Maddie + Barrett had an urban Vancouver wedding to celebrate their day! They’re both from Calgary, Alberta, Canada, and decided to host a destination wedding in downtown Vancouver, B.C.

They kept their urban Vancouver wedding fairly intimate, with mostly family in attendance.

The wedding party got ready at the eclectic Opus Hotel downtown. The girls spent the morning getting hair and makeup done, and then hung out, popped champagne, and had a great time. The guys all took shots of some super nice Japanese whiskey (us included!) before heading to the alley for photos.

Barrett is a retired Olympian and competed in the Skeleton. The Skeleton is somewhat similar to the luge, except the athletes go down head first! His best man and a handful of the groomsmen competed with him in the Seoul Olympics for Team Canada. The guys were pumped to be reunited!

Everyone was super goofy and having a good time in the alley. Maddie didn’t want Barrett to see her before the ceremony. We had to be hyper vigilant and stay on the lookout in case Maddie popped out a side door! Once we covertly (albeit loudly) got all of the groomsmen photos, the guys headed to the venue to set up.

Maddie + Barrett chose a cool, industrial-meets-earthy restaurant and venue about a block away called Brix and Mortar.

Once Maddie was dressed, she did a first look with her father, which was absolutely heart warming. Then the girls headed outside to take bridal party photos on the walk over to the venue.

We always love first looks, whether it’s with your partner, a family member, or your friends. You can take a peek at another first look in this intimate forest elopement. 

The venue had the most amazing lighting and scenery for such a small space. The intimate ceremony itself was touching and almost surreal to witness. There wasn’t a lot of room up front, so Maddie + Barrett opted to have their bridal party seated with the rest of the guests. Even though they didn’t have friends standing alongside them during the ceremony, the amount of love in that small space was overflowing.

Everyone there was so supportive and happy, and it was so fun for us because they all loved being in front of the camera. It was a blast! After the ceremony and group photos, we took Maddie + Barrett to the surrounding city blocks for portraits, and they were totally magnetic together, despite being hungry (or dangerously bordering on hangry…LOL).

This urban Vancouver wedding was nothing short of heartfelt. When we arrived back at the venue for the reception, they started with toasts and speeches. Everyone who spoke was so eloquent and gave the most beautiful speeches we’ve ever heard.

Maddie’s sister read a letter that their mother had written before she passed away, and there wasn’t a dry eye in the room. We both had to step outside to get our sh*t together because we couldn’t stop crying. I finally pulled it together in time to shovel some salad and bourbon down my throat in preparation for the dancing photos.

They played a ton of Latin dance music during the dancing hour which we totally got down to. We danced, took photos of everyone having a blast, and took a minute to thank the universe for connecting us with such a great couple and an amazing crew of people. We bid everyone goodbye, gave hugs all round, and headed back to our hotel room moved, happy, and lighter than when we arrived.

Thanks for having us, Canada. 😉