Olympic Hammer Thrower Rowan Hamilton and His Bride Threw a Wedding Inspired by “Little Women” and “Legends of the Fall”—And They Did Most of the Work Themselves

Olympic hammer thrower Rowan Hamilton, who is currently competing for Canada at the Paris Olympic games, met his wife, Chloe Alkema, shortly after they’d landed in Montreal for nationals. At the time, Chloe was a pole vaulter who had—thanks to an airport mishap—misplaced her poles. “Everyone on the bus was hungry and tired and in no mood to wait for the airport to find them,” says Chloe, who is now a nurse. “I started to cry, but when I looked up, Rowan was standing in front of me. It felt like in the movies, when a lightning bolt hits your heart.” In that moment, she knew—really knew—that he was it for her. “I sent my mom a picture someone had taken of a bunch of us, and Rowan was in it. She asked, ‘Who's the hottie in the middle?’ to which I responded, ‘Mom, his name is Rowan Hamilton, and I'm going to marry him.’”

Rowan set that plan into motion on May 17, 2023, when he took Chloe out on a lake in a canoe his father had made when he was a boy (he'd also decorated it with flowers); after they docked, he cooked them breakfast over a fire before handing Chloe one of her favorite white dresses (“From Doen!” she says) and leading her on a walk. “He got down on one knee and the rest was history,” she says. “It was one of the happiest days of my life.”

The couple set a date for just four months later, and quickly identified two venues—Dave’s Pottery and Succelus Farm—in scenic Chilliwack, Canada, a location they both love. “We hike in Chilliwack all the time. Ryder Lake is very special to us because of how much time we spend in those mountains. We could not imagine getting married anywhere else,” says Chloe, noting that nothing could stop them from hosting their nuptials outdoors in the mountain air. “We were so stuck on Ryder Lake that when weather threatened to shut the whole thing down and every mother involved wanted us to switch last minute to an indoor venue, we held fast and would not negotiate. We felt that even in torrential rain, it would still be more beautiful than just about anywhere else we could think of. It had poured the entire week, but the day of the wedding, it stopped, the sky opened up, and it was sunny and warm—and everything we had hoped for when we planned a September wedding.”

Chloe and Rowan drew from their favorite movies when ideating a big-day theme. “I'm obsessed with Greta Gerwig's Little Women and Anne of Green Gables and Rowan loves Legends of the Fall,” explains the bride, who tapped her mom and mother-in-law to work the films’ aesthetics into the pair’s fall nuptials. They looked to the region’s signature autumn tones, including rich brown, burgundy, green, gold, apricot, and wheat, and a vintage floral Ralph Lauren fabric they’d found as a guide—then, Winstons Events designed and produced their vision. “My mom spent every day sourcing more. We used them on the tables outside the tent during cocktail hour. It was the first thing our guests saw when they arrived at our venue,” notes Chloe.

The team at handled the Lux Affairs handled the day’s planning and coordination, a process that Chloe truly loved. “I can honestly say the planning part was probably some of the most fun we had throughout the whole process. If anything was hard, it was holding true to an aesthetic. I find so much beauty in the world and would love to incorporate it all—I would have a new idea every other day. From time to time, I would need to be reminded of what my vision was.”

The vision was crystal clear when the couple’s big day, held on September 30, 2023, and attended by 150 of their closest friends and family, arrived. See every photo from their cinematic wedding—which looked like a scene straight out of the films it was inspired by and came together after dozens of DIY projects—as captured by Mason Neufeld Photography.

“We did so many DIYs and so much work to make this day special for our guests and for our family,” says Chloe. “We felt like everywhere we looked, we could see the love of a family member or friend by the use of their time, talent, or something borrowed! It was so much fun to create and make these things over a number of months and then see it all come together for such a special day!”

Her first project was the couple’s wedding invitations, which she created and hand-painted, adding scenes of Rowan’s needlepoint crafts, which he makes for Chloe each year, to each suite. The duo also made hundreds of jars of jam, which served as welcome party favors.

The pair kicked off their wedding weekend with a welcome party at Poplar Hill Farm, a private residence owned by a close friend. “I wore a vintage wedding dress that I found at Value Village,” says the bride. “I just about lost my mind when I found it—in fact I would have gladly worn it as my wedding dress had it actually been long enough. The lace had browned and aged over time and my mom spent hours making tinctures of this and that to bring it back to life.”

Rowan, another avid thrifter, also got lucky: He sourced a vintage Christian Dior suit and Wrangler shirt for the event, which spoke to the western dress code.

