toned palette of garden flora casually arranged in embellished mason jars.
For an open-air reception, the Resort’s tented outdoor reception space is a lovely venue for a casual to semi-formal summer wedding and offers scenic views of the Bay. The adjoining boardwalk area could be set up for a cocktail hour before moving the guests under the tent for dinner. For the Soiree, the tented space was beautifully decorated by designer Steven Moore. Moore has been featured in magazines such as Martha Stewart Weddings and Seattle Bride.
His pretty, pink and peach victorian-inspired design incorporated romantic elements such as classical sheet music, vintage glass vases and bottles and tall floral centrepieces. There was also a candy bar with large glass vases full of colour coordinated candies set atop an old leather trunk. The reception area also had a dance floor and during the event, Chris Graves of Your Song Entertainment provided music.
The Semiahmoo Resort also offers a separate location just a few minutes away. The tudor-style Loomis Trail Mansion sits on the Loomis Trail Golf Course and is a sumptuous locale for a grand celebration. The lobby showcases a grand staircase that leads into the dining area. Guests could mingle over cocktails in the lobby before heading upstairs for dinner.
The Loomis Mansion’s expansive reception area features dark wood and ironwork details and can be configured in various ways to suit the size and style of wedding.
Trish Manley of A New Leaf Flower Shoppe provided luscious and exotic florals that complemented the stately elegance of the venue.
Various outdoor locations around the building offer different ceremony settings that overlook the golf course. The Mansion also offers 15 guest rooms for yourself or your out-of-town guests.
After the Soiree, the tented reception area at the Resort became the setting for an intimate industry dinner. The Soiree’s vendors, as well as wedding industry creatives and media from Blaine, Seattle and Vancouver, were treated to a formal dinner complete with wine pairings from local vineyards. It was a wonderful way to end the day, catching up with wedding industry friends and meeting new ones from our little corner of the Pacific Westcoast.
Couples interested in booking the Semiahmoo Resort & Spa or the Loomis Mansion for a wedding can contact Wendy Fisher, Senior Wedding Manager at 1 360-318-2018 or email her at wfisher@semiahmoo.com.
{For travel and honeymoon information about Semiahmoo Resort and Spa, check out our Travel & Honeymoon Editor’s story from Real Weddings Spring/Summer 2007!}
Check out the digital edition of Real Weddings Spring/Summer 2010! Click on website links and go straight to their pages, email pages to yourself, your family, fiancee, and friends, or bookmark pages to return easily to them later.
You can pick up hardcopies at your local newsstand, bridal registry, and at participating vendors in Vancouver, The Lower Mainland, Fraser Valley and Vancouver Island.
Last month, I attended the EP!C Sustainable Living Expo at the Vancouver Trade & Convention Centre to specifically check out their Wedding Showcase. The vendors ranged from cake designers and boutique bakeries who offer organic and local ingredients, to local jewellers, to gown designers who create dresses made of organic and reclaimed textiles.
Patty Nayel of Pure Magnolia is one such designer. New on the scene, Nayel graduated in 2009 with a Bachelor of Applied Design in Fashion from Kwantlen Polytechnic University. Her venture into eco-conscious bridal wear was initiated by several factors, one being her own wedding.
“I found there was a huge lack of eco-friendly dresses out there. I was getting married and I really didn’t have any options in the [eco-friendly] ready-to-wear market in Vancouver. When I first started to make a few dresses [for others], I found the response overwhelming,” she explains.
Nayel does custom gowns as well as a collection. At EP!C, she showed two of her collections, ‘Rustic Nature’ and ‘Vintage Glamour’. She describes ‘Rustic Nature’: “I was pulling my inspiration from the parts of nature that are not classically beautiful. Brown feathers, muddied streams, and a lot of texture.”
The second collection was Fall 2010, ‘Vintage Glamour’. “I just started using vintage wedding dresses to make new dresses, and I love the vintage lace that I am finding! I am trying to incorporate lace into every dress somehow. I have dresses that are inspired from every era, so there really isn’t one type of dress that I am looking at,” she explains.
