Exclusive: Jordan Connor and Jinjara Mitchell's Magical Beach Wedding in British Columbia

On September 4, 2021, after postponing for a full year, Jordan Connor and Jinjara Mitchell made it official when they wed in front of 50 guests at Long Beach Lodge Resort in Tofino, British Columbia—a location they selected because it's where they took one of their first trips together. "We instantly fell in love with its wild and natural beauty," says the couple. "It is a place we visit often, it’s where we got engaged, and we couldn’t imagine getting married anywhere else!" 

Jinjara, an actress, and Jordan, an actor best known for his role as Sweet Pea on CW’s Riverdale, first met in an acting class in 2012. “We were paired for a scene together and the rest was history,” Jordan tells Brides. The couple got engaged in September 2018—also in Tofino, British Columbia. “It was sunset on the beach. As Jordan got on one knee, the tide came in and soaked us,” Jinjara recalls with a laugh. “But, it was the best day of our lives, up until our wedding day, of course!"

In fact, the couple set out to recreate the same magical scene on their big day. "We loved the idea of having our wedding right in front of the crashing waves," they say. "Our vision for the wedding was a beachy-boho-romantic vibe. Seeing it all come together was a dream come true."

Keep reading to see how the couple's vision was woven throughout the dreamy celebration—from Jinjara's Anne Barge gown, which featured a nude underlay to match the sand, to the floral arrangements of natural pampas grass at the ceremony to the bridesmaid's blue dresses (to coordinate with the water, of course). Every detail was captured by photographer Olivia Van Dyke and planned by Weddings by Bluebird. 

"With our wedding location being a place of such natural beauty, we really wanted to draw from Tofino itself for the vision and décor," Jordan continues. "You can feel the pure magic on the beaches in Tofino and we wanted to reflect that in our wedding." 

To accomplish this, the couple designed an itinerary that allowed guests to explore the environment throughout the day of events. To start, everyone stayed on property at the wedding venue, Long Beach Lodge Resort, which overlooks "one of the most beautiful beaches" in Tofino, Cox Bay Beach.

Jinjara and Jodan opted to skip the first look and instead explored the grounds separately with their bridesmaids and groomsmen, posing for portraits in front of the water and surrounding rainforests before the ceremony. When it was "go" time, everyone gathered inside a window-filled lodge to watch the couple exchange vows before heading back outside—in the rain, no less—for more photos, followed by dinner and dancing in a beautiful tent.

For his wedding-day look, Jordan went with a black Lazio tuxedo from Suitsupply—a style he chose while shopping with Brides just weeks before the wedding!

Jinjara teamed up with designer Anne Barge to customize her bridal look. Her final dress? A ball gown with a corseted top and open back made of champagne tulle with a stunning lace overlay. The gown's skin-toned lining looked especially beautiful next to the beach setting and pampas-grass décor.

"Working closely with Anne Barge, I got to design the dress of my dreams," she says. "After seeing the first sketch, I knew it was going to be everything I wanted!"

The bride accessorized with her "something new," a gold ring engraved with her wedding date from her bridesmaid Robyn, as well as her “something blue," a ring from her “Babba” (Ukrainian for Grandma). "It’s a gorgeous blue aquamarine stone, for our shared March birthday. It is wrapped in a gold wheat stock setting since she was from the prairies," she says.

"The easiest part for us was choosing the style of décor and the colors of our wedding," Jinjara says. "We are pretty confident in what we like so we went with our first choices."

This included her lush bouquet by Crab Apple Floral, which was full of pampas grass, blue delphinium, and blush roses. "We wanted the theme of our wedding to reflect the natural aesthetic of the West Coast," adds the bride.

"Jordan wanted the groomsmen—and groomswoman!—to have their own style shine through," Jinjara says. "We gave each of them a color palette to choose their suits from and let them add their own unique touches." To coordinate, Jordan gave each attendant a rose-gold watch by Daniel Wellington as a "thank you" gift to wear on the day of.

Jinjara's six bridesmaids wore the Waldorf dress from Park & Fifth in one of two tones—slate and dusty blue. "Zoe from Park & Fifth showed me the Waldorf dress at her Vancouver shop, and I immediately loved the elegant and timeless style of the dress," she explains. "Again, we chose the dress colors to compliment the gorgeous ocean and sky of the Northwest Coast."

