A B.C. couple who attended the fairytale wedding of their longtime friend just days before he was killed in this weekend's Mexico resort crash say he was a dedicated father and confidante.

Nanaimo realtor Malcolm Johnson, 33, was among five Canadians killed in an explosion at a hotel in the resort city of Playa del Carmen on the country's eastern coast on Sunday. Two Mexicans who worked for the resort also perished.

Nanaimo residents Doug and Brianne Podritske travelled to Mexico to watch the nuptials of Johnson and his longtime love, Heather Pynten, alongside the couple's one-year-old daughter, Audrey.

Brianne Podritske said Johnson, who was the best man in their wedding three-and-a-half years ago, started packing for the trip for weeks beforehand.

"He was so excited," she told CTV News Monday. "He was going to be marrying the love of his life. They were so happy together, they were so in love."

She describes their beach wedding on Nov. 10 as idyllic, with the entire wedding party wearing white and everyone throwing rose petals into the air to symbolize their long life together.

Podritske said their friends' honeymoon was brightened by the first birthday of their daughter, Audrey, on Saturday. She said the couple was trying to have another baby, and that Johnson loved his daughter "more than anything."

Doug Podritske said his friend was in good spirits on Sunday before the tragedy occurred, saying he closed out a real estate deal that morning.

"Heather and Malcolm and Audrey were all up in their room and Malcolm wanted to go down for a coffee and check his e-mail and that's when everything happened," he said.

The explosion, initially being blamed on a methane buildup, blew out windows in a lounge area and left behind a metre-deep crater.

Brianne Podritske said she takes some comfort in thinking that her friend was the happiest she'd ever seen him in the time leading up to his death.

"All I can think is that the time he died he was happy. I don't think he could have been happier in this moment," she said, sobbing.

"He was an amazing person, and father, and man. We're going to miss him so much."

Looking back, Brianne Podritske said she and other members of the wedding party noticed a strange smell in the resort, but never complained.

"It just smelled, not like bathroom, but sort of a weird smell," she said.

Another eight Canadians were injured in the explosion.

Johnson's mother, Lynda Huolt, spoke with her son a few days before his wedding. Huolt said the last thing he told her was that he loved her. She learned of the explosion while watching the morning news Sunday.

"I said ‘oh my God, that's where the kids are,'" she told CTV News in an interview in Prince George.

After phoning the hotel and local hospitals she finally reached someone at the Mexican consulate.

"He said "I hate to be the bearer of bad news, but he's gone," Huolt said. "I'm just relieved that he is not under a pile of cement, I'm just glad he was found."

Huolt said her daughter-in-law and granddaughter will be returning to Nanaimo within a day or two.

Friends and relatives in Canada seeking information on Canadian citizens believed to be at the hotel should contact Foreign Affairs and International Trade Canada (DFAIT)'s Emergency Operations Centre by calling 1-800-387-3124. They can also email sos@international.gc.ca.