simply salt spring - jessie carlson€¦ · simply salt spring jessie carlson and ben yardley...
TRANSCRIPT
Simply Salt Spring
Jessie Carlson and Ben Yardley September 6, 2008
Stowel Lake Farm, Salt Spring Island, BC
Written by Larry Pellizzari
Photographed by Jenna Tye
Jessie & Ben wed in the casual rural elegance of a Salt Spring Island farm.
When vAnCouver stylist Jessie CArlson first Met her
futurehusbandBenYardley,oneofherinitialthoughts
was“What’swithalltheeyeliner?”Jessiewaswitha
groupoffriendscheckingoutBen’sindie-rockbandChinatown.
Onstage,Benwasdeckedoutinrockstarstageregaliawhich
includedeyemakeupandnailpolish.
“IknewwhoJessiewasthroughamutualfriend,”Benrecalls.
“I’dsaidthatIthoughtJessiewassuper-hot,butaskedmyfriend
nottosayanything.Ofcourse,shetoldJessierightaway.”
SoBen’sattractionwasalreadyintheopenwhenafewweeks
laterheandJessiewereamongagroupoffriendsouttoseea
friend’sbandperform.ThatnightBenaskedJessieout,andthe
nextweektheywentontheirfirstdate.
“Hewasn’tthetypeofpersonI
thoughtIwouldeverdate,”Jessie
reminisces.“Hewasamusicianand
wasalwaysontourandhadallthese
girlsfollowingafterhim.Butwhen
Igottoknowhim,hewassointel-
ligent,andkindandsweet.Norock
starcooler-than-thouattitude.He
wasjustareally,reallygoodman.”
Theydatedforayear-and-a-half,thenmovedintogether.“That
wasabigdecisionforme,”saysJessie.“Butthingsfeltsoright:
Therewasn’talotofdrama…thingsjustflowedbetweenus.”Ben
concurs,“Weweresohappy.”
Theybegandiscussingmarriage,andstartedshoppingfor
engagementrings,eventuallyfindingabeautifulvintageringatLa
ContessaAntiquesinWestVancouver.“Iusedtogobacktothe
storetolookattheringbecauseIloveditsomuch,”saysJessie.
“ThenonedayIfoundoutitwassold;Iwasdevastated.”
ItturnsoutthatBenhadboughttheringandsnuckithomewith
elaborateproposalscenariosplayinginhismind.“Iwasthinking,
‘It’sgottobeperfect.’Maybeoutonaboatorinafancyrestaurant
Right Jessie in her veil and favourite cowboy boots at
Hastings House, where she, her family and bridesmaids stayed the
night before the wedding. The boots proved ideal footwear
for an outdoor wedding.
Below A bouquet of white roses, hydrangeas, orchids and verbena in one of the galvanized steel buckets
that suited the setting perfectly.
“Icouldn’twaitanylonger.
Iproposedtoherrighttherein
thehallway.”
oronatrip—somethingoutofamovie.”Thateveninghe
andJessiehaddinnerguestsover.“Ikeptsneakingoffto
lookatthering,”Benrecalls.“Iwassoexcited.Whenour
guestsfinallyleft,assoonasthedoorclosed,IsaidtoJessie,
‘GuesswhatIgot?’Icouldn’twaitanylonger.Iproposedto
herrightthereinthehallway.”
Theystartedplanningtheirweddingwiththeguidelinethatitbe“reallyreal,reallyauthen-
ticandcomfortableforpeople.”AccordingtoJessie,“Thingsfellintoplaceoncewefoundthe
location.”
ThecoupleoftenspentweekendsonSaltSpringIsland,whereBengrewupandwhere
hisfamilystilllives.OneafternoonwhileridingaroundtheislandonBen’smotorcyclethey
stoppedatStowelLakeFarmwhereheusedtoridehorsesasachild.About10yearsagothe
barnwasconvertedintoareceptionandeventvenuewithhugefloor-to-ceilingwindowsover-
lookingthelushgrounds.Jessieimmediatelyfellinlovewiththefarm.“Welookedateach
otherandIsaid,‘Thisiswherewe’regoingtogetmarried.’”
