Dione + Alex’s Wedding at Church and State

Dione and Alex’s destination wedding weekend in Victoria was one for the books – and we’ve been waiting to share all the goodness from this incredible day! From their rehearsal dinner and welcome mingler at The Ruby on Johnson to a catered brunch and lawn bowling tournament the day after the wedding, these two wanted to throw an epic party and we are so glad they brought us along for the ride!

Dione and Alex’s gorgeous wedding day is featured in the brand new North American edition of Rocky Mountain Bride and now that it’s officially on the shelves, you better believe we are going to re-cap all the goodness for you right here too!

Angie from Myrtle & Moss Photography worked her magic to capture this incredible day and we have so many wonderful memories we can’t wait to share with you! Read on below for some more details along with STUNNING photos from Dione and Alex’s day!

Dione had not one, but two epic bridal looks! For the ceremony, Erin Bradley did a feminine side swept look, with long loose curls. When it was time to let loose and get to partying, Erin came back to freshen up Dione’s look. Dione changed her curls into a stylish braided ponytail. Church & State offers a bridal suite that was a perfect hideaway for those touch ups!

Not to be outdone by his gorgeous bride, Alex pulled off one of our favourite groom looks of the summer (and by summer, we mean, ever!). This deep burgundy suit was EVERYTHING and Alex wore it perfectly.

Together with Dione and Emma, Danielle, from Trend Decor Event Design, perfectly executed the vision of a modern and moody colour palette, filled with elegant finishings (hello, black rimmed charger charger plates!), and some personal decor touches with special meaning to Dione and Alex.

The ceremony took place in the industrial wine cellar at Church & State. Lit by only candles and a few strings of edison light bulbs (installed by Designer Weddings), it was intimate and romantic. Vintage wine barrels and bottles that are stored in the cellar were integrated as part of the decor. Dione and Alex shared their own personal vows and there wasn’t a dry eye in the cellar!

The reception details and stationery dreamt up by Danielle were simply stunning and alongside the florals, from Eiddwen at Cartref Gardens, the colour palette really took on a life of it’s own with the rich tones and lovely blushes, ambers, golds, and butterscotch notes.

Dione and Alex’s wedding marked the first time a dinner for a group of this size was held on the open air terrace and the view of the table overlooking the lush vineyard was stunning. Cartref Gardens created a floral installation of Italian Ruscus that hung from the roof of the terrace, so it really felt like guests were sitting in the middle of an Italian garden. All the guests were seated at one long 98ft table, creating a unique and comfortable dining experience for all of their 90 guests!

Church & State provided a delicious and totally customized Italian dinner, served family style, designed to honour Alex’s Italian heritage. The custom Lost Inhibitions bottle labels were created by our stationery designer and were included as Dione had seen photos from Mark + Tyler’s April 2018 wedding at Church & State and wanted to have the same customized bottles. We adore this and are already planning to do the same for our 2020 clients.

Favourite Memory: A grand entry like no other. Once all of the guests had founds their seats for dinner, our couple’s emcee, Leah, got everyone cheering to invite the newlyweds to join them on the terrace. Dione and Alex took the long way around the 98ft table passing by all 90 of their guests before stopping in front of the terrace’s industrial glass doors for a beautiful pre-dinner first dance.

Dione and Alex sat on the terrace surrounded by their closest family and friends, and one of our favourite memories was all of the beautiful, heartfelt speeches their friends and family shared. Dione’s brother, who looks like a pretty tough guy, stole the show with a speech about his favourite person in the world, his older sister and we are were wiping away the tears.

The cake was a beautiful Ruth & Dean creation. Half the cake was carrot cake, the other half was cookies and cream, with the most delicious rich cream cheese icing. The best of both worlds! It was beautifully decorated to match the decor with gold, forest green, and white mini cake balls trailing down the outside, along with the daintiest of hearts. This cake was truly a show stopper.

Guests took home a customized cookie with the couple’s hashtag #AllanNation. These cookies were made by Alex’s aunt!

Favourite details: Dione had a custom made bomber jacket designed by one of her super talented besties (Parts + Labour in Calgary) for when the night got a little chilly. On the back of her jacket were the lyrics to her and Alex’s song, the song they had their first dance to. The perfect keepsake of the perfect day!

We will forever be grateful for the opportunity to work alongside Dione and Alex to plan their wedding weekend. These two put their faith and trust into our entire team and the planning process. We would plan this wedding a hundred times over for the opportunity to spend time with Dione and Alex again.