“The planning process definitely felt like a pretty daunting task at first," admits the couple. "With so many options out there, it was hard to narrow down exactly what we wanted and how to execute it all. But, we tackled things one at a time with our planner's help. In the end, it was so exciting to enjoy all the hard work we put in on our big day!"

When picking what hues to incorporate into their ceremony décor, they let nature run its course. "Something beautiful a family member told us was that, 'in nature, colors never clash.' So, we took that thought and decided to go with an all-encompassing floral palette," says the couple. "We chose coral and peach garden roses along with dried palm and pampas grass, as well as a hint of light blue delphinium to compliment the Pacific Ocean. We also used some of the extra roses and created an entire runner out of rose petals, which was absolutely stunning!"

Jinjara and Jordan's "beloved puppy" Nola acted as their ring bearer. She had quite a big responsibility! Nola wore a custom collar from Sebastian Says in New York that the rings hung from.

Jordan made his grand entrance at the ceremony alongside his mother.

The bride walked down the aisle arm-in-arm with her brothers Fred and Ryan, who stepped in for her late father, Michael Freddrick Mitchell. A seat was also left open in his honor.

Jinjara and Jordan exchanged vows they'd written for each other. "Getting the chance to speak from our hearts to one another with all our loved ones present was the perfect way to share our love," he says. "It wasn’t easy getting through them without crying every 5 seconds though!"

Reflecting on the day, the couple counts exchanging vows as their favorite memory. "It was the highlight of our night and one of the most beautiful moments in our lives together," they say.

"We were lucky enough to have our dear friend and phenomenal musician, Luca Fogale, play for our ceremony," says the couple. "He played two original songs, 'To Hold On To You' and an instrumental of 'Villains' for the processional, and a beautiful rendition of 'You Are The Best Thing' by Ray LaMontagne for the recessional."

“After having to postpone the big day for a year, we are so overjoyed to finally have said 'I do' in front of our friends, family, and loved ones," reflects the couple.

"Planning for the weather was the hardest part of planning!" admits the couple. "We were hoping for clear skies but, with Tofino, you never know what you are going to get. It ended up pouring rain on our wedding day, but thankfully we had a perfect backup plan with the indoor Great Room at Long Beach Lodge. "

Following the ceremony, the newlyweds and their 50 guests gathered inside a beautiful tent for a meal inspired by "West Coast fine dining." On the menu? Salmon, baked focaccia, wild-mushroom pasta, BBQ-glazed ribs, and crusted halibut. At the bar, the couple served two local wines from award-winning Wild Goose Vineyard and Winery as well as two signature cocktails: “The Jinji 75,” a custom gin-and-lavender creation for Jinjara, and "The Jordy Sour,” a maple syrup-infused bourbon beverage for Jordan.

Notably, the couple says the speeches, given by Jordan's brother and sister, were the highlight during dinner service. "It was essentially a Comedy Central roast on Jordan," Jinjara notes, "They had everyone crying with laughter!"

"We wanted to emulate the sand and driftwood in our table settings," explains the bride. Round tables were set inside a tent and topped with ivory linens, gold cutlery, and two chargers—one wicker and one gold-rimmed to add "a little more elegance" to the design. Centerpieces were placed atop wood rounds and surrounded by brass candlesticks and gold mercury vases (repurposed from the ceremony site!).

While the couple left most of the design to the pros, Jinjara shares that they did hand-select several important elements. "We designed all of the menus and signage ourselves! Jordan has a secret love of typography," she says.

The couple hired a DJ to keep their guests on the dance floor, but they asked friend Luca Fogale to step in for their first dance. He performed Tina Turner's cover of “Simply The Best.” The father-daughter song, “California Girls” by The Beach Boys, was a tribute to Jinjara’s father who passed away when she was six.

Reflecting on the big day, the newlyweds count dancing with loved ones after dinner as a highlight, saying, "Seeing our families get down on the dance floor was so much fun…and very entertaining!"

The wedding cake was designed and made by Zoe, owner of  West Coast Cakes Co. in Tofino. The flavor? Vanilla cake with a fresh-strawberry filling, all covered in a light layer of buttercream.

"We wanted the design to be simple and elegant, and we were so excited when we finally saw the gorgeous cake Zoe baked for us!" adds the couple.

"No matter how much you plan for your perfect day, there will be hiccups and things that don’t go according to plan," admits the couple. "The most important thing is to let all that little stuff go and be present with the person you love. If you can do that, no matter what happens, the day will be perfect!"