Squamish Wedding Photographer | Tara Lilly Photography | Shannon Falls Wedding

Mel and Pete had planned a mountain-top ceremony at the Sea-to-Sky gondola for their February wedding. Mother Nature and the arctic made other plans and brought an intense, icy wind storm to Squamish and closed the gondola. Without a second thought, we chatted about alternate locations and moved the ceremony just down the road to host a Shannon Falls wedding.

Having met in Squamish while camping with friends five years ago, Mel and Pete chose Squamish for their wedding ceremony because according to Mel “it was where we first met and well and its such a beautiful location where the mountains meet the water.” Having a Shannon Falls wedding was an amazing Plan B to their original Sea-to-Sky Gondola wedding plans.

Choosing to have a winter wedding was an easy decision for Mel and Pete. Mel has previously lived in Iceland and Norway through winter, so it is no surprise that she finds February in Squamish to be “cozy.”

“We both love nature and the snowy outdoors so it was only natural for us to get married in the winter back in the place we first met, Squamish. Due to weather and gondola complications, we got married at Shannon Falls. (Original plan was Sea to Sky Gondola). The weather was extra cold and the waterfall was frozen making for a stunning backdrop. Guests bundled up and stood close together making for an intimate ceremony.

Noemie, our niece and flowergirl stole the show looking like a bundled up polarbear and Maggi our dog let out a few excited yips during the ceremony because she wanted to be at the altar with us! We thought the day couldn’t get any better and then we drove back to Vancouver and had the best reception at Heritage Hall with all of our family and friends. Our reception was full of all of our favourites: tacofino taco bar, wedding pinata, candy bar and a late night mcdonalds buffet!” -Mel

Mel and Pete chose to have a DIY wedding, which came with its own set of challenges.

“Don’t be afraid to ask family and friends for help…and spreadsheets, to stay organized and sane. Also stress is normal. I thought I was managing the stress great,  and was a cool cucumber until two days before the wedding my body broke out in rashes. Can’t fool your body!
Having a DIY wedding is complicated. You save money but its a lot of work and our apartment was full of wedding purchases from craigslist and facebook marketplace.

We were so lucky to have family and friends help us and make our day possible. My sister flew to Vancouver a week early to help me with all the last minute tasks. Pete’s mom and sister made all the salads, our friend Birdie made the wedding cake and deserts, our friend Justin DJ’d with Andrew’s stereo equipment, Andy and Caitriona set up photo booth and Holly made the beautiful wedding pinata. It took a village to make our wedding happen.”  -Mel

It may have been a DIY wedding but it turned out incredible. Check out their full story and their favourite images at the bottom of the blog! As always, thank you to the other great vendors who made the day possible!

What is your favourite photo from your wedding? Why?