Yuriko Larson says there is a story behind everything. What first drew her to a love of all things vintage was this greater concept of objects holding a history, a special story, that continues over years and years and spaces and places.
The year was 2010. Yuriko found a Vintage Tandem ‘Schwinn’ bicycle on Craigslist, and convinced her husband that they should make this unique purchase and in doing so buy a larger vehicle so they could haul it back to Canada. When she went to pick up the tandem bicycle, she found out this great item’s story. The original owner was an old farmer in Texas, who had bought the bicycle in the 1970’s in hopes of teaching his wife how to ride a bike. He kept this tandem gem in pristine condition.
Yuriko loved the romance and the fabulous adventures that her and her husband could experience with the ‘bicycle for two’. She loved packing up the bike basket for picnics down by the lake and being able to converse in her husband’s ear while they navigated the streets of Kelowna and the docks along the lake. She especially loved the fact that she could go along for the ride and let her husband do all the peddling whenever she wanted-the perks of a tandem. It always gave her joy to see a sparkle or smirked smile by others as they nostalgically gave a nod of approval to them as they wheeled by. Yuriko thought it disappointing that this beautiful bike was being unused and sitting lonely in her garage. Because she wanted other couples to experience the tandem, she came up with the concept to rent it out for weddings and photo shoots. That’s how it all began…..
Vintage Origami-Vintage Wedding Rentals & Decorating, is a wedding decor rental business located in Kelowna, British Columbia, in the beautiful Okanagan Valley. Filled with some of the worlds most renown Vineyards and Wineries, the Okanagan has been called Canada’s Wedding Capital. Because of this, Kelowna has some of the finest Wedding Vendors in Canada. Vintage Origami is no exception.
Yuriko tailors her Wedding Decor to each bride. She offers one of the most unique services because she loves the story behind everything, and because of this, she is able to pull from each couple’s history, encouraging them to find special family heirlooms belonging to the bride or groom. With Vintage Origami, there is no cookie cutter design in Wedding Decor. Each wedding is exclusively designed to express and celebrate the individual couple and their special day. Yuriko works one on one with each bride, creating memories from their heritage that will continue on into their new life together.
Another great aspect of Vintage Origami, is that Yuriko will accommodate and work within a bride’s particular wedding budget. She encourages brides to incorporate their own collective items and gives them ideas on how to create DIY crafts to help make the decor not only personalized but cost efficient.
Upcycling comes naturally to Yuriko, and is extremely important to her. She loves the idea that you can Reuse, Reinvent, Recycle in all aspects of life. She considers Vintage Origami to be an ecological way to provide decor.
Yuriko finds her decor in all kinds of places, from her roots in Texas, as well as local. She loves building relationships with people she purchases from, and it’s important to her that she follows up with them showing them photos of how she repurposes the vintage item. She loves that she can show them that the life of the item continues as it is an active part of someone’s wedding day where a bride & grooms life starts together.
This year, Yuriko and Erik were blessed with the opportunity to spend some time in Italy. Yuriko was inspired and awe struck by the way the locals nurtured and embraced the natural aging of things around them whether it was architecture or the fine china used in the little side street cafe. Rather than painting over things to make them look new, “they embrace the patina of a worn brick wall”. She admired their desire for preservation, and that they didn’t follow trends, but had a respect for age.
Another thing that inspired Yuriko about Italy was the value of longevity of meal time and having courses. This made her think about “The Wedding Day” and about how important it is to not push for a big program, and not to rush through it, but to sit and enjoy that quality time with your friends and your family and be able to see the perfection in the imperfect. “Embrace the moment.”
Contact Yuriko at Vintage Origami-vintage wedding rentals & decorating for your wedding decor. You won’t be disappointed.
Desert Island:
If Yuriko could only have one song with her on a Desert Island, it would be Jesse Cook’s, Tuesday’s Child.
Photographs of Decor provided by Yuriko Larson.
Floral arrangements by Classic Creations