Issue link: http://digital.canadawide.com/i/582166
SPECIAL FEATURE P lanning your big day in a location where all your ideas and dreams can be brought to life is not only possible, it's the norm in B.C.'s Okanagan Valley region. A REAL WHITE WEDDING "What better place to have a winter wedding than a ski resort?" says Amanda McKichan, wedding coordinator at Sun Peaks Grand Hotel & Conference Centre. „e resort's mid-mountain chapel is the ideal ceremony venue: the bride and groom can ski down to the base of the mountain in wedding attire. What a great photo op! NATURE'S PHOTOSHOP Professional photographers often bounce light into their photos using a white reˆector. Sun Peaks' local photographer, Gemma Harris of Alpine Images Photography, says, "Getting married in Sun Peaks is all about the backdrop, and we have lots of ceremony locations with outstanding views. In winter, many couples have the ceremony at dusk as it reˆects beautifully on the snow." DINNER IS SERVED Wedding dinners are becoming much more personalized. Lisa Jaager, sales manager of weddings, corporate groups and events at Summerland Waterfront Resort & Spa, says they o'er "carefully curated menus where the bride and groom are able to choose their favourites, like slow-roasted short rib with a mashed potato and mascarpone cake and locally grown green beans, because it is the groom's favourite vegetable, and his grandma used to make the best ones." LATE-NIGHT NOSH Sun Peaks' McKichan says guests need post-dinner fodder for cocktails and dancing. Mini grilled cheese, tacos, mac and cheese, chicken and wa'es and crispy bacon slices fuel trendy weddings. PROMOTED CONTENT The Okanagan Valley is not only pretty as a picture: the region is also tapped into all the latest wedding trends. Here are the top 10 must-haves to plan your big day Wine-Country Weddings (SUN PEAKS) GEMMA HARRIS; (VINEYARD) DEStINAtIoN BC/ PAtRICE HAllEY; (SUMMERlAND) WHItE lINEN PHotoGRAPHY (Clockwise from top left) A Sun Peaks white wedding; vineyards toured in tandem; Summerland Waterfront Resort & Spa backdrops a happy couple; Watermark Beach Resort at night.