Undyed fabrics, ranging from cream to soft white dominate her collections. The use of these natural, untreated fabrics are truest to the Pure Magnolia philosophy but Nayel can dye the fabrics if requested. She uses organic fabrics such as silk charmeuse, organza, chiffon and tissue but also uses less common materials in bridal such as bark cloth and hemp silk. She incorporates reclaimed and vintage textiles and small-mill sources. Several of the dresses also had embellishments such as lace, ribbon, feathers and applique.
She also designs bridesmaids gowns, a cute pink number with a japanese silk tissue ruffled bodice hung amidst the bridal gowns.
Nayel designs and sews all her dresses herself from a studio in North Vancouver, her home community. “I moved from a small shared artist studio Downtown to a much larger and nicer showroom and studio space in Lynn Valley on the North Shore. I found it in the neighbourhood that I grew up in,” she says. Though she misses the buzz of Downtown, Nayel feels that her new space has the right feel for the clientele she desires and is much more suited to her down-to-earth, authentic, and eco-conscious approach.
“It’s also at the base of Fromme Mountain which gives my husband a good excuse to go mountain biking every time he brings me to work!” she adds, “It is a great community, and a great space for me to grow in.”
So what is in store for future collections? “My Spring 2011 Collection is going to follow along the lines of Fall, using the vintage laces but bringing them into more modern dresses. I love doing mermaid dresses and bubble dresses, my dresses have a lot of body and movement, so I will be working with a lot of ruffles and even more texture,” she describes.
Nayel also is experimenting with a newer technique developed by Julian Roberts called subtraction cutting, “I am not sure how it is going to turn out yet, but I am hoping to show some amazing one-of-a-kind dresses from it!”
As for fabrics, Nayel is excited about looking into silk cotton blends as well as more wild silks, “which always have very unique natural colours,” she explains.
In keeping with their eco-conscious philosophy, Pure Magnolia also offers “Rent a Dress.” If you are on a tight budget or don’t want to buy a designer gown only to store it ad infinitum, you can rent a dress starting from $400. This includes fittings and environmentally-friendly drycleaning. Sizes are limited but in general range from size 4-12.
Find out more about Pure Magnolia here on their website.
{Photos courtesy of Pure Magnolia and www.puremagnolia.ca}
Tags: eco-friendly, Gowns
For you ladies out there with an iPhone, iPod Touch or iPad (or have a significant other with one), drop a hint with the free Tiffany & Co engagement ring finder app. With it, you can choose the shape of stone, the metal, the setting style, and the collection for a Tiffany ring that fits all your criteria. You can also input the correct ring size with the ring sizer feature; place one of your own rings on top of the circle that’s shown and change the circle until it aligns with the inside rim of your band. Save your ring and email it to you-know-who. You can also set up an in-store consultation to make your dream ring an actuality.
I decided to give it a whirl so after choosing all my options, my Tiffany engagement ring is the “Tiffany Legacy”. A 2.5 ct cushion-cut diamond set in platinum with additional bead-set diamonds surrounding the main diamond and set along the band. Grand total: $51,500. Champagne tastes! Who knew?
Download the app from here via the web or direct from your iPhone, iPod Touch, or iPad.
Since the World Cup is in full swing over in Johannesburg, I thought it timely to share the wonderful Elgin (close to Cape Town) wedding of Caryn and Dan, whom I met last year. Caryn is originally from South Africa but both have been in Vancouver for some time and are now proper Vancouver transplants.
Here are a few photos from their big day on their photographer’s blog. I hope you’re inspired by the vintage whimsy, life, and love that comes through in the images. Congratulations to Caryn and Dan!
Local jewellery line, Sugarlime, is holding a jewellery event Sunday, June 27 at the Burnaby Mountain Golf Course from 1:00 – 4:00 pm. Invite your bridesmaids for an afternoon of sipping mimosas while browsing and trying on pieces from Sugarlime’s extensive collections. The brand is a favourite of local brides who want simple, delicate and pretty pieces for the big day but also wants those pieces to be wearable day-to-day.
Consider layering a few of their single strand necklaces named after Olympic medal-winning, Canadian women athletes. Remember, it’s ok to mix metals! {Above left-right: the Christine, Maelle, and Tessa.}
There’s no admission fee but an RSVP is required.
