Fairmont Wedding at The Fairmont Banff Springs
“In my mind there was no other choice for my fairy-tale wedding then the castle in the rockies...”
Congratulations on your wedding! What made you decide on having your wedding with us at Fairmont?
Ever since I was a little girl, I have been visiting The Fairmont Banff Springs Hotel. I have so many fond memories of the big comfy beds, the cookies & milk and the Easter egg hunts. As an adult I have come to appreciate the outstanding service and delicious cuisine that is synonymous with the Fairmont Hotels & Resorts brand at properties around the world. In my mind there was no other choice for my fairy-tale wedding then the castle in the rockies.
Where did you have your ceremony? Did you incorporate any special or cultural traditions?
Our ceremony was held at the Historic St. George's Church which began in 1889 and is the oldest public building still in use in Banff. Our faith led us to be married in church, but our love for the history of the area brought us to this cute little church with beautiful stained glass windows.
Tell us about the flowers you chose. Did you go traditional or contemporary?
My florist (Leo from Willowhaven) should be considered more of an artist so I left most of the design work up to him. We went contemporary and had a simple white and green theme for everything since we had an enchanted forest theme.
My bouquet was White Freesia, Chrysanthemum, Blue Thistles, White Roses and Green Dianthus.
Our centrepieces were a combination of 1/2 high glass vases with willow branches, orchids & crystals and 1/2 low glass vases with hydrangeas, white roses and green dianthus.
For the ceremony we had green button mum balls with blue ribbon hanging on each pew at the church.
Tell us about the meal you served your guests. What type and flavor cake did you have at your reception?
The Chef helped us put together a customized buffet menu based on what types of food we enjoyed the most. We tend to enjoy more simple foods like pizza and poutine, but the chefs helped us make them a bit more gourmet. We also had fried chicken, garlic mashed potatoes, sausage gravy and mini shepherds pie. We got rave reviews on the food from every guest. Definitely one of the best parts of our wedding.
Our cake was a masterpiece because my husband is a pastry chef so he wanted a "Will and Kate" type wedding cake. We had Alison Lafrance from Whippt in Calgary make it to take the pressure off the pastry team at the hotel because it was a ten tiered creation with a six cake base. It truly was remarkable. Only half of the layers were real, but with those layers we enjoyed Vanilla Passion fruit Rum Cake, Triple Chocolate Cake, White Chocolate Raspberry Cake and Classic Carrot Cake with Cream Cheese Icing. We loved every bite and look forward to eating the top tiered currently stored in our freezer for our first anniversary.
What element(s) did you add to make the wedding uniquely ‘yours’?
At our ceremony instead of going with the classic love poems, we decided to make it unique and found a love poem about penguins (since they mate for life) and a Disney poem we found online. We are big Disney fans so also had a "Beauty and the Beast Wedding" cake topper with both characters dressed in white.
Also, since the wedding was in Alberta and I am a country girl at heart, we had a "western themed" rehearsal dinner where all of the guests were required to dress appropriately. I also had beautiful blue cowboy boots from the Alberta Boot Company that I switched into after the ceremony and kept on all night.
Where did you go on your honeymoon? Tell us about it.
It has always been my dream to go to Hawaii for my honeymoon. I had waited my whole life to travel there and my husband so kindly agreed it would be a great location for us. We chose to stay at The Fairmont Kea Lani in Maui and it definitely did not disappoint. The resort and staff were wonderful and we both agreed that Hawaii is true paradise so we plan to return in the coming years for our anniversaries and with our children.
Another integral part of the day is the wedding dress! Tell us about what you chose to wear. Did you follow the old English saying “something old, something new, something borrowed, and something blue”?
I wanted a simple wedding dress so that I could really dress it up with accessories. I found a dress almost entirely made of soft satin (with hidden pockets of course!) and a beautiful lace & beading top with a sweetheart neckline. I did follow the english saying:
1) Something Old - A piece of my mother in laws wedding dress.
2) Something New - The wedding dress.
3) Something Borrowed - My grandmother's wedding ring.
4) Something Blue - A brand new coach purse for the wedding day.
What was the first song you danced to as newlyweds? Why did you pick that particular song?
Our first song was "Beauty and the Beast" by Celine Dion. If you got the chance to meet us you would realize that we are exactly like these characters. This was something we did special for just the two of us.
Now that you are married and have had time to reflect on your wedding day, what was your favorite moment?
My favorite moment was standing up in front of the crowd after dinner and saying 'thank you'. That would be the only time in my entire life when everyone I love from all around the world would be in one room. Looking around and seeing the love on their faces was something words cannot describe. I have never felt more special standing up there with my new husband.
Vendors & Service Providers:
• Wedding Planner - lynnfletcherweddings.com
• Transportation - highlandvip.com
• Linens and Charger Plates - cdmgroup.ca
• Invitations - plushinvitations.com
• Disc Jockey - nrgmusicproductions.com
• Photo Booth - creativephotobooth.com
• Lighting - stardustsounds.com
• Wedding Cake - whippt.ca
• Photographer - ericdaigle.com
• Chiavari Chairs - banffspecialeventrentals.com
For more information or to start planning your wedding at The Fairmont Banff Springs:
www.fairmont.com/banff-springs/meetings-weddings/weddings