My Canadian Rustic Wedding Day Story

It's still so surreal for me to write this. Even today, I can't believe I would say 'I do'. I don't know about you, but marriage was not on my priority list to achieve, I kept saying to myself that I probably can be happy by myself, with no pressure. Perhaps it was because I wasn't sure about everything in my life. 

Then I met this man, someone who teaches me that partnering can be fun, meaningful, and last forever... some things that I long for so long - deep connection, same vision, and everything in between.

November 6, 2021

Hope, British Columbia, Canada

I prepared my own makeup, this was my dream since I understood the idea of a wedding. I always wanted an intimate party, gathered with my loved ones - my tiny circle whom we hope to keep forever.

In Indonesia, it's just almost impossible to do this, culturally and financially. I was homesick for so long, especially for this day, I missed my family and my best friends in Indonesia so much. I wanted to hold my parent's hands and tell them thank you for raising me. But we gotta do what we gotta do. Not sure when the whole pand3mic is over, we just continue our journey. 

Even for this party, we didn't have a lot of budget but we were determined to create a memorable celebration and treat our guests wonderfully. So, combining our tastes and budget, here it is, a DIY Rustic Wedding of Mathieu and Gita! Big thanks to all of my friends who helped us on this day, this event was nothing without them.

It's an honour for us to be able to share this moment with everyone - either in person or you, who read this post :)

Flowers arranged by the amazing Anastasia (Instagram)

Look how lovely my wedding bouquet is.

I bought the dress on Etsy, designer name: Mon Reve (Instagram)

Vintage wedding rings by 100 Ways and Mejuri.

FOOD

When the wedding commissioner decided to come in the afternoon, we knew we'll go for finger foods instead of a meal buffet. 

Our beautiful friend, Vanvisa, a lady from Thailand, an amazing chef, a genuine friend, was the one who prepared and cook everything for us. Without her, I don't even know how to feed the guests. She is just AMAZING. She clearly did it with passion and love. She doesn't have a website or Instagram, but please reach me if you want to hire her as your personal Masterchef! All of these finger foods taste wonderful beyond words!

Catering by Vanvisa

Rustic wedding cake and cupcakes all by Karen (Instagram)

I didn't even think about the wedding cake until pretty last days. In the beginning, I didn't want to make a "wedding party" since we plan to celebrate the big one in Indonesia later. But as Karen said, a party without a cake is just a meeting. This is our rustic wedding cake, made by our lovely friend, an amazing baker, Karen.

VENUE

Again, as I mentioned before, we wanted some celebration that is wise for the wallet. Something beautiful but not glamorous. My biggest dream was to have a "backyard wedding", small and intimate. But since we don't have a big backyard, we searched for someone else's.

The average price for a standard outdoor wedding nearby Vancouver is more than $2500++ sometimes don't include the catering yet. Thank God, perfect on His time we found this Airbnb in Hope that fits our budget. With the fabulous mountain view and river stream on the back, this area is excellent for us. Just perfect. The owners, Wendy and Gord, are super lovely and helpful, I feel so much blessed with the planning.

We wanted to invite more of our friends because we have a lot of people we love but the venue and cov1d restrictions just disabled us. Please know we love you still.

Tips for getting married on Airbnb house: If you get inspired to have a wedding celebration on an Airbnb, please make sure you discuss it first with the owner, do not hold the party without their agreement! Be open and honest 100% about your request, plan, guests, etc, and do not break your promise :)

We say I do under the big willow tree :')

We were hoping for great weather, but exactly at 2pm, the rain pours in our area. I was a little bit sad (just a little bit) but all of my friends said it's actually doubled the beauty. The rain indeed gave a romantic vibe!

Whatever happens, saying our vows in front of everybody is our goal. We are so GRATEFUL to have such beautiful and kind friends who support us and still would love to stand under the rain to witness us :')

My husband and his best man did the leaves aisle for 3 hours lol

When he said his vow :')

My beautiful husband, outside and inside.

I'm just a crybaby.

Not gonna lie, I applied super waterproof makeup because I know I will cry like a baby. I am such a sensitive person and I'm so happy to marry my best friend!

Signing the paper at the patio

With Anne, the marriage commissioner

With Oscar the best man, and Hana the bridesmaid

Cut the cake!

Our beautiful venue

I really love my bohemian dress, simple and sweet

Thank you, everyone, despite the heavy rain on the way here, and showers during the ceremony.

Today, in the country I choose to live in, during my most favourite season, in front of people that are close to my heart, I marry my most favourite person in the world. Thank you God, I know you really hear prayers :')

With love,

Gita Godet

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List of awesome people:

Venue: Wendy & Gord's house

Dress: Mon Reve Closet

Makeup: me lol

Hair: my bridesmaid Hana

Wedding bouquet & flower crown: Anastasia Budiman

Nail: Miss Lo Studio

Photography: Fery Lim from Momento Portrait and Fellix

Cake: Cakery by Karen

Catering: Vanvisa

Greeting Host: Putrie and Oscar