Planning Your Perfect Mountain Wedding
Fabulous Mountain Wedding Venues, Ideas and locations for Banff, Lake Louise, Jasper & Canmore
Archive for the ‘News’ Category
**Powder Brides**
- Author: Angela
- Filed under: News, Powder Brides, Unique Ideas
Nov 20,2009
Say “I do” on the slopes that have made the Rockies Mountains so famous! Sweet Occasions Bridal Consulting is proud and very excited to bring you Powder Brides, for a couple passionate about skiing or snowboarding is there any other way to go?
From start to finish your wedding day with be full of fun and adventure for you and your guests. With a morning ceremony, with the sun low over the mountains you can experience breathtaking majestic views as you say “I do”. Having your ceremony in the morning and not later in the day gives you time to relax and get ready for the evening ahead.
A videographer and a photographer will capture your ceremony for you, as well as, the guests that could not make the ski hill ceremony, if they are the adventurous type they can sneak in a couple of runs with you, getting amazing photos and video. When you leave the ski hill you will be leaving in style in your stretch hummer to the hotel where you will both start getting ready for your winter wonderland/Christmas reception.
Upon arriving at your hotel prepare to be pampered by knowledgeable and experienced staff. Get warmed up and rejuvenated from your morning on the slopes, with a hot stone message and soak in the hot tub, then it’s off to the salon to get your hair and make up done with your bridal party.
Imagine the transformation your guests will see, from you and your new husband being married in snow gear to a beautiful bride and groom in all their wedding attire! For an amazing arrival to your reception venue (even if your reception is being held at your hotel) hire a horse drawn carriage, for an added thrill take a little tour through town, and have your wedding party meet you at the doors for the grand entrance.
At this time of year, your reception is something you can get really creative with and of course your Sweet Occasions Bridal Consultant will be more than willing to help plan and execute your vision! A Christmas themed reception doesn’t have to be green and red, there are so many ways to give your guests a Christmas wedding experience they will not soon forget, without making it overwhelming. For instance think in light blue, silver and sparkling white for your decorating pallet. Don’t be afraid for using ornaments that made the holidays magical for you and your new husband, it can only serve to enhance the magical feeling a wedding brings. Sparkling décor is a wonderful way to reflect the snowy slopes you said your “I do’s” on, stepping through the doors of your reception venue into a sparkling room couldn’t be more amazing! Your tables set with white table cloths with shimmering light blue overlays, each napkin with a sprig of mistletoe placed on it, tea lights in frosted votives on the tables enhance the romantic atmosphere and give the room a warm glow. Your centerpieces can be alternating between tall vases filled with cracked ice and holly topped with beautiful winter flowers with strands of crystals dripping down like icicles, to reflect the candle light. The alternate centerpieces are beautiful wire trees in silver, with sparkling ornaments and crystals hanging from the branches. When your guest look up you want to give them the sensation of being snowed upon, using large silver bulbs and snowflakes of varying size you can achieve this easily, as well as add white swag to the ceiling and walls, this giving the fresh powder illusion!
As you settle in at your reception have the MC announce that you will be playing a video of the ceremony for the guest that were unable to attend and during the video you will be passing around a special Christmas keepsake for “warming”. (This is a different take on the “ring warming” ceremony, where the rings are passed from guest to guest to be given blessing or good wishes.) This is a very lovely way to include everyone and you will have a beautiful keepsake to put up every year to keep the memory of your wedding day alive and can be shared with future generations. Imagine, telling the story of that keepsake to your grandchildren, what more could one ask for?
All of this is possible, for your wedding day; at Sweet Occasions we have the talent, experience and a passion for creating your dream wedding. With the launch of our rental division, we now have everything from candle votives to candelabras and ceremony arches to make you wedding beautiful and memorable.
