We had to do something, and we needed help.
Partnering with three incredible event specialists, we provided three couples with a truly special and unique wedding experience:
Jacqueline Rae
Jacqueline, and her team, are such a pleasure to work with. Jaqueline really took care to curate all three weddings to suit each individual couple. Her creativity and attention to detail transformed our unique greenhouse setting into a dream wedding venue.
https://www.jacquelinerae.ca/
IG: @jraeweddings | Facebook: Jacqueline Rae Weddings Events Interior
Gingersnap Photography
Jenny has been a friend of Golden Acre for a while. She is a complete delight to work with and her natural and intimate style was perfect for this project. Jenny has a keen eye for detail and captured each wedding in a truly memorable way.
https://gingersnapphotography.ca/
IG: @_gingershapphotography | @prettysexyintimate
Facebook: Gingersnap Photography
Roma Catering
This family-run catering company brought professionalism and delicious authentic Italian cuisine to each wedding. With generations of experience, they were so easy to work with!
www.romacatering.ca
IG: @romacateringyyc | Facebook: Roma Catering
With the local dream team assembled, we unveiled our wedding giveaway to Calgary’s brides. Each winning couple received services from our partners, a greenhouse venue, a $250 Golden Acre Home & Garden gift card, and a free landscaping consultation. We asked Calgary’s brides to share their pandemic stories with us. We received an overwhelming number of responses. It really cemented how important this giveaway was and this large response made the decision process more difficult. The team together and decided on three lovely and unique couples.
Jessica and Mitch warmed our hearts right away.
This sweet couple got engaged during a romantic getaway in Radium back in 2019 and had planned a small wedding the following spring on Chesterman Beach in Tofino, British Columbia. This beautiful piece of nature is significant for Jessica in particular. Her father worked at a mill for almost 40 years. He would come home smelling of cedar, and that calming scent would follow Jessica into adulthood. In 2016, her father passed away from pancreatic cancer. It was devastating to know he wouldn’t be there to walk her down the aisle one day or to know his future grandchildren. It was on Chesterman Beach, surrounded by the sea air and the familiar scent of cedar trees, where Jessica felt calm in her body and heart.
Pandemic restrictions made a destination wedding impossible for the couple, and cedar trees don’t necessarily grow wild in the Alberta prairie climate. However, in their submission Jessica wrote, “Life and marriage are about: getting creative, being resourceful, rolling with the waves, and being able to adapt to challenges together”. This optimistic spirit resonated with us, and we knew we could make her cedar-inspired wedding a reality.
We were so excited to tell Jessica and Mitch! Hear how that call went: Winning Phone Call
Kristen and Matt both sent in submissions for our June Brides giveaway. Getting married truly meant so much to this vibrant and fun couple. These two met in 2017 and have since been on many adventures around the globe together. They adopted a rescue doggo, Jupiter (pictured below). They were so excited to start this next chapter of their lives after getting engaged in beautiful Kananaskis at the end of 2019. The following summer they had planned a local wedding at the historic Simmons Building in East Village where they would be surrounded by loved ones and yummy food from Charbar. However, once the pandemic restrictions set in, Kristen and Matt had to pivot. During this time, Kristen was also recovering from a workplace injury. You can imagine how stressful that was for both Kristen and Matt. This couple needed a silver lining. So, we made a phone call. After a beautiful, ceremony, you may have also caught this glowing couple on CTV!
One year later, this happily married couple is expecting their first baby! Congratulations!
Silvia and Crom met on Tinder four years ago in Edmonton, Alberta. They were falling in love right from the first date and ended up moving in with each other a year later. Silvia is Italian and the couple was set to marry in Rome with their families present. The stress of planning a wedding abroad was enough, can you imagine throwing a pandemic into the mix? Crom had never been to Italy and had never met Silvia’s family in person. The overseas wedding would have been a special way for everyone to meet, especially Silvia’s father who struggles with cardiovascular health challenges and cannot fly. Tickets to Rome were booked for the couple and Crom’s large family. Friends from Canada, France, Germany, Kuwait, and more were also set to fly. They never expected to cancel their dream wedding due to a global health crisis. In March 2020, the couple announced their postponement. As you can imagine, this was devastating for everyone. Silvia and Crom hope to have their Italian wedding once the world opens back up, but overall they just wanted to get married.
We have so much love for each of these newlyweds and wish them a happy one-year anniversary and everlasting happiness. Words cannot express our extreme gratitude to Jaqueline Rae, Jennifer Hayles, and the team at Roma Catering. Your passion and hard work made this a truly memorable experience. To everyone at Golden Acre who had a role in this event, your efforts are greatly appreciated. We couldn’t have pulled this off without the ultimate dream team. Brandi