Mairead + Anthony’s Fun-Filled Wedding at Kildara Farms

What does Pokémon, children’s author Oliver Jeffers, the colour marigold, and an Irish dancing drag queen all have in common? No, this isn’t a trick question! They were all inspiration for Mairead and Anthony’s big day!

It would be an understatement to say this wedding day was one of the most unique celebrations we’ve ever been a part of. Mairead and Anthony wanted their wedding to be as fun as they are and we are pretty certain we achieved that! We can’t wait to share all the highlights from their August 30th 2019 wedding at Kildara Farms in North Saanich.

While this day was full of incredible details and fun surprises (more on that later!), one of the best parts was that Mairead and Anthony really wanted the focus of the day to be on spending time together with their guests. They weren’t worried about a traditional timeline and during our first meeting Mairead kept saying, we are up for something totally different – we just want to have fun!

We settled on the concept of a sunset ceremony after cocktails and dinner, and then, after making it legal, we planned to have the group head straight into the party portion of the night! We love it when couples want to customize traditions to suit their own vision of the day and what’s most important to them!

Mairead loves details and pretty things and knew she wanted their day to be full of special details but agreed with Anthony that she also wanted the day to be full of surprises for them! This made our job even more fun because we took some of their favourite things and just ran with them. From children’s books and Pokeman to board games and custom illustrations this day was one to remember!

They settled on holding the ceremony and reception at Kildara Farms in North Saanich, BC. Kildara Farms is a beautiful family run property where you can find dogs, geese, honey bees, and delicious fruit all in one place. It has a rustic barn, as well as a beautiful lawn for ceremonies.

Mairead and Anthony had their first look (along with their dog, Evie) in the apple orchard. They read their personal vows to each other and it was a beautifully intimate moment before the day began.

Guests arrived and enjoyed lawn games, tons of board games, and a large charcuterie board! Their friend and MC, Calea, had all the guests keeping score on the games they were playing and guests won drink tickets as prizes. Mairead and Anthony were able to mingle with all their guests and it was a perfect way to relax. Soon enough it was time for everyone to head down for dinner.

Going with the trend of this wedding being unique – we wanted to do something for dinner that Kildara Farms had never done before. We decided that a long table in the middle of the apple orchard would perfect. The air smelled like fresh apples and we were surrounded by wildflowers and trees.

The decor fit into the orchard perfectly. Rich marigolds, hunter green, and navy blues blended into the apple trees and tall grass. White lanterns hung up above in-between the string lights. Antique china plates and amber goblets made this feel like an elegant, yet effortless, backyard reception that was both playful and whimsical!

To add personal touches, Mairead and Anthony supplied us with few of their favourite children’s books to place on the tables so guests could use the books to write well wishes for the couple during dinner.

As a surprise for Mairead and Anthony we dreamed up a custom stationary package and reached out to Quirky Paper Co. and Cheryl created a series of illustrations of Mairead and Anthony as well as their dog, Evie, which we then used on all of the menus and place-cards. It was so fun seeing their reaction to this little details that they had no idea we’d planned for them!

Mairead and Anthony love Pokemon so Cheryl even gave Evie little Pikachu ears and a little Pikachu tail. To keep the Pokemon theme going, the seating chart featured little Pokemon figurines attached to each person’s name card. It took a few hours searching on Amazon and some hot glue to make it work, but the end result was fantastic and it was a fun surprise for all the guests!

For the dinner menu, Boom + Batten served up gourmet flat bread pizzas straight from a wood oven! Dinner was served family style, there were large plates of salad, bread, and so much pizza! You can never go wrong with pizza.

There was a special visitor during dinner… the elusive Pikachu. It’s not too often you find a Pikachu in the wild but there it was! Mairead and Anthony couldn’t believe it when they looked up from dinner and saw Pikachu skipping through the orchard – their reaction was priceless!

Guests moved over the lawn just in time for the perfect sunset ceremony. Alicia from Alicia’s florals made a beautiful floral piece that blended in perfectly with the existing gardens. Evie was the ultimate flower girl/ring bearer and there wasn’t a dry eye when Mairead and Anthony said their vows.

Now it was party time! Back up in the barn, local Victoria-based band OK Charlie! was ready to go! The band’s lead singer, Mitchell, did double duty on wedding day as Anthony’s best man as well!

But first, a very special dance performance was in order.

Mairead is an amazing Irish dance teacher and is so beloved by her students. Her students wanted to honour her on her wedding day, so they all performed a dance for the guests! With a special guest appearance by a super fabulous Irish dancing drag queen (and one of Mairead’s best friends).

What Mairead didn’t know was that one of our team members, Sara, was also in attendance although in disguise. Sara has known Mairead for years and is also an Irish dancer. We wanted to plan the most amazing surprise ever for Mairead, something she would never forget. Remember that giant Pikachu from the orchard? Well, that was Sara!!! And she was ready to hit the dance floor! Sara pulled out her best moves, Irish dancing and everything. It was the most memorable moment and guests are probably still talking about it (I know I am!)

If guests worked up an appetite while dancing the night away, we had a candy bar AND a snack necklace station. What’s a snack necklace station you ask? Get some string to make a necklace and then find some food with holes in it (ie. fuzzy peach rings, pretzels, cheerios). Put the string through the hole and voila! You got a piece of yummy jewelry.

Instead of a wedding cake Mairead and Anthony chose to go with ice cream sandwiches. Such a crowd pleaser! There were also custom Pokemon cookies for guests to enjoy or take home for later!