WedLuxe Magazine Winter/Spring 2014 Vancouver & Western Canada | Page 46

CHRISTENE

PHILIP

PHOTOGRAPHED BY LEANNE PEDERSEN PHOTOGRAPHERS

chance

encounter

In May of 2012, Philip was seated alone at the
bar of Vancouver’s Black+Blue steakhouse
when Christene walked in with a girlfriend.
“We made eye contact and smiled at each
other, and this continued over the course of
the evening,” recalls Christene. “My girlfriend
and I were discussing being single in
Vancouver and I commented that I had been
smiling at a handsome man at the end of the
bar all night. My friend gestured wildly to the
man and gave him the thumbs-up to come
over. He eventually made his way over, but he
promptly left when his dessert arrived (he’s
Belgian, I forgave him)!”
“He gave me his card before leaving, and we
texted the next day and decided to meet for
dinner at the Hawksworth Restaurant in the
ROSEWOOD HOTEL GEORGIA. We had our
first kiss at the bar that night and haven’t been
apart since. He gave me his keys three days
later and we moved in together in August.
We both knew 100% that this was different.
I knew he was my guy—I didn’t know what
it would lead to, but I knew it would be
something very special.”

46

Winter and Spring 2014

venetian

proposal

In September of 2012, Philip proposed
during a romantic gondola ride in Venice.
Unbeknownst to Christene, he had asked her
father for permission a few weeks beforehand
and had told a few friends of his plans.
Christene and Philip’s biggest priority for
their June 1, 2013 wedding day was to keep
the wedding intimate. “We were determined
to keep our guest list small, and the details
a secret! Our guests knew the wedding date
and the requested attire—women all in white,
men in black tuxedo and bow-tie, but no
other details! When their invitation arrived
they knew where to show up, but that was it.”
fabulous

filosophi

Erin Bishop from FILOSOPHI EVENT
PLANNING was hired to provide full-service
planning and design for the wedding. The
couple had come across Erin in a roundabout
way, via a wedding Christene had attended
a year earlier. That wedding featured an
“amazing” band—SIDE ONE. Determined to
book the band for her very own wedding,
Christene sent an email to inquire.

WESTERN CANADA EDITION

As it turned out, Erin is not only a vocalist
for SIDE ONE (and SAID SEBASTIAN) but she’s
also a partner at FILOSOPHI EVENT PLANNING.
“The minute we met Erin, it just clicked,”
explains Christene. “Hiring Erin was the
best decision we made regarding our wedding.
We travel a lot, so we often had to rely on her
flexibility and muscle to help us get
things done.”
Erin also loved working with Christene and
Philip. “They are both very creative and visual
people, so they had a vision for the wedding
right off the bat when I met them. The
challenge for me in this case wasn’t in coming
up with creative ideas for their big day, but
rather filling in the logistics and engineering
their ideas into reality. The couple’s ideas
were plentiful and where I was able to
really shine was in the problem solving and
engineering behind the scenes to bring their
amazing visions to life. I am very proud of the
feat that this wedding truly was, taking guests
on a wild, through-the-looking-glass ride they
won’t ever forget.”