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Real Wedding: Andrea + Mike
With the summer wedding season brought to a halt due to COVID-19, I’ve been reminiscing lately – alot actually – about all the weddings I have been fortunate and truly blessed to be part of over the past 6 years. This has been helping keep my spirits high during this time of uncertainty and serves as a gentle reminder not to give up hope that we will celebrate love in big beautiful ways again.
All weddings leave me with heart prints and one of my favs from last season is Andrea and Mike. Oh my heart, what a fabulous couple to work with! From the first time I sat down with Andrea and Mike, I knew we were a match made in planning heaven. Andrea was organized, thorough in her details, had a vision for the day, which I immediately connected with, and was looking for a wedding pro to oversee set up and help with making the events of the day run smoothly.
The day started off with a sweet ceremony at Miller’s Chapel (Ancaster Mill) and was followed by photos at McMaster University. This campus, with its architectural features and lush grounds, always provides a picturesque backdrop and I have to say, not only did Andrea and Mike bring their A+ game for their photo session but so did their bridal party. Everyone looked natural and comfortable in front of the lens with the ladies flawless and stunning in soft blue while the gents dapper and GQ ready in their dark suits.
Choosing only one word to describe their reception, it would have to be romantic. Winona Vine Estates in Stoney Creek hosted Andrea and Mike along with 250 of their family and friends for the evening. The elegant ballroom was filled with high and low centerpieces of white and cream florals, touches of greenery and had plenty of gold accents throughout. The high ceilings also allowed for an oh-so-pretty backdrop installation by A Night to Remember
Big love to Silverlight Photography for capturing all the moments and details of this day so perfectly and to Goody Cambay for creating a delightful same-day edit video, which all guests were treated to before getting their groove on and dancing the night away. To watch Andrea and Mike SDE video, click here.
Andrea and Mike, cheers (and hugs) to your 1st year as Mr. and Mrs!!!
Planner’s Lounge – Day in the Life Feature
For wedding planner pros like myself, Planner’s Lounge, is one of the top go-to places for resources, tools and just being part of a greater community of like-minded individuals. I’m an avid follower of their Instagram and you can always find me reading up on their latest blog posts. Needless to say, when I saw the opportunity to possibly be featured on their blog as part of their “Day in the Life” series, I jumped at the chance!
While you hope for your submission to be chosen, I truly didn’t know what to expect because I can only imagine the number of submissions they receive. I still remember thinking “well, let’s just see what happens” when I hit the “Send” button. I found alot of joy just completing their questionnaire because it gave me a chance to reflect on my journey so far in the industry and for me, that was enough right there to be grateful for, regardless of if my submission was chosen.
Fast forward to the day I received the email saying they would love to feature me!! ME?!? AMAZING! WOO HOOO!!!!
Wondering what a typical day looks like for me? Or how I got my start in the industry? Then be sure to check out the full blog post here.
Thank you Planner’s Lounge for the feature!!!
Image via Planner’s Lounge
Real Wedding: Lindsay + Karthik
I love celebrating love and new beginnings. Every wedding I have the honour of being part of creates beautiful memories to look back and reflect on. When I think of this wedding from my past season, I feel it holds an extra special place in my heart because Lindsay, the bride, is often seen by my side on wedding days as one of my rock star assistants. It’s always a privilege to be chosen by couples to help coordinate their special day but when you are chosen by an industry peer, there really is no greater compliment a planner can receive.
Lindsay and Karthik’s I Do’s took place on the grounds of Dyment’s Farm in Dundas, Ontario. Looking back at all the beautiful moments captured that day by the talented Zekar Photography, none bring a bigger smile to my face then the moments captured from the ceremony. I mean, come on! Exchanging vows overlooking the town of Dundas? How picturesque! What a perfect backdrop! So utterly dreamy and romantic. I suppose a big thank you to Mother Nature is needed for her part in making this peak ceremony happen. The dark skies of the day certainly had me on my toes and when we were minutes away from starting the processional and I do mean mere minutes, could you believe rain drops could be felt? Eeek!!! But Mother Nature miraculously pulled through and held that rain off. Every couple wants bright and sunny skies on their wedding day but look at the stunning beauty that can be captured when the skies are moody.
One of my biggest loves from Lindsay and Karthik’s wedding is how they beautifully weaved each of their cultures throughout the day. Lindsay’s dad being Scottish, wore a traditional kilt and of course no Scottish wedding would be complete without a bagpiper. Doug Wickham provided the recessional music and played the Bridal Party in for the Grand Entrance. Karthik’s Indian background was highlighted with Mehndi designs on our bride’s hands.
Another love and stand out for me from this wedding are the florals. Lindsay and Karthik entrusted the task to Colleen from Petal 2 the Metal Mobile Flower Shop and she NAILED it. Being in this industry, I certainly have a weakness for fresh blooms but the combination of textures, rich shades and light tones found in the bouquets, centrepieces and other various elements like the welcome sign were simply magical.
Make sure you scroll down for all the vendor love!
