Hot Day for a Rustic Chique Wedding

Deanna & Adam had a rather hot summer day for their wedding on July 14th - but the humidity didn't put a bit of a damper on the day at Balls Falls Conservation Park. A nice breeze helped to keep things comfortable!

The ceremony was held in the country chapel on the grounds and then had time for photos on the grounds. Many of the guests enjoyed winery tours at nearby wineries... others stayed around and enjoyed lemonade and garden games - and relaxing on picnic tables and on picnic blankets under trees.

The cocktail hour & reception was held in the barn .... set with square tables for guests, the head table set up in front of open barn doors with the chapel in the background. The tables had a burlap runner down the center and then mason jars of wild flowers, candy sticks and mini lights.

Chinese lanterns with mini lights in them were hung from the ceiling... and mini lights wrapped the beam posts and were tacked around the perimeter of the barn. The colours were grey, pale yellow, light green. A unique idea was using old window frames to showcase the seating chart... one table list in each window pane!

The bridal party guys were dressed in grey casual pants, white shirts, blue plaid skinny ties and blue 'runners'.

Girls wore casual grey, short dresses. After the ceremony, the bride kicked back and relaxed in her Burkenstocks!

Congratulations Deanna & Adam on being a fun, relaxed and wonderful bridal couple! All the best in your new life together as husband & wife!


VENDORS:
Venue - Balls Falls Conservation Park www.ballsfalls.ca/plan-your-event/weddings/
Caterer - Niche Catering www.nichecatering.ca/
Photographer - Shawn Taylor Photography www.shawntaylor.ca/
Transportation - Niagara Classic Tranport www.nctcanada.com
DJ - Spectra Audio Visual www.avniagara.ca/home.htm
Flowers - The Watering Can https://thewateringcan.securesite.ca/

Stunning Wedding in Black, White & Fuschia

Last Saturday was a beautiful, sunny day as Denise & Blake became husband & wife at the Scottish Rite Club in Hamilton. The architecturally stunning mansion was a gorgeous backdrop for this fabulous wedding, which was decorated for the event in black & white with hits of fuschia - and lots of feathers!!

Denise was gorgeous - and her "wedding boots" were incredible - pointed toe, high heel and LACE to the knee boots!! (imported from Poland, ordered online!!) WOW!

A wedding party of 4 bridesmaids & ushers, a jr bridesmaid and a jr groomsmen and 4 flower girls & 3 ring bearers helped them celebrating this special event. Guests enjoyed the fun of a Photo Booth during the cocktail hour - taking serious & fun pictures - dressing up and having a great time - all to create a unique & memorable guest book for the bridal couple.

A big hit of the reception was the Candy Buffet - all in black, white & pink of course! The adults enjoyed this as much (if not more) than the kids did! Amazing how candy brings out the kid in people!!


Denise & Blake - what a good-looking couple! I wish you all the best as you begin your this new stage of your journey together as husband & wife!!


VENDORS:
Ceremony & Reception Venue & organist: Scottish Rite Club www.scottishriteclub.ca
Officant: Hans Hamer, Police Chaplain
Steel Pan Player: Steve Perez stepoo@sympatico.ca
Photographer: Photos by Alex www.photosbyalex.ca
DJ: Trevor Parnell djgreedybeats@yahoo.ca
Limo: Hamilton Limo www.hamiltonlimo.com
Decorator: Kathy Taylor www.taylormadememories.ca
Florist: Sarah Moir of Crazy Daisy www.crazydaisy.org
PhotoBooth: Fun Photos www.funphotos.ca

Ancaster Wedding Show A Big Success

KUDOS to Tiffany Walsh & Team members for putting on a great 1st ever Ancaster Wedding Show! Most vendors entering the show were a big uncertain as to what to expect - with this being the first show by this organizer in this location in this month!! But personally, I thought it was a great show.

