The Monday after her first date with Suzanne Henry at the Mercer Tavern on the summer solstice in 2014, Nicole Chu just knew.
“I was golfing with my buddies and I said, ‘I’m totally going to marry her.’ My friends were like, ‘Wow. We’ve never heard you say that before, so we know it’s real’, ” said Nicole.
Suzanne was on the same page.
“I always had a crush on her,” she said. “We were friends for a while, so we had that connection.”
The two pharmacists had met through work, but remained just friends until they weren’t sharing a work space anymore.
Once they started dating, though, marriage was on the table within months.
Because they were committed to one another, there was no rush to walk down the aisle. But, Nicole says, she still wanted to “do it properly.”
So, in December 2015, Nicole picked out a princess-cut Tiffany & Co. diamond ring — the style Suzanne had always said she wanted — and kept it in a safe-deposit box for three months until she proposed while on vacation in Hawaii the following March.
Suzanne said yes, natch, and a romantic two-week holiday followed. But for the wedding itself, the couple wanted a destination that was a little closer to home.
Banff was one of their favourite getaways. Suzanne and Nicole love hiking, and they particularly liked staying at the Rimrock Resort Hotel. Getting married there seemed like a no-brainer.
Banff was also a manageable trip for both of their families — Suzanne’s is from Grande Prairie and Nicole’s is from Edmonton.
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Suzanne is walked down the aisle by her parents.
They wanted to keep the wedding simple — especially given their stunning scenic backdrop — but they did create a forest and mountain theme that ran throughout.
Their invitations featured mountains and trees, they planted a tree during their ceremony (which they’ve since put in their yard), and as favours, they gave baby spruce trees from Tree Time to each of their guests.
Suzanne tried “maybe five dresses” at Edmonton’s Novelle Bridal Shop, and wound up purchasing the second one she put on.
Nicole’s dress search was even more laid-back. Instead of another traditional white gown, she chose to wear a red cheongsam.
“I thought it would be nice to have contrast,” she said. “Plus, it was a nod to my Chinese heritage.”
Nicole and her bridesmaid, Katie, went to Chinatown in search of a store they knew of that sold the dresses. Unfortunately, the store had closed two years ago, and they wound up finding the cheongsam in an unconventional place as far as wedding attire goes, Creative Gifts & Etc.
“It was this convenience store in Chinatown that sold lotto tickets, and they also had garments. They had a couple of dresses in the back. It was really cheap,” says Nicole.
Like, less-than-100-bucks cheap?
“Oh yeah.”
She had the dress tailored to fit her and complemented it with two gold necklaces (one each from her mother and grandmother), a jade pendant from her aunt, and pearl earrings her mother lent her on the fly after Nicole had left hers back in Edmonton.
She also ordered a tux from Nordstrom that she wore during the reception.
The wedding ceremony was at 2 p.m. on the Rimrock’s terrace (“there were tons of people watching,” said Suzanne).
In addition to the tree-planting ceremony, Suzanne and Nicole incorporated a rose ceremony, in which they gave roses to their parents to thank and honour them.
The couple had also written love letters to each other the night before, and they put them into a box that they’ll open with a bottle of champagne on their first anniversary.
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Post-ceremony photo session.
After the ceremony, their photographer, Carey Nash, whisked them away for some photos before returning to the cocktail hour and reception. A three-piece band, the Me Jollies, entertained their 69 guests, and Nicole even made an appearance onstage, surprising Suzanne by serenading her with one of their favourite songs, Greek Tragedy by the Wombats.
They partied until the hotel shut them down, but the wedding action wasn’t over quite yet. The next day, they went back out into the wilderness for an adventure session with Nash to capture even more stunning photographs they couldn’t have managed on the day of the wedding.
“It was really nice having the adventure session because the morning after the wedding, we woke up and we were both so sad. The room was a mess and everyone was leaving. But then we got to go put on our dresses again,” said Suzanne.
It was a perfect end to their dream wedding.
“It was the best time of our lives,” said Nicole. “I’ve obviously never been that happy because my face hurt so much from smiling.”
“I was just blown away by how happy everybody was, and the thought that they were all there for us,” said Suzanne. “It was so amazing to be surrounded by all of these people. It was overwhelmingly amazing. I don’t think I’ve ever had that much fun.”
MAKING CHOICES
Wedding date: June 17, 2017
Location: Rimrock Resort Hotel, 300 Mountain Ave., Banff
Photographer: Carey Nash Photography
Guests: 69
Suzanne’s dress: Allure, Novelle Bridal Shop, 10533 124 St.
Nicole’s dress: Creative Gifts & Etc., 10577 97 St., Edmonton
Flowers: Forget Me Not Flowers, 220 Bear St., Banff
Hair and makeup: Lilies & Lace, 101, 75 Dyrgas Gate, Canmore
Band: Me Jollies
First dance: Die Young, Sylvan Esso
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First dance to Die Young by Sylvan Esso.
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Nicole and her parents during the rose ceremony.
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Ceremony on the Rimrock Resort Hotel’s terrace.
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Putting on Suzanne’s wedding band.
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With their bridesmaids, Nicole’s friend, Katie, and Suzanne’s sister, Laura.
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With their bridesmaids, Nicole’s friend Katie and Suzanne’s sister Laura.
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Officially married
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Nicole serenading Suzanne with one of their favourite songs, Greek Tragedy by the Wombats.
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Suzanne and her sister, Laura, before the ceremony.
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The following day’s photography “adventure session.”
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Taking photos before the reception.
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The following day’s photography “adventure session.”
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