Lis Simon Bride Danika
Romantic Outdoor Wedding
Lis Simon Bride Danika and Geno’s autumn wedding at Stonebridge Manor in Arizona was like a scene from a movie. The couple exchanged vows under the big sky in a charming courtyard, where the natural backdrop made everything effortlessly beautiful. Their loved ones enjoyed a romantic reception illuminated by string lights and adorned with minimalistic flowers. And of course, Danika’s two-piece wedding dress was a show-stopper, especially the sleeves!
THE LOVE STORY
“We actually met at work, which was such a fluke”. Danika, a paramedic, and Geno, who works in directional drilling, normally wouldn't have crossed paths. But fate stepped in when Danika was assigned to an industrial site and Geno was sent there as a one-off because he was the only guy available in Canada while waiting for his US visa. Both on the night shift, Geno would often check in on Danika to make sure she was okay, especially with so many sketchy guys around. “But really, that was just his excuse to come talk to me”.
THE PROPOSAL
December 20, 2022
Geno planned a perfect ski weekend at Panorama Mountain, renting the cutest little ski-in, ski-out chalet Airbnb. They left early in the morning and arrived around 2:30 PM. Geno was eager to leave the Airbnb by 3 PM for a walk, conveniently "forgetting his phone" in the room. He ran back upstairs to set up the room with flowers, rose petals, and pictures of them, but Danika had no idea at the time.
They found a beautiful walking trail, surrounded by fresh, untouched snow. “However, it was -38 degrees Celsius so I was wearing 3 layers of thermal under a parka, a true Canadian experience”. Geno had brought a little tripod to set up for cute couple photos, and Danika didn't think anything of it.
Geno pulled the classic "look over there" trick. Danika, suspicious, said, "No! You’re going to push me into the snow bank!" But when she finally looked, she turned back to find Geno down on one knee.
They didn’t get to ski much that weekend since it was so cold the lifts were closed, “but we got to spend the weekend just by the fireplace and there were also outdoor hot pools and regardless of the skiing, it was perfect”.
THE DRESS
Bride is wearing custom SS605 Bodice + SS610 Skirt with our Odin sleeves
Danika had an incredible experience with her group, making the day feel like a dream. She tried on many beautiful dresses, but the moment she put on the Lis Simon dress, she knew it was the one.
WEDDING & RECEPTION
November 7th, 2023 at Stonebridge Manor, AZ
“Our reception was straight out of a movie”. It took place outdoors in a charming courtyard, adorned with string lights and minimalistic flowers. They arranged the seating in a big U-shape, allowing everyone to easily watch the speeches and dances, and providing ample space for the dance floor later on. Danika and Geno chose to have a sweetheart table so they could enjoy dinner together, decompress, and talk about how perfect their day had been so far.king about how perfect our day had been so far.
FAVOURITE MOMENTS
One of the most unique aspects of Danika and Geno's wedding was that they put together their own flowers. The night before the wedding, they gathered their families at the Airbnb, and all the moms, grandmas, and sisters worked on putting together the bouquets, boutonnieres, and aisle flowers. While it added a tiny bit of stress, it turned out to be a fun bonding experience for everyone involved.
They chose to do this for several reasons. Firstly, it was much cheaper. Secondly, Danika loves creative projects and wanted simple, white, round bouquets, so she felt confident they could handle it without any mishaps. Lastly, their families had never met before. With Danika's family from Edmonton and Geno's from Midland, Texas, along with relatives from Russia and Ukraine, it was a great opportunity for everyone to meet and spend time together. Geno’s grandma even managed to get a visa to join them for the big day. “We thought it would be fun to have everyone get to meet and hang out by doing a fun little activity before the wedding”.
Danika's favourite moments from the wedding were the first looks, first dances, and the grand exit. She did a first look with her dad, her grandma, and Geno. Danika loved doing a first look with Geno because their ceremony wasn’t until 5 PM, and having the first look at 3 PM gave them a special, relaxed moment together. “It wasn’t the typical instagram post of a first look where we both cry, but it was genuinely a “ta-da!! Do you like my outfit” moment where we were both just so happy and excited, and I feel like we weren’t nervous or we weren’t thinking of what other people would expect from us at this moment”. This allowed them to hang out and take photos for a couple of hours before the ceremony, making her feel like she spent a significant part of her wedding day with Geno, not just a rushed dinner and dance while trying to divide time among guests.
The grand sparkler exit was another highlight. Everyone was so happy, and walking through the tunnel of sparklers multiple times was a lot of fun. They rented a white G Wagon for the wedding day, their dream car, and after the sparkler exit, they drove away in it. This unexpected exit kept the energy high, with everyone still present and enjoying themselves. “It didn’t feel like a wedding where there were just a few people left and then it just got wrapped up because people were ready to go”.
PREPARATIONS & INSPIRATIONS
Danika always knew she wanted a simple outdoor wedding where the natural beauty around them would speak for itself. “I love the little details, but in the grand scheme of things, I knew I didn’t want to go overboard on planning for small details that no one would remember”. What mattered most to her and Geno was having a small, intimate wedding surrounded by their closest loved ones.
To find inspiration, Danika spent a lot of time scrolling through Pinterest and Instagram. She found ideas for things she loved and discovered ways to DIY elements to make them feel fun and special.
HONEYMOON
Danika and Geno aren’t sure about their honeymoon plans yet. After the wedding, they took a mini honeymoon to St. Maarten, which was a surprise for Danika. “We said we weren’t doing wedding presents and that we were only going to give each other cards on the wedding day, but in my card were plane tickets”.
After the wedding, they visited Geno’s parents in the US, then returned home for about a month before heading to Australia for Geno’s job. They stayed in Australia for about a month and just recently got back, so they’ve been super busy since getting married. Now, they’re in the midst of starting new jobs and moving to a new place, so they plan to get settled before deciding on their next steps.
From Danika
Don’t stress about all the little things! Your day is going to be perfect no matter what. Do what you want to do, and don’t let friends of family persuade your decisions otherwise. Its your day, you need to enjoy it!
A NOTE FOR SEANNA
We would like to put in a special thank you for our photographer Seanna. She was such an MVP. She did our engagement shoot and we didn’t think pictures as perfect as her existed. She went so above and beyond for us, she even added an extra shoot for us two days before the wedding and took us into the dessert so we could do a classic Arizona shoot. The day of the wedding, she arrived at the air bnb bright and early around 8am and stayed with us all the way until the end of the wedding which was 11pm. This extra shoot and extra time wasn’t included in our package, she just did it because she wanted to and that made our day and our time in Arizona so special because we now have all of these extra memories to look back on.
Special thanks to:
Since Stonebridge Manor is considered an all inclusive wedding company, all of the vendors came with our package if we wanted to use them which was amazing because it saved me so much time and money to not have to hire everyone independently. The only vendors we chose not to use was the florist because flowers are expensive, Costco is cheaper, and I knew it would be fun to do our own flowers, and our photographer because there is a photographer we know and love from Edmonton, so we brought her with us.
Bridal Boutique: The White Gallery, Edmonton AB.
Photographer: Seanna Leaf Photography
Florist: We actually did the flowers all ourselves and got a bulk order from Costco. Honestly the best decision ever.
Planner: Stonebridge manor had us in contact with many of their staff who were all incredible, but our day of coordinator Katie was an absolute dream.
Cake: Piece of Cake (preferred vendor provided by Stonebridge)
DJ: DJ B starr from direct sounds (preferred vendor provided by Stonebridge)
