Stephen & Nikki’s Festival Wedding: The Bigger, The Bolder, The Better…!
THIS FREE SPIRITED TRAVEL BLOGGER’S BOHEMIAN FOREST WEDDING IS A DREAM COME TRUE!
Kristen, is the talented travel vlogger behind ‘Hopscotch the Globe’ as well as co-author of fiction adventure series, Rise of the Prince, along with her husband Siya. The couple also operate an Inspirational Center called DASHTA Moments. They work with individuals and small groups to guide them in their pursuit of an authentic life. Their peaceful and calm environment is an ideal setting for people to discover who they really are, through self-inquiry and awareness of the world around them. All the beautiful decor was a result of all their friends and family getting crafty and creating it for them! Not only was the final result so unique and beautiful, but also very meaningful to Kristen & Siya.
“Before the ceremony began, all the guests had a peaceful silent moment to take in the energy and the sounds of the nature around us in order to be present for the ceremony” their photographer, Sara, told us. “It was beautiful. Instead of hearing others talking or being distracted by phones, we heard birds chirping, the wind, and flowing water in the creek nearby”.
Siya asked Kristen to marry him with a moonstone pendant he had bought on his travels in Rishikesh, India, during a round the world 10 month trip. The couple have travelled the world together and were keen to represent the incredible work of mother nature at their wedding whilst also sharing their belief in supporting and protecting it.
“Our wedding was a bohemian-hippie themed day which best described us and our friends” Kristen began. “Our wedding reception was in the name of mother nature. It only made sense for us to do everything we could to make our special day eco-friendly in as many aspects as we could.”
“Our entire wedding was so quirky and non traditional” Kristen continued. “”I asked my mother and father to walk me down the aisle and Siya also walked down the aisle with his parents. We had 4 ceremonies. One was in the name of mother nature where the officiant quoted Doctor Seuss. We had a ring warming ceremony where our bridal party took turns holding our rings and putting their energy, love and well wishes into them. We also had a tree planting ceremony where we planted 2 cherry trees to symbolize our coming together and finished with a Persian ceremony.”
From start to finish Kristen and Siya were determined to limit the effects their wedding would have on the environment. “We invited our guests using E-invites instead of sending paper and encouraged carpooling for those coming from out of town. We used bio-degradable plates for all of the food served, as well as reusable cups that doubled as wedding favours. We recycled decorations from a friends wedding and planted 2 cherry trees to symbolize our coming together. We didn’t have menus, chair covers or name cards on the tables, instead we invited our guests to sit where they pleased whilst my mom made my bouquet out of wildflowers that she hung and dried herself”
“The property we got married on belongs to Siya’s uncle. As soon as you step foot on the property, you can’t help but fall in love with it. You are completely surrounded by forest, beautiful plants and a river that runs between it all. There really wasn’t anywhere else more perfect to have our special day.” Kristen continued.
“My dress was the definition of perfect. I have never felt more beautiful in my life! I found it at a place called Fashion Crimes on Queen Street West in Toronto. It wasn’t one of those situations where I put it on and knew it was the one. I put it on and knew I could work with it. Pam Chorley, who designed the dress actually owns the store, so together we designed the dress I envisioned, which turned out to be even more than I could have imagined. It fit me perfectly and flattered every part of my body. I also wanted to incorporate the moonstone pendant Siya proposed with, so Pam also designed a back necklace for me that included the moonstone in the front and a crystal that hung to the bottom of my back. I wore crystal earrings made by an Ecuadorian man who travels the world searching for crystals and makes jewelry out of them.”
With such a beautiful wedding dress and a lot of mud, how did Kristen feel about it getting dirty? “Throughout the night, my dress kept getting muddier and muddier which made it look even more beautiful. It was like a beautiful natural ombre !”
“The entire day was special. It’s hard to choose one moment over another because they were all incredible. But, what made it extra special was the immense love, energy and friendship everyone felt. We had friends and family tell us it was like nothing they had ever experienced before in all of their life.”
Super Suppliers – Photographer: Sara Monika Photographer// Wedding Dress: Pam Chorley, Fashion Crimes// Ceremony/Reception Venue: Think BFAB Inspirational Centre// Hair & Makeup: Andra De Sousa of Elegant Strand// Videographer: Mike Corey of Kick the Grind// Video Editors: Siya and Kristen of Hopscotch the Globe//
Outstanding style and decor here, fab! Congratulations.
What a gorgeous wedding! Love the décor!