West Coast elegance meets vintage kitsch at this Canadian camp wedding

Offbeat partner: Amy

Offbeat partner: Joel

Date and location of wedding: Parents' farmhouse ceremony and reception at the Scout Camp, June 16, 2018

Budget: $18,000

Our offbeat wedding at a glance:
We both skateboard and the groom is a tattoo artist, while I'm a writer. We met at a celebration of life for a friend who was also a skateboarder and we honoured him in our speech and put his memorial board up on the wall.

The reception was at the Scout Camp so everyone was camping close by, but we were still hidden in the trees for dinner and dancing. A lot of touches were DIY and collected from favorite beaches.

Tell us about the ceremony:
We walked down the aisle to Led Zeppelin's “Thank you” and capped off our hand-written vows, both making jokes about which way the the toilet paper roll should go, with a shot of Jameson. I made boutonnières featuring a beautiful piece of BC bud and some wheat to represent the groom's mom's maiden name.

I did first look photos with my parents rather than with Joel, just to get to see them so moved in private, and to have few minutes together before the ceremony, knowing it was going to be a tough day for dad to let his little girl go.

We then rode off in a '33 Ford Coupe to the reception. Despite it blowing my updo all over the place, we got to spend this time alone, laughing and kissing.

Tell us about the reception:
With a '90s hip-hop soundtrack, set among the cedar trees of the local Scout Camp, we dined from a Burger Bar and had an assortment of pies for dessert, some that were laid out upon my skateboard. Lights were strung through the treetops and a vintage lounge area provided a 420-friendly zone. The tables names were painted on collected driftwood, and named after our favorite towns and gulf islands of the Canadian West Coast.

I planted herbs in collected tomato cans as centrepieces, and the guests' names were painted on rocks, also collected from the local beaches and laid upon ferns as place settings. We had a temporary tattoo booth setup featuring custom designs made by the Tattoo Artist groom. We had a Vintage Trillium Camper set up as a photo booth, which doubled as our accommodations for the camp-themed weekend.

Our first dance was to “Lovely Day” by Bill Withers and we took a few lessons and then had every one join in part way through. It was the happiest sight for me because of all the love and fun packed into that moment.

What was the most important lesson you learned from your wedding?
The best advice I can pass on is to connect with your vendors. We give them a lot of money, and in turn they give a lot of their time. Chosen vendors should be people who get you, get your vision and are approachable and easy to work with. From the very first inquiry, have it be someone who has put energy in to their craft and skills, someone whose first response inspires you to know them better. The relationships you build become your dream day.

Also… get off Pinterest. Once you've made some creative decisions, what you're looking for hasn't happened yet, because each wedding is uniquely you. It can be an overwhelming rabbit hole.