Wedding | Cathy & Lucas

Tell us a little about yourselves!

Lucas grew up on the countryside of Brazil, and Cathy is from China. We met in Toronto at work. Over time, we became friends, then business partners. We weren’t always sure if romance was in the cards for us, but our relationship eventually evolved in that direction. During the pandemic, we moved to Calgary for the outdoors and are now settled here with our two cats. Lucas proposed in February, and we decided to get married in October since we didn’t want to dawdle too long in the engaged category. It was a busy year of juggling our already planned travel, work, moving, wedding planning, and our sanity. But despite the stress, (most) of the pieces ended up falling in place and everything came together beautifully.

Why did you decide to get married where you did?

We both dreamed of having our wedding next to a lake, in a laid-back location that could also host our closest friends and family overnight. Having spent many days in the mountains hiking and skiing/ snowboarding, we also wanted to introduce our friends and family to the incredible landscapes that we fell in love with. We found The Lodge at Bow Lake spontaneously in a Reddit post and had a gut feeling that it was right without even seeing it in person. Sitting on the shore of a glacial lake surrounded by mountains, the lodge was a historic structure that was recently renovated and only hosted one wedding before us. The nearby Bow Glacier forming the glacial Bow Lake is the source of the Bow River, which flows through Banff, Canmore, and carves the city of Calgary with a clear blue elbow. We were also keen on having our wedding in a national park - a protected and enduring place that we can revisit and reminisce in for years to come.

A few months after putting down the deposit, we finally had the chance to visit The Lodge in the summer and were pleasantly surprised to discover that it exceeded all expectations of what pictures could portray.

How many guests did you have?

29 of our closest friends and family joined us for our day in the mountains.

What was your budget?

Originally, we wanted to go “cheap and cheerful” but realized that it was a bit unrealistic once we started planning. The most affordable options with our parameters (like renting a VRBO) would still have come out to be almost the same cost after all the rentals, catering, and logistics. Plus, we both wanted to spoil our guests a little. We ended up splurging on the venue, the photography, the videography, and the wardrobe while saving on rings, flowers and décor by doing second-hand shopping and DIYs.

Tell us about your outfits.

I (Cathy) wanted to incorporate different historic elements of bridal dressing into my outfit without too much regard for whether those pieces logically went together from a timeline perspective. I intended to source vintage pieces, but custom-made was a better fit for our timeline.

The custom Juliet cap veil of my dreams was made by Blair Nadeau, a Toronto veil designer I found on Etsy. She worked with me to make a bewitching cathedral-length veil adorned with romantic hand-made silk flowers and dangling lace.

For the dress, I wanted something simpler with a structured, angular, and corseted bodice and a soft, ethereal skirt. Mia at Mia Ateliers helped to bring my vision to life with a silk duchess satin corset and mini skirt, and a long skirt constructed from crinkle silk chiffon overlaying white lace. The outfit was designed with modular pieces and accessories to switch out items for different looks. I wore the veil with detached lace sleeves for the ceremony, then switched the veil and sleeves for a long crinkle silk chiffon scarf draped over one shoulder for the reception. After dinner, I switched the long skirt to a voluminous ballerina-esque mini skirt paired with lace bloomers for dancing.

Shop Kosmima, a small Italian jewellery designer provided the vintage-inspired pearl earrings and layered pearl necklace. The engagement ring features an old European cut diamond in a buttercup setting, and the wedding ring is formed with the shape of a snake, a subtle reference to Queen Victoria’s engagement ring. Both rings were sourced pre-loved from 100 ways.

Lucas’s navy wool suit was custom made by Vanda Tailors in Hoi An while we were in Vietnam. He wore a yellow bowtie to match the chamomile flowers in my bouquet and paired dark brown leather shoes and light brown suspenders with his outfit.

What was the most important aspect for you, in terms of planning your wedding?

The focus for us was always on spending time with our friends and family, many of whom we don’t get to see all that often. We wanted a relaxed vibe and time to have fun and chat with everyone. Most of our guests flew in from Brazil, Toronto, and the US, so we wanted to make sure they had a nice time. The 24-hour format (although we’d have loved an even longer multi-day celebration) of the wedding allowed us to talk with people before the ceremony and socialize during breakfast the next day. Since we had the wedding in a national park, some of our guests also stayed a few extra days to explore the area, and we managed to do some impromptu walks/ hikes with a few as well.

Were there any elements that were important for you to incorporate?

We wanted to make sure that our wedding had personal touches that reflected who we are as people. That includes the location of the wedding in the mountains, country and Brazilian music, cachaça (a Brazilian spirit fermented from sugarcane juice) on the drink menu, and Cathy’s red getting-ready dress, rather than a white one, as a nod to her Chinese roots.

Any tips for couples getting married?

We couldn’t appreciate the stress of wedding planning until we embarked on it ourselves. Don’t underestimate the complexity of planning an event, especially if you’re doing it without a wedding planner. At the same time, don’t lose sight of the big picture. And - a kind friend gave me a lot of reminders for this - remember to eat and drink water on the wedding day!

Are there any vendors that you would like to tell us a little more about?

The Lodge at Bow Lake was an exceptional host for our wedding. They went above and beyond to make our day special – making accommodations for our requests, answering long emails, lending a hand in the set-up and tear-down, and asking very good questions that we wouldn’t have otherwise considered. The food was remarkably refined and yet comforting at the same time, the accommodations modern without losing its history and rustic charm, the hospitality flawlessly personal. We couldn’t have imagined a better place to bookmark this day in our chapters.

Our photographer Jo Photo is a talent and a delight. We’ll be forever grateful for her eye, her patience, and her joyful but calm disposition that helped to anchor us on the nerve-wracking wedding day. She managed to capture our moments with an authenticity and artistry that we’ll savour and relive for many years. We’ll always be fans, wherever she goes!