Alexandra Turner and Daniel Shackleton met at university in 2015. Vancouver-based Allie was studying abroad in England for the year at the University of East Anglia in Norwich. She recalls her first meeting with Dan happened on move-in day; he was the last of her roommates to arrive at their university house, and the moment he entered the chat, she instantly was intrigued.
“Dan was the last one to arrive at our residence and arrived as the rest of us were sitting around the kitchen table getting to know each other,” says Allie. “He walked in with a casual confidence and leaned against the wall. I was immediately interested but needed an excuse to talk to him.
After keeping her eye on Dan all night, Allie’s moment happened when he switched up the soundtrack for the party. She casually asked the room, “Oh, who put on the Alt-J?
This was the sweet beginning of what would become a long-distance love affair for the next four years. During Allie’s school year in the U.K., they travelled across western Europe together, and she spent the summer living with his family in England. When it was time for her to head home, the pair made a plan that Dan would move to Canada when he graduated.
“Just before I left for home, we exchanged promise rings, which we wore up until the day Dan proposed,” says Allie. “Dan actually still wears that ring on his right hand.”
Dan arrived in Vancouver in 2019, and the couple moved in together and adopted a ginger kitten named Pippin. They were engaged two years later, in November 2021 in the most romantic of places: Maui’s Black Rock Beach.
“We’d obviously talked about marriage, and I knew that it was likely we’d be getting engaged soon, but I assumed it would happen at Christmas when his parents were coming to town,” says Allie. “It was a total surprise to everyone, even my parents who were with us on the trip—he did tell them two days before his proposal. I had no idea he’d been hiding the ring in our slow cooker for over a month!”
Dan popped the question at sunset on the beach, in a storybook moment. Because there was so much uncertainty at the time of their engagement, the couple decided to take their time planning their next life chapter and decided on June 3, 2023, for their wedding day.
Allie says from the moment the couple started planning, they had a specific vision. They wanted it to be enchanting, charming and honour the beautiful landscapes surrounding Pacific Northwest area they lived in. There were elements of forest, water and wilderness in their day, and the decor story was focused on lots of moss and greenery, gold accents, antique books and brass oddities like cloches and grandfather clocks all paired with moss balls, white roses and gold branches.
“Everything was whimsical, without being overly feminine,” shares Allie. “I am a pink girly, but I didn’t want Dan’s personality to get lost in the wedding, and he was very involved with the design process, too. We found a perfect mix that suited both of us.”
Allie and Dan hosted 65 guests for a glorious outdoor wedding at the Shed, a venue in West Vancouver that has an incredible view of Vancouver on one side and mountains on the other. They kicked the celebration off the night before the big day with a welcome co*cktail party hosted by Allie’s parents, so all the guests could meet. “Most of Dan’s friends flew in from England and had never met my friends before,” says Allie. “It’s unlikely we’ll ever have everyone we love in the same place again, so our whole wedding event was a really special time.”
They were married in a romantic waterfront ceremony, and Allie says this moment was obviously a deeply personal one for them, but the emotions were greater than she ever imagined.
“I wasn’t expecting it to be the highlight that it became for both of us,” she explains. “I was sobbing before I even got to the end of the aisle. Both of my parents gave me away, and one of our best friends and bridesmaids performed the first half of the ceremony. My mother, who is a marriage officiant performed the second legal half and the signing. My father and Dan’s mother performed a handfasting—a Scottish wedding tradition that ties a couple’s hands together—with a custom tartan ribbon that had my family tartan on one side, and Dan’s family tartan on the other.”
Following their ‘I dos’ the couple hosted a tented outdoor reception; Allie says seeing the space and how their vision all came together was incredible. “Leading up to our wedding I had been picking out individual elements from place settings, to florals, to candle sticks, and I was so scared it wouldn’t look good once the elements were put together,” says Allie. “When I walked into the finished reception space during co*cktail hour and could see it all, it was so gratifying. I especially loved our hanging centrepiece with the clear tent, string lights and chandeliers. At night, the whole space felt cozy and intimate despite being in an open field, and most importantly, enchanted.”
In a day filled with meaningful family moments, Allie had a particularly special fashion one. She changed out of her sweeping ball gown into a vintage-style bustier and pant combo for dancing, and the corset was a piece that incorporated her mom’s wedding dress into it. “It was a 27 Dresses moment, and it was my mother’s idea,” says Allie. “My mom’s wedding dress was also my grandmother’s wedding dress. We worked with a tailor who did a fabulous job repurposing old lace from the dress into a bustier with a corset back. I loved having a ball gown moment and a chic dancing moment that gave me freedom of movement. I have worn the bustier a few times since then too.”
Highlight Reel
Select standouts from Alexandra and Daniel’s big day
The dress
Allie learned into a wedding day princess-esque moment wearing a glorious lace and tulle ball gown by Morilee. The dress featured a plunging neckline and dramatic skirt that looked incredible set against the sweeping vistas of their Vancouver wedding. She paired it with an airy tulle cathedral-length veil, which was particularly magical for the couple’s dreamy forest wedding photos.
The desserts
“We tried a bunch of different wedding cakes and decided we actually didn’t like traditional cake, so we opted for a variety of patisserie cakes from Blue Hat Café, which is attached to the Pacific Institute of Culinary Arts on Granville Island,” says Allie. “There were four different types, all of which were delicious!”
The dancing
“Being with all our friends gathered together and letting loose to ABBA was one of the happiest moments of my life,” says Allie. “Our DJ, Adam, was incredible playing hits that night—our guests didn’t want to leave. My maid of honour and I finished the evening with a dramatic last dance to Taylor Swift’s “Love Story.” It was just the two of us on the dance floor and a moment we’d been talking about doing long before I was even engaged.”
Alexandra and Daniel’s wedding directory
Wedding dress: Morilee from The Bridal Gallery
Bespoke bustier: Modernize Tailors
Bride’s Trousers: Ba&sh
Hair & makeup: Jasmine Hoffman, Blue Jasmine Beauty Group
Flowers: Artbus Florist and Faux Floral Boutique
Cakes: Blue Hat Bakery & Bistro at Pacific Institute of Culinary Arts
Music: Adam Woodall
Photographer: Alyssa Courtney, Whistler Wedding Collective
Venue: The Shed
Wedding planner: Jennifer Schafer, Umbrella Events
