Simply Salt Spring

Jessie Carlson and Ben Yardley September 6, 2008

Stowel Lake Farm, Salt Spring Island, BC

Written by Larry Pellizzari

Photographed by Jenna Tye

Jessie & Ben wed in the casual rural elegance of a Salt Spring Island farm.

When vAnCouver stylist Jessie CArlson first Met her

futurehusbandBenYardley,oneofherinitialthoughts

was“What’swithalltheeyeliner?”Jessiewaswitha

groupoffriendscheckingoutBen’sindie-rockbandChinatown.

Onstage,Benwasdeckedoutinrockstarstageregaliawhich

includedeyemakeupandnailpolish.

“IknewwhoJessiewasthroughamutualfriend,”Benrecalls.

“I’dsaidthatIthoughtJessiewassuper-hot,butaskedmyfriend

nottosayanything.Ofcourse,shetoldJessierightaway.”

SoBen’sattractionwasalreadyintheopenwhenafewweeks

laterheandJessiewereamongagroupoffriendsouttoseea

friend’sbandperform.ThatnightBenaskedJessieout,andthe

nextweektheywentontheirfirstdate.

“Hewasn’tthetypeofpersonI

thoughtIwouldeverdate,”Jessie

reminisces.“Hewasamusicianand

wasalwaysontourandhadallthese

girlsfollowingafterhim.Butwhen

Igottoknowhim,hewassointel-

ligent,andkindandsweet.Norock

starcooler-than-thouattitude.He

wasjustareally,reallygoodman.”

Theydatedforayear-and-a-half,thenmovedintogether.“That

wasabigdecisionforme,”saysJessie.“Butthingsfeltsoright:

Therewasn’talotofdrama…thingsjustflowedbetweenus.”Ben

concurs,“Weweresohappy.”

Theybegandiscussingmarriage,andstartedshoppingfor

engagementrings,eventuallyfindingabeautifulvintageringatLa

ContessaAntiquesinWestVancouver.“Iusedtogobacktothe

storetolookattheringbecauseIloveditsomuch,”saysJessie.

“ThenonedayIfoundoutitwassold;Iwasdevastated.”

ItturnsoutthatBenhadboughttheringandsnuckithomewith

elaborateproposalscenariosplayinginhismind.“Iwasthinking,

‘It’sgottobeperfect.’Maybeoutonaboatorinafancyrestaurant

Right Jessie in her veil and favourite cowboy boots at

Hastings House, where she, her family and bridesmaids stayed the

night before the wedding. The boots proved ideal footwear

for an outdoor wedding.

Below A bouquet of white roses, hydrangeas, orchids and verbena in one of the galvanized steel buckets

that suited the setting perfectly.

“Icouldn’twaitanylonger.

Iproposedtoherrighttherein

thehallway.”

oronatrip—somethingoutofamovie.”Thateveninghe

andJessiehaddinnerguestsover.“Ikeptsneakingoffto

lookatthering,”Benrecalls.“Iwassoexcited.Whenour

guestsfinallyleft,assoonasthedoorclosed,IsaidtoJessie,

‘GuesswhatIgot?’Icouldn’twaitanylonger.Iproposedto

herrightthereinthehallway.”

Theystartedplanningtheirweddingwiththeguidelinethatitbe“reallyreal,reallyauthen-

ticandcomfortableforpeople.”AccordingtoJessie,“Thingsfellintoplaceoncewefoundthe

location.”

ThecoupleoftenspentweekendsonSaltSpringIsland,whereBengrewupandwhere

hisfamilystilllives.OneafternoonwhileridingaroundtheislandonBen’smotorcyclethey

stoppedatStowelLakeFarmwhereheusedtoridehorsesasachild.About10yearsagothe

barnwasconvertedintoareceptionandeventvenuewithhugefloor-to-ceilingwindowsover-

lookingthelushgrounds.Jessieimmediatelyfellinlovewiththefarm.“Welookedateach

otherandIsaid,‘Thisiswherewe’regoingtogetmarried.’”

