Anna & Elias

Like so many, our local whistler wedding industry was brought to a hard stop on March 15th 2020, due to the pandemic of Covid-19.

By the Summer time when we usually run at full steam, we felt a little…well honestly, lost.  We were busy but nowhere near as much as a “regular” summer.  Mainly we felt helpless in this unknown. What could we possibly do to help/ to contribute? We decided to give away one of our all-inclusive elopement packages to a couple that had had their wedding affected by Covid, and were essential workers/First Responders.

Our team felt that this small gesture could be our way of saying thank you to a deserving couple that not only have had their dream wedding put on hold but were in the heat of the Covid pandemic helping us as essential workers.

We didn’t feel right about holding a contest or anything of the sort, how could there possibly be a “winner” in such a surreal time for all of us. We wanted to magically find this couple and quietly just surprise them. But how could we find them?

Almost as if it were written in the stars, the next day we received Anna & Elias’ enquiry. Like many couples who had planned weddings in 2020, Anna & Elias, also fell victim to the woes of the Covid-19 Pandemic, and were forced to cancel their original wedding plans.

However, not getting married in 2020, was not an option for them because as we know, LOVE IS NOT CANCELLED.

Anna and Elias contacted us at The Whistler Elopement Company, interested in our Mountaintop Elopement service for their Whistler wedding. In their enquiry they informed us that they were both essential workers and First Responders, working on the frontlines as police officers with the RCMP (Royal Canadian Mounted Police).

Rachael, owner of The Whistler Elopement Company quickly collaborated with the company preferred vendors team members, enlisting the collaboration and kind involvement of many very talented local vendors, and then booked a phone call with Anna and Elias to “finalize the details of their elopement package”.

 Starting the conversation with a run-through of their wishes and desires to include in their elopement, as the conversation was winding down, Rachael took a deep breath and then informed the couple that The Whistler Elopement Company would like to offer them their dream The Mountain elopement  as a gift and thank you for their services…Hearing a gasp followed by “oh my god” on the other end of the phone, was the best feeling we could of hoped for. Rachael, tearing up herself, continued excitedly by sharing the names and services of all the local whistler vendors that had come together in this collaboration and what their services would include.

The day of their September 4th 2020 wedding dawned beautiful and clear, and the excitement began with getting ready photos at Nita Lake Lodge. This was followed by the First Look, which caused quite a stir with hotel guests; after all it’s not every day you see a handsome man in uniform, especially in Red Serge, walking along the dock on the edge of the lake! Anna enjoyed a laugh, along with us, as, usually it’s the Bride that gets all the attention – but as you can see, she was equally as stunning as her Groom!

Our entourage of vendors and our lovely couple then loaded onto the Whistler Village Gondola and headed up to the top of Whistler Mountain, where, beneath the jaw dropping backdrop of the glacier-covered Coastal Mountains, Anna and Elias sealed their vows in a very personal custom ceremony, presided over by Whistler Wedding Celebrant, Linda McGaw.

Once the paperwork was signed, our always effervescent and enthusiastic French-Canadian dynamic duo, Photographer, Pascale Gadbois and Videographer, Valerie St. Arnaud worked their magic capturing amazing images and memories for our newlyweds. 

As the skies above the mountains began to present  a dramatic threat of changing weather , we finished up and started back down to the Valley.

Greeting Anna and Elias, at the bottom of the gondola, were their parents ,offering them the Traditional Ukrainian Korovai, or Wedding Bread, as a blessing for the new marriage.

We returned to Nita Lake Lodge, where our couple and their immediate family enjoyed a delightful cocktail hour on the patio, where they could relax and enjoy the mountain and lakeside views exclusive to this venue.

This very special celebration concluded with an exquisite dining experience in the gorgeous Private Dining Room of Nita Lake’s fine-dining Aura Restaurant.

Enjoy this beautiful video by Calling Mountains

Congratulations Anna and Elias, we were honoured to have been a part of your special day and to have been able to gift this experience to you. 

A very special thank you, also, from the bottom of our hearts, to all those wonderful contributors who generously gifted their valuable skills and services, and enabled us to provide these two beautiful souls with this wedding gift.

With love,

Rachael & TWEC team

Credits:

Planning & Design: Rachael Lythe, The Whistler Elopement Company

Photographer: Pascale Gadbois – Gadbois Photography

Videography: Valerie St. Arnaud – Calling Mountain Productions

Officiant: Linda McGaw – Whistler Wedding Celebrant

Hair and Makeup: Kerry Waring – Kerry Waring Makeup + Hair

Floral Design: Senka Florist – Senka Florist Whistler

Ceremony Venue: Vail Resorts – Whistler Mountain, Whistler Blackcomb 

Dinner Venue: Aura Restaurant- Nita Lake Lodge

Accommodation: Two Night Stay- Nita Lake Lodge

Wedding Cake: Chrissy Hruszycky, Head Pastry Chef, Nita Lake Lodge

P.S A little Behind The Scenes of the team in action…