Seeing everyone in their western clothes was a highlight of the night—as was the somewhat accidental entertainment. “We hired what we thought was a line caller but turned out to be a bit more of a square dance caller,” laughs the bride. “Everyone loved it and the dance floor was full.”

The bride had three major wedding dress requirements: It needed to have lace, a high neckline, and long sleeves. “We phoned every bridal gallery between Vancouver and Seattle. So many had long sleeves, but not high necks—or a high neck but not long sleeves,” says Chloe. “Bisou Bridal said they had one dress that might work. It was the first dress I tried on, and I knew the minute I had it on that it was my dress. I tried on a couple more but it was no use—nothing would compare. I bought it on the spot.” 

She paired the Ines Di Santo A-line number with a veil, antique pearl earrings, textured tights for warmth, and classic Charles & Keith pumps with a chunky heel that allowed her to navigate both the terrain and dance floor with ease. 

Natural-as-possible makeup (“I didn’t want to look at myself in five years and say, ‘What was I thinking?’” she says) and a low bun, inspired by Sofia Richie Grainge’s wedding hairstyle, completed the look.

“When it came time to choose dresses for my bridal party, we needed to look no further than my closet,” says the bride. Her two maids of honor—her sisters—and the rest of her attendants donned Christy Dawn frocks from the bride’s personal collection (“I have a real problem. I just love them so much!” she says). “It honestly made me so happy to see them being worn on a day that was so special to us!” explains Chloe.

The bride held a natural bouquet full of lisianthus, spray roses, and Queen Anne’s lace; the bridesmaids carried similar iterations with spray roses, fall foliage, and hypericum berries.

Chloe found the flower girls' dresses on Feltman Brothers and “we wouldn’t have looked anywhere else,” she says. “They make the most beautiful children’s dresses that never go out of style.”

Rowan also thrifted his wedding attire, a vintage Yves Saint Laurent tuxedo. “He tried it on and knew that's what he was going to wear,” says Chloe. He completed the look with a pair of Boulet cowboy boots, an elongated bow tie, and a lisianthus boutonnière. His best man, his brother, and groomsmen selected their own attire based on the couple’s strict parameters on colors and style. “We had final say on each outfit but, honestly, they totally killed it!” says the bride.

Florist Polina from Da Fiori Design used “every color of fall” imaginable when putting together the couple’s ceremony florals, which involved a lush broken arch and aisle arrangements. “Walking down the aisle to Rowan with the most beautiful flowers I had ever seen flanking him on both sides was just so surreal,” says Chloe. “The aisle flowers were also just so perfect in their size and the colors were exactly what I was hoping for. I was truly blown away by Polina’s work—she is so gifted. I can’t thank her enough!"

The couple skipped a first look—“Rowan really wanted the first time he saw me to be when I was walking down the aisle,” says Chloe—but the bride did have one with her dad. “It was such a special moment for us both!” she adds.

When it came time for the ceremony procession, Chloe and Rowan’s littlest attendants were troopers. “Being outdoors, our aisle was ridiculously long. My poor little nephew Grizzly could hardly make the walk and by the time he came down the aisle, his legs were buckling and his little chin was quivering. But he persevered!” she says. “We just love them all so much!”

The bride’s father was “a sobbing mess” (Rowan shed a few tears, too!) as he escorted his daughter to the aisle to the tune of “Annie’s Song” by John Denver. “He is the most incredible dad and it was such a special moment having him walk me down the aisle to Rowan,” Chloe says.

Chloe’s uncle, a pastor, officiated the pair’s religious ceremony. “It felt intimate and sacred out in the most beautiful field, surrounded by incredible mountains and all of creation,” says the bride.

The couple wrote their own vows—but Chloe misplaced hers just before the service began. “There was this frantic search when, all of a sudden, it was time to read our vows. My brother-in-law took off running through the field to find them. Thankfully, I had sent them to my sister, and she handed me her phone, and all was well,” says Chloe. “We look back at that now and laugh—it was the ice breaker everyone needed. After that, all our nerves had dissipated.”

There wasn’t a dry eye in the house when Rowan read his penned promises to Chloe, which incorporated the following excerpt: “I've never stopped thinking about you since the moment I saw you. I didn't know it at the time, but it is so clear to me now that you are the only person I was ever supposed to love. When we met, I felt a comfort in you like no other.”

The couple kept their post-ceremony portrait session short so they could “be present for cocktail hour and be able to visit with all our guests who had made so much effort to be there,” says Chloe. “We loved watching our vision come to life.”

