A Perfect Day for a Princess Bride!

Amy never thought she'd want a princess wedding dress... but on Friday, she looked every bit of a princess! Her sparkling tulle dress looked amazing on her and she was glowing... and was a bit teary as she walked down the aisle to meet up with her groom, Nathan. The ceremony had some nice personal touches as Nathan's dad was the minister who performed their marriage.

Photos were taken on the beautiful grounds of West Haven Golf Course while guests did a photo guest book and enjoyed the cocktail hour. The wedding colours were ivory and apple red and the dresses, flowers and reception decor were stunning.

The reception was served by great staff at the club and guests were entertained by brother of the bride, Ryan, who was a funny and "natural" MC for the evening. Speeches and a slide show of the couple were tender and touching.

In lieu of favours, guests were each given a gift tag that said "Choose a Charity"... and they were instructed to put their tag in one of three baskets, representing three charities... International Justice Mission, Compassion Canada and Austism Ontario. This was a neat way to give donations to charities and to involve guests in the process.

The evening was rounded out with lots of fun dancing and guests enjoying visiting around their tables. A highlight was all the guests watching bride Amy and her brother Ryan doing the dance to "Thriller" together... very entertaining.

The whole day was a perfect day... with the rain and cold holding off until later in the evening and with the event running smoothly for the couple and their family and friends. Congratulations Amy & Nathan!


VENDORS:
Ceremony Venue - North Park Community Church - www.northpark.ca/
Reception Venue - West Haven Golf Course (Rob) - westhavengolf.com/
Photographers/Videographers - www.kolabcinema.com/
Florist - Nicole Cake (London) nicake@gmail.com
Ceremony Musicians - DaCapo Strings dacapostrings.wordpress.com
DJ - Rob from Music Central www.musiccentral.ca/
Late-night Limo - Checker Limo - www.voyageurtransportation.ca/

"Plan B" was Wonderful!

Plan A was an outdoor wedding ceremony - on the east lawn of Knollwood Golf Course, with white chairs set up, facing a pond... a wonderful plan A for the wedding. But rain poured down, soaking the grass and the skies played games all day... sunny, cloudy, rainy... what to do!? Finally, to be sure that we wouldn't get rained out, Plan B was decide on... to have the ceremony inside Harris Hall (a barn) instead.

The reception tables were pushed to the back of the room. Chairs were set up in rows facing the large stone fireplace. Candles lined the mantle. The table centerpiece flowers, in mason jars, were set out along the floor in front of the fireplace and in other strategic locations around the room. And the effect was BEAUTIFUL! It was cozy and intimate and ended up being better than outside!

There were many unique touches to the wedding... hand-made table number signs on wood.

A glass lemonade jar was used as the card holder. Mason jars, flowers, lot of votives accented the room. A "just married" banner was hung across the fireplace. And as a "guest book", guests painted the palms of their hands and made handprints on large canvases, and signed their names.

Sarah was a beautiful bride...

dressed in a lace gown with a deep open back. Neil was very handsome and they made a stunning couple - definitely well-suited for each other. The weather cooperated enough for them to get videos and photos taken outside while guests enjoyed cocktails on the patio.

Speeches were very tender and meaningful and a slide show highlighted their lives. It was a wonderful day for this special couple.

Congratulations Sarah & Neil!

VENDORS

Venue - Knollwood Golf Club www.knollwoodgolfclub.com
Videographers - KoLab Cinema www.kolabcinema.com/
Photographer - Elizabeth in Love http://www.elizabethinlove.com/
Florist - Jeans Flowers - www.jeansflowers.com
Cake - Weils of Westdale http://www.weilsbakery.com/
Officiant - Rev. Dan McLean http://graceunitedcaledonia.com
DJ - As You Like It DJ - www.asyoulikeitdj.com/

A Beautiful Day for a Great Couple!

Jason & Melanie have been planning their wedding day for over a year and a half, with Jason counting down the days, hours & minutes on Facebook for much of that time!! Finally, this past Saturday, they became husband & wife!

Community Church in Waterdown was the venue for both the ceremony and reception ... and all the decor was done in both blue & green, the bride's favourite colours. :

Melanie is also a big "DIY"er - and so many of the decor elements were made by her... tissue balls of all sizes, seating chart, lettering for bulletin boards, posters of family photos, table name cards, etc. The tables were all named after wedding movies... Father of the Bride, The Wedding Singer, Meet the Parents, The Wedding Planner, etc.

The ceremony included personally written vows, a hand ceremony and a sand ceremony - as well as a special song sung by one of the bridesmaids. After the ceremony, the bridal party had photos taken in the yard behind the church and guests enjoyed appetizers on the patio while the cermeony room was "flipped" and turned into the reception hall.

After a buffet dinner, speeches and a couple of fun games, the couple danced their first dance to a song sung and played on guitar by the father of the groom & his friend. The guests enjoyed dancing as well as playing fooseball, air hockey, pingpong & basketball in an adjacent games room! It was an intimate and fun evening.

Congratulations Jason & Melanie - thanks for letting me be such an intimate part of your wedding day!

