As I continue to make my way through the past weddings archive, I can’t believe I hadn’t shared this one yet! It was a day filled with some of my favourite people, at a beautiful spot, and I had the honour of being both planner & guest! Kaylee & Shawn are good friends of ours, and getting to help them plan their dream wedding was such. a. TREAT!

Both born and raised on the Island, they wanted a venue that felt like an escape but that was still easily accessible to all of their friends & family. The gorgeous Birds Eye Cove Farm was the perfect spot for them, and I absolutely loved creating an intimate and relaxed space there for them. Modern boho details (perfectly them) were present throughout all the design, starting with natural grasses, succulents and clean typography. Cozy lounges, fun cocktails, and delicious food (shout out to Toque!) kept guests mingling all day and night. And the music. Oh the music. Noah Edwards (the acoustic king of Victoria) played non-stop from the ceremony to first dance, keeping the vibe perfectly chill and romantic. The best part of the day though? Getting to see these guys get married. I love them and both their families so much, and it was honestly just such a privilege to get to be there!

As with my last blog post, I’m going to leave it at that. The stunning photos from our friends AMERIS tell the day perfectly, and you can literally feel the happiness from both Kaylee & Shawn in these photos. Enjoy!

**Make sure to scroll to the bottom for the complete list of all the kick ass vendors that helped make this day so incredible ! All photos courtesy of the power duo, AMERIS.

Planning/Design - French Kiss Events
Photography - AMERIS
Venue - Birds Eye Cove Farm
Catering - Toque Catering
Florals - Cartref Gardens
Paper Goods - French Kiss Events
Music - Noah Edwards Music
Cake - Ruth & Dean
Hair - Curls by Kimberly
Makeup - Melanie Baird
Lounge Furniture - Bash Specialty
Linens - Faire la Fete

Ok folks.  I am so, so, SO excited to share this one with you.  I've been holding on to it for way too long, as we had some publication hopes for it, but it is just too good to wait any longer!  This wedding had all of the key ingredients to make it incredible: beautiful couple, gorgeous venues, A-team of vendors, and a palette that has me craving a big glass of Sangria! Ok.  So now on to the details...

Roslyn & Luke’s whimsical summer wedding took place ocean side, on a hot and glorious day in the summer of 2015, and oh was it lovely!  Working with this adorable couple was an absolute dream, and their fun, quirky personalities paired with the drop dead gorgeous backdrop of the PNW, was the perfect recipe for wedding perfection.  The day was overflowing with whimsical and romantic details, fun elements and elegant touches.  The Bride’s parents home played host to the ceremony, and was the dream location to share their i-do’s!  The couple met at University down in the States, and so many of the friends and family of the Groom, were travelling to this beautiful part of the world for the first time.  One of my favourite parts of their wedding, was how we incorporated their dog into so many aspects of the day.  From the invitation and day of goods, to even a special floral dog collar…Milo was the centre of attention!  The stunning florals, designed by our good friend, Verbena Floral Design, also took centre stage, and wowed the guests from start to finish.  

The colour palette, inspired by Roslyn’s (and mine!) favourite summer drink, Sangria, was filled with rich plums, magenta’s, orange and peach.  The bouquets popped beautifully against the grey bridesmaids dresses, and the rest of the florals complimented the lighter blush tones throughout.  The invitations and paper goods, all custom designed by Caribou Creative., were illustrations of the couple and their dog.  And the large painting that hung above the fireplace at the reception, a surprise to the couple from Verbena & myself, helped to create a really cozy and intimate feel in the dining room.  This was such a beautiful and fun celebration, and one that we won’t soon forget!  

**Make sure to scroll to the bottom for the complete list of all the kick ass vendors that helped make this day so incredible!  All photos courtesy of AMERIS, and video courtesy of Orriss Films.

