The Westin Bear Mountain Golf Resort & Spa, Victoria

With the Olympics hitting Vancouver in February, securing a local venue to host your wedding in January, February or March, is going to be tricky to say the least.  To assist you in planning your day, we are always on the hunt for new and exciting venues to showcase,  but trying to find venues that offer unique services or stunning backdrops that have been relatively undiscovered can sometimes be a daunting task here in Vancouver.  A few weeks ago, I made the trip over to the fabulous Westin Bear Mountain Golf Resort & Spa, Victoria on Vancouver Island and after the two day stay, it was clear that I need look no further.

The secluded, 5 Star, 4 Diamond, Bear Mountain Resort is nestled amongst picturesque Arbutus trees and sports scenic views from every direction.  Really, The Westin Bear Mountain offers everything that a couple could want, from a stunning outdoor ceremony location, wonderful food and  a beautiful ballroom to a world class spa for the ladies and two golf courses for the guys.  Add in the full service wedding packages that The Westin Bear Mountain offers, complete with in house floral, and you’ve got the components for a perfect wedding.

I met with on site wedding expert Helena Price over lunch to find out more about what The Westin Bear Mountain had to offer it’s couples and what really stood out is how much people here at Bear Mountain seem to love weddings.  She talked so passionately about past weddings and even more passionately about the extra care and attention everyone puts into ensuring that a couple’s  wedding is perfect from start to finish.  It was inspiring to see a venue that clearly understands how important this day is not only for the couple but also for the family members and guests in attendance.  Perhaps what intrigued me the most was that at The Westin Bear Mountain, they cater not only to full scale weddings, but also to small, intimate weddings often overlooked by other venues.  In fact, they have created one of the most tantalizing, intimate wedding packages I’ve come across in a long time.

Here is how my dream wedding would unfold at The Westin Bear Mountain.  I would gather up twenty or so of my favorite people for the weekend, making all the travel arrangements of course!  I would arrive in style via helicopter which would land right at Bear Mountain. The weekend would start with some papering at Santé Spa for me and the gals along with a dip in the Mineral Pool while the guys took their turn on one of the gorgeous two golf courses, complete with an actual 19^th hole!

By candlelight and surrounded by vintage vino, the intimate ceremony would take place in the signature wine cellar and then it would be up to onsite Panache Restaurant for a spectacular dinner full of culinary delights prepared by award winning executive head chef Iain Rennie.  From behind the glass of Panache’s kitchen, Rennie and his culinary team prepare their creations and entertain their guests while we sip on perfectly paired wine hand selected by one of the two onsite sommeliers.   What would be the fitting end to such a wonderful day you ask?  Dancing under the stars on Panache’s private balcony of course.

Every couple has their own vision of what their perfect day would be but whether you want big and extravagant or sexy and intimate like me, The Westin Bear Mountain has it all and if you are looking to escape Vancouver when it welcomes the rest of the world in 2010, you might just want to let The Westin Bear Mountain welcome you.

the outdoor ceremony location

the fabulous panache and it’s yummy creations

the intimate wine cellar

the floral designs done in house

the oh so wonderful and relaxing mineral pool of Sante Spa

In March, I headed to Europe in search of some inspiration and products for our gown shoot for aislewalk 2009.  We had a plan in mind but having never been to Paris we thought it would be a good idea to enlist the help of someone who knew their way around town.  Enter Kimberley Petyt of Parisian Events.  A premier wedding planner based in Paris.  After several emails back and forth, we arranged to meet and spend the day in Paris scounting out gown designers.   When I arrived in Paris, we spent the day going to a few gown designers and Kim showed my around some of the great little out of the way shops.  During a working lunch Kim filled aislewalk in on all things wedding in Paris.  The biggest thing I took with me…they don’t have any magazines like aislewalk there!  It was great spending the day with Kim and her knowledge of what it takes to wed in the most romantic city in the world is invaluable.  She was perhaps one of the most gracious people I have ever met. Her website and espcially her blog is chalked full of ideas, places, and info about Paris and if you plan on a romantic wedding with the eiffel tower as your backdrop, I highly suggest giving Kim a call!   Read more about Kim here….Parisian Events

Two of the designers really stood out in our minds as highly creative and ohh la la fabulous

First up Delphine Manivet

Next up was Suzanne Ermann

While preparing for an insanely busy weekend at wedding fair, Tammy and I headed to Zin restaurant and met the executive head chef and to sample some of their amazing treats. Not only was the atmoshpere simply zen but I have to comment on an amazing dish we sampled. If you ever find yourself around Zin at dinner time, you have to try the Canadian Shortribs. After tasting it, I had to call the chef out to find out how he did it. Here is the lowdown… the beef is braised until tender with porter beer, balow, fresh herbs, and veal stock. It is then served up wth Okanagon Goat cheese, celery root, and potato puree. Simply divine. Not only is the food amazing, but Zin on Robson might just be the perfect place for your rehersal dinner!

the aislewalk team attended the annual BrockHouse wedding Show this Sunday. We’re always on the scene, checking out all the happenings in the world of weddings so that we can report back to you on all the cool events and awesome vendors and products available.
The show was put on this year by Vancouver based wedding&event planners DreamGroup Productions and the principles Sarah & Geneve did not dissapoint with a classy and well put together show. As always, the culinary team at BrockHouse put on an amazing display of treats for attendants and the fashion show offered many unique dress options. There was variety of vendors there for couples to chat with and the atmosphere seemed relaxed. Although we did not get a close up of the goodie bags that the couples received, we certainly didn’t hear any complaints. At times we found it a little difficult to move around the venue as it seems that many engaged couples opted to atttend this year’s event but we heard from one of the vendors that there was actually three sperate show times and that the middle showtime actually seemed a little less busy….note to couples for next year!!!

All in all, we were super impressed with the show and will be adding it to our list of wedding must do’s.

For more information on the show visit http://www.dreamgroup.ca/weddingshow.htm