A Night at the Maritime Museum

October 26th, 2011 by Jeannine

It was in one of the many lecture halls in UBC where sparks began to fly for James and Krista. 5 years ago, James “weasled his way” into the same tutorial Krista was in for their Psych class, in order to spend some extra time with her. Little did he know he’d eventually be spending the rest of his life with her!

Last year, while Krista was trekking the Inca Trail in Machu Pichu, James decided it was time to get a ring. They had planned a New York trip later that year so he took advantage of that opportunity. On Canada Day, James got down on one knee at the Boat House restaurant patio in Central Park and asked Krista to marry him. She said yes, and James even got the moment caught on camera, thanks to a stranger who took the photo for him while he proposed nearby. Lucky for him, she said yes, and the stranger didn’t take off with his camera!

James and Krista were married just this past summer on July 2nd, in front of 120 of their loved ones. It was a perfect day to have the wedding outdoors on the patio of the Vancouver Maritime Museum, the weather held up for their ceremony and during their reception, which was also held outdoors.

They planned their $20,000 wedding by themselves but greatly relied on the expertise of their caterer and decorator. Chinese lanterns in blue, fuchsia, white and lime green brought life to the venue.  Krista was feeling creative and made their seating charts, wedding sign and cardbox.

Guests were entertained throughout the whole event. A caricaturist drew pictures of each guest, which they took home as wedding favors.

The bride was a bartender at one time so she created 5 unique wedding drinks with clever names like Blushing Bride, the Groom’s Drink, Wedding Party, Honeymoon and Something Blue.

The museum was open for guests to look around in or if they wanted to go for a walk, the beach was just steps away. For the party animals, they had the chance to hit the dance floor. James and Krista had some games throughout the night including a shoe game and a kissing game which involved some guest participation as well! Guests had to kiss a certain way and James and Krista would copy it. It was a hit!

A Few Words With James and Krista…

During the planning stages, how did you imagine your wedding? Did the final result live up to expectations?
“We just wanted our wedding to be casual and elegant. We wanted it to be fun for the guests. We pretty much wanted it to be a depiction of who we were as a couple. I have to say that the result was everything we hoped it to be. Except that it started to rain around 8:30pm but luckily we had already planned for everybody to be indoors at that point.”

What personal or unique touches did you have for your wedding?
“We had the best man make the wedding cake (first one he has ever made). Note that he is not a baker yet a PHD student who rides a motorcycle. We also had a caricature artist come and provide drawings as wedding favors. I would say that the venue choice was quite unique as well.”

Which wedding traditions did you stick with or leave out and why?
“We did the first dance but did not take part in the father daughter mother son dance as we did not want to extend the time we were on the dance floor (we are not good dancers). The bride stayed at a hotel the night before so we did not see each other the morning of or the day of for that matter until the ceremony. This enabled us to feel a bit of surprise and novelty since we have lived together for 2 years. We did the speeches, cake cutting but did not do the bouquet or garter toss. We just found that tacky but that is just our opinion.”

What did your guests think about your wedding?
“They rated it in the top weddings they have ever attended. Rated highly in fun and elegance. Food was great and there was an open bar.”

What aspect of the wedding did you splurge on and which did you save on?
“We splurged on the photographer, caricature, open bar with 5 varieties of beer, varieties of gin, vodka, rum and whisky and wine/champagne. The food was also a splurge as we chose the platinum package. We saved on the attire. The dress was a deal and the groom’s suits were purchased during boxing week. We went cheap with the videographer. We saved on the invitations, website, and cake. We found these to be second tier next to food, drinks and entertainment.”

What was your initial budget? Did you go over or under? If under, how did you manage to keep it below budget?
“$20k. We negotiated heavily with select vendors and reviewed invoices over and over again. Nothing was a quick decision and no cheques were written on a whim.”

After planning a wedding, what one advice would you give to future brides?
“Make sure you plan ahead of time and do not leave any major bookings that fall within 1 month of the wedding day. You lose the ability to negotiate if you cannot walk away and shop around. Always remember to have fun.”

James & Krista’s Vendors:

Ceremony venue: Vancouver Maritime Museum
Reception venue: Vancouver Maritime Museum
Dress: Amara Wedding (custom order)
Suit: Mexx
Photographer: Spark Photography
Flowers: Niche Event Stylists
Hair and Make-up: Independent
Invitations: Michaels invitation kit
Cake: Made by the Best Man
Decorations: Niche Event Stylists
Wedding Favors: Caricaturist
Wedding planner/coordinator: Groom

All photos courtesy Spark Photography