Natural nuptials

from Wishes 2022

Wishes’ wedding gift guide

wedding: Natural nuptials

Couple returns to the mountains where they got engaged for their dream day

by:DAN FALLOON

Right from the moment they got engaged, Kayla and Kody Blackmore’s wedding felt destined to take place in the mountains.

Kody proposed on their favourite run—Blackcomb Mountain’s Sunset Boulevard—on Boxing Day 2019.

“Right away, we knew we wanted to get married in the mountains,” Kayla said.

They quickly set a date for Aug. 19, 2021, figuring it would allow them more than enough time to plan their dream day. Of course, life happened. Mere months after Kayla and Kody’s engagement, the COVID-19 pandemic threw the world into disarray. In a happier occurrence, Kayla became pregnant and gave birth to their son, Knox, just three months before their planned wedding date.

While some significant decisions had long been in place, such as the venue of Riverlands Red Barn in Pemberton Meadows and The Collective Kitchen for the catering, there was so much left to do that Kayla spent her first months as a mother pulling double duty as a wedding planner.

One of the couple’s biggest decisions was to lock in their date with a pandemicmandated 75-person guestlist, about half of what they’d originally drawn up. While it was “gut-wrenching” to pull back some of the invitations, those no longer attending accepted the decision.

“We were able to fulfil our vision, still, just with a reduced guestlist,” Kayla said, noting the bulk of the invitees flew in from Ontario. “We had a nice time. We had a lot of family there, and we were able to have some friends. Everyone understood.”

The Riverlands Red Barn, with its stunning backdrop of Mount Currie, was an easy call for the couple to make. They found it flipping through a past issue of Wishes and locked it in right away.

“We wanted things to be as natural and personalized as possible,” Kayla said. “We made a lot of decisions to incorporate nature.

“I love that the Red Barn has the huge open doors so that we could bring the outside inside.”

Continuing that theme, green played a significant role in the couple’s colour scheme, with eucalyptus and other natural, vivid greenery planted throughout the venue.

One recommendation the Blackmores make for the site is to rent a tent.

“I needed something to get away with, at the time, a three-month-old. I needed to be able to feed him in there, change him in there,” Kayla recalled. “Then it worked out really well for photos. It was just a really nice added bonus that it was epic lighting for photos.”

Photographer Alyssa Sillett of the Whistler Wedding Collective noted that, being a bright summer day, the tent offered diffused light for great shooting conditions.

Much of the decor came courtesy of Kayla’s sister, Taylor, a woodworking artist who operates Rebels & Rascals. Among her contributions were custom wood-burned coasters, a welcome table, stumps that lined the aisles, as well as handmade linens and napkins.

Not only did Taylor come through on the decor, she also performed Kayla and Kody’s first dance song, “I’m With You” by Vance Joy, with a friend.

As for the food, Kayla was thrilled with The Collective Kitchen, which provided a plethora of locally sourced dishes while also offering a number of vegan options for the couple.

“We had a lot of food come out on big platters. Everyone was very impressed and very happy with the food,” she said.

For Sillett, one of the more memorable moments of the day occurred later when she went outside looking for candid shots. Right on theme, Mother Nature provided the perfect opportunity. Sillett brought Kayla and Kody outside for a toast.

“I looked up, and the moon was actually rising behind Mount Currie. I immediately ran and got them and came and brought them out,” she remembered.

“It was just really sweet capturing that. Just having that unique moment for them, and just getting them alone together for a cheers.”

As a photographer, Sillett appreciated how prepared the couple was, letting her know in advance which shots were the most important to get while having the details organized early in the day, allowing her to get those shots completed off the bat so she could focus on candids.

Though everything came together in a matter of weeks, both Kayla and Kody recommend starting the planning phase as early as possible.

And one last planning nugget from Kayla: listen to your gut.

“Everything felt authentic. I was never doing something that I didn’t want to be doing or I didn’t feel comfortable doing,” she said. “Everything felt very us.” photography:

Alyssa Sillett

As the Whistler Wedding Collective’s lead photographer, I consider myself lucky to mentor the Collective’s other talented photographers in the art of taking great care of our couples. I connect with my own clients by making sure everything is ready for them to relax and forget about the camera. Taking care of all the little details that make couples feel honoured and at home allows me to capture beautiful, photojournalistic-style images that bring my clients back to the moments and emotions of their wedding for a lifetime.