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Kelly and Tariq’s forest wedding in the mountains of Whistler

At the moment, the Brew Creek Lodge near Whistler is one of my favourite venues for a Canadian wedding. Whistler is a mountain town about 45 minutes away from Vancouver, BC via the Sea to Sky Highway. The Brew Creek Lodge itself is a nature-loving couple’s forest treasure chest. It’s a wedding photographer’s dream. Talk about serene – the big trees, the fresh flowing water, even the structures of the venue which perfectly blend into nature. If you’re going to have a destination wedding in the mountains of Whistler, the Brew Creek Lodge is hard to beat.
But as surreal as the surroundings were, a wedding is only as good as the two people who are making the big commitment. And in this case, Kelly and Tariq were an absolute home run. A true power couple. For real.
Tariq owns boxing gyms around the world, and Kelly is a speech-language pathologist. I actually first met these two at another wedding about three years ago. It was love at first sight, and I remember being so sad that they lived so far away in Bahrain. They’re closer now in BC, but still pretty far from me in Montreal.
I sent this incredible duo a little Q&A to help you get to know them a little better:
How did you two meet?  We actually met while I was living and working in the Kingdom of Bahrain in 2014. We met 4-5 times, always on nights out when I was, let’s say, less than sober. I never remembered him but he apparently liked me. Then one day, I was invited to a pool party at a friend’s house and he was there, in the pool (he lived in the same compound). Our friends noticed we had a connection so they conspired to get us together and ended up inviting Tariq around for drinks that evening where we chatted loads and eventually exchanged numbers. He texted me that same night and told me he was “giddy” to have met me, and I knew straight away that he was not like other guys.
Did you know right away that he/she would be the one? I told my mom four days into our relationship that I would marry him and within one month of dating, all of his friends were telling him to marry me. So yes, absolutely.
Do you fart in front of each other? Are there couples that don’t!? Imagine the stomachaches from holding it in all the time. We absolutely do and we laugh about it constantly.
Who gets up faster in the morning? Tariq, 100%. I set about seven alarms and snooze them all.
What was your biggest most meaningless fight? For example, fighting about something weird like whether the sound you hear outside is a cow or not (this actually happened with me and my girlfriend!): There was one time after moving to Canada when Tariq was cooking and he set off the smoke alarm. Now, our smoke alarm has some sort of disorder wherein, once activated, it MUST continue FOREVER. I was doing everything I could to try and get it to turn off, to no avail, and was shouting at Tariq to come help me and he was shouting back that he couldn’t leave what he was doing and it ended with us SCREAMING at each other and slamming doors. An hour or so later we both came back downstairs to the couch, looked at each other and burst out laughing and said, “Did we just get into a fight because of a smoke detector?!”
How did you choose the venue for your wedding? We had actually chosen another venue on the coast initially, but they turned out to be very unscrupulous so I had to cancel with them, which threw us into a frenzy thinking we had nowhere else to go. Tariq suggested I look around Whistler but I kept saying no as I assumed it would be well out of our price range. When I found Brew Creek I thought it was too good to be true and that something would go wrong, but it was just the most incredible place. We couldn’t have asked for more. The staff were beyond accommodating and so flexible with us and our limited budget!
Why did you choose me? Is this a real question? Cause you’re the fucking BOMB! Sorry, shouldn’t swear in a blog. We chose you because of the emotion you are able to evoke in your photos for one, but also because of the energy you bring with you wherever you go. We knew you would get the best out of us and our guests and just make the wedding more fun!
What was your favourite moment of the day? I’m not sure I could choose, it was all so perfect. Tariq’s reaction when he saw me was pretty incredible… so was Bob getting naked on the dance floor…
What was your favourite image(s) from the day? I love every single photo you took of Tariq, especially the goofy ones! I love the shots you got of me looking at him while we were walking and I’m so in love with the photos you took of my mom helping me get dressed with the close up of the veil. Gorgeous! Oh, and of course the sparklers! Basically, all the photos.
Is there one thing you would recommend to future couples getting married? Don’t sweat about the little details, they won’t be what you remember. As long as you have the right partner, a venue you love and an incredible and talented photographer, you’ve got everything you need 🙂
I loved reading the answers to these questions because you actually get a real good glimpse into what Kelly and Tariq represent as a couple. There’s a list of incredible vendors below. I can’t thank all the staff at The Brew Creek Lodge enough for all the hospitality. I can’t wait to go back. And thanks so much to Pocketful Productions for making sure the day run as smoothly as possible. If you want to see another one of my favourite mountain wedding sites, make sure to check out Chelseay and Devin’s wedding : One of my favourite ceremony sites, Quarry Lake, an oldie but a goodie.