VENDORS
Venue - Community Church - www.communitychurch.ca
Officiant - Matt Pamplin, pastor of Grindstone Church mpamplin@grindstonechurch.com
Musician & Makeup Artist - Christie Latta christielatta@gmail.com
Soloist - Catherine Wickett - catwickett@gmail.com
DJ - Aaron White - www.djaaronwhite.com
Caterers - Maitre 'd Catering - http://www.goldbook.ca/burlington-on/caterers/maitre-d-catering-5201/
Decorators - Marian Van Geest & Jan Stevens of Van Geest Special Occasions - www.vangeestspecialoccasions.com/
Florist - Samantha Forrest of Pocket of Posies - www.pocketofposies.ca
Cake Decorator - Grant Brierly of Grant's Custom Cakes - grantbrierley_@hotmail.com
Linen Rentals - Josie Gibson of With All My Heart Wedding Decor - www.withallmyheartweddingdecor.ca/
Videographer - Jason Matos Photography -
http://www.jasonmatosphoto.com/
Photographer - Heather Braaten (friend of family)
Assistant Wedding Coordinator - Susan Zuk of Elegant Details www.elegantdetails.ca
Volunteers who helped with various elements of wedding: Karen Hayes, Mary Montini, Jolaine Montgomery, Lois Montgomery, Sonya Cuttriss, Pauline, Jo-Anne & Marc Rudy, Shantelle Matos, Liz Walmsley,

Beautiful Wedding Day!

Yesterday, we were watching the weather with a close eye all day... as the clouds kept rolling in, threatening rain for Patt & Kelly's outdoor ceremony at Liuna Gardens. However as the ceremony time approached, the clouds let up and the rain held off! Kelly had to fight the wind blowing her veil into her step-dad's face coming down the aisle, and the wind was a bit cool at times, but the ceremony was beautiful, overlooking the various colours of the lake.

Guests enjoyed cocktails on the patio to the great music of a jazz band while the couple had creative photos taken around the grounds at Liuna.

The reception kicked off with the couple doing their first dance - which was "accented" with a tradition from the groom's family... where all the family members came up and literally wrapped the couple in streamers and paper ribbons. I've never seen anything quite like it - but I had been warned that this would likely happen at some point in the evening! Its interesting to see what families do as traditions!! Following this dance, the cake cutting and the bride's speech, a delicious and very filling meal was served, interspersed with other speeches. Dancing lasted well into the night, and included a bride & friends rendition of "YMCA"... costume hats and all!!

It was a wonderful family celebration and obvious that this couple is well loved by their family and friends. Such an honour to be part of their wonderful day! Congratulations Patt & Kelly as you begin your new journey as husband & wife.

VENDORS:
Liuna Gardens - www.liunagardens.com
White Orchid Weddings (officiant Anne Blinch) - www.whiteorchidweddingceremonies.com
Mike's DJ Service (Live Musicians and DJ/MC) - www.mikesdjservice.ca
Amazon Lens Photographers - www.amazonlens.ca
Wedding Cake & favours - Sweet Celebrations Wedding Cakes - www.sweetcelebrationsweddingcakes.com
Decor & Flowers by Sue Gallo Designs - www.suegallodesigns.com
Late Night Sedan Pickup - Mermaid Limo - www.mermaidlimo.com

Andrea & Trevor's Big Day!

On September 30, 2011, Andrea & Trevor tied the knot - and this fun-loving, easy-going couple had a wonderful day!

The ceremony took place at St. Christopher's Church in Burlington.
The girls were in pretty red dresses, the guys were handsome in their tuxes - and Andrea sported the most fabulous shoes under her stunning dress... the shoes were covered completely with Swarovski crystals!!

Following the ceremony, family photos were taken outside the church and then the bridal party took a limo bus to Dundurn Castle for more photos in a very picturesque setting.

Steam Whistle Brewery Unique Wedding!

Laura & Mike's wedding on Sept 24th, 2011 was held at one of the most unique venues I've been to for a wedding... the Steam Whistle Brewery in downtown Toronto. The Brewery is located in the historic train round house, right at the base of the CN Tower.

The bridal party got ready in a luxurious suite at the Royal York and did their photos prior to the wedding - both at the hotel and also on the grounds of Steam Whistle.
The evening was clear and comfortable for the 7 pm ceremony which was held outside on the patio - with train cars in view, the CN tower just off the to the side and the lights of the city starting to come on.

A cocktail party reception was held in the large "warehouse" space (The Hall) of the Steam Whistle. The room was set up with numerous cruiser tables, "ghost" bar stools (clear plastic) and groupings of white leather sofas, benches & ottomans. Uplighting on the wooden beam pillars and lots of candles everywhere helped create a warm ambiance. The party got into full swing immediately following the ceremony, with the bar open, appetizers and food stations set out and the DJ cranking up the tunes and got the light show going. An old-fashioned photo booth was kept busy during the night with guests dressing up and getting their photos taken.

It was definitely not a traditional wedding, but the contemporary "cocktail party" theme of this wedding suited the venue, the couple and the guests perfectly - a very unique day that I'm sure everyone will remember for a long time!

Congratulations Laura & Mike!






VENDORS:

Steam Whistle Brewery - www.steamwhistle.ca
10tation Catering - www.10tation.com
Contemporary Furniture Rentals - www.cfrentals.com
Jayme Van Geest Photography - www.jvgphotography.com
Nth Degree DJ - www.nthdegreegroup.ca
White Orchid Wedding Ceremonies - www.whiteorchidweddingceremonies.com
The Wedding Cake Shoppe - https://theweddingcakeshoppe.com/
Rachel Sherlock, Florist - creativelygreen@hotmail.com
Fairmont Royal York Hotel - hotel & SUV limo service - www.fairmont.com/RoyalYork