Real Weddings: Whistler Wedding Ceremony at the Edgewater Lodge

gadbois photography

Meet Ellie and Kirk. Aficionados of Fluevog… Unique soles for unique souls.

Yep. These two are unique souls for sure and they wanted their entire wedding day to reflect their personalities. Including their custom Wedding Ceremony. They knew they wanted a Wedding Celebrant, did a search and found Modern Celebrant.

It was love at first sight for me when I met Ellie and Kirk.

What a fun experience to vision a wedding ceremony for this hipster couple. They definitely did not want just a pretty ceremony, with rituals and words that looked and sounded nice but were empty of meaning.  A “Boring same-old, same-old” wedding ceremony wouldn’t have suited them AT ALL!

Ellie and Kirk wanted what I am passionate about creating… a wedding ceremony created from the inside, from the heart — through reflection and learning. We had two dinners at their place where we ate Ellie’s amazing food, drank equally amazing wine, and told stories. Kirk is a gifted storyteller and I hung on his every word.

gadbois photography

This thoughtful open-hearted couple shared thoughtful words with me about their vision for their wedding day. They wanted it to “…be a day to savour. A day to slow things down and let everyone who shares our wedding day take stock of the love in their own lives and realize how important they are to us.” For Kirk and Ellie it was also a chance to stamp a certain point in time and say, “This is the one I love. This is US showing our community how much we mean to each other!”

Day of the rain stopped for the ceremony and we were able to do it outside on the lawn beside the lake. We began with a ring warming where the rings were passed among guests to each hold for a moment and offer their silent wish for Ellie and Kirk’s marriage.

The signature piece of Modern Celebrant ceremonies is storytelling. It is the personal narrative, the story of the couple, that makes our ceremonies such deeply felt experiences.

Ellie and Kirk’s wedding ceremony was fun for guests. It was a little chilly that day but no one minded a bit because they loved hearing about how and who the couple are together… about their adventures, their hopes, and their dreams.

Once the rings had been ‘warmed’ by friends and family during the storytelling, I shared Ellie and Kirk’s own words about what the wedding rings mean to them and what they hoped these would come to mean over time. The tenderness with which they placed the rings on each others fingers is a moment I will always remember.

As for rituals, I integrated two others into the ceremony. We did a simple Handfasting with a long length of white silk that I use just for this purpose. It is imbued with the loving intentions of many couples. Did you know it is from Handfasting that we come to use the expression, “To tie the knot”?  Well, now you do!

We also included the mothers by having a gifting of salt to the couple. Historically salt was of great worth and cost.  As such it was used to seal contracts and covenants, including wedding covenants. In many cultures it was traditional for each family to give a gift of salt, both containers were then mingled and used as the spice of life in the married couple’s kitchen.

Since this couple are such avid chefs, this was a perfectly relevant ritual to include. I just know they’ll put the salt to good use in all those delicious meals they love so much.

I loved this ceremony! It was as real and honest and adventurous as the couple it was crafted for. That the rain stopped in time for the ceremony, and began again soon afterwards, was a blessing for sure!

Like all Michele’s wedding couples, Ellie and Kirk worked through Modern Celebrant’s Reflective Process in the months prior to their wedding. Partly self-guided and partly done in person with Michele, this allows Michele to know the couple as individuals and as a couple before she creates a wedding ceremony especially for them.

gadbois photography

WEDDING CELEBRANT & CUSTOM CEREMONY:Well, Modern Celebrant of course!

PHOTOGRAPHY: Gadbois Photography, Whistler BC. I loved working with Pascale. She and I are aligned in our paths as wedding professionals who value the deeper currents of what the couple is experiencing, as well as their guests. Pascale captures the moment. Modern Celebrant creates it.  Hope to work with her again. Do check out her site.

LOCATION:  The Edgewater Lodge , Whistler BC, truly has a fantastic location. Elegant dining room, beautiful and comfortable accommodations, a Lake, canoes, fine dining, mountain views! Love it.

Real Weddings: Alexandra and Madhavan

“Thank you so much for such an extraordinary ceremony. It was more than we ever imagined.You captured the heart of it all, and the love between our two children. Everyone commented on your service and thought you were so wonderful. With your grace and poise you reminded me of a high priestess! Its amazing what the power of a wedding brings up – the past, the present and the future all are there in the room on the one day. It takes a very special person to bring it all together and you did that with such eloquence.”

I am so honoured by these words from the bride’s mother!

When I welcomed guests to the beautiful and sacred space of their wedding ceremony, I truly meant it. Artists Alexandra and Madhavan are both from creative families. Alexandra’s mother is one of North America’s most talented textile designers and Madhavan’s mother sang a sacred love song during the ceremony. Madhavan is from India where they know how to do weddings! Hilary Miles created extraordinary floral designs to highlight the sacred Indian art and antiquities of Alexandra’s family home. Words fail me really to describe the setting… lush and heart-opening come to mind.

Alexandra was dressed in a beautiful sari with hair ornaments, jewelry, and makeup to match. What a transformation! Vancouver beauty to Indian Goddess. Madhavan too was in a fine traditional Indian suit. Alexandra and Madhavan are deeply connected to each other, and their regal wedding attire elevated what I already had come to know of them over the past months of interviews so I could create their ceremony. I designed a wedding ceremony that was a perfect reflection of them (and the family they so adore). For one of our interviews we did a potluck Indian dinner at their place. Yummy! I really enjoy making meals for or with my clients. Doing an interview over dinner is a wonderful way to get to chat and get to know people better.

But back to the wedding.  In the first photo you see the rose petals laid out so carefully at the entrance by Hilary’s team. The second photo doesn’t do justice to the extravagant draping of richly hued textiles and flower garlands. Modern Celebrant was so HAPPY! And so were the guests. Everyone loved the sacred space. It lent dignity and beauty.

I began the ceremony talking about how we don’t have many collective moments these days. And about how historically the elders of our communities found a suitable marriage match for their children. But times have changed and Madhavan and Alexandra have chosen each other. Some things do not change though… as with most couples Alexandra and Madhavan’s hope was for their union to be supported wholeheartedly by both sets of parents — as happily as if their elders had chosen the match themselves. And so it certainly was.

That Alexandra and Madhavan came together from two countries and two cultures and for their relationship to be so enthusiastically encouraged by their parents was the best wedding gift of all. As Alexandra so wisely says, “Our ceremony will be the glue that seals our families together forever.”

It was wonderfully appropriate that the hearts of the Bride and Groom were entrusted to each other by their mothers and fathers.

This was  ceremony consciously designed to involve everyone in the couple’s storytelling and transformation – from parents, to their global family, right down to the guests who shouted “Mazel Tov” at the KISS.

The Wedding Professional Team

Custom Ceremony and Storytelling by Modern Celebrant (nudge nudge, yours truly)  at www.moderncelebrant.ca

Flowers by the fabulous Hilary Miles Flowers at www.hilarymiles.com  Click here to see her blog photos of the wedding.

Catering by Susan Mendleson’s Lazy Gourmet Catering at www.lazygourmet.ca. As they say Come. Taste. Enjoy!

I was so moved by the comments from Alexandra and her mom.

Alexandra: “It was the best day of my life. I can’t imagine anyone other than you doing our ceremony!”