French Kiss Events
French Kiss Events, Victoria’s luxury boutique wedding planning and design firm, specializing in creating weddings and events that are personalized down to the smallest detail.

Journal

Posts tagged Castle wedding
Real Wedding: Tiff & Levi

Over 10 years ago, 2 teenagers met while on summer vacation at a campground in Canada with their families.   They instantly became friends, and not long after that, started dating.  After over a decade of growing up together,  falling in love, and building an incredible life together, they decided to make it official in beautiful Victoria, BC!  And I'm thanking my lucky stars, as they chose FKE to bring their day to life, and oh man...it was a good one folks! Taking place at the 2 most iconic venues in the city, Hatley Castle and The Empress Hotel, their wedding vision was grand from the start of the planning, and we pulled out all the stops to bring it to life!  

One of my favourite things about this wedding, was the epic seating chart that we pulled together.  I've had this idea for a few years now, and we were just waiting for the perfect wedding to create it at!  As guests arrived to the ceremony, all of their pics were snapped at a portrait station (thanks Four Frames!) near the entrance to the Castle.  Those photos were then printed and turned into polaroids that we displayed at the couples reception, acting as the guests personalized escort cards!  It was a huge hit, and something that everyonewas blown away by.

The reception space was overflowing with luxurious details and we infused the couples impeccable taste all throughout.  The neutral palette of soft creams, greys & blush tones, helped transform the ballroom setting into a modern day take on the traditional space. The menu, custom designed by The Empress's chef, was served tapa style, inspired by all the couples favourite eats! Ranging from sushi to maui rib sliders, the food was a hit!  And as the lights dimmed, guests partied the night away to Side One's 8 piece band (always a favourite of mine), photo booth, Mojito bar and Popcorn station!

It was definitely a wedding to remember, and for sure the party of the summer!  One of the things I love most about weddings though, is no matter how much planning you do and how many incredible details there are, often the best moments of the day are the unplanned ones.  This was definitely the case for Tiff & Levi.  After dinner, the couple sneaked out with Ryan Flynn and Kismet Creative for some sunset shots down in the harbour.  A band busking in the harbour congratulated the couple, and then asked them what their first dance was.  The song was "Georgia" by Vance Joy, and without skipping a beat, the band began playing it for them, and they had their first dance right then and there, in the harbour, just the 2 of them.  Pure magic!  You can see this gorgeous day unfold below, and make sure to check out the incredible video by Kismet at the top! 

**Make sure to scroll to the bottom for the complete list of all the kick ass vendors that helped make this day so incredible!  All photos courtesy of Ryan Flynn Photographer.  Video courtesy of Kismet Creative.

Planning & Design - French Kiss Events
Photography - Ryan Flynn Photography
Videography - Kismet Creative
Ceremony Venue - Hatley Castle
Reception Venue - The Empress
Florals - Verbena Floral Design & Thorn & Thistle
Stationery - Love by Phoebe
Band - Side One
Cake - Passion for Cakes
Linens - Faire la Fete
Hair - Conscious Hair
Makeup - Carly Flint
Photobooth - Four Frames Photo Booth

Real Wedding: Heather & Gaven

If you asked me to sum up Heather & Gaven's wedding in one word, it would hands down, without a doubt, have to be FUN!  This beautiful young couple (& their wedding party) was filled with an abundance of energy, and the celebratory mood of the day was not lost on any one of the guests.  The wedding was overflowing with southern charm (Heather hails from Oklahoma) and a west coast ease (Gaven is from Victoria), and highlighted the couples fun loving nature to a tee.  

After meeting in University down in Oklahoma, and falling head over heels in love, Heather & Gaven first met with me in the summer of 2015.   The combination of Hatley Castle & The Beach House for their wedding venues allowed them to have the best of both worlds, Glamour & West Coast beauty, and I loved working with them on designing their dream day.  Heather L O V E S pink, and pretty soon, we realized we had an un-official "50 shades of pink" theme running through the wedding.  Subtle pink ombre touches, through the bridesmaids bouquets, reception tables, and paper goods, made their appearance, and modern elegant touches kept the design feeling sophisticated.  The beautiful images, captured by the wickedly talented Luke Liable, are oozing with the energy that was present that day, and they still put a huge smile on my face!

**Make sure to scroll to the bottom for the complete list of all the kick ass vendors that helped make this day so incredible!  All photos courtesy of Luke Liable Photography, and video courtesy of Paper Heart Films. 

Planning/Design - French Kiss Events
Photography - Luke Liable Photography
Videography - Paper Heart Films
Ceremony Venue - Hatley Castle
Reception Venue - The Beach House
Floral Design - Verbena Floral Design
Beauty - Erin Bradley
Cake - Passion for Cakes
Ceremony Music - Opus String Trio
DJ - DJ Pro

Crystal & Dan

Here in Victoria, we are pretty lucky to get to call Hatley Castle one of our venues.  Couples come from all over the place to get married at the Castle and live out their fairytale wedding.  Crystal & Dan were one of those couples, and fell majorly, head over heels, in love with the Castle. And lucky for us, they asked FKE to help bring their vision to life!  Overflowing with elegant details, soft florals and high-end furnishings, their classic wedding celebration was filled with style and glamour.  We infused the elegant setting of the Castle into everything, and created an ultra romantic atmosphere through the pastel colour palette of blush and lavender. 

There was SO much pretty at this wedding, I don't even know where to start!!!  One of my ultimate favourite details though, has to have been the carnation curtain, styled as the backdrop to their cake.  Fading from purple to blush, the ombre curtain was utter perfection!  The couples signature drink, "The Rocha", featuring fresh blackberry's that turned the cocktail purple (obviously!) was also perfectly on pointe. And the gorgeous pieces of furniture, from Bash Specialty, helped create castle worthy lounge vignettes for the guests during cocktail reception and dinner, and provided the sweetest couples love seat I ever did see! My favourite thing about this wedding though, would have to be how lovely Crystal & Dan were throughout the entire day.  Their love for each other overflowed to all their family, friends and vendors, and that is what truly makes a wedding incredible.

**Make sure to scroll to the bottom for the complete list of all the kick ass vendors that helped make this day so incredible!  All photos courtesy of Christie Graham Photography.

Planning/Design - French Kiss Events
Photography - Christie Graham Photography
Venue - Hatley Castle
Catering - Truffles Catering
Florals - FLEURtacious
Specialty Furniture - Bash Specialty
Hair & Makeup - Beauty & Style by Erin Bradley
Invitations - Wedding Paper Divas
Cake - Schur to Please