A behind-the-scenes look at wedding season on the Vancouver campus

University life is often filled with significant milestones. For many, it’s the place where lifelong friendships are created and, for some, it’s where love is found.

That was the case for Mariska Sofian (BCom ‘17) and Appu Shrestha (BASc ‘19), who met through a mutual friend while attending UBC.

They exchanged vows in June 2023 on UBC’s Vancouver campus. Their wedding was just one of hundreds that take place on campus each year.

UBC is naturally busiest during the winter academic session, which runs September to April, when the campus is packed with students, faculty and staff. But some might not be aware that summer is busy too, especially for UBC Food Services, when hundreds of couples and their guests come to campus for wedding celebrations.

UBC Food Services, which operates Sage Catering on the Vancouver campus, plays a crucial role in ensuring the success of each couple’s special day.

“From May to October, we cater to about two to three weddings a weekend at various locations at UBC,” said Levi Semadeni, general manager of Sage Catering. “That’s roughly 150 weddings in a season with about 50 to 250 guests at each wedding.”

Sage Catering operates the Leon and Thea Koerner University Centre venue for events. They are also the exclusive caterer for Cecil Green Park House, and a preferred caterer at the Robert H. Lee Alumni Centre. Those signature venues are operated by Alumni Facilities. The two units work together to manage numerous events on campus.

“This year, it’s busier than it’s ever been as we continue to tackle the COVID backlog,” said Nicole Sweeney, associate director, Alumni Facilities. “This August is definitely our busiest. We only have seven days where we don’t have a wedding.”

As a part of Student Housing and Community Services, Sage Catering provides a financial contribution that directly supports the university’s central budget and student experience.

Sage Catering also provides not-for-profit services to support UBC community events, such as the Apprentice Dinner, Back to School BBQ, Blueberry Festival and Harvest Feastival.

The UBC alumni community also benefits from hosting their weddings at UBC as they get a discount for booking events with Sage Catering.

For Sofian and Shrestha, their love story almost never happened.

“We had both grown up in Beijing, swam competitively and had a lot of mutual connections, but we didn’t cross paths right away,” said Sofian.

It wasn’t until they attended a friend’s birthday party in their second and third years respectively, that they realized their similarities, made a connection and hit it off.

Despite being in different programs, they found ways to maximize their time together on campus.

“We would study at Irving K. Barber Learning Centre or grab food in between study breaks or for late-night study sessions,” said Sofian.

Seven years later, in 2022, Shrestha proposed, and Sofian easily said “Yes!”

They initially struggled to find a wedding venue that could accommodate their preferred summer 2023 wedding date. By chance, Shrestha’s groomsman discovered a last-minute opening at the University Centre, the signature wedding venue operated by Sage Catering.

“It felt like fate that a perfect Saturday in June had just opened up, so we booked it immediately,” said Sofian.

With the venue secured and contract signed, they got to planning their wedding with their assigned catering coordinator. Their coordinator facilitated the couples’ plans and requests, including dietary requirements.

At Sage Catering, couples can build their own culinary adventure using the base menu, which is an elevated West Coast cuisine designed by catering chef Eric Meyer.

“Over 30 per cent of the couples we work with request custom menus, so it’s always a fun challenge navigating those needs,” said Meyer.

For Sofian and Shrestha, this customization was important.

“We went with the general menu, but requested for the food to be halal and provide options for folks who didn’t eat beef,” said Sofian.

The Sage Catering team also adhere to Food Services’ vision and values, which emphasizes climate-friendly food options. They are also an Ocean Wise partner and prioritize purchasing from the organic UBC Farm and other local food producers to design seasonal menus.

Meyer approaches weddings with a deep sense of responsibility, understanding the lasting impact his food will have on the guests.

“It brings me joy and pride whenever we hear people say it’s the best food they’ve eaten in Vancouver, especially because the city is filled with so many culinary talents,” he said.

On the wedding day itself, it’s all-hands-on-deck. The catering coordinator goes through the schedule one last time before handing off responsibility to the banquet captain, who executes the wedding plan. Finally, the couple tie the knot and the party starts.

“The whole process was straightforward and easy to plan,” said Shrestha. “We didn’t even need a wedding planner.”

He adds that Colin Dewar, their coordinator, also went the extra mile to ensure everyone had a good time.

“While everyone was at cocktail hour, we weren’t able to grab food as we were taking photos,” said Shrestha. “But Colin served us some hors d’oeuvres to eat and they were delicious.”

To this day, Sofian and Shrestha still consider their wedding the most memorable UBC moment.

“It was nice to see our UBC journey come full circle, especially because we got married right next to where we graduated,” said Sofian.

Images with credits for media use: https://bit.ly/UBCWedding