OUR SUMMER WEDDING

Our wedding day (besides the birth of our son) was probably my favourite day, ever. It wasn’t anything huge or over the top, and we invited 80 of our favourite people on the planet for an intimate celebration held in my Grandpa’s backyard. We chose to gather on August 15th, 2015 for an outdoor, garden ceremony followed by a family-style, sit down dinner under the twinkle lights. Now that he (my Papa, Gene) is gone, these photos and the memories of that day are SO special to us.

If you know me, you know that I don’t like anything too stuffy or precious. I wanted to do something classic, beautiful and timeless – something I wouldn’t look back on and gag down the road LOL. I wanted our wedding to feel light and relaxed, be outdoors, incorporating a neutral color palette (duh) with hints of peachy pinks + significant details throughout.

08.15.15

That morning, it rained. Which sent everyone into a panic because I had NO backup plan if the weather decided to be moody. It was the middle of August and my faith was high that it would be a glorious, beautiful day. I left my parents house early to get my hair + makeup done at my Papa’s. Upon arrival, he and I sipped champagne and he blasted Enya through the house as I got ready, a memory that I now happily look back on. A few hours later, my bridal party started to arrive along with members of my family. The team we had hired to help with the day-of prep were busy getting things into place and at one point I did peek my head outside and wondered how on earth everything would be ready in time.

The clouds parted right before the ceremony and we had the most spectacular summer day.

The garden ceremony was held in the front yard, where white wooden chairs lined the grass forming an aisle down the middle, finished in huge greenery + white flowers. Paper lanterns hung from the trees and lined the driveway, for a more dramatic entrance to the party. The ceremony was short + sweet and as we walked back down the aisle as husband + wife, guests were invited to throw dried lavender over us (instead of rice) from little sachets left on their seat. An aroma that filled the warm air and set the tone for the rest of the evening.

Once the ceremony wrapped, guests made their way around to the pool for cocktails and hors d’oeuvres, the sounds of old Hollywood and Frank Sinatra playing while we spent some time getting our photos taken. After photos, we were able to sneak away for a moment and then entered the pool area to share a toast as newlyweds with our guests. A moment to acknowledge the shift of our lives, merging together and commence the evening celebrations.

After cocktails + the champagne toast, guests found their seats and dinner was served under twinkle lights in the tent. Normally, I wouldn’t be one for a tented situation, but it actually ended up creating a really beautiful dedicated space for the dinner to be held, that felt really special and whimsical. For table design, we kept things really light and simple with rose gold charger plates, white linens, flowers and greenery. We also chose to keep things traditional with a head table, which was lined in beautiful greenery and centered inside the tent as the focal.

After dinner + speeches we danced the night away under the stars. We went with a simple, 3-tiered wedding cake and had everyone light sparklers for our first dance. Near the end of the night, my sweet cousins surprised us with a midnight send-off as fireworks lit the sky above and our guests enjoyed our favourite Hugo’s Churros, hot from the fryer. It was so awesome and completely us.