Theypreparedthebarnwithchandeliersandlinensforthereception,andwere
wedamidstthenaturalbeautyoftheperennialgarden.Thedaywasfilledwithper-
sonaltouchesfromthewhimsicalricecrispycaketothegalvanizedsteelbucketsof
whiteroses,hydrangeas,orchidsandverbenaplacedaroundthesite.Jessie’sgown,
designedbyVancouvercouturierManuelMendoza,wasaccentuatedbyablack
belt,adornedwithturquoiseandsilverconchas.
Afterdinnerandspeeches,thecouplesharedtheirfirstdanceashusbandand
wife.Whenthebandkickedup,Benpickeduphisguitarandjoinedhisband-
mates.HededicatedtheFacessong“OohLaLa”toJessie.“Inthesong,agrandfa-
thertellshisgrandsonaboutwomen,”Benexplains.“Ittalksaboutgrowingupand
hasresonanceabouttheimportanteventsinlife.”
JessieandBensharedthismostimportantevent—theirunion—instyle,with
laughterandmusicfloatingtotheidyllic,starrySaltSpringsky. rw
Left from top Jessie walks with her mother and father in front of Stowel Lake Farm’s beautifully converted barn. Jesse’s mother wears a strapless floral dress from Manuel Mendoza.
Bridesmaids carry bouquets of white roses, dusty miller and miniature green cymbidium orchids. Their dresses were from Manuel Mendoza.
Bottom left Jessie and Ben enjoy the presence of friends and family during after-dinner speeches.
Bottom right The barn at Stowel Lake Farm was the perfect venue for an evening of dancing. Ben’s band supplied the live music. Chandeliers provided by Upright Decor in Vancouver.
56 real weddings
1 Jessie’sbouquetconsistedmainlyofwhiteroseswithaccentsoflisianthus,bellsofIreland,greenhypericumber-ries,dustymiller,andalstroemeria.Hersisterisafloristandprovidedinsightandinspirationforthedesign.
2 Thereception’sentertainmentinclud-edmusicbyBen’spart-timeband,LittleSisterandtheTimeMachine.“It’snothingserious,theyalljustgetalotofjoyoutofplayingtogether,”explainsJessie.
3 SaltSpringIsland’sDinnersReadyCateringcreatedawhimsicalricecrispycake,anodtothetreatJessieandBenusedtomakealmosteverynight.
4 AsBenisamusicianandJessieafashionstylist,thetabledecorbecameanextensionofwhattheylove.Tablesfeaturedthecouple’sfavouritebandsandadsofJessie’sfavouritefashiondesigners.
5 Antiqueglassvasesandgalvanizedsteelbucketsofliveflowerswereplacedaroundthesite,lendingashabby/chiclook.
6 BenbuiltaboxfortheplacecardsusingoldpiecesofpinecollectedfromaroundSaltSpring.JessiehandwroteallthecardswhichwerepurchasedfromMichael’sandplacedthemonabedofmossinthebox.
7 Jessie’s“somethingblue”weretheturquoiseaccentsonheraccessories.Theturquoiseandsilverconchasonherbeltcamefromabeltofhermother’sandcomplementedhergrandmother’sturquoise,diamond,andsilverbracelet.
How they did it
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The Details
The Dream TeamBridal Planner:EasyElegancewww.weddingsonsaltspring.comPhotographer: JennaTyePhotographywww.jennatye.comCeremony & Reception Venue:StowelLakeFarmwww.stowellakefarm.com Bride’s Dress: ManuelMendozawww.manuelmendoza.comGroom’s Attire: HarryRosenwww.harryrosen.com Bride’s Shoes: WesternTownBootswww.westerncorral.caStationery: Paperqueenwww.thepaperqueen.comFlowers: FlowersbyArrangementwww.flowersbyarrangement.caCake & Catering: Dinner’sReadywww.dinnersreadyonsaltspring.com Wedding Rings: MJJewellerswww.mjjewellers.ca