Local, Seasonal, & Lovely

Post Written by: Radhika Graham, Founder/Creative Director Rad Occasions, www.radoccasions.ca

What does a kinder wedding look like to you? That is the question that Chelsea and Bryan posed when they first began creating the framework for the first Kinder Weddings Conference in Victoria, BC. As their ideas developed for the conference, they had another thought – why not bring together like-minded vendors for a styled shoot which could then be repurposed as the backdrop for conference attendees?

The plan was set into motion when Radhika from Rad Occasions, a newly certified BC Green Business member, was brought onto the team to design and plan the photo shoot with three main objectives: keeping it sustainable, making everyday vegetables upscale, and rethinking what a wedding celebration could look like.

Timeline of Events & Budget

How a couple celebrates their wedding is ultimately going to affect what is required at their event venue. In this situation our real-life couple, Jeff and Elliott, took part in a hypothetical day where their ceremony took place in the late afternoon, with a break in between for the couple to enjoy an intimate dinner while their guests make their own plans, and then an invitation back to the same venue for desserts, drinks & dancing. With this we intentionally planned for elements such as the lounge and ceremony drop to stay in place with just tables and chairs being moved to accommodate an atmosphere that catered to everyone and whatever mobility they had. We also considered that each guest would at some point want to visit with the couple so we arranged for two empty chairs to be available at the sweetheart table at all times.

As for the budget yes, we dreamed big but not too big as we wanted to be realistic of what a wedding like this would cost in a city similar to Victoria, BC. With this, we have also created a spreadsheet that shows the cost in Canadian dollars. This was especially important to us there are so many “average” budgets but none that take into account all of the logistics and locations which can create sticker shock when couples start to plan their wedding.

Overall Design & Location

Keeping the priorities in mind for the day, Radhika set out to create a functional design that would not only complement the Urban Ballroom at The Parkside, a carbon neutral hotel just on the outskirts of Victoria’s downtown core, but also provide a blue print for what a non-traditional wedding could look like. With the polished concrete floors and floor-to-ceiling windows a jewel toned colour palette of deep greens, purples, and burgundies with a pop of gold/yellow and an anchoring shade of black was established for the day. These colours also went hand in hand with the vegetables and flowers that were available in February on Vancouver Island – something very important to keep in mind when considering the carbon footprint and supporting our local communities.

It was also important to showcase sustainability in a way that mainstream media doesn’t often show – typically we will see small elopements, forest ceremonies, barefoot field celebrations, etc. so we wanted to reframe and recentre how couples can create the day of the dreams while keeping their impact on the environment in mind.

Another key aspect was working with and trusting the process with each vendor. Every vendor brought with them not only their expertise within their perspective fields but an understanding of what an environmentally friendly wedding looks like and how their services can fit within this. It was magical to see so many vendors being able to create magic when given flexible guidelines.

Hair and Makeup

Our grooms and their mothers were pampered by Erin Bradley, master hair and makeup artist before our styled shoot began. On Jeff and Elliott, she used local & sustainable brand, Elate Cosmetics to even out skin tones using their Refresh Foundation and Glow Unify powder as well as their clear Better Balm to erase any dry lips. To smooth out any curls she applied John Masters organics pomade. For their mothers, Erin freshened up their existing makeup with Elate’s Blush Balm and Good Gloss.

Clothing & Accessories

After a trip to Jeff and Elliott’s closet we found the perfect all black, pinstriped three-piece suit for Elliott. There were a few items that fit Jeff well but they weren’t quite what we had in mind for the photo shoot so we enlisted the help of House of Savoy where we came across a luscious black velvet blazer that we paired with dark burgundy shirt and plum pants from Jeff’s closet. Our grooms were also gifted beautiful bow ties with feather details from a close friend that was the perfect accessory for both of their outfits.

Florals/Vegetables

To highlight a sustainable, local first approach to design work, our florist first considered she could source in her immediate environment that matched the colours of the mood board. She found small leaved eucalyptus still growing in their unheated hoop house, birdhouse grounds saved from a few seasons ago, and dried celosia. After this she reached out the Comox Valley & South Island Growers network. She was able to source dried grasses from a friend, radicchio & poppy pods from Shorewolf Farm, dried gomphrena, amaranth and more poppy pods from Rockrose Farm and vibrant citrus grown on Salt Spring Island. Since radicchio was the star of the show more was sourced from Square Root Farm. All the flowers were sourced locally from United Floral. The final floral design included roses, alstroemeria, hyacinths, and tulips. During this time of year, the flowers in BC are grown in warmed greenhouses but luckily, we were able to forgo any plastic packaging as it was growing season the flowers were placed in buckets with a rubber band with no plastic wrap.

