Issue link: http://digital.canadawide.com/i/185541
nd I Kelsea Larson and Tyler Smith January 12, 2013 Ceremony at Benvoulin Heritage Church Reception at Hotel Eldorado, Kelowna If June is the most popular month to wed, it's reasonable to assume that January just might be the least so. The point is arguable, of course, and Vancouver couple Kelsea Larson and Tyler Smith provide a solid case for their decision to host a dead-ofwinter wedding, which took place in Kelowna on January 12, 2013. "I love the winter," enthuses Kelsea, who grew up in the Okanagan city known for its scorching summers and snowy winters. "We thought it would be romantic, the coziness of it all." And the couple, who met while both employed in Vancouver's restaurant industry, clearly weren't keen to stick to the status quo. "Most summer weddings tend to be very similar," says Tyler, "and we wanted to do something a little different." Of course, no winter wedding is complete without snow, which was a reason the couple ruled out hosting the vow-swapping in Vancouver, where rainy, overcast winters are the norm, in favour of Kelowna. "For snow, Vancouver is pretty hit-and-miss for that time of year," observes Tyler. And if it was a "wintery feel" that the twosome was seeking, Kelowna definitely delivered. On the couple's big day, the city boasted close to two feet of snow and teeth-chattering temperatures of -16 degrees Celsius. "In some of the pictures, taken outside the church, you can literally see our breath, it was so cold," laughs Kelsea. It was the perfect counterpoint to the couple's summertime engagement, which took place on the scorching shores of English Bay on July 13, 2012. Equipped with a picnic basket, a bottle of bubbly and a vintage engagement ring, Tyler proposed to his girlfriend of two years as a blazing sun melted into the horizon. Later, Tyler whisked his new fiancée off to a surprise engagement party, where they celebrated into the wee hours with 60 of their closest friends and relatives. "It's a good thing she said yes; otherwise it would have been a disaster," Tyler jokes. From engagement to wedding, the couple had just six months to plan the nuptials, with few ideas at the outset other than that they wanted it to be "classic," "vintage" and "elegant." It was a tight timeframe but, as Tyler explains, their off-season wedding date "made the planning process so much easier." The two found it a breeze, for example, to book their desired venues, which included the historic Hotel Eldorado, site of the reception, and the Benvoulin Heritage Church, where the couple exchanged vows before a pastor. "Growing up, I always thought that would be the place where I'd get married — there was no question," says Kelsea, of the 100-year-old country chapel. And in January, the bride got her wish as she made her way down the aisle of the quaint church, preceded by a ring bearer, flower girl and a passel realweddings.ca p52-57_Kelsea & Tyler.indd 53 53 13-10-07 10:13 AM