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WEDDING MAGAZINE

Breathtaking Alpine Elopements

WHISTLER, BC

Photo:KristineCofsky

Photo:ThomasBullock

Photo:KristineCofsky

Photo:LeahKathryn

In this issue

06 Red, White, and ‘I do’ A Canadiana-inspired wedding at Nita Lake Lodge.

Four considerations for your Sea to Sky wedding

From weather to location, we break down the steps to your dream wedding.

‘Magical, whimsical, secluded’ Cheakamus Centre wedding

Couple revisits childhood memories at Squamish venue.

32 Heading home to say ‘I do’

What’s it like to plan a wedding in your not-so-conventional hometown?

Family ties bring Pemberton wedding together

Spud Valley couple crafts unique valley wedding with personal touches.

Published by Pique Newsmagazine

Lodestar Media

#202-1390

Alpha Lake Road, Whistler, B.C., V8E 0H9

Publisher Sarah Strother

Editor Alyssa Noel

Creative & Production Amir Shahrestani

Contributors Alyssa Noel, Brigitte Mah, Indigo Lemay-Conway

Sales Susan Hutchinson (manager), Cathie Greenlees (manager), Tessa Sweeney, Andrew Budreski, Kim Boatman

Cover photo Staley Alexander and Eric Beeson in August 2024. Photo by Logan Swayze. Location Whistler Mountain

Emma & Craig

RED, WHITE, AND ‘I DO’

A Canadiana-inspired wedding at Nita Lake Lodge

WRITTEN BY INDIGO LEMAY-CONWAY

For Craig and Emma Andrews, three magical summers at Nita Lake Lodge was all they needed to decide that it was the place they wanted to get married.

With Craig dressed head to toe in RCMP regalia, and Emma carrying their little secret bundle of joy, the couple says their Canadianainspired day couldn’t have gone any better.

As a four-year active RCMP officer, Craig’s love for the force has been intertwined with the duo’s love story ever since they got engaged.

“My father and I had decided that in September of 2023 we were going to go out to Regina [for the Law Enforcement Memorial] which is where the training base for the RCMP is. Unbeknownst to Emma at the time, after all the ceremonies and whatnot were done and we had some time to ourselves, I was actually

going to propose to her,” he said.

But an interaction with an unwell suspect a few days earlier threw his plans off when he later came down with COVID.

“When it came time to get on the plane, I was kind of feeling a little under the weather. By the time we landed in Regina, I was sicker than a dog. That was the most sick I'd ever felt in my life,” he said.

“And I proposed to Emma, thinking that I was going to have to go to the hospital and who knows, maybe I wasn't going to make it home. So I proposed in our room at the Hotel Saskatchewan, in my underwear at like 11 p.m., because I didn't think I was going to have the energy to do anything else,” he said, with a laugh.

But for the day of the wedding, Craig said he couldn’t imagine not being in uniform.

“I've always wanted to get married in uniform. It's very important to me. My father is a retired RCMP member, and when I graduated from Depot, he actually presented me with my badge,” he said.

“Emma's been with me almost as long as I've been in the RCMP, because when we met, I had only been working for a few weeks. So it was like everything wonderful in my life, all kind of happened at one time.”

For her part, Emma said she couldn’t have imagined getting married anywhere other than Nita Lake Lodge.

“Craig and I, every summer, we've gone up to Nita Lake Lodge, and that was just kind of like our little getaway for the summer. And we both just fell in love with being there,” she said.

“I told Craig one day after we got engaged that we have to get married at Nita. It would just be so beautiful and I couldn't imagine it being anywhere else.”

A little work turned that dream into a reality and they were able to have their summer wedding in August 2024.

While a wedding is already full of joy, a baby announcement was the cherry on top.

“We had planned it out that I would reveal the news in my vows, so I had worked it into the end of my vows, just a quick little line, how I was excited to be Emma's husband and also a father come March of 2025,” Craig said.

