For our first real wedding blog feature, I knew it had to be a wedding that was extra special to our team and Brianne & Mark’s Bilston Creek Farm wedding, with lead planner Dakota Bateman, was exactly that. An incredible weekend event filled with everything that our team loves the most: a jaw dropping venue, gorgeous details, delicious cocktails, a fantastic team of some of our all time favourite vendors, and most importantly, a truly wonderful (and super cool!) couple.
Find all the details and, most importantly, all the gorgeous photos from the talented Meghan Hemstra, below, starting with a rehearsal dinner for thirty in the lavender field featuring flatbread style wood oven pizzas and ending with 120+ friends and family celebrating into the wedding night while dancing to a wicked bluegrass band and enjoying delicious macaron ice cream sandwiches. It was MAGIC.
Favourite Details: A few times a year, we have the opportunity to create wedding magic alongside our friends at Trend Decor and this wedding was no exception. Danielle at Trend Decor worked alongside Brianne & Mark and our team to bring together a perfectly industrial, yet feminine and modern design that looked SO GOOD alongside the west coast rustic style of the Bilston Creek Farm barn and outbuildings. All the goodness is below, but first, we had to start things off with Brianne & Mark’s invitation suite, a beautiful collaboration between our stationery artist, Kody, and Danielle!
Favourite Memory: Brianne & Mark’s rehearsal dinner in the orchard was seriously the stuff that Pinterest dreams are made of. Dakota and Brianne dreamt up the most intimate pre-wedding celebration and it will forever be a favourite for our team. I have a feeling this won’t be the last time we have guests enjoying this style of rehearsal dinner alongside the lavender. See what I mean?
Brianne and her bridesmaids prepared for the day at Bear Mountain Resort with hair and makeup services provided by the lovely ladies from Heartwood & Co., but the real winner of the day was Mark, who stayed on site at Bilston Creek Farm and got to enjoy the gorgeous property all morning and got ready in one of Bilston’s glamping tents.
The setting at Bilston Creek Farm is truly incredible and doesn’t require a ton of decor or florals; however, when vendors have the chance to get creative, the result really is amazing. Tina from Platinum Floral Designs worked alongside our couple to create a truly epic ceremony floral installation on Bilston’s huge arbutus tree and the result was STUNNING. Not only was the tree the perfect backdrop for these two to say their vows, but it became a photo opportunity for all the guests throughout the evening.
Cocktail hour was filled with champagne (of course!), lawn games in the orchard, server passed canapés (like southern fried chicken waffle cones and mini Yorkshire puddings!) courtesy of Toque Catering, and lots of laughter!
We are obsessed with the lavender field! Fun fact: the lavender is at it’s absolute best from mid June through mid July!
The barn was the perfect setting for a family style meal and the details were stunning – they filled the barn everywhere you looked; from the black stoneware plates from Toque Catering’s curated tabletop rental collection to the feature pieces included in Trend Decor’s customized design package like the black glass rim chargers, it was modern industrial at it’s absolute finest. Also those purple goblets tied the lavender drying on the walls in perfectly!
If you haven’t smelt the barn at Bilston Creek, it’s everything you are imagining; west coast lumber mixed with the deep scent of lavender, so Brianne & Mark’s takeaway favours for guests filled with Bilston’s own brand of essential oils meant that guests got to take home their very own piece of the farm.
After dinner and speeches, the party spread out on to the Edison light lit patio and guests enjoyed the long July evening surrounded by the tunes of the Borderline Bluegrass Band. Also, there was cake, and, as you’ve probably already guessed, it was delicious (we confirmed!).
Meghan snuck Brianne & Mark away for a few final snaps with their ceremony tree right as the sun was going down and I’m pretty sure these photos are our team’s collective favourites from the entire day.
A few BTS photos to wrap this post up! Our talented vendor list can be found below!
Photographer: Meghan Hemstra Photography
Venue: Bilston Creek Farm
Design & Decor: Trend Decor
Catering & Bar: Toque Catering
Florals: Platinum Floral Designs
Cake: Ruth and Dean
Stationery: Kody Dishlevoy
Hair & Makeup: Heartwood & Co.
Band: The Borderline Bluegrass Band
Getting ready location: Bear Mountain Resort
Dress Boutique: Something Blue Vancouver
Dress Designer: Rituals of Love
Veil: Jane Rhyan The Collection
Rehearsal dinner place cards: Decor By Nature