Give me a Vera Wang ball gown, a minty fresh color palette, and a madly-in-love bride + groom, and you’ll have one happy blogger on your hands. But add in a gallery of gorgeous captures from Chupp Photography, and it’s almost too much pretty to bear. Almost. Take a peek for yourself right here!
From the Bride… Although this is completely biased, I loved every part of my wedding day. Walking up on the day of my wedding, the first thought that crossed my mind was “Finally! Today is the day! I don’t care what happens today; as long as I am Beck’s wife at the end of it, it will be the perfect day”. This idea of accepting the day for whatever it would be helped me to enjoy every part of the day, without worry that things might not be just perfect.
Before even getting engaged, I knew that I wanted my wedding to have a cozy and romantic feel
hat also included natural and beautiful elements of nature. Then when I found my wedding gown, a ruched tulle dress from the White by Vera Wang Collection, I knew that I wanted to bring in very ethereal elements into the romantic and cozy feel that I had already envisioned. To do so, I brought eight 8-10 foot branches from trees into the reception hall, that were attached to each pillar in the reception hall, to create a foresty feel that filled the entire reception venue. The venue itself, a ski chalet at Ski Loft Ski Resort in Uxbridge Ontario, the perfect hidden treasure in Durham region, also fit perfectly to what I envisioned for the big day. The venue had a huge bay window that looked out over all of southern Ontario, and really made the venue feel like we were sitting outside in the warm spring air. The colours that we chose for our wedding was blush pink, a light mint green, and sparkly gold.
We put these colours subtly all over our directions, from the colours of the bouquets, to the colours of the lettering for signs, to the colour of table cards for our loved ones to fill out. I purposefully didn’t want the colours to dominate the décor, but instead wanted the natural elements of the trees, fresh flowers, and touches of mint, pink and glitter to catch people’s eyes. I was more focused on creating an atmosphere then having separate design elements together but not complementary. To further add to the romantic and natural feel of the wedding, I added a lot of sparkle to the décor, creating centerpieces out of mason jars that had the lower half dipped in champagne coloured sparkles. I also put lots of tiny tea lights all over the table to make the whole venue shine with natural light, which was so beautiful as the sunset during the reception. Finally, there were little personal touches that decorated the venue, like small mason jars full of baby’s breath hanging from the trees, a guitar case to collect cards (as my husband is a guitar player), and a full dessert buffet because I am a lover of all things sweet!
Apart from the décor, that I really planned to add to the day, rather than take away from it, the schedule and events in the day were very purposefully planned. We really desired that people would leave our wedding not talking about the food, my dress, or the decorations, but that they were celebrating a couple who really loved each other, who really desire to glorify God, and to have a time with friends and family that was joyful, intimate and celebratory! We wanted it to be a day were people felt comfortable to laugh, cry, dance, and thank God for all the good things he is doing in our lives.
To do this, the ceremony was very simply planned. There were two parts of the ceremony that I loved, and that will stay with me for the rest of my life. The first was that my grandpa performed our vows for us. Beck and I decided to write our own vows and it was a very emotional time for both of us, as well as my grandpa, as he was marrying his first grandchild. Before he even began leading us through our vows he pulled me in for a hug and whispered to me “you are as beautiful today as your mother was on her wedding day and your grandmother when I married her”. This moment meant so much to me, and I think really added to the meaningfulness of the day. The second part of the ceremony that I felt was very meaningful was that Beck and I decided to wash each other’s feet, as a physical representation of our love and self-sacrificial service to one another. It was otherwise a very simple service, but the parts that were special we think really added to the day.
Following the ceremony, where we left the church in a rainfall of blush flower petals and headed to the reception. There was lots of time for family and friends to catch up and celebrate together. We started the reception with a heart-felt speech and prayer over the meal by Beck’s Grandpa Robinson, and enjoyed a delicious meal together. Then my housemates gave a speech, including a lip dub that they created with videos from many of our friends and family. Beck’s brother Kem then gave a meaningful speech, followed by my grandfather giving a toast to the bride. We then had a small break to let people dig into the dessert buffet! For over 2 weeks leading up to the big day, I spent hours baking away to give people lots of goodies to enjoy. Under the mint green banner “She loves Cake, He loves Pie” the sweets were spread in vintage bowls and platters to add to an eclectic and vintage feel. Following the small break, both of our parents gave lovely speeches, he said our thanks, and we started the dance! In the arms of my new husband we danced to “I dream to hold you in my arms” a moment that held a great deal of weight for us – finally I would never have a reason to ever be out of his arms again. Our dear friends Cam and Greg quickly turned our meaningful moment into an exciting dance party; dawning helmets, handing out glow sticks, and getting everyone ridding their invisible horses to gangnam style! It was a great celebration, and the perfect way to end the best day.
With lots of preparation, day dreaming, planning, glittering and surfing Pinterest, the day was perfect just as it was. I loved every moment, every burst of laughter, every kiss (initiated by our friends and family serenading us with a love song), and every warm embrace with family, friends, and most importantly the man I now joyfully and excitedly call my husband.
Photography: Kyle And Vanessa Of Chupp Photography | Florist: Lasting Expressions Floral | Dress: Vera Wang | Invitations: Minted | Suits: Moore's Clothing | Ski Lodge: Skyloft