“There were lots of gasps,” Emma said with a laugh, noting that it was the only day she experienced terrible morning sickness during her pregnancy.

For the reception, the couple decided to invite the Whistler RCMP crew and Fire Rescue Service members to share a meal with them.

“I used to be a firefighter for two years as well and we had left a few seats vacant for this very reason, and then as the wedding drew nearer, we unfortunately had a bunch of people that had to cancel for various reasons,” Craig said.

“We were already going to invite the local working RCMP members to make sure they get a free dinner and so I said to Emma, ‘What if we also put that invitation out to the fire department?’”

The RCMP detachment ended up being busy, but the fire department came down in suits and ties to share the evening with them.

“They came down in the truck, and just before they left, we asked if they would mind

if we actually took a couple photos, and they said, ‘We were going to come ask you if you want to take some,’” Craig said.

“So we walked outside with them, and Logan [Swayze], our photographer, snapped some pictures of us with them and with the truck.”

Opting for signed Jenga game pieces over a guest book and even recreating a 1953 photo of Marilyn Monroe with an RCMP officer, the couple say the day was filled with many unique, happy memories.

“At the end of the day, I got to stand up there with my best friend and tell her how I felt about her, put a ring on her finger and have her be mine forever,” Craig said. “It was perfect.”

Darby McGill Angela Bliss Photography

Bokuria

“I've always wanted to get married in uniform. It's very important to me. My father is a retired RCMP member, and when I graduated from Depot, he actually presented me with my badge.”

– Craig Andrews

Photographer: Logan Swayze loganswayze.com

Vendors:

Officiant Ridge Meadows RCMP Chaplain Reverend Greg Dalman

Wedding planner Sea to Sky Celebrations

Hair & Makeup Kerry Waring

Catering Nita Lake Lodge

FOUR CONSIDERATIONS FOR YOUR SEA TO SKY WEDDING

From weather to location, we break down the steps to your dream wedding

WRITTEN BY BRIGITTE MAH

It’s dramatic. It’s picturesque. It’s jaw-dropping mountainous and breathtakingly pastoral. The Sea to Sky corridor has everything for the outdoor wedding of your dreams. But before you plan that helicopter drop onto a glacier or that dreamy walk in a farm meadow, there are a few things to consider about our legendary lands.

THE SEASON

We have five. That’s right, five seasons. “Winter, spring, summer, fall, and fire seasons,” says wedding planner Linda Marshall. With more than 1,300 weddings under her belt over 32 years, Marshall has seen it all. Over the last eight years the emergence of summer wildfires from California to Kelowna has caused smoke to drift to the Sea to Sky corridor, resulting in smoky skies that stay for days and often come with health warnings.

“We didn’t have to consider fire season before, but now we do,” said Marshall. “It’s tough if you book a beautiful place with a view but all of a sudden you can’t see that beautiful view.”

Similarly, if you’re planning a wedding in the winter and dreaming of a quintessential snow-capped moment for your nuptials, consider the possibility of El Niño and La Niña years, which can cause more rain or more snow, depending on where the cycle is over the Pacific Ocean.

THE WEATHER

The Sea to Sky is on the West Coast, and regardless of the season, mountain and valley weather can change quickly. Clouds can roll in at a moment’s notice and the wind can pick up without warning. “It’s always good to have a backup plan,” said Marshall, who encourages couples to consider all potentials of the weather. “If you want to get married in the winter, are you OK with the snowstorm?”

White event tents are vital for any outdoor ceremony and celebration, she added. “They provide shade in hot weather and shelter in rain or snow.”

The West Coast is affectionately known as the “Wet Coast,” and Marshall has seen many couples incorporate umbrellas or rain boots into their day in stylish ways.

