Weddings

Vancouver Wedding Story: A Spectacular Mountaintop Elopement—All Planned Through Instagram

Forget a limo: this couple took a helicopter to their wedding.

By Dominika Lirette / August 20, 2021

Forget a limo: this couple took a helicopter to their wedding.

Australian world travellers Carolyn Anderson and Andrew Nealon knew they wanted two things when they were planning their wedding: to elope and to get married on a mountaintop. B.C. has always been a special spot for them, having both travelled here numerous times (Nealon even lived here for a few years as a kid), so they decided Vancouver was the perfect spot to get married, followed by a few months in Whistler. “Something about Canada and Vancouver is so magical, and then snow is so amazing and magical as well, so we thought we’d come here,” says Anderson. “We love it here,” adds Nealon. Anderson got to work using Instagram to help her plan their wedding from afar in Sydney. She quickly found Filosophi Events and reached out to owner Erin Bishop to plan their special day. From there, she selected vendors and even their post-ceremony dinner at Hawksworth through online research. “Instagram was an amazing tool for the whole process,” says Anderson. On December 4, Anderson and Nealon’s wedding vision became a reality. They started the day with a morning high tea at Rosewood Hotel Georgia before hopping into a helicopter and riding to the top of a mountain near Widgeon Lake in Tweedsmuir Provincial Park, where they said “I do” in fresh powder. This was followed by cake back at the hotel and ended with an evening feast at Hawksworth. “We just wanted to have a really fun day doing something that we’ve always really wanted to do,” says Anderson. “It’s just about the two of us making a commitment and celebrating our relationship.”

High Tea

In the morning, Anderson and Nealon had high tea in their suite while Anderson got her hair and makeup done by Nadia Albano. It was a casual start to the morning, with no stress and lots of jokes. “I felt like I laughed all day,” says Anderson.

Mountaintop Ceremony

Nealon and Anderson rode with Bishop to Pitt Meadows where they boarded a helicopter. From there, they were whisked to the peak of a mountain for their ceremony. However, it wasn’t the helicopter ride, the mountaintop with stunning views or the snow that fazed them—it was the ceremony. “It hit me when Erin started talking,” says Nealon. “I don’t remember a thing that she said,” he laughs. “I remember thinking in my brain, ‘Oh, this is it,’ ” adds Anderson. Keeping with the light mood of the day, when Anderson was getting her photos taken, she pelted Nealon in the back of the head with a snowball. “It just exploded,” she laughs.

Hawksworth Reception

Back at the hotel, Anderson and Nealon signed their marriage certificate and then enjoyed some cocktails and cake by The Cake and the Giraffe in a candlelit nook in the lobby. Nealon’s favourite part was having dinner—just the two of them at Hawksworth. “I got to admire my new wife,” he says. However, a snug suit and fitted wedding dress aren’t ideal dining attire if you want to sample all the drool-worthy dishes at a restaurant, so they came back again the next night to try some more. “The food there is just to die for,” gushes Anderson. “It was just a super, super fun day.”