The Permanent

The Permanent is the kind of wedding venue where guests may spend the first few minutes looking up.

And then someone notices the old bank vault.

In downtown Vancouver, this extraordinary heritage building has been standing since 1907, first built for the BC Permanent & Loan Company and later becoming home to the Bank of Canada.

More than a century later, money has given way to marriages.

The restored main hall now welcomes weddings beneath a stained-glass atrium, surrounded by intricate crown mouldings, handcrafted tile mosaics and bronze chandeliers that give the room the kind of character no newly constructed ballroom can convincingly imitate.

Even the original Bank of Canada vault door remains.

It is an extraordinary little piece of Vancouver history to have quietly watching over the wedding.

Up to 130 guests can gather for a seated dinner, while standing celebrations can welcome as many as 250.

But numbers are not what make this room memorable.

It is the feeling of walking into it.

The ceiling rises.

Light filters through the stained glass.

Historic details appear everywhere and the custom heritage bar looks as though it has always belonged there.

The architecture does much of the decorating before a single flower arrives.

Then the wedding begins adding its own layer.

Candles appear on tables.

Florals soften the old stone and tile.

Music fills a building that has heard more than a century of completely different conversations.

The aisle forms.

Two people walk toward one another.

And for a few hours, this piece of Vancouver history belongs to one family story.

Later, dinner becomes speeches and the carefully arranged room begins loosening around the edges.

Glasses empty.

Chairs move.

People who promised they would only stay for one dance are still there considerably later.

And somewhere nearby sits that enormous old vault door, a wonderfully appropriate backdrop for a promise everyone intends to keep.

The Permanent has already lived several lives.

For one night, couples get to add theirs.