When a bride also happens to be a wedding styling aficionado, the resulting wedding can be downright crazy gorgeous. And this Ontario affair is just that… beautiful, romantic and perfectly styled by Hey Gorgeous Events with photography by Amanda Wilcher. On top of that, there are so many pretty desserts, we are kind of on sweet treat overload but not so much that we can’t admire the end all be all of wedding sweet treats (the cake!) courtesy of I Do! Wedding Cakes. The whole day is what we like to call DREAMY to the billionth degree and you can pore over more of the lovely details in the gallery.
Our ceremony and reception took place at Paletta Mansion in Burlington, Ontario. We both fell in love with how unique and intimate the venue was especially since we were set on having a smaller guest list. We also loved the terrace that overlooked the water, which was where our ceremony was supposed to be. But as luck would have it terrible rain and wind that day forced us to get married inside – luckily for us in a very romantic and cozy space in front of a blazing fireplace! We never really pinpointed a colour palette or theme for our wedding but we used our venue, my love of vintage things and my Enzoani gown as inspiration for everything else to follow. For months and months before the wedding, the majority of my weekends were spent DIY-ing and crafting when I wasn’t working part time or studying (I also blogged every single project I tackled). For our favours we had guests take home a selection of homemade desserts and candy. I hand stamped and punched all of the Kraft paper bags and the ‘Dessert Dresser’ that everything sat atop of, was actually a children’s dresser I salvaged from the trash and then spruced up with some paint and Anthropologie-inspired knobs. I created a ton of framed chalkboards that were sprinkled throughout the venue along with pink and blue hued vintage novels that I had collected over the months. I also made little stir stick flags for guests to use as they sipped on our signature drinks.
All of our centerpieces vases were from the Dollar Store, which I spray glued and wrapped ivory and black lace around. At each persons place settling was a little card I designed titled He Said She Said, which included some memorable quotes we’ve said over the past 5 years. It was our hope that these would serve as conversation starters for guests as they tried to guess who said what (apparently they were pretty tricky!) My handy neighbor and I made the cheating chart, which was made out of an old skid, ivory lace, shipping labels and clothespins that I spray-painted gray. I sanded, primed and painted an old secretaries desk that held our programs and greeted guests as they entered our ceremony location. I also found an old desk drawer that I painted pink and filled with flip flops for all of the girls who I knew would have their heels kicked off in no time. Aside from getting hitched to the sweetest dude alive, some of the best moments from the day included the morning of, when two of my close girlfriends and my Dad, helped me drop off more than six carloads of décor to the mansion. I literally created almost every single aspect of this wedding all by myself so a little help on the big day was more than appreciated. I actually ended up being very late for my hair appointment from running around all morning! Another is when I asked specifically if my mom could help me get into my gown, and only my mom, because I wanted to share this special moment with her and hopefully allow for some great photo ops; there’s a picture of the two of us after the last loop was looped and our faces are priceless. I then had one bridesmaid help with my sash and another help with my veil.
Another really touching moment was when Andrew and I released two giant peachy-hued balloons in memory of my Nan. When she passed away, in lieu of a funeral we released dozens of pink balloons in her honour. Since she was my best friend and was unable to be there physically this allowed for Andrew and I to share a quiet moment together while remembering her spirit and presence. Our first look, our handwritten vows, when we took a photo our ourselves at the alter, my dad’s heartfelt speech (which included my childhood stuffed animals), the giant Congo line that wrapped around the venue complete with my grandfather and the biggest smile I have ever seen across his face, the fact that I was out of both my first and second dress and into my sweats by 10:30 p.m., all of these things make me smile when I think back to our fabulous wedding. Sure we didn’t have a fancy band, videographer, elaborate floral archways, special lighting or drapery, we opted out of having a MOH and Best Man, we didn’t have a sparkler send off (at the end of the night we actually helped pack everything back up with our friends and family), Andrew crashed his car that day, we skipped the bouquet and garter toss, it rained and stormed then decided to be perfectly sunny as soon as we said “I Do,” and my garter actually fell off my leg mid dance! But despite all of these things, being surrounded by so much love and realness from the people who mean the most in your life, well unless you’ve been a bride I’m not sure you can completely relate to how in the moment, touching and incredible that really feels. Our wedding was ‘us’ and essentially, imperfect in the most perfect way possible.
Photography: Amanda Wilcher Photographers / Event Planning: Hey Gorgeous Events / Venue: Paletta Mansion / Cake: I Do! Wedding Cakes / Flowers: Tonya VanderBrugghen tonyafloraldesign@yahoo.ca / Paper Products: Papertalk Press / Dress: Enzoani, style Diana / Veil: Promises and Lace / Officiant: Martti Pajunen / Macarons and Cake Pops: Lemon Tree Patisserie / Bridesmaids’ Dresses: J.Crew / Groom and Groomsmen Tuxes: Moores / Maple Flavored Marshmallows: whimsyandspice / Team Bride & Groom Pins: repchi / Bride & Groom chair signs: lilmissi on Etsy / Vellum Table Numbers: ILLUMIEnate / Custom Made Garter: LoBoheme / Wood Letters: thebackporchshoppe