Here are a few of my favorite things…and a handful of tips that may help with your destination wedding planning…local and otherwise. Click on the icon to visit the site. First things first. My Facebook page and Twitter account. Feel free to follow along.

Next up, my newest favorite spot for a brewski in the Bow Valley – The Banff Ave Brewing Co. We usually find ourselves here after a day of skiing…or even if we have to run into Banff for a quick errand. Now, if only they opened up a Canmore Main Street Brewing Company within walking distance of our house.

Wedding Obsession is an Alberta-based wedding blog featuring mostly Canadian real weddings…a great resource to keep up with local trends and ideas as well as scout for potential vendors in your area.

WeddingsInAlberta.com is obviously another interactive online resource for weddings in this region. Be sure to check out the “Love in the Rockies” area of the website, showcasing real weddings and local vendors from our area. Weddings In Alberta is also a gorgeous monthly magazine, brides-to-be can sign up via the website to receive complimentary copies of the magazine throughout their planning process.

If we get a chance to meet up for a chat before your wedding or portrait session, I will likely suggest that we rendez vous at Communitea. Great big bright windows. Nice spacious tables. Bean bag chairs. Fantastic barista skills. Tasty lunch bowls. Fresh CUPCAKES every Friday! It’s a good spot. They also host frequent live music events.

A helpful wedding-related site I’ve recently come across is Weddinggawker. It’s a place where wedding professionals can submit a blog post sharing a great idea, tip or even just some pretty images. This particular site is a great way to quickly browse through what’s happening in the current online wedding world. Users create a personal account in order to mark useful posts as favorites for easy revisiting. It doesn’t stop with Weddinggawker…in fact there is an entire “Gawkerverse” which includes Foodgawker, Dwellinggawker and Craftgawker…happy gawking!

If you like the look and idea of DIY for your wedding…but you don’t actually want to do it yourself, Etsy is the most incredible resource. I’ve purchased almost my entire wedding outfit from Etsy…including the dress which was created by a lovely lady in Greece!

Novelle is an Edmonton Bridal store. Even though in the end, I opted to have my wedding dress custom made, I really had the very best dress shopping experience here…I went to many bridal stores before I found any dresses I was interested in trying on. Because I knew I wanted something a little bit different for my wedding outfit, I was getting discouraged of seeing rack after rack of nothing but really typical flowery sparkly strapless gowns. Novelle carries tons variety if you’re looking for less of a cookie cutter dress option…however the selection is by no means overwhelming to browse. Another thing that really pleased me was that most of their sample dresses were in the range of size 8-12 so I could actually get an idea of how the dress would fit me. The prices are very reasonable and the shop girls are super lovely!

Probably my favorite wedding blog out there – Ruffled. Scads and scads of offbeat, quirky vintage inspired DIY ideas and real weddings to get some ideas flowing.

The Trough is the first kitchen Adam worked in when we moved to town…I was super lucky to have plenty of half-price date nights here throughout his employment! He has now moved into a whole brand new career [I'm just thrilled to now have "my chef" home to share dinners with!] which means the Trough is a bit more of a treat for us, but still my favorite dinner spot in town if we’re really looking to splurge. Plan to sit down and enjoy the meal for a good couple of hours. You have to try the ribs. TRUST ME.

I first met Callandra back in the spring of 2010. We were in the same boat; both Cherry Tree Occasions and Julie Williams Photography were gearing up for the first summer in businesses here in the Bow Valley. She spoke about her “who says you have to” approach to wedding coordination and I was hooked. Long before Adam & I were planning a wedding, I knew that was the theme I would like to keep for our own event. She caters to the fun, quirky, whimsical couple looking to wed in the Rockies. Since our initial coffee date, we have worked together on several weddings and projects…in fact Callandra helped us coordinate our own amazing little wedding! I couldn’t ask for a better partner in crime.

Two Jack Lake. I love this pretty little peninsula in Banff National Park for a small wedding ceremony. Most brides and grooms invite their guests to stand around them as they say their vows…but if you’d like to offer seating maybe some mismatched patchy blankets set out to sit on would be cute too.

Emerald Lake. One of my favorite corners of the Rockies…and it just happens to be an outstanding wedding venue. It’s a bit of a hike from Banff or Canmore, but this just means it’s a true getaway for your guests! Best of all…no cell reception.

Finally, Canmore’s Harvest Cafe. Harvest is one of those places I crave on a dim, drizzly day. It’s a cozy, homey spot tucked away on one of the sidestrees in downtown Canmore. Fresh homemade soups daily, scrumptious paninis and wraps, warm and gooey cinnamon buns each Saturday and their toffee crunch bar is my ultimate guilty pleasure. This little gem is owned and operated by a couple of my local clients: The Fonseca Family and the Eckerts. Please do drop me a line if you’d like any additional tips regarding my local recommended wedding vendors.