Our Wedding Ceremony at The Fairmont Banff Springs

Charley Dickenson Fairmont Banff Springs Wedding

It’s hard to believe it’s already been three months since Charley and I tied the knot! It feels like just yesterday we were flying to Banff to celebrate the most exciting weekend of our lives!

We chose to get married at The Fairmont Banff Springs, since it’s such a special place for our family. We grew up coming here over the holidays with my family since we were little, and we have shared the best memories here over the years! My parents always said they hoped one of us would get married here, so we reached out to their events team shortly after Charley proposed.

Since both of my sisters got married on 30A, and I got engaged one month after my younger sister got married, I knew I wanted to plan a destination wedding to switch things up. Both of my sister’s weddings were absolutely incredible, and I was concerned planning a wedding one month after hers would feel too similar too soon. After debating between Mexico and Canada, I booked the venue in Banff as we sat on the rooftop of the Rosewood San Miguel de Allende after a week of wedding planning in Mexico. The events team at The Fairmont was so incredible to work with, which was what confirmed our decision – and I’m thrilled we chose to get married here!

(Click to read about Blair’s wedding in Seaside and Janie’s wedding in Rosemary Beach. Both were amazing!)

Fairmont Banff Springs Wedding Photography

Fairmont Banff Springs Wedding Groomsmen

Our plan was to get married outside on The Terrace at The Fairmont Banff Springs overlooking the mountains. March in Banff is one of the snowiest months, but the temperature is usually mild – so it’s the best scenario for a winter wedding! We had fur blankets for all of the guests, hot chocolate stations, and told everyone to bring a coat. We kept checking the temperature weeks leading up to the wedding, and it wasn’t warming up quite as much as we had anticipated… so when we got a weather warning about heavy snowstorms the day before the ceremony, we made the call the morning of the wedding to move the ceremony inside to our backup location, The Riverview Lounge.

As gorgeous as The Terrace was, I actually preferred the wedding inside in The Riverview Lounge – it worked out better than I could’ve imagined! The elegantly-carved stone fireplaces and floor-to-ceiling arched windows overlooking the snowy mountains was the perfect backdrop for our ceremony, plus being warm and cozy was an added bonus! I think our guests were thrilled with the change of location as well ;)

Traditional Wedding Programs Calligraphy

When we started the discussion about the ceremony, I had one request: it had to be less than 10 minutes. To some people that sounds insanely fast, but both of my sisters had short ceremonies, and I knew I wanted the same. I knew I would be extremely nervous on my wedding day – not because I had jitters about marrying Charley (that was the easiest part!) – but the idea of standing up in front of 150 closest friends and family to say my vows made me extremely nervous (It may come as a surprise, but I’m actually shy). We chose to do a First Look together for an hour and a half with our photographer before the ceremony to celebrate together privately and do portraits, and then the ceremony following would be the official I Do’s.

Aside from keeping the ceremony short for my nerves, I also wanted to keep it short for our guests. I knew they traveled a long way to celebrate with us, but I also wanted everyone to feel like they were on vacation and had time to explore, ski, and enjoy the hotel. The sun set behind the mountains around 5:00, so we had to schedule our ceremony at 4:30PM. Keeping it short allowed time for everyone to spend the day exploring Banff before the festivities began!

Since we were getting married in a different country, we asked one of Charley’s best friends to officiate the ceremony. We didn’t like the idea of having a stranger officiate the wedding, so when John agreed to lead the ceremony – we were ecstatic! He was already in Charley’s wedding party, so it was the perfect scenario. I can’t explain how special (and comforting) it was to have someone we knew lead this big moment, and the history he shared with my husband made the ceremony so meaningful.

My sister, Blair, got married in Seaside, Florida a year after my dad passed away from melanoma, so she asked my mom to walk her down the aisle. It was so special, and Janie and I followed and did the same. Having my mom by my side as I walked down the aisle was a moment I’ll never forget! (Plus she looked absolutely stunning in her custom Ese Azenabor gown! #prouddaughter)

Until I walked down the aisle, I didn’t realize how much the ceremony would mean to me. Everyone always says how unforgettable it is to celebrate this big moment with those you love, and they were right. I remember being so nervous walking in and the first person I saw was my friend, Lacy, and immediately I felt at ease. Seeing all of my friends faces as I walked up to the ceremony was unbelievable – and then seeing Charley at the end of the aisle was so surreal! Best moment ever. Cue the happy tears.

My favorite part of the ceremony was when our officiate asked Charley, “Charley, do you take Ellen -” and immediately my husband blurted out “I do!”, and John followed up with “Down boy!”and everyone started laughing. Charley got so excited as soon as the ceremony started that he forgot about the rest of the vows! It was so funny and the perfect ice-breaker, and we couldn’t stop laughing and smiling during the entire ceremony. We were so happy to finally tie the knot that our friends said we were basically bouncing up and down during the whole ceremony out of excitement and my veil fell off during the first kiss – what can I say, we’re in ~LoVe~!

As much work as the wedding planning process was, it was the absolute best weekend of my life. It feels like it flew by, and I wish I could relive the weekend over and over again. It truly was a dream come true!

Charley Dickenson, Banff Springs wedding ceremony

I can’t thank our friends and family enough for traveling all the way to Banff to share this weekend with us. It meant the absolute world and made it a weekend I’ll never forget! I can’t wait to share more of our wedding events with you all, so stay tuned for more recaps to come. Keep scrolling for more photos from our ceremony and information about our vendors!

Follow our wedding hashtag #FlowersForCharley and our Banff highlights on @theperennialstyle for more wedding photos!