What we have here is a big blanket of homegrown goodness set in the green rolling hills of Quebec. From croquet to a late night bbq feast, this is a couple that personalized their day right down to the very last detail and it shows through in every single image. The Bride also happens to be a budding photographer so great photography was a total must. Enter Stephanie of LachancePhoto who captured all of the fun moments (groomsmen flashing their superhero t’s), and even a furry friend or two. This garden party is sure to put a big ol’ smile on your face and there’s so much more to be found in the FULL gallery. Click here.
Click here to see the entire gallery of images!
From the Bride…First we booked the ceremony location. As it turned out, the little white church, officially St-Andrew’s in the Pass, was now a historical monument maintained by local residents who happily agreed to let us use it for our wedding. Finding a reception venue nearby proved to be slightly more difficult. Unimpressed with the cost and inflexibility of surrounding hotels, restaurants, and other typical reception venues, we started looking into renting a private estate. After getting lots of NOs, booking two venues that fell through, we were left without a reception location just four short months before our Labor Day weekend wedding. Then we found Les Pignons Verts (French for Green Gables), a beautiful ivy-covered B&B located just fifteen minutes away from the church.
I also saved tons of time and money buying things online, including my wedding dress, which was beautiful and fit perfectly (despite my never seeing it in person or trying it on). Plus it was less than I paid for my prom dress ten years ago! I bought all the guys accessories online, as well as the entire bridal party’s shoes and the bridesmaids dresses (which was easier anyway since one bridesmaid was living in South Korea and another was living in Barbados at the time). One thing we didn’t skimp on was the photographer. As a budding photographer myself, it was important to me to find someone I felt confident about. That person was Stephanie from LachancePhoto. From the moment we first met she jumped on board with our vision and did an amazing job of capturing our special day using a fun photo-journalistic approach.
We went with garden party theme with a yellow color palette, inspired by my engagement ring (an antique canary diamond ring), paired with mint green and black accents. Almost everything about our wedding was do-it-yourself or get-friends-and-family-to-do-it, which required a lot of time and effort, but was totally worth it and made everything feel that much more personal. My granny made our wedding cake; the caterer was a talented chef and family friend; my mom sewed all the table runners and pennants; my brother doubled as both our MC and DJ; the maid of honor hand painted wooden signs which Daniel and I put together from recycled shipping palettes; my friend from work did all the girls hair (we tried out different hairdos all summer on our lunch break until we found the perfect style); two friends put together all the bouquets and mason jar centerpieces from the two hundred bulk roses I snatched up from a wholesaler; I did a bunch of graphic design and photo projects; and our bridal party helped set up and clean up everything at the ceremony and reception (including rinsing off all the rental dishes the day after the wedding!).
Our wedding was absolutely perfect. A gorgeous day spent with seventy of our closest family and friends. Our ceremony was short, sweet and unique. One of the groomsmen played the violin for our processional (Fireflies by Owl City) and recessional (Bittersweet Symphony by the Verve). The trio of my aunt, uncle and Daniel’s older brother performed the Beatles ‘In My Life’ (which my aunt had sung at my parents’ wedding thirty years ago). One of the bridesmaid’s read Shel Silverstein’s ‘The Giving Tree’ (we planted a tree beside the church in memory of family and friends that we wished could have been there for our special day). And, our two dogs fittingly served as the official ring bearers.
Following the ceremony everyone headed to the B&B where cocktails and hors d’oeuvres were served on the front lawn overlooking beautiful Lake Memphremagog. Dinner was served in the backyard under a tent. It was important to us that the food be both delicious and sustainable. We served local Brome Lake duck confit accompanied with vegetables grown especially for the wedding from a farmer down the road paired with our favorite wines, followed by Granny’s homemade lemon cake with butter cream frosting and fresh summer strawberries for dessert.
We tried to infuse our reception with as much fun as possible: we had a table with all sorts of vintage items including wedding photos of our parents and grandparents; instead of table numbers, we named all the tables after our pets and made a donation to a local animal shelter in lieu of favors; we made guests who clinked their glasses to get us to kiss serenade us with a Beatles song first; we set up a photo booth in the greenhouse with tons of disguises (which produced hilarious photos, including one of my Grandma dressed as a tiger); we played croquet and the infamous ‘shoe game’; we danced our first dance to a slideshow of side-by-side photos of Daniel and I growing up (which had everyone in stitches); and, we ended the night with a midnight BBQ complete with yummy baby back ribs.
Wedding Photography: LachancePhoto / Ceremony Location: St. Andrew’s in the Pass / Reception Location: Auberge Les Pignons Verts / Rentals: Le Vaisselier / Invitations: Paper and Pinafore / Catering: Trevor Taylor / Wedding Cake: Bride’s Grandmother / Hair: Valérie Tremblay-Gravel / Make-up: Pascale Charbonneau / Wedding Dress: David’s Bridal / Bride’s Earrings: Tiffany & Co. / Bride’s Bracelet: BCBG Max Azaria / Bridesmaid Dresses: J.Crew / Bride + Bridesmaid Shoes: Aldo / Groom + Groomsmen Attire: Zara / Bride’s Shoes: Converse