Charming Calgary Zoo Wedding

Weddings at the Calgary Zoo are always so special and beautiful!

Amanda and Josh’s wedding was an absolute dream! I had been waiting for this day to arrive with much anticipation. They carefully thought out every detail and it was absolutely perfect! Their wedding was held at the beautiful Calgary Zoo which I kid you not, had amazing coordinators and the most delicious food! Amanda and Josh included 240 of their closest friends and family members to witness their special day. The theme, “Gold”, was inspired by gold sequin bridesmaid dresses that Amanda found online and was incorporated into all of their details which absolutely sparkled with warmth and love.

A little backstory from the bride herself:

How did you meet?

Josh and I met when we were 10 years old, when my family flew from Hamilton, Ontario to visit my grandma who recently moved to Edmonton, Alberta! Our parents were friends, so they made plans for all the kids to play together, and I remember my mom asking me if I thought Josh was cute, but of course I just said, “Ew, mom! No!”

Jump forward a few years, and we started emailing and chatting on msn. In 2009 when we were 17 our families went to Ottawa together, which is when we kissed for the first time! After the vacation, Josh went back to Alberta and we kept emailing and chatting on msn for 2 years until he finally asked me to be his girlfriend in 2011!

With Josh going to university in Alberta and my university being in Ontario, most of our dates were of the Skype variety! Our time together was limited to week-long visits during school breaks, and a few summers together in Edmonton when I was able to get a summer job there. After graduation in 2014 my family ended up moving to Alberta for my dad’s job. Finally we were both living in Alberta after 3 long years of long distance dating! Well, that only lasted for 5 months, at which point Josh moved down to San Jose, California to attend Palmer College of Chiropractic.

Engagement Story:

On November 26th, 2015, I had plans to get a pedicure with Josh’s sister. There was a knock at the door and when I opened it, my handsome boyfriend, who was supposed to be in California, was standing there with flowers and a big smile on his face! I was so surprised to see him, but I managed to pop out a “yes” to his proposal! The relationship wasn’t always easy, but we knew from the start that we were meant to be together. That was what helped us through the many years of long distance. I am moving to California to teach, and we are so excited to finally be living in the same country again, meaning no long goodbyes ever again!

Wedding theme and colours (explain the reason behind your decision): After seeing the gold sequin bridesmaid dresses online, I knew that was what I wanted and the gold theme evolved from there!

 

The Wedding Day:

 

We both enjoyed our wedding day so much and thought it was amazing, but we do have a few top moments! Josh’s top moment was watching me walk down the aisle toward him (although he had to look away for a few seconds so he wouldn’t ruin his makeup 😉 ). My top wedding moment was when I got to finally kiss my groom during the ceremony – Josh looked so handsome that I wanted to kiss him as soon as I got close enough to him!

We wanted the ceremony to have classic elegance, which is why we chose Cannon in D for the bridal party to walk down the aisle to, but we also wanted some modern and more fun elements, so we chose A Thousand Years for when I was walking down the aisle.

We absolutely loved the food and from what we hear, so did everyone else! Not only did it all taste amazing, but also the presentation and details were perfect.  I loved wearing my wedding dress – I totally felt like a princess. My girls also loved their dresses and I thought they looked stunning in them! Erin from Sparkling Dahlia did such an amazing job with the flowers, from the bouquets, to the corsages and boutonnieres, to the garland and centerpieces! I probably wasn’t the easiest bride to work with because I didn’t know what I wanted and ended up changing my mind, but she pulled everything together so perfectly. She knew exactly what I wanted when I didn’t even know!

Honeymoon: We are doing a road trip down to San Jose, California, because that is where we will be living for the next 1.5 years while Josh finishes Chiropractic school.

 

Advice for other couples: Advice we were given that helped us, was to not focus on the things that didn’t go exactly as planned. Try to expect it and don’t let it ruin your day! We definitely had a few hiccups in our day – some that the guests weren’t aware of, and some that were more public. It really didn’t matter at the end of the day, and it’s just a memory to look back on and laugh at!

 

---

 

I hope you enjoy this peek into their absolutely beautiful and romantic wedding day, and feel free to leave a love note at the bottom! – Nicole Sarah

 

 

 

 

 

Photography: Nicole Sarah Photography
Ceremony, Reception: The Calgary Zoo
Bridal Gown: Allure Bridal from Bellezza Bridal
Bridal Party Attire
Bridesmaids Gowns: Sorella Vita from The Bridal Boutique
Groom: Vera Wang from Moores
Cake: Whippt
Hair and Makeup: The Pretty Haus
Flowers: Sparkling Dahlia
Bride + Grooms Rings: People’s Jewellers