By Jacqui Cates
Published AGAIN! “Make your wedding more eco-friendly” Featuring Angela Schrempf
- Author: Angela Schrempf
- Filed under: Eco Chic Green Weddings, News, Real Weddings, Unique Ideas
Sep 8,2009
Make your wedding more eco-friendly
View this article here: http://www.banffcragandcanyon.com/ArticleDisplay.aspx?e=1625872
By Shawn Slaght
With the wedding season just around the corner, there are many ways to make a wedding in the Bow Valley more eco-friendly according to local executive wedding planner Angela Schrempf.
Schrempf, who has been in the event planning industry since 2002 and currently operates Sweet Occasions Bridal Consulting based out of Canmore, said there are some simple and inexpensive ways to make a wedding more environmentally friendly.
“We like to focus on really being green about everything,” said Schrempf. “Because I respect the area so much.”
Schrempf said one of the things to consider when planning a wedding is to reduce fuel emissions used by guests and the cost of the venue rentals by holding the ceremony and reception in one place.
“There are many venues in both Banff and Canmore and all over the Rockies for that matter that offer both hotel services and services for both outdoor and indoor ceremony locations and receptions,” she said.
If that is not possible, consider getting a shuttle bus for the guests from the ceremony to the reception or carpool in hybrid vehicles.
There are also facilities that promote environmental preservation that can be rented out for special events. One of the local facilities that Schrempf recommended was the Chateau Lake Louise.
“They are really, really big about that with their expansion,” she said. “They actually reduced the amount of water they use and other utilities when they expanded and doubled their property size.”
She said there are also facilities like Buffalo Mountain Lodge and Emerald Lake Lodge that produce their own game and meat for the meals.
When it comes to brides, they can consider wearing gowns made of natural fabrics or wear a used gown.
With photography, she recommended going with a photographer who keeps photos digital and only prints out the photos that are wanted.
“They won’t actually send you a proof book. You can go online,” said Schrempf.
Schrempf also recommended planning an eco-travel honeymoon. She said eco-travel agents can be found online and can meet anyone’s needs such as hiking, lounging on a beach, or strolling through a museum.
“We don’t have to go on a cruise or do something that is going to harm the environment producing carbon emissions,” said Schrempf.
She also suggested, along with holding the ceremony in the Rocky Mountains, staying in the Bow Valley for the honeymoon.
“Ditch everyone and stay in the Rockies,” she said. “Go exploring, go on a lake and do some canoeing. Enjoy yourself, it is gorgeous here.”
Another idea Schrempf suggested was holding the ceremony near water and, instead of leaving in a limo, leaving the ceremony in a canoe.
With décor, a few of the suggestions Schrempf had included using soy candles, which burn cleaner and longer and spills are much easier to clean up. She also recommended using natural elements such as branches and river rocks.
For invitations, the paper can be made of high-recycled content or from alternative fiber such as hemp or bamboo.
“They are really unique in how you can get tons of textures, colours and designs,” said Schrempf. “You can really customize it and also the same price than going with your normal invitations, so why not.”
Flower arrangement can also be done with wildflowers. Also those planning a wedding can ask their florist about donating the flowers to facilities such as hospitals.
One of the simpler ways to make a wedding more eco-friendly in the mountains is to simply go outside.
“Why use lighting indoors and air conditioning when you can have your wedding outside,” said Schrempf. “Go to a lake or a meadow. There are plenty of locations around here.”
However, permits are required for holding an outdoor ceremony in the National Park. Or information is available regarding the permit by contacting the Banff National Park Information Centre at 762-1550.
Hiring local vendors and entertainment cuts down on travel and carbon emissions. Also acoustic musicians can cut down on electricity.
“Local vendors are not more expensive than in Calgary,” said Schrempf. “Calgary vendors are actually more expensive than our vendors.”
More information about eco-friendly weddings can be found at www.sweatoccasionsbanff.com or by contacting Angela Schrempf at 403-678-6366 or by email at angela@sweetoccasionsbanff.com.
