Kelli & Kelly

"Kelly & I met in a bar on New Year's Eve. Early in the evening, I ran into an old friend who wanted to do a "lap" around the bar to see if there were any cute guys. I wasn't looking, but figured I could be her wing-woman! After walking around the entire bar, she said there were no cute guys. I looked over her shoulder and said, "That guy's cute! You should talk to him." She responded with a devilish grin on her face and said, "I know that guy!" So we walked over and she introduced us. "Kelly meet Kelli!" My first thought was, "Nope! Same name?! I'm out!" But he asked me to dance and I thought one lap around the dance floor couldn't hurt. Well, one dance turned into the entire evening and we shared our first kiss at midnight. 

I'm from Saskatoon, SK and had tried on what felt like every bridal dress in the city. There was one gorgeous dress, but I didn't have that "moment". After trying on so many dresses, I was so confused about what I was looking for! I decided to go dress shopping in Edmonton in hopes of finding my dress- it couldn't hurt!

When the appointment started, the consultant asked what I was looking for. As I said, I was confused! I knew what I liked, I knew what I didn't like, but I didn't know what that looked like, let alone the shape of my dress. She then advised me to start picking out dresses on the floor. At this point, I had tried on every style and type of dress imaginable and had lost interest, so I let my mother and sister pick out dresses for me instead.

Upon seeing this, the consultant said she had a few dresses in mind from my rambling description and asked if I would like to try on her recommendations as well, which I welcomed! The first dress she had me try on was my dress! I spent the entire appointment in my dress, smiling like a little school girl! Needless to say, I never made it to my other appointments that day. 

For as long as I remember, I've always dreamed of an outdoor winter wedding (I blame Pheobe from Friends). We were married on February 8, 2020 and we couldn't have asked for a better day! We had planned for an outdoor wedding but knew the final call wouldn't be made until 3 hours before the ceremony. When the final decision came, it was a balmy -4 degrees with soft snowflakes falling from the sky. Our guests waited inside the venue until 5 minutes before the ceremony started. As they made their way outside, they could opt to wrap themselves in a blanket from our custom made blanket ladder.

As I made my way outside, I checked to see if there were any skaters on the pond (our backdrop)- and there were! After confirming the skaters, I realized that I hadn't started crying yet, which was a surprise to me! I thought "Okay, I'm not crying. I've got this." But as I rounded the corner and saw my future husband in tears, I felt so much joy and love, my tears quickly arrived! Our ceremony was a quick 15 minutes, full of love, family and friends! Quoting one of my guests, "It was the most Canadian wedding ever! Outside, with snow falling in the winter, and skaters playing a game of shinny in the background!" I couldn't have asked for anything more!"

Vendors

Dress: Allure Bridals

Florals: Lilacs and Whiskey Creations

Photo: En Route Photography

MUA: Amanda Zinovich

Hair: Sage Beauty Bar

Men's Apparel: EPH Apparel