Shannon + Phil's Fairmont Mountain View Lawn Wedding

Shannon and Phil live in San Francisco, but their hearts are deeply rooted in BC’s wilderness. Whistler has long been one of their favourite places—where they’ve spent countless days skiing, mountain biking, and building deep friendships with locals from both Whistler and Vancouver, where Phil grew up. It made perfect sense that they wanted to bring their people together here, in a place that already held so much of their story.

Originally, they had planned to host their wedding at Tyax Lodge on Tyaughton Lake—a remote and stunning location. But just ten days before their big day, the Gun Lake wildfire swept through the area and forced the lodge to evacuate. No venue. No backup. Just a deep breath and a quick pivot.

Enter Erin Kincaid of Bliss Events. Having an experienced wedding planner in your corner is invaluable—especially when life throws you a wildfire. Erin quickly secured the Fairmont Mountain View Lawn, a venue that happened to become available early due to the season’s unusually fast toad migration around Lost Lake. We pulled together clear-top tents, repurposed the original décor, and created a new plan that felt just as intentional and beautiful as the first.

Knowing how important the mountains were to Shannon and Phil—but also how much they valued time with their guests—we decided to do their portraits on Whistler Mountain the day before the wedding. We rode the gondola, explored alpine trails, and made space for just the two of them to slow down and connect. It gave them those once-in-a-lifetime mountain portraits while freeing up their entire wedding day to be fully present with their people.

The wedding itself was deeply personal. Friends performed live music, another friend officiated the ceremony, and the vibe was joyfully grounded. As the sun dipped behind the mountains, dinner gave way to dancing under the stars—just as it should.

What I’ll remember most about this day isn’t just how beautiful it looked (and it was stunning), but how resilient and grounded Shannon and Phil were through it all. Their wedding was a reminder that when you let go of what it was supposed to be, you make space for what it can become. And with the right team around you, sometimes it turns out even better.

Check out the vendors that helped pull together this amazing Fairmont Mountain View Lawn wedding at the bottom of the blog!