When Opposites Attract

image originally posted on jenessilver.com

For all the non-brides out there, or at least for the non-bride in me, it is excruciating to hear brides talk about their wedding being "so us"! "We did golf tees for favours because we both love to play golf", sounds more like "what do you mean you and your fiance don't share all the same hobbies?". "Our wedding menu was just perfect because fillet Mignon is OUR most favorite dish" sounds more like "maybe you should start cooking new things cause it's strange that you and your fiance don't like the same things...". "We both felt so enamoured with our venue the minute we saw it, we knew it was just PERFECT for us" sounds just a bit too much like "if you can't find a venue that is representative of the two of you together, you might as well not have a wedding!".

Of course I know I am being a bit dramatic, but the truth is, Ian and I are opposites in so many ways. He drinks beer... and only beer! I love to try new wines, champagnes, and martinis. He likes t-bones and ribeyes, and I am a tenderloin snob. He golfs with his buddies and watches Formula 1 by himself on Sunday mornings, and I water ski with my friends and work-out in the early am Monday-Friday. He plays Sudoku, I read wedding blogs. He thinks a potluck wedding would be awesome, and I think... "are you kidding me?!?!". So needless to say, picking a wedding style and venue was a bit of challenge for us! In reality, we weren't completely sold on the idea of having a wedding until we saw this:
It's completely "us". Sorry frustrated-brides... all I can say is, they were right. All those brides who claimed their venue was perfect, just perfect. They were right. I know it can feel like they effortlessly found their perfect, representative, meaningful venue, but hear it from me, it can be difficult, demeaning, down right frustrating, but your venue is out there. Ours is the Elk View Lodge in Fernie, Canada. Ian and I have enjoyed the mountainous wonder of the Elk Valley together for the last couple of years. In fact, it was the first place we 'vacationed' to together... a 4 day mini-vacation, but our first one together nonetheless. The Lodge will be our ceremony and reception location, our rehearsal BBQ venue, our hotel, our B&B for our family and bridal party, our late-night hot-tub location, and probably our photo location! This means no limos (I LOATHE the idea of spending good $$ on wedding limos!), no travel for our guests between ceremony and reception, no corkage fees or cake-cutting fees, no 'closing time', no scheduling of rehearsals... this means one family filled weekend in the mountains where we, sidenote, get married!!

Check out the splendor:
the view from the hot-tub deck (found here)
ceremony location: image originally posted by 6:8 photography reception set-up idea (found here):the master bedroom (found here):I hope you love it as much as we do! It resonates with our passion for family, casual entertaining, outdoor fun, and if you can believe it, allows us to create a weekend wedding on a budget! Happy shopping to all you new brides, and good luck on stumbling upon "the one"... after you found "THE one"!