Sunrise over the mountains. Forest wedding mountains of Whistler. Destination wedding photographer Brent Calis.
Sunrise over the The Brew Creek Centre before a forest wedding in the mountains of Whistler. Destination wedding photographer Brent Calis.
Blue Badgley Mishka wedding shoes on moss in the forests of Whistler Mountain. Destination wedding photographer Brent Calis.
Wedding jewellery sitting on moss in the forests of Whistler Mountain. Destination wedding photographer Brent Calis.
Bride in kimono before forest wedding in mountains of Whistler. Destination wedding photographer Brent Calis.
Bridal party in kimonos with champagne before forest wedding at The Brew Creek Centre in Whistler. Destination wedding photographer Brent Calis.
Scottish groom holds his sgian-dubh
Groom in kilt before forest wedding in mountains of Whistler. Destination wedding photographer Brent Calis.
Black and white photo of bride in kimono and vintage veil in Whistler Moutains. Destination wedding photographer Brent Calis.
Bride getting ready with vintage veil. Destination wedding photographer Brent Calis.
Portrait of bride with vintage veil. Destination wedding photographer Brent Calis.
Black and white photo of bridal party hugging the bride in vintage veil. Destination wedding photographer Brent Calis.
Black and white photo of groomsmen leading groom through the forest. Destination wedding photographer Brent Calis.
Groom hides his eyes before first look. Destination wedding photographer Brent Calis.
Bride walks to first look at The Brew Creek Centre in Whistler. Destination wedding photographer Brent Calis.
Bridebehind groom before first look at The Brew Creek Centre in Whistler. Destination wedding photographer Brent Calis.
Bridal party watch first look from balcony at The Brew Creek Centre in Whistler. Destination wedding photographer Brent Calis.
Bride and groom hug after first look at The Brew Creek Centre in Whistler. Destination wedding photographer Brent Calis.
Bride and groom pose in the forest in the moutinas of Whistler. Destination wedding photographer Brent Calis.
Bride gazes at groom in the forest in the moutinas of Whistler. Destination wedding photographer Brent Calis.
Bridesmaids walk through nature to wedding ceremony
Groom smiles at the alter during his wedding in Whistler. Destination wedding photographer Brent Calis.
Bride and father walk down the aisle during her wedding in Whistler. Destination wedding photographer Brent Calis.
Forest wedding in the moutains at The Brew Creek Centre in Whistler. Destination wedding photographer Brent Calis.
Grooms vows at Whistler wedding. Destination wedding photographer Brent Calis.
Bride smirks at groom during Whistler wedding. Destination wedding photographer Brent Calis.
Groom kisses brides hand at Whistler wedding. Destination wedding photographer Brent Calis.
Brides reaction to grooms vows at Whistler. Destination wedding photographer Brent Calis.
Bride and groom kiss at The Brew Creek Centre in Whistler. Destination wedding photographer Brent Calis.
Bride and groom laughing at their Brew Creek Centre wedding in Whistler. Destination wedding photographer Brent Calis.
Portrait of the bride Brew Creek Centre, Whistler. Destination wedding photographer Brent Calis.
Bride and groom at The Brew Creek Centre in Whistler. Destination wedding photographer Brent Calis.
Bride and groom kiss at The Brew Creek Centre in Whistler. Destination wedding photographer Brent Calis.
Bride and groom in the mountains of Whistler. Destination wedding photographer Brent Calis.
Bride and groom embrace near the mountains of Whistler. Destination wedding photographer Brent Calis.
Black and white photo of bride and groom kissing in the mountains of Whistler. Destination wedding photographer Brent Calis.
Black and white photo of the bride and groom walking near the mountains of Whistler. Destination wedding photographer Brent Calis.
Wedding decor Brew Creek Centre Whistler. Destination wedding photographer Brent Calis.
Wedding at The Brew Creek Centre Whistler. Destination wedding photographer Brent Calis.
Bride and groom arrive to the wedding reception at Brew Creek Centre Whistler. Destination wedding photographer Brent Calis.
Bride laughs during wedding reception at Brew Creek Centre Whistler. Destination wedding photographer Brent Calis.
Grooms speech during wedding reception at Brew Creek Centre Whistler. Destination wedding photographer Brent Calis.
Bride and groom kiss during wedding reception at Brew Creek Centre Whistler. Destination wedding photographer Brent Calis.
Wedding sparklers at Brew Creek Centre Whistler. Destination wedding photographer Brent Calis.
Bride and groom kiss with sparklers at Brew Creek Centre Whistler. Destination wedding photographer Brent Calis.
Couple kisses during a sparkler exit at a wedding at Brew Creek Lodge, Whistler
Black and white photo of bride and groom dancing during their Whistler Mountians wedding. Destination wedding photographer Brent Calis.
Black and white photo of bride and groom dancing during their Whistler wedding. Destination wedding photographer Brent Calis.
Planner: Day of Coordinator was Pocketful Productions but myself and Genevieve my MOH did all the actual planning
Suit: Kilt – Blackwatch Tartan and Matheson tartan tie (his family tartan)

 

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Email brent@brentcalisphotography.com

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