Set against the lush charm of Vancouver Island, Maya and Nolan’s wedding was a heartfelt celebration of love, family, and tradition. The date itself was chosen by Nolan’s grandmother, aligning with Taian — a symbolically lucky day on the Japanese calendar — adding a meaningful layer to a day already rich in emotion. From the bride’s custom gown stitched with heirloom fabric from generations of women before her, to a sweet post-ceremony moment shared quietly as newlyweds, every detail of this wedding felt deeply personal and full of intention.
Their love story began with dancing under neon lights at a 90s night called “Lucky’s,” and continued through years of laughter, long-distance, and unwavering connection. On their wedding day, that same playful spirit came through as their pup, Kuma, tried to steal the show (and a swim) during portraits. With tears, joy, and an overwhelming sense of closeness, Maya and Nolan’s celebration was the perfect blend of tender moments and thoughtful traditions — a true reflection of the relationship they’ve built over the past eight years.
How did you two meet? What were your first impressions of one another?
Maya: We met at a club coincidentally called Lucky’s which hosts a 90s night every Monday night. 90s nights were huge for the university in the area so it was always packed with students. We had mutual friends in common and I remember thinking that Nolan was super cute and we ended up dancing together almost all night. After that I went to 90s night almost every Monday in the hopes of meeting up with Nolan again. Eventually we did, and I still couldn’t work up the courage to ask for his number. Finally I asked one of his friends for it, sent him a text and the rest was history.
Nolan: I think we met on Maya’s 19th or 20th birthday. Her hair was half up half down in these two little space buns. All my friends knew I was into her right away and they all called her space bun girl for the longest time. I thought she was incredibly beautiful. I remember when Maya first asked me to hangout and watch the bachelor with you – I lived like a 40 minute drive away and am not really into reality tv but i made the drive that evening and all the times after that too haha.
Tell us a funny story relating to your wedding day or relationship!
Maybe having our dog at our wedding. She is such a silly goofy personality and she definitely had no idea what was going on and was still a puppy (just under 2). We took her into the gorge park and pavilion Japanese garden to take some pictures and there’s some water features and ponds, and Kuma loves to swim. As soon as she saw the water she kept trying to beeline towards it to take a swim and we spent the majority of the time we took taking photos with her trying to keep her out of the water.
Describe a hurdle you had to overcome in your relationship or during your wedding planning.
We were luck to have a generally hurdle free wedding (and relationship) but setting a date definitely took a bit of work. We were working around a lot of spring and summer birthdays as well as the Japanese Calendar. Nolan’s mom is Japanese and wanted to make sure our wedding took place on a Taian day – or a day of luck! So working around all of this as well as what worked for the venue, and trying to organize around weekends made it a big task to find the right date.
Any special ways you incorporated your family or family history into your wedding day?
We did a few things! We did a witness lottery, and I pulled my paternal grandmother and Nolan pulled his father. Everyone thought it was rigged but we genuinely loved all of our guests and would have been happy with any of them as our witnesses. Drawing our family members definitely felt like kismet though.
My best friend made my wedding dress and as a surprise she sewed patches from my maternal grandmother and mother’s wedding dress into the inside of my gown with hand stitched dates and names. It was such an incredibly special surprise because I had always talked about trying to incorporate their dresses into my wedding look.
When I was 16 my mom gave me the earrings from her wedding and I held on to them for 10years and told myself I would wear them when I got married. I surprised her with them the morning of the wedding while we got ready. It was really special.
I also had an heirloom lucky bracelet from my great grandmother which I wore on my wedding day.
Finally, Nolan and I also had both our parents walk us down the aisle which I think is becoming more popular to incorporate both mother and father into the wedding ceremony.
What part of your wedding day was/is most important to you?
The 5 minutes we put aside after the ceremony that was just for us. It was the most intimate part of the day and gave us a moment to feel the giddiness and excitement of what just happened. But also to just be together and calm eachother after the intenseness of the day. It was a short amount of time, but it felt so special.
What is the best thing you’ve learned from one another?
Maya: The best thing I’ve learned from Nolan is confidence. I never felt so sure of myself until I met Nolan and had this person who was unconditionally behind me and not just supporting me but encouraging me. Since meeting Nolan, I’ve definitely found I’m a more confident person.
Nolan: The best thing I’ve learned from Maya is how to be her person. How to communicate well, and how to be a loving supportive partner.
What is your favorite thing about each other?
Maya: I don’t know how to choose one favourite thing. I love how hardworking and ambitious Nolan is. I love how soft and kind and caring he is and how that’s something special that he doesn’t give out to just anyone. Sometimes I feel like I’ve landed in a romance book and it’s really too good to be true.
Nolan: I like that Maya makes me feel at home and I don’t really feel that way with anyone else. I can let all my walls down, and I don’t have to worry about being anything other than myself with no judgement. She’s the communicator in our relationship. She always knows what I’m feeling even when I can’t find the words to express it.
What was your favorite part about planning your wedding?
The first was tasting our menu! It made for the perfect date night, to plan other aspects of the wedding together.
We also loved meeting and working with all of our vendors. Every single vendor we worked with was incredibly amazing and so friendly. They made wedding planning feel so easy and they also worked seamlessly together when the wedding day finally came along. I remember our caterer (Sandy from Beaumont) hugging me before the ceremony and telling me how beautiful I looked – it really felt like she was a friend. We can’t say enough wonderful things about all of our vendors.
If you had one piece of advice for other couples, what would it be?
Learn your partners love language. Once you know that about them you can see all the little ways they’re showing their love for you, and you can also learn what makes them feel the most loved.
What is the most honest thing you can say about love?
For us it feels so natural. It has never felt like there’s any ‘hard work’ that people always tell us goes into making a relationship work. It’s always just worked. 8 years has flown by like nothing, but at the same time we are so excited for the rest of forever!
Photographer: Aly Sibley Photographer / @alysibleyphotography
Venue: Esquimalt Gorge Park Pavilion / @esquimaltbc
Caterer: Beaumont Catering / @beaumontcatering
Bar: Twist of Fate Cocktail Co. / @twistvictoria
Planner: The Good Party / @thegoodparty
Officiant: Young Hip and Married / @younghipandmarried
Videographer: Tanner Biggan Productions / @tbp_weddings
Florist: @my.little.stand
Hair & Makeup Artist: Amanda Gangoso / @amandagangoso
Rentals: Pedersens Event Rentals / @pedersenseventrentals
Publisher at The White Wren and Bajan Wed, Award Winning Photography + Videographer at Live View Studios, Dad, 80s music lover, crunchy health advocate
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