PHOTOGRAPHY BY SHARI + MIKE PHOTOGRAPHERS
Simple touches play up the natural setting of Allie McFadden-Berean & Dave Cinats' outdoor Pemberton wedding
What started as a fast friendship for Allie and Dave became a whirlwind romance, with a surprise proposal only a year after the Calgary med-school students began dating.
“We were visiting Emerald Lake Lodge in Field, B.C., when Dave asked to take my picture,” Allie recalls. “He went to get his camera from his bag and pulled out a ring instead. I’m not even sure I managed to say ‘yes’ before he put it on my finger!”
Originally from Vancouver, Allie found her ideal venue in Pemberton’s North Arm Farm.
“I grew up riding horses and spent a lot of time in barns and stables,” she says. “Dave and I both wanted to be married outdoors where we could really showcase the beauty of nature.”
The couple teamed up with Vancouver planner Erin Bishop of Filosophi Events, flying in for meetings, food tastings and to tie up last-minute loose ends before their big day.
“Erin was wonderful and really worked local rental companies to keep the cost of getting things like chairs [from Event Works Rental] and tables [from The Rental Network] to the venue down,” Allie says. “Our vision of keeping the décor minimal helped too, and ended up being a choice we were really happy with. While it was fun to pin lots of beautiful images in the months leading up to the wedding, we were happy we kept it simple and kept the focus on what mattered: friends, family and us.”
Allie’s ivory-toned Reem Acra gown suited her fair complexion perfectly and featured a sophisticated sheer addition to the bodice by Vancouver designer Manuel Mendoza.
Dave’s midnight-blue tuxedo was a made-to-measure J.P. Tilford by Samuelsohn from Harry Rosen. The wedding party included bow-tied groomsmen and bridesmaids outfitted in a mix of body-flattering dresses that matched in colour.
Mount Currie stood witness during the ceremony. A wooden pergola built by Dave, his best friend, his father and his father-in-law was draped with billowy fabric and flowers.
The reception was held in a clear tent from Phoenix Tents. Delovely Creative designed the day-of stationery: escort cards trimmed with boxwood leaves and, rather than flimsy place cards that could scatter in a breeze, sturdy menus printed with each guest’s name at the top.
A raspberry-vanilla cake by Vancouver’s Cake by Nicole featured a rustic semi-naked look of scraped rose buttercream icing. Los Angeles-based Concarta created the paper cake topper—an exact replica of the bride and groom, from outfits to hairstyles.
Savoury Chef catered a family-style meal, served on elegant scalloped dinnerware amid rose-studded natural greenery runners by Delovely Creative.
Allie and Dave’s first dance, to Neil Young’s “Harvest Moon,” was performed by versatile live wedding band Side One.
After the wedding, the couple donated their homemade pergola to North Arm Farm, where it has since been used for many ceremonies.
Though her initial budget did not include a videographer, Allie changed her mind after hearing former brides say their biggest regret was not having a filmed keepsake of their big day. The couple hired Vancouver’s Hello Tomorrow Videography and says of their work, “I could watch our highlights reel again and again. It’s the next-best thing to time travel.”