Angela Makes the 1st Page!
- Author: Angela Schrempf
- Filed under: News
Sep 3,2009
See Angela on the Right hand side
I made the front page of our local news paper, the Canmore Leader today! The article is about the participation in the local theater group (yes I LOVE to act!) The Pine Tree Players. I auditioned for the play “Toronto, Mississippi” for the character of Jhana. Jhana is an 18 year old girl who comes from a broken home. She is the character that links everyone together and is a loving yet confused girl.
I would like to thank my mom for the ability to try out for this character, if it weren’t for her stunning young complexion which she passed on to me, I may look my real age! Haha
Read my article below:
Pine Tree Players challenge with a warm look at life
Posted By Hamish MacLean/hamish@canmoreleader.com
Auditions have begun for the Pine Tree Players’ fall production. And the group is still receiving feedback from the last Pine Tree production.
“Almost, Maine” bordered on surrealism and took a look at a number of forms of personal relationships tied together as lives in a town that never really made it to get official recognition.
While, the coincidentally geographically titled, “Toronto, Mississippi” looks at the dynamics in a family of sorts, in a period when non-traditional families were becoming more prevalent, this offering looks at the lives surrounding a teenager struggling towards self-sufficiency.
Shirley Tooke, the director, called the play, well-written, humourous and character driven.
“It has its serious side and it has its comic side,” she said. “It’s a drama, which life is.”
A long-term Banff resident, Tooke directed Ayn Rand’s “The Night of January 16th,” two years ago for the Pine Tree Players. She has a master of fine arts in directing from the University of Alberta, was a teacher of drama at several universities in Canada and taught at the Banff Centre for 10 years. She said she’s looking forward to filling the four roles that “Toronto, Mississippi” offers.
Playwright Joan MacLeod has in the past been a writer at the Banff Centre and, Tooke said, quite likely the seed for “Toronto, Mississippi” was germinated there.
MacLeod’s play, though, centres around a teenager, or young adult, with developmental issues. The play was written in 1987 and Tooke has decided to keep the play in that period and so the character of Jhana will be referred to as “moderately mentally handicapped.”
“She looks normal,” Tooke explained, “But then she does unusual things.”
The three other roles are supportive — and support plays a role in the play. Jhana’s father returns to the home in the play. King, an Elvis impersonator, left when Jhana was eight years old and believes he is helping when he continues to come back into their lives for a couple of weeks at a time, Tooke said. A graduate student, a poet named Bill, who boards in the home, also tries to help Jhanna but may or may not be helpful. And Jhanna’s mother, Maddie, a high school teacher, hopes her daughter will become self-sufficient.
Tooke said she’d like to have the play cast by Sunday. And is eager to start working with the actors on the play. She’s looking forward to working with a small cast. Aside from the first three scenes, Tooke said, the four characters spend most of their time together.
“I’ve been wanting to do it since I saw it,” Tooke said. “I saw it with my husband in the ‘80s. I saw it not knowing anything about it. We just wanted to go to a play. We were in Vancouver. We walked in and had no idea what it was about and I was totally absorbed in it, right from the beginning — and so was he. It makes you feel good, this play, when you walk out of it.”
“Pine Tree knows this play as well,” Bob Snape, the executive producer of the play, said “This script is something that we looked at many years ago and we didn’t think the community was ready for this script at that time. But now we think we have an intelligent audience — enough that Pine Tree is very ready to do this play.
“It’s all part of our step forward — into our not always presenting the light-hearted, Neil Simon-ish, comedies all the time — stepping out of the box, challenging ourselves, challenging the audiences. And this certainly does it.”
“Toronto, Mississippi” opens Remembrance Day (Nov. 11) at the Canmore Miners’ Union Hall. And while it runs auditioning for Pine Tree’s upcoming musical, “Lucky Stiff,” directed by Rob Murray, will take place, Snape said.
Thanks for reading!
Angela Schrempf