Spring wedding // John M.S. Lecky UBC Boathouse  // Vancouver, Canada

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Time flies…and for this lovely couple, Meggie and Matt, it’s already been more than one year since their beautiful UBC Boathouse wedding.

Situated along the Fraser River in the city of Richmond, the John M.S. Lecky UBC Boathouse is a picturesque venue for special events such as weddings. The hall could seat up to 150 guests and be rented until 3:00 am. The venue also has pockets of areas where bridal portraits can be taken if the couple is out of time. During the summer, wedding ceremonies can be held by the dock; but since the weather was being naughty, the couple played it safe and held the ceremony indoors.

I recently had a chat with Meggie, who shared with me why they chose to have a UBC Boathouse wedding.

“When we started looking around, we found that venues that have an “all-in package” (where you need to use their own caterer, bar, etc.) would really break our budget. We could do it but we will end up not having an open bar, less budget on other items, which we really didn’t want to do because we would like our guests not to pay for their drinks and have fun!”

“So we started looking at places where you rent out the venue separately, bring your own caterer and hire your own bartender. I looked online and saw photos of the UBC Boathouse and the view really was amazing. It is rare to find locations like that where you can do what you want, plus have a view! A lot of the banquet halls around don’t have a view, just a plain hall. So that really sold it for us, the value for money and the view!” said Meg.

Their wedding theme was rustic with bright touches of the color coral. The theme was executed through the wooden items, chalkboards, mason jars, Baby’s Breath flowers, and the coral-colored pieces scattered throughout the venue. The female entourage donned coral dresses that further made the bride stand out in her beaded white wedding dress and pristine beauty.

Because of the success of their wedding, I put on my “talk show hat” and threw a few questions to Meg to help future couples get tips from people who have been there and done that.  

 

Q&A with Meggie

 

Most important to you and Matt in your wedding? 

It was important for us to have us and our guests enjoy without having them pay for anything yet not break the bank. Basically having something simple, but beautiful!

 

Wedding budget estimate?

$25k-$30k

 

Anything you would’ve changed?

Everything really happened as expected! I just wish it would have been warmer but I knew it would be cold haha but very thankful the weather changed and the skies cleared that one day of the week. It was perfect!

 

Best part in your wedding celebration?

Best part really was hanging out with our guests. We made sure we went around, danced with everyone and then take shots with our friends. Matt was walking around with a tray full of his favorite shot, Jack Frost haha! And our guests were hanging out with others who they didn’t know. After our wedding, we’ve been told by a few friends already that it was one of the most fun weddings they’ve been to and we’d hear about how they enjoyed being with a person they met there. Makes it all worth it!

 

How’s wedding life so far? 

It’s been great especially coz we’ve moved into our new condo which we’ve been waiting for at least 2.5 yrs before we got married. Nice to have our own little space that’s our style, as opposed to using what we’ve had in the past with our other places we’ve stayed separately. Definitely feel more like a team with decisions as a married couple haha!

 

Advice for future brides?

Make sure you spend within your means. When we did everything, we made sure we will not borrow money nor be broke after we got married. You would not want to start your life by building a bank account from scratch again. You can make things work within your budget, trust me, there is a way! And you won’t have to make it look cheap at all. There are available options in the market.