raj&jess wedding-194_websize.jpg — Red String of Fate

A love story of two long lost soulmates.
Our lovely Lis Simon Bride Jessica who chose to wear her custom Keegan.

T H E L O V E S T O R Y

“We met the first day I moved to Calgary 4 years ago!”

Jessica’s best friend, Steve, invited her to join their softball team, little did she know, she was going to meet the love of her life. “Raj was funny, super handsome, and Mr. Personality, I instantly had my eye on him” Jessica describes. The two were both music lovers and about a year later, they found themselves at the same funk show and ended up at the same mutual friend’s party afterwards – looks like destiny itself brought them together hey?

When Jessica was about to leave, Raj sat next to her by the fire and stories were exchanged. After chatting for a while, she decided to tell her feelings and Raj’s response was an instant swoop and kiss on the lips, “instant sparks, like nothing I had ever felt”. After that day, the two were inseparable and quickly realized they were long lost best friends and soulmates in every sense. Shortly after dating, Raj had a serious foot surgery that left her caring for him for a couple months. The couple joked that the incident was their big test before they had to be quarantined together for the past year – “we were both very happy to have found our other half and were very excited to start planning our big day.”

T H E P R O P O S A L

 November 29th, 2019

Both Jessica and Raj had planned a weekend in Banff for her friend Isabelle’s birthday. A trip to the gondola was on the list as Raj had never been on top of Sulphur Mountain. “I am very afraid of heights and an absolute nervous wreck on any ski lift or gondola I have ever been on and did not expect that day to be any different! I should have known something was up.” Raj is one of the most outgoing and sure people that Jessica have ever met and surprisingly, he was quiet, and his vibe completely changed when they were waiting for the gondola.

On their way up to the mountain, Jessica was trying her best not to panic, Raj took her hand and got down on one knee and asked the most awaited question, will you marry me? “I had never seen a more nervous Raj, even to this day” Jessica describes. She’s been hoping that day would come, but Raj totally caught her off guard in her state of fear and could not have picked a better time to surprise her. “I, of course said yes and I completely forgot where we were and my fear just turned to overwhelming joy”, The couple took a moment to embrace their happiness in front of the “most incredible sprawling mountain views”.

Smart guy...where was I supposed to run to if I said no? He knew there was never a chance I would.

T H E D R E S S

“I did not find my dress, my dress found me. I cannot be more grateful to Lis Simon for making my Keegan dreams a reality”.

Jessica described herself as one of the most indecisive people she knows and was worried about her dress journey. She decided to browse wedding dresses online to get some inspiration, and “stopped dead in my tracks when I saw a photo of Keegan”. She fell in love with the lace and the silhouette of the dress, which surprised her as she did not want a strapless nor a traditional ivory dress, “there was just something calling out to me – one thing I did know was that it invoked such a reaction that I needed to try it on to see how I felt”.

Jessica went to her first bridal appointment with an open mind but was really looking forward to trying on Keegan. As she was trying the dress on, she was told that Lis Simon will do any custom work in any way she desires. Right away, she requested an underlay mocha and changed the bodice to Jude. “I had never been so sure of something I had never seen or tried before in my life – It was just meant to be and was everything I have imagine and more”.

T H E E L O P E M E N T

April 3rd, 2021 at Banff Alberta

On a balcony overlooking the town at the base of Sulphur Mountain where they got engaged

Rustic, casual, deep burgundy floral, woodland arch, and lanterns was the overall theme of their elopement.

It was a day of late morning and a full day of photos around Banff with their wedding party. Followed by a late afternoon ceremony where the vows were exchanged WITH the sun shining! What makes it more special? Both of their family and friends all over Canada, US and the UK joined the ceremony via Zoom!

After the ceremony, they had their first cake cutting and first dance right out on the balcony. A 7-course meal at the hotel was provided to their guests, and they both snuck away to have their last 3 courses privately in their suite to ensure quality time on their special day. A classic and sentimental bonfire was followed after dinner – speeches and reflections were exchanged: “it was very quaint, casual, relaxed evening, and everything we could have ever dreamed of”.

Their special day finished off by a Mini Honeymoon in the Athabasca Cabin at Fairmont Jasper Park Lodge. “Our butler team went above and beyond to make our stay an absolute dream, even building us a pillow fort! We hope to get a nice sunny getaway once restrictions allow us to do so”.

Why did you choose to elope?

“Elopement chose us (thanks to covid)!”

The couple initially planned on a small ceremony in Las Vegas, with a traditional 450 person Indian Reception in Calgary. However, due to the global pandemic, they had to change plans according to the government restrictions. “Hope to still have a big party with family and friends when it is safe to do so!”, said Jessica.

Highlights from your elopement

Jessica and Raj both came from two different backgrounds and traditions around weddings. They grew up with distinct and certain visions of how they wanted their special day would be, but also learned a lot from each other’s traditions and wanted to incorporate something important from both parties. “We really took the time to make the day our own and although it was no way traditional, it was perfect for us!”

A few anecdotes from Jessica on their elopement:

I had 2 Bridesmen and 2 Maid(s) of Honor who helped with the dress and accessories with Steve (bridesmen), walking me down the aisle. He introduced us so it was very special and fitting.
The first look and the excitement and anticipation I felt while turning that corner to see my handsome groom. He looked like a prince, and I just stared at him in awe all day long.
Reading our vows. I am pretty sure there were a lot of happy tears from all over
Our first dance. Our wedding party all started singing along with one even busting out into his own interpretive love dance. It was very special and a memory we will never forget.
The special video and message board from family sending their love and well wishes that my maid of honor put together for us.
The absolutely incredible and loving speech our best man Brady gave us at the fire after our meal.

raj&jess wedding-39_websize.jpg — FROM JESSICA

Make sure you set aside even just a few moments for just the both of you to enjoy some time together. The day goes by so quickly and I am very grateful to have done that as those are some of my fondest and most special memories.

How did you find your vendors?

After planning a wedding in Las Vegas, I was not up to the task of planning a second, so after doing some online research and having a call with Katie, we hired Mountainscape Weddings and let them take care of everything for us! They provided us a selection of vendors to pick from as well as fully coordinated our day and with flawless execution. If you ever want to take the stress out of planning, I would highly suggest giving them a call. Basically, we just had to show up! You can’t get much more stress free than that and I will forever be grateful to them!
We also wanted some personal touches in there as well as to support some very talented and special friends to us so for makeup I went with Avery with Smudge and Smoulder and Ainsley (and assistant Phil) with Body by Ainsley for photography.
Avery made my Bridal look dreams come true and went above and beyond in making sure I was happy with all aspects of my look and in awe of my bridal transformation. A true professional!
Ainsley was absolutely wonderful and made the whole day of photographs so fun and relaxing. It is a real treat to see someone love what they do and you can certainly feel the passion and Joy when Ainsley shoots you. Our photos are the exact vibe we were looking for and we cannot thank her enough for documenting our most special day.