For the month of June, $1.00 from every Sugarlime purchase will be donated to the National Wildlife Federation to help support the environment and wildlife impacted by the BP oil spill.
Tags: Jewellery
{Above Left: The Felicity, named after one of Jason Matlo’s design staff. Lucky her! The silk organza gown is styled with a Tiffany & Co. Platinum and Diamond Circlet Drape necklace, $173,500, and the Platinum and Diamond Voile Drop earrings, $5350. Above Right: The Naomi, a ballerina-inspired gown with pockets made of silk shantung and finished with an obi-style sash. Styled with Tiffany & Co. Platinum and Diamond Rosecut earrings, $5,800.}
A few weeks ago, Vancouver fashion designer Jason Matlo unveiled his new 2010 bridal collection at an exclusive tea soiree at the Shangri-La Hotel in Vancouver. This is Matlo’s second season in bridal, with a collection that was inspired by classic shapes and cuts. The Collection’s 10 gowns were styled beautifully with Tiffany & Co. jewellery.
{Above Left: The Danielle, a draped jersey with topstitched bra, styled with Tiffany & Co. Platinum, Diamond and Sapphire Swing Drop earrings, $9800, and the Platinum and Diamond Victoria Bezel bracelet, $16,200. Above Right: The Miranda, an asymmetrical jersey gown with cascade sleeve. Styled with Tiffany & Co. White Gold, Sapphire and Tourmaline Drop earrings, $2,250.}
On a recent visit to his Crosstown atalier for a one-on-one chat, Matlo expressed that he especially enjoys designing bridal as it allows him the most creative freedom to play, experiment, apply intricate hand-done techniques, and use sumptuous materials and embellishments. The lace overlay in the Grace gown below is all hand-applied.
{Above left: The Alexandra, an asymmetrical jersey twist gown styled with Tiffany & Co. Frank Gehry Silver Torque bangle, $845 and the Frank Gehry Silver Double Orchid earrings, $755. Above Right: The Grace, an a-line gown with a sweetheart neckline, shattered lace overlay and black organza sash. Styled with Tiffany & Co. Paloma Picasso Pearl Toursade necklace, $1,900, and Elsa Peretti Pearl Drop earrings, $425.}
{Above left: The Katherine is a blush coloured strapless silk chiffon gown with organic chiffon ruffles, styled with Tiffany & Co. Platinum and Diamond Legacy Triple Bar earrings, $17,800, and the Platinum and Diamond Victoria bracelet, $22,500. Above Right: The Gabrielle, a mermaid style gown with a sweetheart neckline and open work lace bodice with black silk bow tie belt. Styled with Tiffany & Co. Yellow Gold Tassel earrings, $1,800.}
{Above left: The Claudia, a jersey gown with trapunto shoulder detail and ruching at the waist, styled with Tiffany & Co. Elsa Peretti Silver Heart Hoop earrings, $544, and Elsa Peretti Silver and Coloured Pearl Fringe bracelet, $785. Above Right: The Ava, a silk shantung with draped waist peplum detail. Styled with Tiffany & Co, Platinum and Diamond Heart Drop earrings, $3,800, and Platinum and Diamond Heart Pendant, $10,100.}
Matlo also does custom gowns. To view his collection or connect, contact him at info@jasonmatlo.com or call the studio: 604-682-0726.
Hello to all our beautiful Brides-to-Be!
We’re launching an e-newsletter just for our Real Weddings brides and would love to share it with you! Every newsletter will be short and sweet, with helpful industry tips, a question-of-the-week, exclusive insights and more. It’ll be something to actually look forward to in your Inbox!
Click here to subscribe!
{Note: The information you submit to receive the newsletter will not be shared with any third party. Your privacy is important to us!}
Tags: Newsletter
Twitter: realweddingsca
- Holt Renfrew's Fall 2010 Preview Last Night. Our faves: military inspired for men and women, knits, animal print, and anything red!
- Chanel's new Fragrance Bar at Holt Renfrew. Find your perfect and classic wedding day fragrance!
- Now in our new digs!
- After nine years in our current space, we're moving! Staring next week, find us at 4965 Marine Dr, Burnaby. Phone numbers are the same.