Issue link: http://digital.canadawide.com/i/508032
42 real weddings / "When she left, my manager said he thought she seemed nice," says Roberto Sousa, now an account executive at Creative B'stro and a stylist at Nadia Albano Style Inc., who remembers interjecting: "She seems like the biggest princess." She won the manager over with her smile but it took a bit longer to impress Roberto. "On my œrst shift with her," says Roberto, "I asked her to change garbage and she said, 'Do you see these nails? I don't change garbage' – and she still doesn't to this day." Nevertheless, Roberto and Erin soon struck up a close friendship. ¢e two were best friends for the next seven years, "but it was very platonic," says Erin. It wasn't until a conversation with her sister, asking why this perfect match wasn't a pair, that they decided to start dating. Two years later they moved in together, and the following Christmas, Roberto hatched his proposal plan. He created an epic "engagement tree" near Lost Lagoon in Stanley Park, complete with a "will you marry me?" garland and battery-operated lights. Leading Erin down the trail for a "casual walk," he lit up the tree, and when she turned back to look at him he was on one knee. "He proposed the day before I left for Christmas in Edmonton, so of course the œrst thing I wanted to do was look for a dress with my family," says Erin, who found the perfect gown at her œrst appointment, œve days after their engagement. "As soon as I came home, it was full steam ahead," she says of the seven- month window in which they planned their wedding. At œrst they dreamed of marrying in Sousa's native Portugal before realizing how di¨cult it would be to manage. Instead, in response to their hope for a "very European-style venue, something romantic with plenty of outdoor space," their wedding planner, Vancouver's CountDown Events, suggested the historic Hycroft Manor. ¢ey took one look at the photos and booked it right away. "Our venue was so gorgeous that I didn't want the décor to overwhelm the space, and I wanted everything to feel very personal and very 'us'," says Erin. "We worked with an amazing team and I handpicked everything, from the chargers, to the linens, to those beautiful Louis chairs." ¢e couple wed on a perfect summer's day in the manor's garden, then took photos on the grounds, while their guests mingled over cocktails and canapés. ¢en it was time for dinner at the long table set on Hycroft's grand terrace for 65 of their nearest and dearest. "It was such a beautiful feeling to have this big, long table and these big, bountiful plates being passed around," says Erin of the family-style dinner featuring cod œsh for the groom's Portuguese heritage, beef œlet for the bride's Alberta roots, and an endless supply of their favourite special- occasion wine. Next, it was time to dance, and the music-loving couple spent considerable eŒort pre-selecting a song list that would inspire the most feet on the dance «oor until Hycroft's early curfew. When it was time to leave at 11 p.m. a party bus delivered everyone to the couple's suite at the Fairmont Paciœc Rim, where they'd arranged for pizza delivery from ¢e Parlour to fuel their continued celebration. And celebrate they did, making the most of every minute of their œrst day together as husband and wife. rw Erin and Roberto infused their West Coast garden wedding with plenty of European charm. Continued on page 44 ⊲