Planning/Design - French Kiss Events
Photography - AMERIS
Videography - Orriss Films
Floral Design - Verbena Floral Design
Paper Goods - Caribou Creative
Ceremony Venue - Private Property
Ceremony Catering - Toque Catering
Reception Venue & Catering - Brentwood Bay Resort
Hair - Conscious Hair
Makeup - Erin Bradley
Cakes - Schur to Please
Specialty Furniture - Bash Specialty

• FKE Featured 24
• FKE Living 7
• Office Talk 55
• Planning Tips 13
• Real Weddings 48

AMERIS

On a bright and sunny day last April, these two lovebirds made it official.  And can we talk about client love for a second?  From the very first email I received from Jess, I knew that these guys would be special.  Not only are they completely head over heels in love with each other, but they genuinely could not WAIT to be married!  And isn't that really what it is all about?  Working with them on the planning and design of their perfect day was such a treat, and I honestly cannot say enough about how grateful I am to have such wonderful couples to work with. 

This was the first wedding of the 2016 wedding season for us, and let's just say we kicked the season off on the right foot!  We were after a soft, romantic and relaxed celebration, and the rustic yet chic Church & State Winery was the perfect backdrop for us.  We took inspiration from the natural elements found throughout the dramatic space, and integrated the soft colour palette with industrial statements and warm lighting, to create a vibe that was perfectly in keeping with the couples welcoming personalties.  And then there was the party.  The Broken Strings absolutely killed it on the dance floor, and yes, even had the Bride up on stage performing a rap with them at the end of the night.  An unforgettable evening for sure!!  

**Make sure to scroll to the bottom for the complete list of all the kick ass vendors that helped make this day so incredible!  All photos courtesy of AMERIS.

Planning & Design - French Kiss Events
Photography - AMERIS
Venue & Catering - Church & State Winery
Floral Design - Verbena Floral Design
Hair - Conscious Hair
Makeup - Erin Bradley
Cake - Ruth & Dean
Stationery - Caribou Creative
Music - The Broken Strings
 

I can hardly believe that it has been almost 6 months, since my handsome hubby & I officially tied the knot!  Where does the time go?!!  Before I know it, I'm going to be on the hunt for something "paper" to celebrate our first anniversary!  How exciting!  

In celebration of our wedding being featured on one of my favourite blogs, Style Me Pretty, last week, I thought it was about time that I shared a more personal look into what truly was, the best day of our lives!  Over on SMP, I wrote a long blurb (what Nick refers to as "the essay") that shares a bit beyond our story, the design inspiration, and why we chose Maui.  Over here though, I thought I would keep things on the simple side, and share my top 10 favourite moments of the day.

So, without further ado, here are my Top 10 Favourite Moments (in no particular order), all captured beautifully, but the insanely talented AMERIS.

1. After arriving to the location where Nick & I would share our first look, I was informed that I had to hop the fence. Challenge accepted.

Photo by: AMERIS

2. Our first look.  I'm pretty sure Nick was feeling the same thing I was in this moment...

Photo by: AMERIS

3. A quick pit stop with our wedding party. The guy at the taco truck didn't know what had hit him when we showed up.

Photo by: AMERIS

4. The moment when my Dad came to get me to walk me down the aisle.  

Photo by: AMERIS

5. Exchanging our vows, and getting to share smiles with this man throughout them.

Photo by: AMERIS

6.  Our first kiss as a married couple. This was definitely a good moment.

Photo by: AMERIS

7. Walking through our reception for the first time, with the amazing ladies of Belle Destination. It was fun getting to be on the other side of this "tour" for once!

Photo by: AMERIS

8. Sharing our first dance, under the Hawaiian sky.

Photo by: AMERIS

9. High Fives all around!  

Photo by: AMERIS

10. Laughing over the piece of cake that fell down my dress. Yup.  That happened.

Photo by: AMERIS

A barge.  A private Island.  A Rabi flown in from Australia.  Need I say more?  The wedding of Freddie & Jeremy last summer, on a privately owned Island in East Sooke, was the definition of epic! Guests flew in from all around the world to spend the week with this lovely couple, and to party well into the night at their black tie affair. Being from England & Australia, Freddie & Jeremy really wanted to embrace the west coast, and the natural beauty of the Island, and with a setting like this, how can you not?!! They say it takes a village, but this wedding (in my mind) took a city of incredible vendors!  Verbena Floral Design & her crew set up a mini floral studio on the Island, and blew everyone away with their floral creations!  Nava Creative Kosher Cuisine and Side One (only THE best wedding band in BC) both made their way over from Vancouver and impressed everyone beyond belief!  And a HUGE thanks to Ameris, for the incredible photos below, and for also being so much fun to hang out with on this wedding day!!

