A Moody + Tropical Travel-Inspired Wedding In Vancouver

A few years ago, Meg + Daniel set off on an adventure to Medellin, Colombia for a friend’s destination wedding. They were so taken with the lush + vibrant surroundings that—when they started wedding planning themselves—they just couldn’t shake the memory of the unforgettable colors + atmosphere they fell in love with in the tropics.

That’s how this moody, tropical wedding day came to be! 

Bride Meg White is no stranger to the wedding world. Her work as a stationary designer for Vancouver-based event design + rental company Bespoke Decor means she’s been part of many couples’ special days. With her wedding to now-husband Daniel in the works, Meg turned the day’s design over to her colleagues at Bespoke Decor and the planners at Smitten Events. From there, this swanky, botanical celebration took shape at The Wallace, a blank canvas of an industrial venue in North Vancouver that functioned as the perfect backdrop for the day’s cohesive + immersive design vision. 

The color palette was rich. The floral arrangements were full of tropical greenery + blooms. The decor was packed with creative details. And! There was a piñata.

We cannot get enough of the gorgeous pictures from The Apartment Photography. Let’s take a look!

“Our florals were from Encorce Florals, who worked alongside Bespoke Decor to surprise us and we were obsessed with all of the details,” says Meg. “From the bouquet, to the statement ceremony pieces, to the tablescape florals featuring fresh fruit (many of our guests kept asking if it was real), the florals truly took the looked out of this world.”

The First Look: Pt. I – Meg + Daniel

How did bride Meg find her lovely, lacy, butterfly sleeve wedding gown? “Surprisingly I was influenced by an Instagram ad from Vow’d Weddings for my wedding dress about a year prior, and after some research, video consultations, and ordering it online, I knew it was the one.”

Save The Date Beauty created Meg’s wavy, intricate half up half down bridal hairstyle.

“October 14th is truly a significant day for Daniel and I,” says Meg of the couple’s choice to opt for a Fall wedding. “It marks the day of our first date, getting engaged in the South of France three years later, and the date conveniently landed on a Saturday in 2023, lining up perfectly for our wedding day.”

Daniel’s moody dark green wedding suit came from Debonaire. Love the way that color makes the warm tones in the floral details pop!

Make a mental note of Daniel’s tie’s tropical pattern…

…cause here it is again in Meg + Daniel’s adorable matching patterned socks! Keep an eye out—you will be seeing that pattern again.

Also, we are loving Meg’s chic white pointed toe wedding boots from Lulus! Boots always pair so well with a boho wedding dress vibe.

The First Look: Pt. II – The Venue!

“We were lucky to have *two* first looks – one with each other and with the venue before guests arrived,” says the couple of the special part of the day when they got to see the space for the first time.

“We let the Bespoke Decor team take lead on the design and completely surprise us day-of (they rocked it!). They designed all the decor areas from the ceremony, to the reception space, to the lounges, to the bar and decor vignettes. We were blown away by the details and how it all came together to create a moody ambiance.”

If you’re loving the earthy tones in this tropical color world, check out our collection of the best sage green bridesmaid dresses!

Venue first looks like Meg + Daniel’s are quickly becoming one of our favorite trends. SO much hard work goes into planning a wedding, and giving the bride + groom a moment to see everything come together might just be a must-have part of a wedding day timeline.

The Ceremony

There’s that gorgeously moody tropical pattern again!

Okay, we have a MAJOR crush on this flawless ceremony backdrop. The florals, the drapery, the pendant lights, the painted + patterned flats! So much warmth + texture!

This is the dense + vibrant tropical floral arrangement of our dreams. Total mossy, palm frond-filled perfection.

“We had our good friend and realtor be our officiant, and she did an incredible job telling our story,” says the couple. “Our wedding bands were a memorable moment. 100 Ways helped to incorporate Daniel’s late father’s wedding ring by melting it down to create our wedding bands.”

