WEDDING IDEAS

Natasha & Brian in Golden, British Columbia

Natasha and Brian had originally wanted to elope, but the mother of the bride would agree only if she could come along. So instead, the Manitoba couple decided to go across Canada to Golden, British Columbia -- a rustic old logging town. As soon as Natasha and Brian saw the restaurant where they later wed, they knew it was the perfect spot.

Natasha wore a strapless Maggie Sottero gown with a corset-style back. The gown was made of all-over beaded lace, layered over pale-gold satin. “I loved the simple lines of the dress,” Natasha says.

Natasha wore jeweled metallic T-strap heels from Town Shoes. She also accessorized with a vintage silver bracelet that one of Brian’s aunts gave her as a special gift on the day of the wedding.

Natasha admits that she didn’t always know exactly what she was doing while planning. In fact, she waited until just five months before the wedding to start dress shopping. “I think the flip side is that being flexible can sometimes pay off,” she says. “My advice to other brides is to not freak out if you’re not on the perfect timeline. Just start from where you are. Be creative and decisive, and it will all come together for you.” She wound up finding fabulous bridesmaid dresses off the rack.

“I chose flowers more based on color than the actual type,” Natasha says. Peaches, oranges, yellows, and greens. She carried a hand-tied bouquet that included lilies, roses, alstroemeria, mums, and seeded eucalyptus. “My florist put these adorable bouquet jewels on them,” she says. “It was a nice touch that made me feel special.”

Brian wore a green dendrobium orchid, accented with green Kermit mums.

“Our save-the-date cards said, ‘Meet us in the mountains,’ and I think that really set the tone,” Natasha says. “This was to be an adventure like no other!” She created the DIY cards, and she and Brian set up a website to help their guests get their travel plans together for the trip.

Natasha and Brian wed at a mountaintop restaurant in the Rockies. Natasha surprised all of their guests with a grand entrance, arriving with her flower girl and four bridesmaids in a helicopter. She walked down the aisle to a song she had written called “The Only.” “It’s a very simple piano-vocal piece, but it perfectly captures my feelings for Brian,” Natasha says. She and Brian exchanged vows on an outdoor terrace as the sun was setting.

Natasha and Brian cut a three-tier cake that was iced in buttercream and adorned with fresh seasonal fruit. Each tier featured a different flavor -- chocolate, vanilla, or carrot -- all with raspberry and Grand Marnier filling.

Natasha & Brian in Golden, British Columbia

Photos By: Alan Maudie Photography, Calgary

Natasha and Brian first met at her brother’s wedding. Brian wasn’t a guest -- he was actually just there to pick up his 1961 Pontiac Laurentian, which the newlyweds had used as their getaway car. “I don’t think Brian was on the official guest list, so he arrived very late,” Natasha remembers. “Long after I had given up looking for cute guys at the reception!”

The Bride Natasha Kaminsky, 31, singer-songwriter
The Groom Brian LaBine, 36, pharmaceutical Sales
The Date July 28

By the time Brian showed up, the reception was winding down: The bar was closing up, the lights were back on, and, Natasha says, “I was wearing the better part of a glass of wine that someone knocked down the front of my dress! But I must have looked okay, because he still called me.” The two were soon a pair. The day before Natasha’s birthday, they were in the car together when Brian gave Natasha a gingerbread cookie, her favorite. She was already thrilled, but then he pulled out an engagement ring.