Wonderful Winter Wedding

Christmas came and went... and the wedding day was upon us! After a major ice storm and snow, the day dawned with slight clouds and warmer temperatures - a perfect winter wedding day!

Emily was a beautiful and radiant bride, wearing a tulle, lace and satin gown that suited her perfectly.

The girls wore deep plum coloured long gowns and instead of carrying bouquets, they all carried hand-knit muffs made by the bride & bridesmaids. The bridal party had fun getting ready at the Sheraton Hotel and travelling in a limo bus together.

A highlight for the couple was the unique chance to have their first look photos taken on the roof of the Sheraton, followed by Bridal party photos before the wedding at Liuna Station.

The wedding ceremony took place at the traditional and beautiful Central Presbyterian Church in Hamilton. Following the ceremony and receiving line, guests were treated to a decadent Hot Chocolate Station and assorted sweets in the church fellowship hall.

Everyone then made their way to the elegant King George Ballroom at Liuna Station for the reception. A delicious and filling 5 course meal was served. The guests enjoyed speeches and the traditional and fun "Bride/Groom Shoe Game",

a tea station that sampled Emily & Luc's favourite teas, and there were some unique dance moves provided by guests in order to entice the bride & groom to kiss.


It was a wonderful winter wedding day...and I wish Luc & Emily a wonderful life together!


VENDORS:

Ceremony Venue: Central Presbyterian Church, Hamilton www.centralchurchhamilton.on.ca
Reception Venue: Liuna Station, Hamilton www.liunastation.com
Hotel & First Look: Sheraton Hotel, Hamilton www.Sheraton.com/Hamilton
Photography/Videography: KoLab Cinema www.kolabcinema.com
Flowers & Centerpieces: Pocket of Posies www.pocketofposies.ca
Decorator: With All My Heart Wedding Décor www.withallmyheartweddingdecor.ca
Limo Bus: Mermaid Limo www.mermaidlimo.com
Wedding Cake: Criveller Cakes www.crivellercakes.ca
HairStylist: The Full Spectrum http://www.hairatthefullspectrum.ca/
Makeup Artist: Fabulous Faces www.fabulousfaces.ca

Perfect Day for a Partially Persian Wedding

Thanksgiving Saturday was a beautiful, warm, sunny, cloudless day... a perfect day for Naomi & Arash to enjoy their outdoor wedding ceremony and photos at the Royal Botanical Gardens in Burlington. The girls arrived to the RBG in style in classic cars, then walked through the gardens to the ceremony tent.

The ZoroAstrian priests conducted the traditional religious ceremony in both English and the traditional language, with a full table on display with candles, assorted sweets and other symbolic elements. After the traditional ceremony, the couple then exchanged personal vows that they wrote for each other, and then exchanged rings.

Guests enjoyed the gardens while photos were being taken and then cocktail hour was served in the atrium of the RBG. The banquet hall was decorated with lots of florals and greenery, with a beautiful backdrop and accents.

The wedding cake was a stunning 5-tier creation!
The DJ/MC kept the evening moving along, and was able to engage guests in both English & Farsi, playing a great mix of music. Dinner was enjoyed interspersed with touching speeches. When the dance floor opened, the guests were out there enjoying the dance to the fullest.

Naomi & Arash were so easy-going and laid back with awesome family & friends.

It was a fantastic wedding day! Congratulations to a special couple!


VENDORS:
Venue: Royal Botanical Gardens www.rbg.ca
Photographer: Life Images www.lifeimages.ca
DJ: Unique Sounds DJ www.uniquesoundsdjs.ca
PhotoBooth: Tribute Kiosk http://www.tributekiosk.com/
Cake: Wedding Cakes By Design www.weddingcakesbydesign.ca
Vintage Cars: Memory Lane Limousines www.memorylanelimo.com
Flowers: Flower Deco www.flowerdeco.ca

Vow Renewal Wedding Celebration

Kaylin and Stefan live in Holland, and for various reasons it was better for them to be married than just engaged - so they actually got married at city hall in Holland last May... Fast forward to this year, and finally, they were able to celebrate their marriage with a full wedding celebration here in Ontario with family & friends.

The ceremony was held at Crossroads Chapel in Burlington with about 50 guests in attendance. Ceremony music was provided by a flute duet, which sounded beautiful! Stefan walked down the aisle with their 2 year old daughter, Peyton in hand and carrying their 3 month old daughter McKinley in his arm - a sweet picture of Groom Daddy with his girls! Kaylin was stunning in her strapless dress and brought a huge smile to Stefan's face! Family friend, Ken, officiated the renewal of their vows ceremony with a touching ceremony that included vows, exchanging rings, a blessing on married couples in attendance and a blessing on them as parents.

After family photos at Crossroads and then bridal party photos at the quaint Village Square in downtown Burlington, an intimate reception was held in the private dining room of Paradiso Restaurant. Father & son team, Casey & Connor shared the MC & DJ responsibilities, bringing great music and personal touches to the celebration. Tender speeches with a few tears, funny stories with some good laughs, a delicious meal and a fun dance were enjoyed by all. It was truly a celebration of a wonderful couple!

Congratulations Kaylin & Stefan on one year of marriage and on your wonderful wedding celebration day!



VENDORS:
Ceremony Venue: Crossroads Chapel www.crossroads.ca
Reception Venue: Paradiso Restaurant www.paradisorestaurant.com
Florist: Samantha Forrest of Pocket of Posies http://pocketofposies.ca/
Linen Rentals: With All My Heart Wedding Décor www.withallmyheartweddingdecor.ca
Photographer: Don Golding of Boutique Wedding Photography http://www.boutiqueweddingphotography.ca/
Cake: Wedding Cakes By Design www.weddingcakesbydesign.ca
Ceremony Flutists: Elaine whiskin@univmail.cis.mcmaster.ca;
Videographer, MC, DJ, Officiant.... wonderful friends of the family!