I am so happy that I was able to work with Freddie & Jeremy on their fairytale wedding, and still to do this day, get a huge smile on my face when I remember how incredible it felt to pull this one off!  I wish nothing but the best for this incredible couple, and hope that our paths cross again in the future.

xo Barb

AMERIS

AMERIS

AMERIS

AMERIS

AMERIS

AMERIS

AMERIS

AMERIS

AMERIS

AMERIS

AMERIS

AMERIS

AMERIS

AMERIS

AMERIS

AMERIS

AMERIS

AMERIS

AMERIS

AMERIS

AMERIS

AMERIS

AMERIS

AMERIS

AMERIS

AMERIS

AMERIS

AMERIS

AMERIS

What a way to start the day!!!  I am beyond

thrilled

to have Kristy & Matt's intimate barn wedding, featured today, on

100 Layer Cake

!!  This wedding was unique in so many wonderful ways and I can't think of a better place to be able to share it!  Thank you so much to

Ameris

for capturing it so perfectly, and also to all the other fabulous vendors that came together to make this 1 for the record books!  You can check out my personal blog post about their wedding

here

.

Screen Shot 2014-04-29 at 10.16.00 AM

Working alongside this couple was a dream come true!  Not only did they have incredible style, but they knew what was important to them, and placed a strong emphasis on that all throughout the planning.  I could go on and on about this day, but figure I'll let Kristy tell you, as she really sums it all the best! (thank you to 100 Layer Cake, for sending the following Q&A from Kristy my way!)

Can you tell us briefly a bit about you, and how you met?  Matt and I met at a punk rock show in Victoria, BC.

How would you describe your wedding theme?  We wanted a small rustic farm wedding with lots of antique touches for our theme. This included lots of wildflowers and colours.

Do you have any particularly significant stories about something that happened on or defined your wedding?  Matt and I have a basset hound and we wanted him to be part of our day. One of my favorite parts of the day was seeing our hound spending time with all our guests. In lots of our photos you can see him with different people!

View More: http://ameris.pass.us/kristy-matt-married

Describe the inspiration for your wedding. What do you think made your wedding particularly you?  

Before meeting Matt I never expected to want to have a big fancy wedding. However, once we got engaged I really wanted to celebrate our love, as cheesy as it sounds! We wanted to keep it small and informal. Our first decision for our wedding was that it must be on a farm. Birds Eye Cove was the perfect location and provided much of our inspiration. We wanted to play on its rustic features and add some of our own touches. Music was a must since Matt and many of our guests are musicians. We brought lots of records from our own collection and found a great Buddy Holly tribute band, Johnny Vallis.

Describe any awesome DIY projects?  One of my favorite DIY projects was making our bourbon bar. We both love bourbon so we picked four of our favorite bourbons and created four bourbon cocktails. Guests could then pick which bourbon they wanted to try and in one of the cocktails. Barb, our amazing planner, and Erica, from Rook & Rose made this idea even better by featuring the cocktail and bourbon choices on a window pane by the bar.

View More: http://ameris.pass.us/kristy-matt-married

What was your favorite part/memory of your wedding?  

The speeches were my favorite part of our wedding. It was such a special moment. My grandparents' speech was incredibly sweet and had me, and many of our guests tearing up. Their speech was followed by some pretty goofy stories that had us all giggling our tears away after as well!  I will never forget all the amazing people who spoke on our behalf and their wonderful words of wisdom and support.

