Kyla & Nevin are a suave urban couple who wanted to plan a unique experience for the guests at their wedding featuring Okanagan scenery, food, and wine! With a combo of hosting the wedding at the stunning Fitzpatrick Winery, choosing Steph Sielmann from Dream Big as their planner, and having Joy Road Catering create the food experience, the event was guaranteed to be a success. Although this couple packed tonnes of details in that I loved, my favourite has to be the dusty rose-coloured “Lyla gown” that Kyla wore designed by Hayley Paige; however, I can’t leave out the custom tux that Nevin wore which was designed by Won at the Tux Store in Vancouver.
Here are a few questions that I asked Kyla about her wedding planning and experience to share with you:
What was your initial vision for the experience that you wanted to create at your wedding?
Our inspiration was to showcase the Okanagan Valley. I am from Ontario and Nevin is from Manitoba, so we wanted our wedding to recreate the feeling that we had when we first drove into the Okanagan and had lake and mountains laid out before us. We were overwhelmed by the rugged beauty of the landscape and wanted our predominantly out of town guests to share that experience.
What inspired your wedding décor?
When not planning a wedding we gravitate towards modern decor themes with natural materials and textures. We used this as a principle for our wedding design not only because it represents our personal style, but we hoped these motifs would mesh perfectly with our setting, adding to but not overwhelming the existing scenery. This led us to a geometric mountain theme – natural colours that played off the surrounding landscape of blue water and green vines. We incorporated mixed metals with different geometric shapes. We kept the flowers neutral with lots of natural modern greenery.
Why did you choose Fitzpatrick Family Vineyards?
We always dreamed of getting married at a winery and Fitzpatrick is the perfect example of what makes the Okanagan so special, integrating the lake, mountains, and vineyards. The ability to incorporate a long table reception outside was a huge bonus. We also loved that we could use various spaces at the property to have our ceremony, cocktail hour, dinner and dancing all on site. It was perfect!
What was the greatest highlight that sticks out in your mind from your wedding?
The first look location – so epic, THE RAINBOW (I don’t know how our venue ordered that just in time for our ceremony ), friends singing our first dance song, sitting back and taking it all in – seeing everyone enjoying all that we had planned! (So hard to pick just one thing!)
Feel free to elaborate on any other special details or stories that you would like to share
All of our grandparents have passed away – we honoured them by having all of their wedding photos displayed along with a sign that said “wish you were here”.
First look on Knox – we agonized about how to get to the peak, road closures, renting a scooter, but in the end so worth it!! Even if I had to pick pieces of the forest out of my dress the whole way to Fitz haha. Thank you Kevin for encouraging us to go for it!
One of our favourite summer activities in the Okanagan is attending the Gods Mountain dinners put on by Joy Road – we identify with their philosophy of sourcing locally and enjoying food with family and friends. We tried to recapture this same feeling at our reception by having long rows of tables outdoors and serving the excellent joy road fare family style.
If there is one piece of advice that you could offer other brides, what would it be?
Be true to your vision. Don’t be afraid to find ways to make your wedding authentic and unique to your personalities!
The couple were also lucky enough to use a number of family heirlooms: the bride’s engagement ring belonged to groom’s paternal grandmother who passed away in 2018; the groom’s wedding ring belonged to paternal grandfather and has original Hungarian engraving on inside of the band; and Bride is also wearing paternal grandmother’s pearls as a bracelet – she passed away in 2018. Kyla also wore a small gold ring on her pinky finger that was given to her Mom by her Grandmother.
My favourite shot of the day with me perfect mix of movement, elegance and lighting just before the first look with her handsome groom waiting off in the distance.
Fitzpatrick winery is a gem, know for their sparkling wine, this stunning vineyard, winery, and event space is placed on the narrow Summerland bench bluff overlooking the most expansive Okanagan Lake views that you can find!
Check out this amazing underground champagne cellar to keep the bride cool on the hottest of summer days just before her ceremony procession.
Got to love kids and the full transparency of their characters – nothin’ to hide…
Thanks to DJ Haymaker for pointing out the rainbow to me that magically appeared in the middle of Kyla & Nevin’s ceremony.
I adore having strings play at a wedding and Kyla chose the wonderful Martin & Sandra Kratky. Back in 2007 at our own wedding, Katherine & I, hired a string quartet called the Heartstrings who played from our ceremony through our reception dinner even accompanying my surprise performance of Leonard Cohen’s “One of Us Cannot Be Wrong.“
There is no better dinner experience than having it Al Fresco with that view. I love the interplay of the colour tones that the couple chose which tied in perfectly to the surrounding landscape. Kyla & Nevin also had an adorable sweetheart table up front which allowed their big wedding party to sit with their spouses and friends.
One of my top recommendations is to start your reception off with a bang by moving your first dance to the grand entrance and that’s exactly what Kyla & Nevin did and what even made it more special was that their friends played the first dance song.
Family-style dinner service is such a great way to go since it encourages more social interaction amongst guests, creates a warm and inviting atmosphere, and allows everyone to select how much food they want without having the higher cost of a fully plated meal.
And now the party starts! Under string lights and a sky full of stars everyone shares their best dance moves and a few more drinks.
As mentioned previously, check out this unique emerald engagement ring which belonged to the grooms paternal grandmother.
Vendors:
Reception Venue: Fitzpatrick Family Vineyards
Wedding Planner: Steph Sielmann from Dream Big Events
Ceremony Officiant: Karli Colpitts (Friend) & Judith Ritcey
Decor: Perspective Event Design by Lauren Krauschar
Florals: Jenner from Petal & Vow
Rentals: All Occasions
Catering & dessert: Joy Road
DJ: Krucial K (Kalani)
Ceremony Strings: Martin & Sandra Kratky
Makeup: Jenny McKinney
Hair: Diandra – Beyoutiful
Bridal Gown: by Hayley Paige from Cande Bridal
2nd Photographer: Thuy Tran