MONTH OF COORDINATION | The Wedding Pixie • PHOTOGRAPHY | Zekar Photography • VENUE | Dyment’s Farm • FLORALS | Petal 2 the Metal Mobile Flowers • CAKE | The Dessert Room • HAIR & MAKE UP | Honor Beauty • BAGPIPER | Doug Wickham • BRIDE’S GETTING READY LOCATION | Osler House
So This Is Love Featured Style Shoot
Oh boy friends!!! 2018 is off to a beautiful start for so many reasons and THIS is one of them as last week this moody and utterly romantic creative shoot was featured on So This is Love. Cue the happy dance! The opportunity alone to simply be involved as planner/stylist and collaborate with this team of amazing woman was enough to make my heart beam with happiness but to have it recognized by others in the industry…well, it truly leaves one with such a rewarding feeling.
There are so many elements to fall in love with that I honestly think it’s impossible to pick a favourite. Originally our vision for this creative shoot included freshly fallen snow but of course Mother Nature had a different idea in mind that day giving us overcast skies and plenty of fog. And you know what? That’s ok because those gloomy foggy skies were so much of a better fit to highlight our colour palette of rich and bold shades. Who knew fog could create so much beauty! Seriously? Have a look at those to-die-for images in the field it created. Totally swoon worthy!! That fog paired with lush greenery created the ultimate fairytale forest setting for our couple. Accenting with soft lit lanterns, a white wooden rustic table and long glass vases with floating votives added the perfect finishing touches to our natural setting. Our wedding cake featuring gold foil and a fresh floral arrangement is beautiful enough to stand on its own but we chose to complement it with a fun sweet treat for any age…s’mores!
As always, I am so grateful and tremendously proud to have this creative shoot in my portfolio and to finally be able to share these dreamy photos with you all is SUPER exciting.
Make sure you scroll down for all the vendor love!
Click here to visit So This is Love blog feature
PLANNING/STYLING | The Wedding Pixie • PHOTOGRAPHY | Sounds Like Yellow • FLORALS | Pocket of Posies Floral Design • CAKE | The Dessert Room • HAIR & MAKE UP | Beauti Mark Pro • STATIONERY | All That’s Lovely • DRESS | Heirlooms Bridal Shoppe • MEN’S ATTIRE | Charles & Hunt • CAKE TABLE | Mashed Events
WedLuxe.com Featured Style Shoot
Oh friends! My heart is bursting with gratitude and I am beaming with pride as this magnificent team and I are finally able to share with you a style shoot we collaborated on back in May. Never could I have imagined the experience that was waiting for me when Shelley from Wine Country Floral emailed me in on a drury cold December day asking if I wanted to participate in a spring 2017 style shoot with her and Tamara Lockwood (Side note: I adore Shelley as a human being and to say I LOVE her gorgeous creations is an understatement so without any hesitation I was in!!). A few creative meetings later we set our shoot date for May 3rd and started assembling our dream team. Everyone on this team brought their A game and I can honestly say I have never had a project come together so effortlessly.
For this style shoot, we were inspired by Mother Nature’s magnificent beauty during blossom season, fresh fruit and the picturesque grounds of our Niagara region location. We loved the idea of incorporating a red sangria station complete with a mini-tower of mini-pies in addition to our lightly textured cake trio, which we of course topped with berries and blooms. The dress we featured and draping of the harvest table with a sheer linen were chosen specifically to add touches of soft, flowy elegance to our setting. Our romantic intimate tablescape with gold accents, rustic chairs and a long floral centrepiece, was the perfect complement to the striking red and white barn exterior.
As the date of the style shoot was getting closer, we all started looking at our weather apps, just as every bride will do leading up to her wedding day. Every report was the same – gloomy rainy weather for the whole week with even thunderstorms on Wednesday, the day of our shoot. Fantastic! Not! I now found myself giving myself the same pep talk I give my brides about not being able to control the weather and even if it rains the day will be beautiful. Except I truly didn’t know how we would pull this one off in the rain. Given how effortless everything was up until this point I should have had better faith in Mother Nature because as it turned out, even she on our side. That particular week in May saw a record breaking amount of rain and it came down every single day that week except Wednesday! And friends I do mean rain every day and all day – Sunday, Monday, Tuesday, Thursday, Friday and Saturday. Wednesday however, brought sunshine and clear skies so much sunshine and clear skies that I ended up with a sunburn on my forehead, nose and the top of my feet!
I am so proud to have this shoot in my portfolio and I cannot tame my excitement that today it is featured on the WedLuxe blog!!
Make sure you scroll down for all the vendor love!
Click here to visit Wedluxe blog feature
PLANNING | The Wedding Pixie • VENUE | Cherry Avenue Farms • PHOTOGRAPHY | Tamara Lockwood Photography • FLORALS | Wine Country Floral • CAKE | Lipstick Baker • MODEL | Rebecca Quinn • HAIR | Ladylyn Gool • MAKEUP | Dawna Boot Make Up • STATIONERY | Simply Sealed • DRESS | Wins Designs • CAKE TABLE | Mashed Events • DECOR | Simply Beautiful Decor • MINI PIES | Itty Bitty Pie Company • JEWELRY | Anouk Jewelry via Made You Look