PHOTO LEAH KATHRYN

THE LOCATION

For some, nothing beats getting married on a glacier at the top of the mountain. For others, it’s the dramatic arrival of skiing into their wedding ceremony. Still others will choose the top of the Stawamus Chief, the Sea to Sky Gondola, a river, lake, meadow or lush forest. Before you book your favourite outdoor location, consider your guests.

“Who do you want to look out and see?” Marshall asked. “If you’re going for an alpine location, how will your guests get there? Will all of them hike to the top of the Chief? While you may be fit enough to hike to the summit for your wedding, what about your wedding party?”

One suggestion: “For helicopter weddings, you can have someone video it and then show it to the party down in the valley.”

There’s also the reality of whether you can get married at your desired outdoor spot on your chosen day. Certain locations book up quickly, while others are only available on certain days. “Lost Lake is a private site … and there are some rules there because you can’t get married on a weekend,” Marshall said.

And then there’s the practicality of footwear.

“Cowboy boots work because you can wear them anywhere, but if you’re going to get married on a golf course, or a park, consider the fact that stilettos will get stuck in the grass,” she added.

PHOTO LEAH KATHRYN

YOUR BUDGET

While the idea of setting a budget may be obvious, the reality of getting married in a world-class destination may not be. Hotels offer package deals that make planning easier, but often come with a price. Many couples want to create their own wedding experience and choose their own vendors, but flying tables and chairs into the alpine can get costly, as does transporting couches into the forest, or paddling your caterer out to a remote spot on a lake. “You have to ask yourself what are your priorities?” Marshall said. “There’s always a way to make it work. It’s your wedding, so embrace who you are.”

At the end of the day, regardless of the season, the weather, the location or the budget, it truly is about celebrating you. And while the best memories often come from the most unexpected circumstances—like lightning or hail—it doesn’t hurt to be prepared just the same.

PHOTO LOGAN SWAZYE

Sierra & Tyson

FAMILY TIES BRING

PEMBERTON

WEDDING TOGETHER

Spud Valley couple crafts unique wedding with personal touches

WRITTEN BY ALYSSA NOEL

Marriage often means blending together two families, but for Sierra and Tyson Thompson, that process started when they set out to plan their wedding.

The venue: Tyson’s father’s farm, just down the road from their home. The decor: accented with black matte steel structures crafted by Sierra’s father—including an epic set of ceremony arches. The flowers: a major score by Sierra’s mother who got them at a flower auction.

If that wasn’t enough, Sierra just happens to be best friends with wedding planner Nicola Wiltens.

“She’s been my best friend since we were kids,” she said. “She’s an amazing wedding planner and was helping the entire time.”

The joke at the wedding rehearsal? It was her and Nicola’s wedding, featuring Tyson.

In truth, Sierra added, Tyson would’ve been happy eloping, but at the end of the day they both had “the best night.”

Their love story began eight years earlier, when they started working together at a rental company. While they both grew up in the same general friend circle in Pemberton, they never crossed paths in a meaningful way.

“I knew who he was, but I had never met him, really. We now know we were at the same New Year’s and birthday parties, as young as 10 or 12,” Sierra said.

Still, they didn’t begin dating until Tyson had moved to Victoria to play football. “I wished him happy birthday and he didn’t stop talking to me,” she added.

A few years and some long-distance dating later, the pair went out on an annual trip with family friends who own a fishing charter

“You out fished me today, but there’s one more catch I want to go home with.”

– Tyson Thompson

company in Victoria. Cutting the day a little short, they zipped over to a lighthouse just in time for golden hour where Tyson popped the question.

“I blacked out a little bit, for sure,” Sierra said. “He said, ‘You out fished me today, but there’s one more catch I want to go home with.’”

Growing up in one of the most scenic spots in the country, the couple ostensibly had their pick of venues. But when Tyson’s dad offered up their farm, they knew it was the perfect place.

“They spent a year-and-a-half repainting and cleaning,” Sierra added.

