Wedding | Nat & Nick

Tell us a little about yourselves!

We are two designers who met in architecture school in Vancouver, but discovered — in true invisible string fashion — we grew up just 10 minutes away from each other in Toronto. We became good friends and stayed that way for a few years, though with a touch of secret yearning. The sparks ignited by a campfire under the stars in an alpine meadow. Two years later, Nick proposed on another mountain in his ancestral homeland of the Austrian Alps.

Why did you decide to get married where you did?

Our venue was the graduate student pub on the campus of our architecture school. Depending on who you ask, we may or may not have met there — but Nat clearly remembers it as the setting for the moment she first thought, “huh, he’s cute…”.

It’s a tree-nestled, classically West Coast Modern building with a generous multi-level patio that allowed us to sequence new experiences throughout the evening. It brought together many of our shared interests: architecture, nature, and years of good memories with friends. That familiarity gave us the chance to subvert expectations with how we transformed the space from casual pub to wedding venue.

How many guests did you have?

Around 100. Mason Neufeld (MasonXMata) captured our day.

What was your budget?

Around $80k CAD which included our welcome event as well as the wedding.

Tell us about your outfits.

Our garments were made here in Canada, which allowed us to be involved in their construction process.

Nat’s dress was from a new Toronto-based brand, Former Girlfriend. The design felt fresh and contemporary yet historically referential, which really resonated. She worked with her tailor, Joanna Delaney, to create a structured and sculptural bustle that transformed the dress for the reception. Complete with lace opera gloves, a silk choker, and a fan her cousin brought from Korea, it completely shifted the energy for a night on the dance floor.

Nick’s suit was made here in Vancouver by Modernize Tailors. Counter to their name, their shop feels like stepping into a time capsule. They have a vast library of fabrics complete with a rolling ladder. The suit was fully bespoke, so Nick worked closely with their team on the design down to button placement, lapel notches, and pocket details.

What was the most important aspect for you, in terms of planning your wedding?

As designers, the visual and sensory world of our wedding was a top priority. We wanted to create an environment that spoke to our identity as a couple. Beauty is a guiding principle for us, one that encompasses romance, creativity, and a deep connection to nature. We represented this through a visual theme dedicated to the beauty of a tropical sunset.

Our colour palette, lighting, florals, and installations were all crafted towards a warm golden-orange glow that would contrast the misty greens of our Pacific Northwest setting. To our surprise and delight, the evening turned out to be unusually warm, with a real golden sunset filtering in through the trees.

Were there any elements that were important for you to incorporate?

It was important for Nat to honour her Korean heritage. Rather than a separate Korean ceremony, we decided to reinterpret key symbolic artifacts and weave them into our Western ceremony.

The traditional Korean ceremony takes place in front of a Byeong Pung (folding screen), so we designed our own interpretation to use as our altar. We maintained the traditional form, scale, and rhythm, but abstracted the literal symbols typically painted on the panels. Evergreen trees translated to the wood structure and cranes translated to the bird of paradise blooms. We built the piece ourselves and worked with our florist, La Bomba, to design the floral arrangements that populated it.

We extended the same logic to our lighting. We designed and built lanterns inspired by the Korean Chorong style from Nat’s childhood home. The overall form and proportions were preserved, while the materials were simplified and abstracted.

Both the altar and the lanterns now live in our apartment as functional mementos and continued design experiments that inform our shared practice.

Any tips for couples getting married?

We found it helpful to look beyond the wedding industry when something didn’t align for us visually or financially. This led us to build our own altar and lanterns, and to one of our favourite elements: the raw clay slabs used as floral vessels. Dissatisfied with catalogue options for vessels, we spoke with our florist, La Bomba, about alternatives. They suggested sourcing raw clay to create sculptural and striking little islands for the tables. The clay can be reused, which gives us another stream of continuity for our wedding materials.

Overall, we’d recommend staying open to creative solutions when limitations arise, whether that’s executed by yourself or your vendors. For us, these often unexpected solutions became some of our favourite elements of the wedding.

Are there any vendors that you would like to tell us a little more about?

Our harpist, Lani Krantz, played as our guests arrived and for the ceremony processional. It added such a beautiful atmospheric layer that really set the tone for our day. Lani is incredibly talented: we requested a song that had only been released about a week before the wedding and she was able to arrange and play it beautifully.

Photographer: Mason Neufeld @masonxmata | Spatial & Installation Design: Nat Kim @natkim_ | Flora: La Bomba Floristry @labomba_floristry | Day of Coordination: Laurent Gut @elyseandco.ca | Ceremony & Reception Location: Koerner’s Pub @koernerspub | Rentals: Pedersen’s @pedersens

eventrentals; Koncept @koncept.events | HMUA: Rio Translado @riotranslado | Bridesmaids & MOB Hair: Save the Date Beauty @savethedatebeauty | Catering & Beverages: Loafe Catering @loafecafe | Tiramisu: True Confections | Entertainment (DJ): Jamal Hamadeh | Harpist: Lani Krantz  @lanikrantz | Dress: Former Girlfriend @former.girlfriend | Welcome Event Dress: Mirror Palais  @mirrorpalais | Dress Alterations & Veil: Joanna Delaney @joannadelaneystudio | Suit: Modernize Tailors @modernizetailors | Wedding Rings (Bride): Sital Jansson @sitaljansson | Shoes: Reformation @reformation | Gloves: Anna Naumenko | Silk Tie Necklace: Wolf Circus  @wolf_circus | Celebrant: Gaby Eirew | Stationery: by the Bride