before the wedding. I was even blessed with Christina and Beata coming from Edmonton nearly two weeks beforehand to help with tons of favor and decor prep!” The bridesmaids were Christina Lambert, Beata Tymoszejko, Nicky Lother and Ryan’s sister, Deana Craig. Ryan’s Best man was Steven Sych, who flew in from Montréal. Ryan says, “Steven and I have been friends since birth... Well, actually, we were just born on the same day in the same city, Edmonton, Sept 18th 1985. We met and became friends in the 8th grade, but it wasn’t until university that we became great friends through many after school debates, yoga sessions, wall climbing, and ps3 parties!” The Groomsmen were Jarret Tomlinson, Neil Crowell, Roger Chan and Vanessa’s Brother Ryan Knebel. “The groomsmen looked awesome in suspenders!” laughs Ryan. The wedding day was sunny and warm. Everything was beautiful. In the late afternoon, surrounded by their family and friends, they exchanged their vows before God under a wedding arch Ryan built from wood he found in the forest and nailed together on their condo balcony in Vancouver! Vanessa ordered Monarch butterflies, along with some other beautiful butterflies that her Mom had bred specifically for the wedding, and released them after the ceremony. The name ‘Vanessa’ means butterfly and she has always loved butterflies, so it was both beautiful and symbolic. After a long search, Ryan and Vanessa came across a blog post by Ophelia Photography (www.opheliaphotography.com) of a wedding shot at Sun Lotus. “The pictures we’re incredible to say the least. We decided to give her a call and after our chat I realized we had a really cool, down to earth photographer that would produce quality pictures! Lisa was amazing to work with; she went the extra mile to produce unique photos that captured our day beautifully. She was actually stung by a stinging nettle attempting to get a shot for us. Though in pain, she managed to finish shooting the entire day without a complaint!” Staying at the same location allowed the couple more time for photos. Guests had fun with various activities such as badminton, canoeing, river tubing or walks through the wilderness before the reception. Bouquets were made by Leaf and Petal (www.leaf-petal.ca). Vanessa can’t thank her Mom enough for insisting they have a wedding cake (by Thrify Foods: www.thriftyfoods.ca). “The cake was three tiers... It was delicious. Each tier was a different flavor: dark chocolate raspberry, coconut crème brulee, and dark chocolate mocha.” The menu was important to both Ryan and Vanessa. “We wanted lots of variety and to choose our own dishes, but we also wanted quality food. Our caterer, Parker Productions (parkerproductions.ca) was willing to offer us the flexibility we wanted. Anita helped with some of the planning and appetizer prep.” They offered a mix of global favorites including sushi, Greek salad, vegetarian quinoa cannelloni, Thai yellow curry, maple glazed Coho salmon, Chinese BBQ, free range chicken and chili lime prawns! “To this day people are still taking about how good the food was.” The couple had a fantastic bar set-up, constructed from large cedar trees. They served selections of wine from across BC, including local wine from Averill Creek Winery (www.averillcreek.ca) which was ten minutes from the venue. The beer list was from across the Canada and across the globe. “We also had a “tea buffet” and offered about 15 different delicious loose leaf teas with a variety of interesting sweeteners, such as flavored honey, and rose and lavender cane sugar.” Ryan and Vanessa were blessed to have many musically talented friends and family. Their musicians included a wedding band (Ryan’s cousins: Andrew, Jordan and Justine), Turntable DJ (Vanessa’s friends: Matt and PJ), other singers during the ceremony (Roxy and Seana), Serenation song (Vanessa’s Uncle Tom), plus a harpist and cellist for the ceremony music (www.marilynrummel.ca). that they hired.
To thank guests for coming, Vanessa and Ryan splurged on mini gift baskets as favours for each in attendance. They contained goodies from local artisans and shops. Bridesmaids, groomsmen, family and friends were an incredible help with wedding set-up and tear down. Without their help the wedding wouldn’t have come together as wonderfully as it did! Ryan and Vanessa were also so grateful for their parents, Valerie & John Knebel and Linda & David Galloway. “Without their support our wedding would have never been possible!” Vanessa and Ryan loved their wedding day and the special memories that were made with family and friends. “The day was filled with lots of laughs! We thought it was especially funny when the peacocks squawked just as Ryan and I kissed after the ceremony. Everything worked out really great for our wedding day. It was sunny and warm, and everything looked beautiful! The venue helped make our day magical! I always thought my dream wedding would be on my own property and everything about the setting would represent who Ryan and I are as people. Sun Lotus was the closest reality to that and we see ourselves owning our own beautiful piece of land one day too. We loved that Anita and Paul cared about the environment, were non-consumeristic, and had a great sense of style. We had so much fun on our wedding day we have decided to have a ten year anniversary celebration on our own piece of land (which we hope to acquire by then). We look forward to many years of strengthening our love and growing together!” ■