An unconventional wedding for a beautiful Saskatchewan couple

Madison & Benjamin Gabriel

After eloping in Vegas, Madi and Ben had a reception filled with the most gorgeous flowers. Madison tells us all about the big day, below.

Tell us a bit about your love story: Ben and I met in 2016 on Tinder. What we both thought would only be casual drinks quickly led to our forever. We grew close over our love of travelling and knew we were meant to be during our first trip together in Jamaica. Less than a year after meeting we were living together. From there our family grew by another house and two more fur-babies – totalling three fur children for us! Our lives have always just fit. Everything that’s happened to form our life together has been a natural next step. Leading to our marriage, there was no big proposal – just a beautiful moment where we both knew what was next and we started making plans for our elopement.

Walk us through your wedding events: December 23rd, 2019 Ben and I looked at each other while sitting in front of our Christmas tree with our three pups and decided to elope that upcoming February when we would be in Vegas. From there it was a whirlwind of organizing, planning and sharing the news with our parents. Then we whisked away to Las Vegas and on February 19, 2020, vowed to forever in front of the Las Vegas sign. We celebrated at a speakeasy, where we both cried while listening to a pianist play us “Going To The Chapel”. We then planned to celebrate our marriage in March 2020 with an intimate reception and then renew our vows in Mexico February 2021 in front of friends and family. Cue the pandemic and lockdown. Fate just knew we needed more time and a few adjustments to plan the celebration of a lifetime! After a year and a half of waiting, our enchanted, Midsummer Night’s Dream, boho brewery reception came to life! This finale event beautifully concluded our marriage events. It was profoundly humbling to be surrounded by all of our loved ones after we all patiently waited throughout the pandemic not knowing whether the day would come or not. Our wedding story ended perfectly and in its entirety was perfectly us – unconventional and unique.

What were your original plans? How did you feel when you had to change them? Originally we planned to celebrate our elopement in March 2020 with an intimate reception and then renew our vows in Mexico February 2021. When we had to postpone our intimate reception and Mexico vow renewal we were both very disappointed. We were worried that we wouldn’t get the chance to celebrate our marriage alongside all of our loved ones. Even though we eloped, having an event to celebrate our marriage with friends and family was non-negotiable for both of us. We wanted a non-traditional, “deconstructed” wedding you could say. The intimacy of our elopement was so magical and special for us. There was no stress because all that mattered was us being together that day. But we certainly wanted the big party too! Separating the ceremony and reception into their own events meant minimal stress and allowed for multiple aesthetics to plan. So the fear of the unknown with the virus and what that meant for our reception was tough. Luckily the wait was more than worth it! Our elopement reception was more than we ever dreamed it could be originally!

What was your favourite part of the day? Our favourite part of the elopement reception was being with friends and family. How we deconstructed our events allowed us to be present in the moment with everyone. We weren’t worried about a program, leaving for pictures etc. It was just enchanting to be surrounded by everyone we love and living in the moment of that magic.

Favourite wedding detail? One hundred percent, the flowers. When I met with the florists I told them my overall vision and then gave them full creative control from there. They surpassed my vision tenfold. It was a complete transformation of the space and they transported our guests into a floral wonderland which was an absolute dream!

What will guests remember most? Having Rosie – Saskatchewan’s Only Flower Truck from Wascana Flower Shoppe. This feature was a non-negotiable for me at our elopement reception! I wanted our guests to have all sorts of floral creations made for them throughout the evening! The team at Wascana wildly exceeded our expectations! As our guests arrived they walked up to find Rosie and the Wascana team colour coordinating floral creations to each guest’s outfit and coupling – and by the end of the night there wasn’t a suit jacket, wrist, head or home untouched by flowers!

What advice can you give to couples during the wedding planning process? Plan the wedding that serves you as a couple and your love story! Don’t plan a wedding to please anyone else. It’s your day and your magic to live in!

Number of guests: 100
Ceremony/reception venue: Warehouse Brewing Company, Regina, Saskatchewan
Photography: White Lotus Studios
Dress designer: Truvelle
Hair/makeup: Sara Lindsay, Taylor Dubois Hair
Flower girl dresses: Joyfolie
Suit designer: RW & Co.
Décor: Wascana Flower Shoppe, Creative Touch Wedding Designs
Flowers: Wascana Flower Shoppe
Stationery: White Lotus Studios
Desserts: Skye Bistro
Rentals: Special Event Rentals