The vintage Ralph Lauren fabric that the bride’s mother had painstakingly sourced covered the small tables, where guests sat to mingle, nosh on crab tacos, chicken and waffles, and mac and cheese skewers, and sip the duo’s two signature cocktails: a grapefruit “Faulty Tower” drink for Chloe and a “Blackberry Fizz,” made with local fruit, for Rowan.

Chloe made the gingham escort cards, presented on a wooden table with an oversized autumnal arrangement, herself.

“The reception décor was a big job,” Chloe says of the tented party courtesy of the team at Phoenix Tent and Event Rentals, who went above and beyond for the duo a week before the wedding after the original design fell through. “My mom would say she’s a maximalist, so print on print and lots of texture and color was in order. When designing both lounges, we opted for colors that we would see in the mountains: browns, grays, smokey blue.”

The duo worked with BBJ La Tavola to source the perfect linens, which made the tables shine. “We opted for two different colors and styles to keep it interesting,” she says. Embroidered scalloped linen napkins were sourced by Winstons Events; floral dinner plates, oak chargers, organic, foraged-inspired centerpieces, taper candles in wooden holders, and menus printed on dainty paper completed the vision. 

Antler chandeliers from Loungeworks were suspended from the top of the tent and were a must to perpetuate the Legends of the Fall vibe. “I have a memory of heading out and it was so dark outside in the mountains, but the tent was lit up with the antler chandeliers and string lights. I looked back and people were dancing and the tent just looked so spectacular all lit up at night. It was more beautiful than I could have ever planned,” says Chloe.

A well-appointed kids’ table, covered in an ochre tartan blanket, topped with a mini centerpiece and special glassware, and surrounded by teal chairs, ensured the wedding’s smallest attendants dined as pretty as the adults.

Rowan created the wedding’s bars by hand. “A restaurant was getting rid of some old wall paneling, and Rowan used it to build both the bars,” explains Chloe. “I found the moose on Facebook Marketplace, and as soon as I saw him, I knew he needed to be front and center to complete the Legends of the Fall look in the tent. The moose was deceivingly large. We found this out the hard way when we went to pick him up in an SUV and he wouldn't fit!”

After the newlyweds entered the reception tent, they segued into their first dance to “If I Needed You” from the film Broken Circle Breakdown.

The pair listened to heartfelt speeches over dinner, which included Caesar salad, bacon and arugula potato salad, and a choice of blackened chicken in a creamy remoulade or seven-day brined, smoked, and roasted beef brisket, served alongside roasted carrots in a brown butter honey glaze and poutine mashed potatoes. “Sheila’s did our catering and they were incredible,” notes Chloe.

Chloe and Rowan’s packed dessert table was a family effort. “I come from a long line (on both sides) of gifted bakers,” says the bride. “The dessert bar was primarily made up of our favorite desserts from all our aunties and a few close friends.” The sweets station was set up in front of a custom mantel installation designed—and constructed by Rowan, his father, and his uncle—to look like an interior living room; sconces and an antique-inspired portrait of the couple reinforced their Little Women meets Legends of the Fall vision.

Pink Sugar Cake Room supplied the couple’s mini, pink, heart-shaped cake with lambeth piping. It was tiny but mighty in flavor: The cake packed layers of vanilla genoise with crunch Biscoff, vanilla genoise with vanilla buttercream, and milk chocolate genoise with salted caramel.

Before the sun set, the couple and their photographer ventured outside the tent for a golden hour shoot. The bride—following her groom’s lead—let her hair down and added a cowboy hat with a veil, which fit the setting.

The pair made hundreds of bottles of peach, blueberry, and Rhubarb cordial for guests to take home after the reception.

The dancing portion of the evening became a core memory for the duo: “Dancing with all our friends and family was such a highlight. We didn't want the night to end,” she says. 

Though the celebration did, eventually end, Chloe and Rowan are grateful to be able to vividly relive it through their wedding video—which leads the bride to her biggest piece of advice for duos currently planning their weddings. “Hire a good videographer. You spend so much money bringing your vision to life, and then it's over in a blink of an eye. We hired Hello Tomorrow and will truly cherish that video for the rest of our lives. We still cry every time we see it!” she says. “There were a few things that went wrong on our wedding day, like my vows going missing. Something will go wrong—you can be guaranteed—but once the videographers are finished and you see the whole day in video, you don't remember anything that went wrong. All you see is the love, the relationships, the celebration. It captures things you as a bride and groom miss, as your day is so busy visiting with guests and getting photos. The video preserves your wedding day. Hands down, the best money we ever spent!”