@mattkennedymortgages

Whistler Wedding: Tony & Kim

August 1, 2014

We cannot express how special this wedding was to photograph! Tony & Kim’s wedding was so intimate, heart-felt and full of love! They met on Match.com. She had been on and off of it for 3 years and Tony was on it for a total of 1 hour and 27 minutes. Kim said that he likes to boast that he was really good at it because he found a great woman in such a great time! According to Kim, she winked and then followed up the next day with an email, and well…..the rest is history!

Their family was spread throughout Texas, Nebraska and Canada, so after some recommendations from Tony’s family, they visited Nita Lake Lodge in Whistler on a very cold and snowy day! They knew this was where they wanted to get married and that it would become their special place to come back and visit. Enjoy reading this wedding blog through the eyes of the bride!

When we planned our family vacation and destination wedding we were trying to figure out if we should do the wedding immediately upon arriving at the Lodge, and then enjoy the family vacation or wait. I am so happy we waited a few days. We arrived at the Lodge on Sunday night and we were very tired. In the days leading up to the wedding we enjoyed so much time together doing excursions with the family that it gave us all time to relax a bit. By Friday Tony and I had slowed down a little so we could focus on being relaxed for our special day. We woke up on our wedding day and it seemed surreal. Tony had a special video ‘note’ that he had secretly worked on for me. I was so surprised! He called me to his side and we sat next to each other. He told me he had made something for me. He hit the play button and the song Marry Me began to play – this was the song we had chosen for me to walk down the aisle to. He not only had our Match.com profiles in it, but also the words he had spoken when he got down on one knee and proposed to me on Christmas morning 2012 in front of our families. I couldn’t believe how hard I sobbed. I was truly marrying my best friend and the love of my life!

(From Kim)- I wanted my dad to be able to walk me down the aisle. He has 4 daughters and he had not had the opportunity to do that yet. And I did not know my dad growing up; We met when I was 30 after moving to Texas. To have him at my wedding to walk me down the aisle was a true blessing! I had a little gift for my dad and instead of having him come to my room, they arranged to have he and I meet by the train station – he in his suit and I in my wedding dress. I gave him a picture frame that said – “Dad… Of all the walks we’ve taken this one is my FAVORITE…” It was such a special moment, and yes… we both cried…

(From Kim) – Tony and I decided on having a first look before the ceremony and I am so happy we did! It gave us a chance to see each other before the ceremony, and to have some photos taken of the two of us! One very exciting moment for us during our first look was when our photographer, Matt, asked us if we were up to doing something to get a really great photo! Of course we were!! Little did we know that he wanted us to walk through the bushes, and climb up on top of a huge boulder on the side of the cliff!! All this before the ceremony!! Being the adventurous people that we are, we were all for it!! I hiked up my dress and made my way through the brush with Tony guiding me, and Matt holding the tree branches out of my way! When we got to the rock it seemed much larger! Tony tugged at my arm and Matt pushed from behind, and some how I made it up! It was amazing!! We were so excited to be up there knowing we were going to have an amazing wedding photo!! Once we were up there we were questioning how we would get down as it was pretty steep… There was no way I could see myself getting down even in the 2 inch heels I was wearing. Thankfully our photographer, Carissa, offered to let me wear her flats to make my way down!

(From Kim) – Another very special moment was during our ceremony was when I was waiting to walk down the steps on my father’s arm and meet Tony at the dock. I really wanted to be ‘in the moment’ and I was… I could see everyone standing on the dock waiting and Tony was looking over at me. I took it all in and amazingly I was not nervous at all. So many people asked Tony if he would cry on our wedding day… He is not a big crier so of course he said, “No, it’s a happy time…” However, he did confess later that as I was coming down the steps of the Lodge he got choked up as the guitarist started to play our song – Marry Me… The pastor touched his arm and asked if he was okay. He said, “She got me…” And the Pastor said, “Yes, it usually happens right about then…”

One of the very best wedding planning companies in Vancouver – Kailey-Michelle Events! It is so fun watching Kailey-Michelle and Amy on a wedding day! Having a good wedding planner takes such a load off on your wedding day and just lets you and your family enjoy the moment! These girls did everything from helping the bride get ready, to making sure everyone had water, decorating the ceremony and reception, getting a canoe and they even prepared their honeymoon suite! There are a gazillion things these girls do behind the scenes and they put in so much care and detail into each of their couples. We absolutely LOVE working with them!

(From Kim) -The weather on our wedding day was gorgeous! God really blessed us that day! When we saw the lodge in March it was snowy and cold. We truly did not know how beautiful Whistler, BC could be in July! Standing on the dock surrounded by the beauty of nature, and with our families there by our side, we couldn’t have asked for anything more. We opted for simple and elegant decor for our wedding day. Our table at the reception was elegantly dressed with white lanterns, flowers and candles. The toasts given at dinner were truly heart felt and brought tears to everyone’s eyes. Special moments where two families became one!