Michael and I met in high school, in 2005! We were friends-of-friends for a few years and bumped into each other at various events as we didn't actually go to the same school. Our senior year, I ended up transferring to his school, and we had a very short-lived fling. Ultimately, we lost touch when I went away to college across the country. I moved back home 4 years later and reached out to catch-up, platonically, and Mike surprised me with a dinner date the day before Valentine's Day. We instantly re-connected and decided to make things officially a couple of months later. To date, we've been together for over 11 years!

Our proposal is a little silly, as apparently the ring was burning a hole in his pocket, and he just couldn't help himself! He tells me he had a huge plan mapped out, but what ended up happening, was during a random, but lovely late fall evening, he took me out on our deck and popped the question. It wasn't grand or over-the-top, but it was an intimate moment between us, which was unexpected but fitting.

We wanted an elegant, modern-meets-traditional feel, with an "edgy-glam" vibe. I would describe it like: James Bond meets 70s disco—high contrast with black and white, with mirror tile/disco ball shimmer. While we wouldn't totally consider ourselves "city people", an elegant city atmosphere, with historic architecture, is what we were going for.

As U.S. citizens, from the Seattle-area, this was considered a destination wedding for us. My father's side is Canadian, and since he passed when I was 16, this was a way I wanted to sort of give a nod to him. Mike and I are also semi-avid travelers, so we thought getting married in Vancouver was an appropriate location to satisfy our desire to have a destination wedding, but also didn't feel like too much to ask from most of our friends and family as the majority of them would only have to drive about 3 hours to join us. While we had visited Vancouver many times during our relationship, we had no particular ties to our venue locations, but we knew we wanted it to be a city wedding with a focus on impressive buildings and architecture. We ended up holding our ceremony at Hycroft Manor, and hosting our reception at the Permanent—both gorgeous heritage buildings that were impressive on their own, and not needing much to highlight their beauty.

The only criteria I had looking for a wedding gown is I knew I wanted an A-line dress, as I knew it was going to be the most flattering on my body, and what I would be most comfortable dancing in. Otherwise, I had no clue at what I really wanted! I couldn't decide between "sweet & romantic" or something that felt more structured and "edgy". Or, even something that was a bit more high-fashion and interesting. I knew I wanted a dress that would feel like a reflection of me, but also compliment our venues and theme. Ultimately, my first dress appointment, at another dress shop, my consultant pulled the Alena Leena "Mimosa" dress. I instantly felt a pull to that dress. I wasn't totally sold, because I didn't love the fabric, but it was my favorite one that I had tried on. After learning about Alena Leena, I went on a deep dive of their dresses, and each one was just as good as the one before it. A few months later I saw that Alena Leena was doing a trunk show, and that a few other dresses I had my eye on in their latest collection would be available to try on at Everly. Not having much luck locally, I decided to drive up to Everly as they had great reviews and would ultimately be hosting the trunk show. I was amazed at how many additional dresses by Alena Leena I loved. It actually made it so much harder to decide. But, what sold me was the knowledge, expertise, and apparent strong partnership that Alena Leena has with the team at Everly. I was educated in how their dresses were expertly crafted, and how they are made to your measurements, and even how they welcome customization. With that little nugget of information, my wheels started spinning on whether I could combine THREE dresses into one: the Mimosa, the Daffodil and Datura, as each of them had something I loved, that could be blended into something I thought reflected me more accurately. I was AMAZED to find out that this was possible. The teams at both Everly and Alena Leena, helped me create the dress of my dreams with a silhouette of Mimosa, the beautiful and interesting liquid organza fabric from the Daffodil for the skirt, and the beading/lace from Datura on the bodice. It was easy to say yes, and know it was "the one" when your ideas are validated by the experts, and that the ladies at Everly were encouraging and as excited as I was.

Seeing all of our friends and family show up for us, and surprising Mike with his dream watch. It was the best and most difficult surprise I have ever pulled off.

Try to narrow down what's most important to you on your wedding day. If everything shares the same level of importance, you may end up being disappointed—but if you pick just a few things that are most important, you can focus on those being the most special things. Also, vet your vendors. They are who you rely on to make your day the best, so make sure you feel communication is 100% and that they understand what your vision is, and that you can put all your faith in their ability to deliver for you.

Photography: @tessashannonphoto
Video: @evernessfilms
Makeup: @kahliaadamsmakeuphair
Gowns: @everly_bridal
Gown designers: @alenaleenabridal
Venue: @hycrostuwcv