When you bring together a group of talented artists like Melia Sorenson of Lucida Photography and Sandy Pandher of DreamGroup Productions, you can expect a wedding nothing short of perfection. Christine and Jeffery’s Vancouver wedding is not only gorgeous, but also has an air of pure elegance and simplicity that truly allows the couple’s love and style to shine through. Join us as we share this beautiful wedding story below.
Love story
Christine and Jeffrey first met in the fall of 2005. Christine had recently moved to Vancouver from Calgary to attend the University of British Columbia. According to Jeffrey, “his breath was taken away” when he first met Christine. According to Christine, Jeffrey may have just been out of breath from walking up a flight of stairs.
One year passed as Christine and Jeffrey kept busy with college life – studying, of course. It was not until the next fall that they began to spend more time together. This began with work on a charity fundraiser, shared marketing classes, and then a reading week trip to Whistler with friends which ‘sealed the deal’ according to the two.
Christine and Jeffrey have been dating for over five years, two and a half of them over Skype. Over these years, Jeffrey wandered to Trois Rivières for a French immersion program, Christine took part in a summer program in Manhattan, Jeffrey journeyed to Rotterdam for an exchange program and Christine followed suit with an exchange program to Singapore.
In 2009, Christine decided to pursue her dream of working in fashion and moved to New York City to study at the Parsons School of Design. With this change, Christine and Jeffrey did not know whether this arrangement would be temporary or permanent, but committed to being together despite the distance. Through a steady stream of Skype calls, statutory holidays, and redeye flights on Cathay Pacific, Christine and Jeffrey made it work for these two long years apart. In 2011, Jeffrey was relocated to his company’s New York office, and all was well.
The proposal
In the summer of 2012, Christine and Jeffrey returned briefly to Vancouver for a weekend. Jeffrey had planned to return to Vancouver – back to the place where they had their first date – to propose.
On a Saturday afternoon, Jeffrey asked Christine to join him for a visit to one of their favorite places, Steveston’s Fisherman’s Wharf, for a quick meal and to enjoy the nice weather and view. Afterward, they went to Garry Point Park to relax and Jeffrey brought his guitar with him. Finding a suitable and secluded spot on the beach, Jeffrey proposed to Christine with a song from when they first began dating. Christine and Jeffrey are united in their love of each other.
Wedding planning priorities
From the couple (Christine & Jeffery): We wanted to give our guests a memorable weekend in Vancouver. With a lot of our friends and family now living in different cities, we also wanted everyone to enjoy each other’s company throughout the wedding day.
Another priority for us from the beginning was to personalize our wedding wherever possible – from a stop-motion video personally made for our bridal party to a custom wedding invitation created by Christine’s cousin.
Advice to couples planning their day
Christine & Jeffery: Since we were not living in Vancouver leading up to the wedding, hiring Sandy as our wedding planner was such a great help. Sandy was able to provide us with a timeline from the very beginning, and having her regular touch bases really helped us stay on track.
Also, we were very glad to receive vendor recommendations from our friends and Sandy (such as Lucida Photography, Upright Decor and Granville Island Florists). This saved us a lot of time in our research phase and nothing beats word of mouth suggestions.
Dance lessons were also a really fun part of our wedding planning – we didn’t feel nervous about an overly awkward first dance and they were also a welcome departure from endless guest list spreadsheets. Lastly – enjoy the months of planning, the time will fly by!
About the wedding planner – Sandy Pandher
Sandy works with great enthusiasm and dedication to ensure that the vision her clients have for their wedding is not only achieved, but surpassed in every way. After working as an independent planner in the city for several years, Sandy joined the dg team in the spring of ’11 to take her capabilities in planning successful, well executed events to the next level. This sweet and savvy planner’s passion is in building relationships and connecting with each of her clients so their wedding day can be a true reflection of who they are as a couple and what their love story symbolizes.
About DreamGroup Productions
As one of Vancouver’s top planning companies, DreamGroup has been nationally recognized as an award winning leader in our field. DreamGroup Productions is an independent and well respected planning company that strives to maintain our goal in bringing stylish, well executed events to the Vancouver scene! We are dedicated to ensuring that every client’s best interests are kept at the forefront of their planning experience. We will work with you to create, not only an end result you are proud and excited to share with family and friends, but a planning experience that is both enjoyable and strategically executed.
About Lucida Photography
Melia Sorenson began photographing weddings over a decade ago while finishing her first degree in fine arts at Emily Carr Institute of Art and Design before going on to complete her MA at UBC. She is inspired by the love and beauty in the celebrations of the remarkable people she photographs.
Find the photographer:
Lucida Photography Website | Facebook
Find the planner:
DreamGroup Productions Website | Facebook
Other Vendors:
Transportation: Ultimate Limousine | Music: V&G Music Stephen Bulat and Aimee Hawker of Girl on Wax DJ | Hair: James Valiant | Caterer: Fairmont Waterfront Hotel | Venue Contact: Nancy Yung | Photobooth: Angela of Photobooth Vancouver | Video: Desy Cheng of RF Productions | Ceremony: Canadian Memorial | Transportation: Mark of Griffin Transportation | Security Personal: Maluco Security Luka | Florist: Granville Island Florist | Decorator and Rentals: Upright Décor | Wedding Cake: Thomas Haas | Makeup: Hayley Miller | Venue Day of Contact: Nancy Yung Fairmont Waterfront Hotel
