I love what this bride has to say about the first time she laid her pretty little eyes on her one-day husband. “Oh, that’s my husband.” So sweet, with no reservations. She just knew. I LOVE that. And I love this fantastic Canadian wedding. It’s perfect. Simple, like the way she just knew, sweet like the sentiment, and beautiful, like the couple. Captured by A Simple Photograph, it’s pure wedded bliss. The pretty parade continues in the gallery, so click here for more!
Andrew and I met thanks to Craigslist Los Angeles. I was working as a personal organizer and cleaning out an architect’s garage and put her old drafting table up for sale on Craigslist. Andrew, new to Los Angeles from Canada, was needing a drafting table for his Production Design Graduate Studies, and he answered the ad. As soon as he got out of his car, a very calm voice in my head told me, “Oh, that’s your husband.” We started talking and found out we had both worked on the same Television show ten years prior, in Vancouver. He was a set decorator and I was an actor on this awful TV show called, fittingly, STRANGE WORLD. We talked in that hot, dirty garage for almost an hour- once he left I immediately called three girlfriends and said, “I just met my husband.” I emailed him that night on a pretext and he asked me out to lunch. We haven’t been apart since.
He proposed on my birthday last August 23rd. He waited calmly for all the people celebrating my birthday to leave our house- he waited for me to get into my pajamas, then called me into our kitchen to give me my birthday gifts. The last gift was a ring box with our wedding rings from our first weddings – Andrew’s idea was to melt down our wedding rings from our first marriages, which failed, ultimately, but led us to each other… and taught us to find the gift in each other. We are beyond happy. Our rings are stunning, and so meaningful to us both- and when my mother found out we were ‘repurposing’ our old wedding rings to make new ones, she offered us all the rings from her first marriage, to my father. So, three bad marriages made two stunning rings.
Our wedding and reception was at the Westover Inn in St. Marys, outside of Stratford, Ontario. We chose it basically because I wanted my father to walk me down the aisle. Since my father was performing at the Stratford Shakespeare Festival basically all of 2011, the only way he was going to walk me down the aisle was if we brought the circus to him! So we did, also hoping that a “destination wedding” in Canada on a Monday (the theater’s only day off) would limit our attendees. Since I am 48 and we are in the process of adopting a child, we didn’t need to spend a great deal of money showing off our love.
We were married by a dear friend (my old writing partner) in a field we decorated ourselves… the colors were cream, off white- I just wanted simple. Simple and natural and all about family. My stepmother did the flowers, my nieces were my bridesmaids and flower girl, my nephews were the ring bearers and we had 77 people attend.
We were so lucky because we basically did everything on the internet- my dress was a Vera Wang Lavender Label Gown from MyHabit.com, the Westover Inn was recommended by a woman at the Festival– and they were great. Andrew and I stayed there for a week, it was great.
My father was charged with finding the band and a photographer since he was in Stratford and had lots of contacts at the Festival. He booked a fabulous trio called Strings & Traps and Erin Samuell- and we were thrilled with both.
We danced all night long- one of the highlights was my niece Olivia singing Adele’s Rolling in The Deep, accompanied by my brother Cormac on drums, my nephew William on bass, my nephew Jack on keyboards and it was extraordinary. Brought the house down! Then everyone else started jamming, singing, and the band even stayed an extra hour because they were having fun too!
Our wedding favors were a Brooklyn artist (name escaping me) that I found on Pinterest, and who has a shop on Etsy- he made these really adorable/witty prints called “Pick Your Battles”- we framed them in IKEA white frames- and people LOVED them.
Photography: Erin Samuell, A Simple Photograph / Venue: The Westover Inn / Bride’s Dress: Vera Wang Lavender Label, via My Habit / Floral Design: DIY by bride’s stepmother / Band: Strings & Traps