Whistler Steve | Whistler Marriage Officiant | Winnie + Jake

I had the privilege of being the Whistler marriage officiant for Winnie + Jake’s wedding at the Brew Creek Center. It was a cold & windy, but perfect day!

Winnie and Jake wedding portrait with mountain views

Whistler marriage officiant performing wedding ceremony

As a Whistler marriage officiant, it was a pleasure to perform the wedding ceremony for Winnie + Jake at the Brew Creek Center. This beautiful sunny day in mid-March was also unique, as I was playing double duty. I was photographing the wedding as well as performing the ceremony. During the ceremony, I had brought a great friend and amazing photographer along, Janice Power, to capture the portions I wasn’t able to.

With only 22 guests, the wedding was very intimate and allowed all of the guests to stay on-site for the weekend. Winnie and Jake got prepped for the wedding in separate cabins just a few steps from each other. They then braved the cold for an intimate first look in the forest before we headed towards Squamish for a few portraits. A blue-bird day in March is rare for this part of the province and the weather looked promising, as we were supposed to take a helicopter flight into the Tantalus mountain range for their wedding portraits. Unfortunately, 100km/h winds prevented the helicopter from flying and we were forced to stay in the valley for their photos. Winnie and Jake braved the wind like champions though and we were still able to get some great mountain photos.

Once we were back at the Brew Creek Center, I met up with Janice and switched roles from photographer to Whistler marriage officiant and invited the guests into the ceremony space. Once Jake was in place, Fiona, the wedding coordinator from the Brew Creek Center, cued the music and let Winnie know that it was time. The massive smiles on both of their faces gave away just how excited they were for this moment. After my welcome remarks and a few words I had written about love and mountains, Jake’s sister Rikki, read a beautiful passage about adventure from Winnie’s favourite series – The Chronicles of Narnia #7 by C.S. Lewis.

For the coup de grâce of the ceremony, and just before I pronounce Winnie and Jake as married, they each recited beautiful vows that they had written together.

With all that I am – I will Love you,
With all that I have – I will give to you;
I take you as you are,
Loving who you are now and trusting who you are yet to become;
I promise to respect, encourage and support you;
I will grow with you and be kind even when it’s hard;
I promise to work at our love and not take you for granted;
I will be your partner in all things;
I choose you and promise to keep choosing you over and over;
by Winnie and Jake

Winnie and Jake then shared a perfect first kiss, and recessed down the aisle to cheers and applause from everybody in attendance!

Normally, I am only either the photographer or the marriage officiant at weddings, but to be trusted to perform both duties was really special. Check out the images from the day below, as well as all of the vendor credits at the bottom!