Winter Wonderland 25th Wedding Anniversary

Cindy & Ken celebrated their 25th wedding anniversary last evening surrounded by about 80 friends & family. According to family members, this couple has weathered storms and difficulties and stayed true and committed to their marriage despite the challenges lift has thrown at them.

The party was the wedding reception they never had 25 years ago. With a "winter wonderland" theme, the room sparkled with snowflakes and stars hung from the ceiling and along the head table backdrop.

White, Silver and turquoise blue were the cool colours with lots of sparkling accents, mini lights, led lighting and candles.

Cindy wore a beautiful burgundy gown with a silver shawl... and she and Ken shared their "first look" moment, captured on camera by their photographer, followed by lots of family photos. Once the reception began, the couple shared a first dance... and later a second dance... with Cindy's neice singing two of their favourite songs for them. The head table was a celebration of their immediate family as they were surrounded by their 3 adult children and their partners/friends.

Guests enjoyed a delicious buffet with a wide assortment of cold and hot selections, served by the wonderful staff at the Holiday Inn. After dinner, a slide show highlighted the past 25 years of their life, a couple of family speeches paid tribute to them and then they enjoyed the rest of the night dancing and socializing with family who don't have the opportunity to get together too often.

It was truly a celebration of their marriage... and here's wishing Cindy & Ken another 25 years together!

VENDORS:
Cake - Cakes for All Occasions http://www.cakesforalloccasions.ca/
Venue - Holiday Inn, Cambridge http://www.holidayinn.com/hotels/us/en/cambridge/ycmca/hoteldetail
DJ, MC, Photographer, Musician - all friends or family members

Rain Rain, Go Away!

A creative, detailed wedding plan for an outdoor ceremony and barn cocktail reception
was severely threatened as the sky turned dark and the rain poured down. All the preparations for setting up were on hold as we anxiously kept watching the weather forecast... which said it was to clear up by 4pm. With the ceremony scheduled for 6 pm, there was a glimmer of hope.

At 4:00 pm, the clouds broke, the rain stopped and the sun came out and the bride said ' Let's do this!"... sending everyone into frantic set-up mode! While the couple had their private photos done, the bridesmaids in cream-coloured dresses and heels, the Mother of the Bride in her sparkly dress and heels and the handsome groomsmen in their vested outfits all pitched in to help us get the outdoor venue set up! Water was dumped off chairs and many old towels put to good use to dry the chairs off before arranging them on the lawn. Mason jar vases with baby's breath were set out to line the aisle. The lemonade stand, signing table, photo booth props, and memory photo displays were all put in place and just in the nick of time - we were ready for a wedding!

Olivia looked absolutely stunning in her strapless ballgown! She was just glowing all day and despite the weather, was relaxed and enjoying her day. She & Mike had a private "first look" moment, captured by the photographer, before the bridal party joined them for photos.

Guests arrived and the ceremony started right on time and a personal ceremony was led by Olivia's papa, a life-long minister. They signed their register in a very small, quaint gazebo covered in greenery.

Guests enjoyed appetizers, cake and fruit served in the barn and lemonade from the outdoor stand.

After a brief stand-up reception, due to the cool fall evening temperature, the chairs were brought into the barn for a program of speeches and a slide show. It was a cozy and intimate evening. As Olivia & Mike are deeply involved with the youth from their church, the youth group was invited to join the party after speeches for a huge bonfire and dance in the barn... which they all loved and thoroughly participated in.

So, the rain DID go away, and Olivia & Mike enjoyed the wedding of their dreams, surrounded by family, friends and the youth that they love! Congratulations to a beautiful couple!


VENDORS:

Venue: Oasis Country Retreat - barb.hoekstra@gmail.com;
Caterer: Mamdouh Dahab - Chef of Basilique www.basilique.ca
Photographer: When He Found Her (Reid Lambshead) http://www.whenhefoundher.com/blog/
Decorator: VanGeest Special Occassions www.vangeestspecialoccasions.com/
Parking, Bonfire, DJ, Set-up crew, clean-up crew: MANY various friends!

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.