The morning started off with a huge influx of brides along with their moms, future mother-in-laws, bridal parties, friends, family members - and even quite a few grooms! The afternoon was slower, but in my experience this fairly typical.

Brides were treated to some new vendors (including Jason Matos of Jason Matos Photography - yup, he's my son!), some vendors who are "regulars" at local shows, and of course, lots of great ideas, inspiration, samples and handouts!
To check out what vendors were at the show, go to: www.ancasterweddingshow.com
Congratulations to all the brides (& grooms) who attended - we hope that you went home with MANY great ideas for your upcoming wedding and that you found the perfect vendors to meet your wedding needs!

Don't forget Brides.... "Leave the Details to Me..." is offering a WEDDING SHOW SPECIAL - book by Oct 31, 2010 for your future wedding and lock in at 2010 rates!! (This offer is available to ANY brides - whether you attended the show or not!)

Thanks Tiffany for a "show well done!"

"Destination Weddings" at Niagara Parks Commission's Great Wedding Venues!

A few weeks ago, I (along with 3 other wedding coordinators) had the privilege of being given a tour of the Niagara Parks Commission venues by Sue Zareski (Weddings & Corporate Sales Manager for NPC). What amazing facilities there are - some of which I had never heard of before! And the rates, other services, options are worth checking into! There is no charge for outdoor photos at any of their sites. You will find Sue & all the staff with NPC are very flexible and creative in their ideas to help you create a perfect "destination" wedding - without travelling too far from home!

Here are the locations we visited and one or two highlights about each venue:

Queenston Heights...sitting atop the Niagara Escarpment, overlooking the river, with on site options for outdoor ceremonies, including a permanently covered porch (in case of bad weather), a historically elegant dining room and a view that is amazing!

Botanical Gardens and Butterfly Conservatory... sprawling, large and varied outdoor garden areas - "aisles" of trees, cozy corners, beautiful flowers. . And what about a small, intimate wedding inside amongst the tropical gardens with butterflies flitting about everywhere?! The conservatory also has a roof-top area that is also available for rent and would make a neat ceremony/cocktail hour/stand-up reception area. Can be rented in advance for indoor photos

Whirlpool Golf Course ... an "elegant casual" room overlooking the manicured golf greens. Outdoor patio are part of the deal as well.

Aero Car ... for a totally unique ceremony idea, why not get married while suspended over top of the whirlpool rapids in the aero car?! Yup - its actually available to rent for such an event!

Oakes Garden Theatre - a unique outdoor expanse of walkways, arches, pergolas, etc that is a popular location for ceremonies.

Edgewaters Restaurant and Terrace - Two options are available here. One is the "Commissioner Quarters" upstairs, and includes large open dance floor area, lounge area with sofas & bar off to the side of the dining area. Intimate and unique. Second option is the restaurant with open air doors to the terrace balcony. Great views of both falls from here - and how about getting custom-coloured lights on the falls during the evening to coordinate with your wedding colours?!!

Elements on the Falls - Very chic, elegantly designed restaurant right at the edge of the falls - with amazing food! (I know first-hand as that's where we ate lunch)

Pop & Lolly’s - a gourmet candy shop that specializes in custom-candies for weddings!

Floral Showhouse - unique grounds for ceremonies or photos, intimate indoor space surrounding by lush plants & flowers of all kinds. Can be rented in advance for indoor photos..


Oak Hall - an enormous, stately mansion elegantly furnished with antiques. A stunning location for a very small & intimate wedding.

Legends on the Niagara Golf Course - large, bright, open foyer that leads into an elegant dining room which leads out onto an incredibly large & attractive outdoor covered porch that overlooks the golf course.

What is amazing about NPC is that the rentals & facilities at all these venues are "mix & match" deals - the options are endless.

SO... for a "destination wedding" close to home - do check out Niagara Falls - and specifically the Niagara Parks Commission venues.

www.niagaraparksweddings.com
szareski@niagaraparks.com