What did you splash the cash on for your wedding and why?  We splashed the cash on food and music (and my dress)! We both agreed that great food and music really make a great wedding. We decided to do a mainly vegetarian meal with a few seafood dishes. Food For Thought was the perfect catering vendor for us. We asked for a loaded dessert table and it was the most delicious table of goodies I could ever imagine! Having a live band was really worth splashing the cash as well. We love live music and Buddy Holly is one of our favorite bands. We discovered that Johnny Vallis, as Buddy Holly, was the best Buddy Holly tribute around and was right in our backyard so it was meant to be!What did you really save money on and how?  Having a wedding planner really helped us save money and keep everything within our budget. Barb from French Kiss Events made everything possible! Without her and her team our wedding could not have been the perfect day. She helped us pick out the right vendors and realize all those special touches that made everything so beautiful and unique while still staying within our budget.

In retrospect, was there anything you would have done differently?  I wouldn't change anything about our wedding.What advice would you give or lessons did you learn?  What I took away from our wedding day and all the months of planning is to make it about love! Include what you love and let those you love help. It makes the day that much more special.

Thank you from the bottom of my heart, Kristy & Matt, for asking me to be a part of your wedding!  I wish you nothing but the best, and can't wait to hear what is next for you 2!

xo Barb

The story of Melissa & Sean's wedding is a good one (you might recognize Melissa from this party).  12 bridesmaids, champagne baths, a spontaneous dance party,  white and gold (love!!), a stunning Bride & Groom, and most importantly, a LOT of heart.  It can be best told, through these ridiculously amazing photos, courtesy of the ridiculously talented, Ameris.  I have been dying to share these with everyone, and was thrilled to see their wedding featured on Wedding Bells last week.  So before you loose yourself in the photo's below, let me tell you a bit more about this really special day...

I began working with Melissa & Sean almost 18 months before their wedding, back in the Spring of 2012.  This power duo was after a wedding like no other, and placed a really strong emphasis on their guests and the coming together of their 2 wonderful families.  Over the next year and a half, I loved getting to know them, their story, and being able to create a wedding that was perfect for them!  From concept to execution, every part of the planning was just so much fun!  And with a fantastic roster of vendors alongside us, the results were spectacular!  Chocolate Lily Floral Design, Beauty & Style by Erin Bradley, Studio 745, Designer Weddings and Events, Passion for Cakes, and Melting Moments Catering, pulled out all the stops!  And the talented team of iDo Productions created one of the best wedding videos I have seen to date!  Definitely make sure to check it out at the end of this post.

Thank you, Melissa and Sean, for asking me to be a part of such a big part of your life!  I am blown away with your kindness, generosity, and love for each other.  I can't wait to see what is next for the 2 of you!!

Ameris

Ameris

Ameris

Ameris

Ameris

Ameris

Ameris

Ameris

Ameris

Ameris

Ameris

Ameris

Ameris

Ameris

Ameris

Ameris

Ameris

Ameris

Ameris

Ameris

Ameris

Ameris

Ameris

Ameris

Ameris

Ameris

Ameris

Ameris

Ameris

xo Barb

Ameris

And thank you so much Rob, for capturing this last photo.  It is moments like this, that make this the best job in the world!!

And here's the video from I Do Productions!!  Utter perfection!

[vimeo http://vimeo.com/75936894]

Another year has come and gone, and I find myself, once again, looking back at all the great (and not so great! lol!) moments of 2013!  Overall, it was an incredible year, and I am beyond grateful for everyone that helped make 2013 a stellar year for FKE!  This past year brought many new couples to the FKE family, and I am so honoured that we got to be a part of so many weddings and events.  Thank you so much to all the newlyweds (and soon to be newlyweds) out there, for welcoming me into your lives and allowing me to be a part of such a huge time in your life!  It means the world to me!! This past year, also brought some amazing inspiration projects, alongside some incredible vendors!!  Junebug Weddings, Grey Likes Weddings, and On to Baby were gracious enough to feature some of these fun projects. I also had the privilege of joining the extremely coveted, Style Me Pretty's Little Black Book, as well as the always inspiring Once Wed Blog's, vendor list.  Seriously...pinch me now!!!  This past Fall was spent working closely with the extremely talented Laura, of Tuktu Paper Co., on some fabulous branding paper goods for me.  I cannot WAIT to share them with all of you, and so stay tuned for a new branding post, coming soon.  And last, but definitely not least, I am so so soooo grateful for all of my industry friends, new and old, who continuously blow me away with their kindness, graciousness, and talent!!  We had so much fun all partying together at the 1st ever Victoria Wedding Industry Meetup, and I cannot wait to do so again, for many years to come!!