FAMILY & FRIENDS Wedding Theme...

Canada Day holiday + perfect weather + lots of close family & friends = a wonderful wedding day for Sharon & Marcus in Kitchener-Waterloo...
Sharon & Marcus celebrated their marriage at Benton Street Baptist Church in Kitchener, with 21 close family & friends standing up for them in their bridal party and 230 guests on hand to celebrate their special day. The ceremony included the unique element of all guests & Bridal party lighting candles to symbolize the special connections that the couple felt with their guests. Also, at the end of the ceremony, the couple also symbolically "jumped the broom" before starting their recessional.

A Classic Car drove the couple from the church to the photo site, while the bridal party enjoyed the comfort of a Limo Bus.
The reception hall at St George's Hall in Waterloo was a vision in white and lots of "bling"... crystals, sparkly fabrics, and special lighting effects A delicious meal was served by wonderful staff from St. Georges... who did a great job in a tightly set up room! The program included touching, and sometimes. humourous, speeches as well as a special video prepared by co-workers at ESPN and a surprise video of the wedding day itself!! Following a late-night delicious Portuguese seafood & Sweet table, guests were treated to a SURPRISE... 3 Samba Dancers who put on a great show & really got the party pumping.
Sharon put so much thought and work into the day... providing flipflops for female guests to wear for dancing, providing amazing gift bags for guests in their hotel rooms, preparing bubbles for "fun" and bottles of wine as favours. She printed and framed and labelled wedding photos of guests that were placed randomly on reception tables. A "FAMILY" tree held small cards with old photos of guests, again all labelled with who they were. A second tree was used as their "WISH" tree - where guests could write a wish on a card & hang it on the tree for the couple, in lieu of a guest book.

Escort cards were hand-written and decked out with "bling". So many small yet personal touches that really showed Sharon's tender heart & love for family & friends. Sharon & Marcus made a stunning couple who are obviously crazy about each other. They were so relaxed and flexible, willing to change the agenda as needed to suit the flow of the event...they were a joy to work for! And in the end, I believe that they and all their guests truly enjoyed their incredible day.

VENDORS:
Leah Lee Photography (California)http://www.leahleephotoblog.com/
www.leahleephotography.com
Jeff Rocchi Videography jeff_rocchi@hotmail.com
St. George's Hall http://www.stgeorgehall.com/
Benton Street Baptist Church www.bentonstreetbaptist.org
Brentwood Livery Limousines www.brentwoodlivery.ca
Memory Lane Classic Cars & Limousines www.memorylanelimo.com
R.S. Divas Dancers www.rsdivas.com
Jerry Jerome Steel Drum Band http://www.gigmasters.com/Soca-Band/Jerry-Jerome-And-The/
Julia Weddings (Decor & Florals)www.juliaweddings.ca
Pat's Party Rentals (Red Carpet)www.patspartyrentals.net
Jirina Wedding Bakery www.jirinasbakery.com
Sherwood Systems (Lighting)www.sherwoodsystems.com
Joe Resendes Portuguese Catering toniresendes@hotmail.com
You Cakes - Felicia (Groom's cake) youcakes@gmail.com

Help! How do we cut our Wedding Cake?

Wedding cakes are a traditional part of a wedding reception. Some couples really get into their cake and end up smashing it all over each other's faces - or the faces of their Best Man & Maid of Honour. Other couples cut a piece in order to feed it to each other. But the one small item that is often overlooked in planning this event is to think about HOW you are actually going to cut into this amazing piece of edible art!



At a one wedding that I coordinated, the bride & groom posed for the standard "first cut" photos with their cake - but then suddenly panicked when they realized that they didn't have a clue about how to actually cut out a piece to share! Across the hall, I heard the bride call to me: "Gayla - how do we cut this thing?!"

So - what is the best way to cut a piece of wedding cake for the two of you?
Here's a great video clip that will teach you how to cut it easily & effectively.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=y0iISrvmpts

Two Unique Wedding Vendor Networking Events this week!

I had the privilege of attending two unique networking opportunities this week.

On Monday evening, "Let Them Eat Cakes" had an open house/cake tasting event that brides were invited to - and several other vendors were on hand to meet & greet brides & offer their unique services to them.
At the event were:
Let Them Eat Cakes www.letthemeatcakes.com
From Me To You (cookie creations) frommetoyou@bell.net
Picture Perfect Cake Art www.pictureperfectcakeart.com
She's So Beautiful Consignment & Bridal Boutique www.shessobeautiful.ca
Social Notes Custom Invitations www.socialnotes.ca
These vendors were very friendly and offered wonderful services to the brides who came. And the cake-tasting - OH MY -talk about delicious cakes with some very unique & unusual (but yummy) cake flavours!


This evening, Jason Matos of Jason Matos Photography, and I attended a Wedding Industy Vendor Networking event at the Courtyard Inn in Mississauga. There were quite a few different vendors on hand - enjoying complimentary cocktails & appetizers while chatting, meeting and exchanging business cards with each other. It was a great opportunity for Jason to promote his newly updated website with special pages dedicated to weddings, couples & families! As a vendor, its always a good business practice to get out & meet others who work in the industry! Both of us came away with some great new contacts. (by the way - check out Jason's site at: www.jasonmatosphotography.com )