All of the vessels used for the floral installations were from our florist’s inventory and mechanics such as chicken wire and tape were used to make the design foam free but still interesting.

Officiant & Entertainment

Jill Cooper has many talents, one of which is singing and playing live guitar! The lyrics of “I’m with You” by Vance Joy and “You Make my Dreams Come True” were the perfect addition to the heartfelt ceremony led by Andria, our fabulous officiant. Our couple shared vows in front of their mothers who were luckily able to join us for the styled shoot portion of the day.

When we transitioned into the festivities for the evening, Jill turned on her remote operated up lights in a deep purple to compliment the décor and wowed guests with her mixing skills with mash-ups like “Say My Name” by Destiny’s Child x “Pony” by Ginuwine.

Rentals and Day of Signage

The design was created using the inventory that was available on Vancouver Island, not only in the interest of sustainability but also to keep in mind that a real-life couple would want to keep their delivery costs to a minimum. Party Mood (Duncan, BC) provided the majority of the rentals and Designer Weddings had the beautiful green velvet backdrop that would tie everything together for our ceremony. As an added bonus we were also able to include Crowfoot Collective’s asparagus candles that were modelled off of the actual asparagus grown at Lockwood Farms!

To add a little more flair to the day we had a live calligrapher who created menus for the couple on paper made of potato starch and gold leaf – all edible and easily compostable too. Another unique touch were the shallot place cards – something that can be easily sourced and written on with the skin acting as a barrier between the edible part of the shallot. We also commissioned her to create mirrored signage for special items like the dessert menu and signature cocktail.

The same calligrapher was also on site to create name tags with scraps of paper she had left over from another project. This was for the purposes of the conference but could also be applied to a wedding where perhaps not everyone knows each other. She meticulously wrote everyone’s names in under an hour – a special and unique touch that guests will not forget for a long time to come.

Cake

Adina from Love’s Galettes on nearby Salt Spring Island created an organic and locally sourced cake of our dreams and incorporated it into the tablescape seamlessly. The tall tiered cake had a radicchio waterfall that included Crowfoot Collective’s berry candles, Salt Spring grown kiwis, and even some citrus she had sourced from a friend’s backyard. The almond olive oil chiffon cake was the base and paired with it was a Meyer lemon curd, spiced plum compote, almond mascarpone cream and salted white chocolate buttercream.

Food and Beverage

Working with local and sustainable caterer, Truffles Catering, we created a vegetarian cocktail style menu. Guests were treated to mezze wreaths with house made falafel, a variety of dips, and grilled vegetables as well as desserts like chocolate truffles, pecan tarts, and macarons. All items were made in house and with as many local ingredients as possible. For the bar service we focused on local libations, such as the signature cocktail made with local Empress 1908 gin, craft beers, and soft drinks.

Photography/Videography/Photo Booth

Our photographer, Jen Mcleod, captured every moment beautiful on her digital cameras. We opted out of any film photography to be as sustainable as possible but that didn’t mean we didn’t have every bit of fun in the digital photobooth provided by Four Frames Photography. This was an excellent alternative to a polaroid guestbook since the photos are sent by text/email to the guest and the best part is that it doubles as a favour!

Event Budget: for 60 guests

Although this was a styled shoot, we asked vendors to estimate their costs to provide a realistic budget for what this event would cost.
Here’s the breakdown:

Venue, Food, and Beverage
Venue (ceremony and reception) - $2000
Food & Beverage (including service, glassware, plates, etc) - $3000
Cake/Dessert (including cutting fee) - $500

Ceremony
Marriage License - $100
Officiant - $400

Planning/Coordination
Wedding Planner (design, planning, coordination) - $10,000

Photo/Video
Photographer (8 hours) - $6000
Videographer (8 hours) - $5000

Decor
Flowers (personal and decor florals) - $4000
Rentals (tables, chairs, linens, dance floor, etc) - $1200
Rentals (backdrop, vases) - $700

Stationery/Paper Goods
Invitations (digital) - $0
Day of (live calligraphy, signage, menus, place cards) - $375

Attire
Wedding Attire - $100
Hair & Makeup - $200

Entertainment
DJ + Live Music - $3000
Digital photo booth - $1150

Miscellaneous
Event Insurance - $150

Total Event Budget: $37,875