One important lesson they learned: while using a private venue might help save you money, it’s important to keep in mind that you have to bring in everything you need to host an event.

To that end, Sierra’s father helped craft three

square, black arches for the ceremony, the frame their tent sat on, and the steel elements on which their signage hung.

The rest of the decor pulled influence from the masculine hue with black chairs and even cutlery. The stunning florals—with natural hues like rust, rose, pale yellow, green and white—popped against the backdrop.

Then there were the animals in green bow ties.

Tyson’s father offered to move the goats and llamas for the event. But as the best friend and wedding planner pointed out “people pay a lot of money to have [animals] at their wedding,” Sierra recalled.

She joked that they’re often decked out for the occasion too.

A family friend ran with the idea and when the couple showed up to their wedding, the animals were ready for them.

Photographer: Leah Kathryn leahkathrynphoto.com

Videography:

Calling Mountains Production callingmountains.com

Vendors:

“It was a labour of love everywhere,” Sierra said. “Everyone was coming up with ideas of what was feasible for us.”

The day unfolded perfectly with The Collective Kitchen serving a delicious plated dinner (“a splurge,” Sierra said), wedding speeches running throughout the courses, and dancing into the wee hours in a barn decked out with a dance floor and lights.

At the end of the night, the couple decided to walk home, Sierra with her massive train in her arms, Tyson with a tie around his head, hand-in-hand.

“By coincidence, someone caught it on video,” she said. “I love how it all came together. It paid homage to both sides of the family—on the farm and steel elements and the flowers I wanted. The main thing I wanted was all our friends and families in one spot.”

Planning & Design Andree Events // andreeevents.com

Catering The Collective Kitchen // thecollectivekitchen.ca

Makeup Natacha Trottier // natachatrottier.com

Florals Within The Flowers // withintheflowers.com

Linens and Napkins Perspective Events // perspectiveeventdesign.com

Audio Video Will Sea // willsea.ca

Stationery Letteria // letteria.ca

Rentals Tent frame, arch and stationery signs custom built by the bride and her father's company, Whistler Welding // whistlerweldingservices.com. All other rentals from Spark Event Rentals // sparkeventrentals.com

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Maddison & Connor

‘MAGICAL, WHIMSICAL, SECLUDED’ CHEAKAMUS CENTRE WEDDING

Couple revisits childhood ties at Squamish venue

WRITTEN BY BRIGITTE MAH

Maddison Baugh was the kind of kid who dreamed about her wedding even before she’d had a boyfriend.

“I was one of those people who started planning my wedding on Pinterest at 13,” she said. “Any time I saw something cool I had it saved in albums.”

Little did Maddison know that as a kid, when she was attending the Outdoor School Program at the Cheakamus Centre in Squamish, her future husband Conner Baugh had been there as well—just two years earlier.

The Baughs didn’t officially meet each other until several years later when they began working at InGrain, a restaurant in North Vancouver.

“[It is] the classic restaurant love story,” said Maddison. “He was a cook and I was a server.”

The pair began as friends, but right when they shifted to dating, Maddison moved to Kamloops to pursue a nursing degree. The two held a long-distance relationship for threeand-a-half years and then moved in together right away. When Conner proposed in 2023, Maddison was ready for wedding planning with her Pinterest albums.

Because the Cheakamus Centre was a special childhood memory for both Maddison and Conner, they knew it was the perfect spot to get married. Maddison’s father even found his wood slice name from when he attended the program as a kid, and many of their friends worked there.

“We wanted to go somewhere where it felt like it was just us,” said Maddison. “It’s magical, whimsical and secluded.”

To help them tackle the challenge of who to invite to the wedding, Maddison and Conner made a “narrowing down rule.” They could only invite guests they had actually spoken to in the last two years. This helped them create an intimate ceremony of 75 people, so that when they looked out on their wedding day, they would see the faces of those they loved.

“We were surrounded by everyone so special to us,” said Maddison.