Our Musical Choices
Processional
"To Build a Home" by Cinematic Orchestra Recessional 
Recessional
"Fire in the Sky" by Anderson .Paak
First Dance
"Good Together" by Honne

The Reception

“For the seating chart, Bespoke Decor designed a seating chart vignette with custom vinyled pillars (that glowed!). They incorporated pops of colour with drape, tropical plants, and custom printed seating chart artwork,” remembers Meg. “I had some fun playfully incorporating a celebrity into each table (unless a friend truly brought Pedro Pascal as their +1).”

Not only did Railtown Catering provide the celebration’s amazing meal, they also tended this gorgeous green tile backdrop bar during cocktail hour and throughout the night!

Nothing like a champagne wall! Guests were invited to snag a glass of bubbly from these moody + modern dark metal shelves full of plants + glowy candles.

“We incorporated some non-alcoholic options with mocktails and beer,” says Meg of the wedding’s tasty tropical drink menu, “and also had Mai Tais and Negronis as our signature cocktails. They were big crowd-pleasers!”

We love the way this recurring moody tropical floral pattern created a visual anchor for the entire day’s design. And! How fun is this wall calendar wedding guest book idea!

“The wall was the true work of art,” says Meg of this inviting seating banquette’s wall decor. “A half-circle of the pattern found throughout the decor, a “We Are The Party” neon sign from Stevenson Creative, and lastly a graphic projection created by the groom himself! Daniel has a background in visual effects, and wanted to use his talents in making something for the wedding, using the pattern florals as inspiration, the projection was on a minute loop and played through the whole night.”

“The tablescapes had stationery including half-circle table ‘names’ in reference to some of our favourite places around the world, and custom made menus,” says Meg. “I used a Cricut to individually cut each of our 96 guest’s names for the menus. I truly enjoyed this process as it reminded us that we intentionally invited each of our guests and how large of a role they played in this day and our lives.”

After using her stationary design talents to add to the celebrations of so many other couples, it was super exciting for Meg to get to see paper goods she’d created worked into her own wedding day! We are obsessed with these menus and the way they mixed bright tropical fonts with deep, moody foundational colors.

A custom neon sign is such a fun + vibey way to leave your mark on the reception space. We love that it’s something you can then work into your home decor post-wedding!

Check out our collection of the best boho wedding dresses if you’re loving the lacy + effortless silhouette of Meg’s wedding day look!

Our Advice
To be honest, we didn’t have a 'traditional' wedding party and we're so glad we did it this way. We were still surrounded by our friends from getting ready to the end of the night, and still felt the support. It also allowed us to prevent any awkwardness for choosing people, and also our friends all got to sit with their significant others and choose their own outfits.

We’re also so glad we put trust into our vendors, they know what they’re doing and it allowed us to sit back and enjoy the day, rather than worry about the little details. We came in with no expectations, which allowed us to not stress about what could have been.

For the Survivor fans out there: Meg + Daniel were gifted custom Survivor Buffs during the reception as a symbol of merging their two families!

It’s Not a Party Without a Piñata

“Before the dance floor, I wanted to incorporate a piñata as it’s been a tradition at many of my birthdays,” Meg says, “so we ordered a heart-shaped one and added Just Married as a fun, new take on the traditional wedding cake.”

Grab your own custom white heart wedding piñata to embrace your inner child and incorporate Meg + Daniels new wedding reception tradition!

Our Favorite Memory
Some of our stand out moments were on the dance floor, whether it was having our guests join for the last third of our first dance (great way to start the dance floor), or having us dance together being surrounded by our favourite people.

“For the rest of the night our DJ, About Town Entertainment, did an incredible job keeping the energy alive that we spent the majority of our time on the dance floor (except to sneak away to the late night snack, a cereal bar!),” Meg remembers.

“Truly some of my favourite memories of the night are Daniel and I dancing with each other, being surrounded by everyone else as we danced the night away!”

What better way to end the night than with some ice cream from Rain Or Shine!

Congratulations, Meg + Daniel! Your chic Vancouver wedding was moody, tropical magic. All the best from GWS!