Cheakamus Centre Wedding | Ilene & Jason | Tara Lilly Photography

Cheakamus Centre Wedding | Ilene & Jason | Tara Lilly Photography

Ilene and Jason canoed down the aisle to a rustic bohemian celebration at their Cheakamus Center wedding in Squamish. Ilene described her wedding day as the most magical day she could dream of, higlighted by authentic, surprising love.

Updated: February 2024

Ilene and Jason’s Cheakamus Center wedding ceremony was crafted by the two of them based loosely around Jewish traditions that also incorporated nature, First Nations culture, friendship, family and authentic aspects of their relationship.

“We got married under a chuppah (traditional Jewish archway) that was made out of ties that Ilene’s grandfather wore when he was alive. Ilene wore a veil, which was made of Italian lace that her grandmother bought in Italy in 1950, and has been worn by 35 other women from Ilene’s family. Jason’s cousin in Israel made Ilene’s wedding rings, while a jeweler based out of Alberta, Canada made Jason’s.

Just before the ceremony, we ensured that each of our guests had a drink in their hands because during the ceremony, Jason made a toast to our loved ones that have passed away. We could feel all of our grandparents, great aunts and great uncles, Jason’s uncle and Jason’s brother there with us.

Usually the bride is the center of the wedding ceremony, but it was Samdog Soulmate, dressed as the Pope, who stole the show!” -Ilene

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Ilene and Jason travelled to Squamish from Denver, Colorado for their destination wedding at the Cheakmus Center.

“Because our wedding was a destination wedding, we wanted to ensure that our friends and family could travel so far and still have time to enjoy the beauty of British Columbia without having to take too much time off of work. The American holiday of the 4th of July seemed like a perfect time! It worked incredibly well for us because we both have the summers off due to working in the school system.

During our Alaskan summer road trip, we camped up and down British Columbia and fell in love with the Sea-to-Sky region. Because travel is so important to both of us, we knew we wanted a destination wedding. Most of our friends and family have spent little to no time in British Columbia, so getting married there felt like the perfect excuse to share a place that became so important to us. We chose to get married at The Cheakamus Centre not only because of the spectacular beauty of the space, but because their mission involves education, conservation, and the environment, which are all values that we both hold dear to our hearts.” -Jason

Their day came together really well with guests from all over the world celebrating with them at their Cheakamus Center wedding.

“The most magical, special, and heart-exploding time of my life because I got to marry my best friend and love of my life in front of 155 of my dearest family and friends. An experience that I will forever cherish, and feel a sense of pride around because, after all of the hard work, planning, visioning, phone calls, emails, coordinating, anxiety felt, and sleepless nights, we created something so spectacular.” -Ilene

To hear Jason and Ilene describe their experience having Tara Lilly Photography capture their big day, check out the bottom of the post!

More Squamish wedding inspiration for Sunwolf and Cheekye Ranch are on the blog!

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“Fantastic from the beginning! From the first moment we talked to them over Skype, we felt a warmth and connection that we didn’t get when interviewing other photographers. Living in two different countries, how much time we got to spend getting to know them before our wedding day was impressive! We enjoyed building a relationship with Tara & Steve when they traveled down to Colorado. Getting beers with them at a local brewery, taking our engagement photos at Red Rocks, and spending the day snowboarding with them was a blast! Sharing a meal with them in Whistler a few days before the wedding also meant so much to us! They were super responsive to emails, questions, concerns, and even helped us find babysitters for our friends for our wedding night! Tara & Steve really go above and beyond to help make sure their clients feel taken care of and appreciated. I don’t know any other photographers that send a Christmas care package! Our photos (both the engagement and wedding day) turned out BEAUTIFULLY!! We love the way they see and capture relationships, experiences, and spaces.”

Special thanks to Megan from Of Earth and Soul Photography for assisting with this Cheakamus Center wedding. As always, thanks to the other vendors that worked with us this day as well!

Videographer | Paul Cameron | @paulcameronproductions
Planner + Florals | Bliss Events | @Blisswhistler
Venue | Cheakamus Center | @cheakamuscentre
Officiant | Neowyn Bartek | @shadygrovevenue
Dress | BHDLN |@bhldn
Suit | Nordstrom | @nordstrom
DJ | Airwaves Music | @airwavesmusic
Hair and Make-up | Kerry Waring | @kerrywaring
First Nations Welcome | Shirley Lewis
Dream Catchers | The Cosmic Work Room

If you enjoyed this wedding, check out this great Tofino wedding we captured for Julie and Morgan!