To prep for the wedding, Maddison tapped into her creative side. “I always like to be artsy

and creative,” she said. “I tried to DIY as much as I could. Everything came together, from collecting items off Facebook Marketplace and thrifting.”

Many of the wedding’s details were created by Maddison, from the wooden welcome sign to the floral ground arch, and all the stationary. She spent hours designing and creating a photo scavenger hunt, the seating chart, the dinner menu, and the place settings. She even made the piñata that was in place of a wedding cake.

“We wanted our wedding to be fun and not a hockey banquet,” said Maddison, adding that she and Conner had the idea to make a Polaroid guest book. “Although word to the wise, people will take the Polaroids home with them instead of putting them in the book. But people will have great memories of the wedding.”

The couple added many personal details, including the hand-painted miniature portraits they made of each other on a date night and placed by the guest book, and the wine glass

charms in everyone’s first initials for their takehome gift.

“We tried to make it personal and not something I’d saved on Pinterest forever,” said Maddison.

When the big day arrived, she was both “excited and full of nerves.”

As the sun shone through the lush green forest, Maddison and Conner had their first look.

“We wanted to have that moment of just us,” said Maddison. “I’m so glad we did. We got to

Photographer:

Logan Swayze loganswayze.com

share that moment with just us … and a raccoon [peeking from the bushes].”

Later, under a forested canopy of tree boughs, and amidst 75 of their closest friends and family, Maddison and Conner exchanged vows and became one Baugh, planting roots for their new future together.

After the ceremony they celebrated at the Cheakamus Centre, although Maddison’s nerves and excitement stopped her from eating.

By 3 a.m., she was ravenous and they and a handful of friends ran barefoot to Panago, and then sat in the parking lot with the last ones standing.

“I kept waiting for the thing to go wrong or the drama, but it never happened. We really got to enjoy ourselves. It was the best day ever.”

Vendors:

Day of coordination Love & Confetti

Florals Billies House

Catering Cheakamus Centre

Venue Cheakamus Centre

Hair & Makeup Natacha Trottier

Officiant Natacha Trottier

Photobooth Evermore Captures

Shuttle Canadian Craft Charters

HEADING HOME TO SAY ‘I DO’

What’s it like to plan a wedding in your not-so-conventional hometown?

WRITTEN BY INDIGO LEMAY-CONWAY

Decadesago, tradition dictated that a couple should return to the bride’s hometown for their wedding.

For Chelsea McCurdy, that’s not exactly a hardship.

When her now-husband Matthew Kernerman popped the question at Nita Lake Lodge during a trip from Ontario, the duo immediately began dreaming up the perfect Whistler wedding—entirely by choice.

We caught up with the born-and-raised Whistlerite to ask what the planning process was like, how she chose a venue, and tips to pass along.

How long did you live in Whistler?

I, unfortunately, no longer live in Whistler, but I was born and raised [there] and my parents have been in Whistler for a very long time. I grew up there, did elementary school, high

school, and then when it came to university, that’s when I moved to Ontario.

At the end of university is when I met my now-husband Matt, and so I’ve been in Ontario since 2012, which I can’t even believe that is the amount of time it’s been.

One of the things that I say, having grown up in Whistler is I absolutely took it for granted, and it took a bit of distance for me to understand just how incredibly lucky I was to grow up and to be able to go home to such a gorgeous place.

Did you think you would get engaged in Whistler?

We try to go back as often as possible, obviously, my family is there, I’ve got a lot of friends that are still in Whistler, so we try and come out to spend some time with the family as often as possible. In December 2022 we

decided to fly out with Matt’s family so that they could meet my family after years and years of just talking on the phone.

We went for brunch at Nita Lake Lodge, and it was a gorgeous, bluebird, snowy day and I said, “Why don’t we just go take a walk on the lake.” Then out on the lake, he dropped down to one knee.