So, without further adieu, here's a roundup of some of my favourite moments over the past year, and here's to another fabulous year!

xo Barb

*ps, a HUGE shout out to all the fabulous photographers, who have captured this year.  Thanks to Kim Kalyn Photography, Ameris, Jennifer Ballard Photography and Jon Mark Photography, for the photo's below.

Kim Kalyn Photography

Kim Kalyn Photography

Kim Kalyn Photography

Ameris

Ameris

Ameris

Ameris

Ameris

Ameris

Jennifer Ballard Photography

Jennifer Ballard Photography

Jennifer Ballard Photography

Ameris

Ameris

Ameris

Ameris

Jon Mark Photography

Ameris

Ameris

Ameris

and then, just because it's fun, here's some of my Instagram fav's from the year!

2013-Roundup

The wedding of Kristy & Matt is special to me in so many ways!  Not only was it my first wedding at the stunning new(ish) venue of Birds Eye Cove, but it was one of those amazing weddings where my inspiration for the wedding & the couples personal style meshed together so perfectly, that wedding magic was created!!  It was the small details in this wedding, that mattered the most.  The mismatched vintage china serving platters, the record players for cocktail hour entertainment, the natural linen tablecloths, and the hand stamped escort cards, are just a few of my favourite details! I also had the rare opportunity of working alongside some of my favourite people in the industry, and still cannot get over how beautifully it all went together!!  Thank you so much, Kristy & Matt, for having me be a party of your wedding!  You guys are two of the most authentic people I have had the privilege of working with, and I will treasure your wedding for a long time!!  Thank you also to all the fantastic vendors who worked alongside me, to create this stunner: Rook & Rose Floral Design Boutique (those dried flower napkin blooms killed me!), Food For Thought, Conscious Hair by Elena, Melanie Baird Makeup Artistry, and of course, the AMAZING Ameris, for the drop dead photos below!!

Ameris

Ameris

Ameris

View More: http://ameris.pass.us/kristy-matt-married

Ameris

Ameris

Ameris

Ameris

Ameris

Ameris

Ameris

Ameris

Ameris

Ameris

Ameris

Ameris

Ameris

Ameris

Ameris

Ameris

Ameris

For the first wedding of the season, not only did I have the absolute honour of working with the sweetest and most gracious couple ever, I ALSO got the chance to work alongside an "all-star" wedding team! Rook & Rose Floral Design Boutique always takes their design to the next level, and this wedding was no different!  They brought Heather's garden-inspiration to life, through the gorgeous terra-cota plants, cafe-lighting & mini-rose favours. And don't even get me started on Heathers bouquet...it was stunning!  And Ameris' images from the day are so jaw-droppingly beautiful, that I almost couldn't choose which ones to share!  We have 4 more weddings together this season, and I can't wait to spend more time with them!! Working with Heather & Jim throughout the past few months was absolutely wonderful!  It is always so nice when a couple has complete faith in their vendors, and is more than happy to pass over all artistic control.  I loved creating the custom menu's & typewriter inspired stationary for them, and being there to make sure the day went seamlessly!  Heather & Jim, thank you so much for asking me to be a part of your beautiful wedding day!

All photos courtesy of Ameris Photography www.ameris.ca

Ameris

Ameris

Ameris

Ameris

Ameris

Ameris

Ameris

Ameris

Ameris

Ameris

Ameris

Ameris

Ameris

Ameris

Ameris

Ameris

Ameris

Ameris

Ameris

Ameris

Ameris