Theypreparedthebarnwithchandeliersandlinensforthereception,andwere

wedamidstthenaturalbeautyoftheperennialgarden.Thedaywasfilledwithper-

sonaltouchesfromthewhimsicalricecrispycaketothegalvanizedsteelbucketsof

whiteroses,hydrangeas,orchidsandverbenaplacedaroundthesite.Jessie’sgown,

designedbyVancouvercouturierManuelMendoza,wasaccentuatedbyablack

belt,adornedwithturquoiseandsilverconchas.

Afterdinnerandspeeches,thecouplesharedtheirfirstdanceashusbandand

wife.Whenthebandkickedup,Benpickeduphisguitarandjoinedhisband-

mates.HededicatedtheFacessong“OohLaLa”toJessie.“Inthesong,agrandfa-

thertellshisgrandsonaboutwomen,”Benexplains.“Ittalksaboutgrowingupand

hasresonanceabouttheimportanteventsinlife.”

JessieandBensharedthismostimportantevent—theirunion—instyle,with

laughterandmusicfloatingtotheidyllic,starrySaltSpringsky. rw

Left from top Jessie walks with her mother and father in front of Stowel Lake Farm’s beautifully converted barn. Jesse’s mother wears a strapless floral dress from Manuel Mendoza.

Bridesmaids carry bouquets of white roses, dusty miller and miniature green cymbidium orchids. Their dresses were from Manuel Mendoza.

Bottom left Jessie and Ben enjoy the presence of friends and family during after-dinner speeches.

Bottom right The barn at Stowel Lake Farm was the perfect venue for an evening of dancing. Ben’s band supplied the live music. Chandeliers provided by Upright Decor in Vancouver.

56 real weddings

1 Jessie’sbouquetconsistedmainlyofwhiteroseswithaccentsoflisianthus,bellsofIreland,greenhypericumber-ries,dustymiller,andalstroemeria.Hersisterisafloristandprovidedinsightandinspirationforthedesign.

2 Thereception’sentertainmentinclud-edmusicbyBen’spart-timeband,LittleSisterandtheTimeMachine.“It’snothingserious,theyalljustgetalotofjoyoutofplayingtogether,”explainsJessie.

3 SaltSpringIsland’sDinnersReadyCateringcreatedawhimsicalricecrispycake,anodtothetreatJessieandBenusedtomakealmosteverynight.

4 AsBenisamusicianandJessieafashionstylist,thetabledecorbecameanextensionofwhattheylove.Tablesfeaturedthecouple’sfavouritebandsandadsofJessie’sfavouritefashiondesigners.

5 Antiqueglassvasesandgalvanizedsteelbucketsofliveflowerswereplacedaroundthesite,lendingashabby/chiclook.

6 BenbuiltaboxfortheplacecardsusingoldpiecesofpinecollectedfromaroundSaltSpring.JessiehandwroteallthecardswhichwerepurchasedfromMichael’sandplacedthemonabedofmossinthebox.

7 Jessie’s“somethingblue”weretheturquoiseaccentsonheraccessories.Theturquoiseandsilverconchasonherbeltcamefromabeltofhermother’sandcomplementedhergrandmother’sturquoise,diamond,andsilverbracelet.

How they did it

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The Details

The Dream TeamBridal Planner:EasyElegancewww.weddingsonsaltspring.comPhotographer: JennaTyePhotographywww.jennatye.comCeremony & Reception Venue:StowelLakeFarmwww.stowellakefarm.com Bride’s Dress: ManuelMendozawww.manuelmendoza.comGroom’s Attire: HarryRosenwww.harryrosen.com Bride’s Shoes: WesternTownBootswww.westerncorral.caStationery: Paperqueenwww.thepaperqueen.comFlowers: FlowersbyArrangementwww.flowersbyarrangement.caCake & Catering: Dinner’sReadywww.dinnersreadyonsaltspring.com Wedding Rings: MJJewellerswww.mjjewellers.ca