Matt, he’s very thoughtful, and he told me, “I can’t imagine doing something like this and not being in your hometown and then also not being with our whole family,” so it was really beautifully done.

You could have opted for a destination wedding. What made you choose your hometown?

Getting married in Whistler was definitely something that I had thought about. But, you know, because I had been in Ontario for so long and we have a lot of friends and family in Ontario, I thought that it was maybe just a pipe dream, because it would be a lot for people to travel so far.

We had a discussion about it, and said, “Wow, wouldn’t it be amazing if we could do that in Whistler? It’s such a special place for us.” So we started to talk to some of our friends and family and asked how they would feel if we decided to get married in B.C. and they were like, “Oh my God, that would be amazing. We’d love to go to Whistler!”

My mom, Mei Madden, has been in Whistler for a very long time. She runs the Whistler Blackcomb Foundation and puts on a charity gala every year, and they usually do it at the top of the mountain. So she has just the most

amazing network of people who absolutely adore her and so we got a lot of help making it happen in Whistler, but it was just the right call for us, for sure.

Out of all the beautiful venues in Whistler, what made you choose the Fairmont Chateau Whistler and Rendezvous Lodge on Blackcomb Mountain?

Obviously, getting married on the mountain is such a special experience. And I honestly didn’t think that it was possible. But we, again, have such amazing contacts and amazing friends and Whistler. So it was sort of floated as an idea—“Do you want to do your wedding on the mountain?”—and we were like, “Can we do that? Really?” And it ended up working out beautifully.

We did the ceremony at the Fairmont on the rooftop terrace, and then everybody made their way up the gondola, which was, of course, an incredible experience for all of our guests from Ontario to make their way up for dinner and dancing at Rendezvous. Mother Nature

was on our side that day; we got the most incredible sunset. Truly, it was a paid actor.

What was it like planning a wedding in your hometown?

We felt really lucky. Again, my mom is just the most amazing person, and she obviously has a lot of friends in the industry and she was like, “Chelsea’s getting married” and they’d be like, “Oh my gosh, Mei, what do you need? We’ve got you.”

So she was, honestly, so integral to the planning process.

What made you choose a summer wedding over winter?

I think we just really gravitated towards a summer wedding. Having people fly out and then the drive from Vancouver to Whistler in the winter could be quite tricky, especially for those who aren’t used to the Sea to Sky. It all culminated to just be the best option to have it over the summertime.

Photographer:

Leah Kathryn leahkathrynphoto.com

Videography: Janalee Creative janaleecreative.com

Vendors:

Ceremony & Cocktail Venue Fairmont Chateau Whistler

Ceremony Venue Vail Resorts: Rendezvous Lodge

Wedding Planner Bliss Event + Design // blissevent.ca

Floral & Decor Bliss Event + Design

Entertainment DJ Ace Mackay-Smith

Beauty Nina Farrauto // ninafarrauto.com

Photobooth Downtime Photo // downtimephoto.com

Officiant Rob Madden

Content Creator Mark Trinidad

Dance Floor Watermark

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Matt’s grandfather, he’s 99 years old, and he made the trip all the way … and came up to the mountain. My grandparents are in their mid-to-late 80s, so the mountain might not be the most accessible, but I think definitely a bit more accessible in the summertime.

What advice would you have for people who want to get married in Whistler?

I highly recommend the wedding planner option, even if you can’t do a full planner, having somebody just partial planning to give you local advice, local knowledge. Erin [Kincaid, Bliss Events] works with a lot of local vendors, and she’s very well integrated

into the community, which, with Whistler being the town that it is, I think a massive, massive benefit to working with a wedding planner.

Would you recommend other locals consider having their wedding locally?

Of course, yes. I think just having the opportunity to showcase your hometown in such a special way, to people from out of town, it’s truly incredible. I can’t imagine a better place for a destination wedding … being able to celebrate with all of our friends and family in my hometown means more to me than I can even describe.