I think Nikki Mills just might be my new hero. She's the genius behind the lens of this stunning Ontario soiree and I am SO IN LOVE with each and every breathtaking image, I just want to give her a big virtual hug for brightening our day with all of this pretty. And if we are doling out virtual hugs, I think we need to pass one along to the very stunning bride and groom, who not only crafted most of the big day on their very own (plus the help of family and friends), but quite literally prepped their home (a gorgeous farm) for the occasion, even laying down a stone path for the ceremony. And when you read their proposal story, I promise you'll be swooning through the weekend. Don't miss a moment of lovely. Join me in the gallery for even more!
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From the Bride... From the second we purchased our farm a year ago to the date of our wedding we knew when the time came no matter how much work it took there were no other options for our wedding venue. We just loved the French Country feel and couldn’t think of anything that could possibly be more perfect for us. When Colin popped the question 6 months later he was so set on this being the place for our wedding he staged a mini ceremony in the snow in the spot where he envisioned us having our wedding ceremony. The proposal was complete with a Chuppah made out of dowling and rose petals scattered up the aisle.
While Colin and I slipped out to take our photos the lead singer from our band Driver (Ryan Eligh) did an acoustic set for about an hour while hors d’heuvres were served. There were tables set out with lace table cloths and heirloom bone china tea cups filled with flowers for people to sit and relax while having a bite to eat and sipping on wine and our signature drink which was lemonade, vodka and soda water with triangles of lemons and fresh blueberries served in mason jars with stir sticks made from bamboo sticks with ribbons that matched our wedding colours tied to the ends that Colin, me and my maid of honor Katie had made. For those who were not wanting to sit, there was Horsehoes in the pit that Colin and I made, Bacci Ball, Croquet, and Colin had made a set of giant jenga out of 2x4s which was a real hit. At each station there were framed rules so that there were no issues as to how to play each game. Our neighbors (who were coincidentally getting married on the same day) had given us a tremendous amount of help to get our farm looking as good as it did on the big day, stopped by on a horse and carriage and we all took some photos before they headed back to their wedding and we headed back to ours. At 6:30pm everyone came and sat down at their tables. We had menus printed with the motif from our invites, our gift was home made jams with a little tag that said “Love is Sweet” and our centerpieces were garden roses in vases that I had made from birch bark that I found on dead trees in the forest along with table numbers that my Maid of Honor had made on the scroll saw and I had covered with different shabby chic papers.
When we decided we were going to get married 6 months after the proposal we couldn’t really remember what the property looked like without the snow, so when the snow began to melt we quickly learned that we had a lot of work ahead of us. We were on a very limited budget, but love DIY projects, so we spent every weekend from that point up until the wedding up at the farm trying to get through a number of extremely laborious jobs. My favorite job was building the pathway that we would later walk down on our wedding day. We went to the rock quarry where we saw the rock get blown up and then we drove over and collected all the rocks we wanted. Although it was extremely hard work it seemed almost symbolic to be building a pathway from scratch with my soon to be husband. As the day grew closer and the to do list was still quite long it was the amazing help of family and friends that made it all possible. So many people chipped in and gave up their cherished summer weekends to make our day perfect. Our one extraordinary neighbor – who we had only known for a few months at this point (the Terpstra’s – who were also getting ready to wed on the same day as us) spent countless hours clearing our property and helping to get rid of the over 100 years of garbage that had accumulated. Just 5 weeks before the wedding it was a giant mess, but thanks to them, come our wedding day, it was perfect. The vision for our wedding was vintage, rustic, romance. Our wedding was bringing together a Jewish and Scottish background so we made sure to include a few traditions from each culture and even did a special Scottish Hora.
Wedding Photography: Nikki Mills / Wedding Gown: Blue by Enzoani via Bekker’s Bridals / Bridesmaid Attire: Dessy via House of Brides / Wedding Cake + Catering: Marco Ormonde of the North Restaurant / Wedding Venue: The Old Stone House / Flowers: County Blossoms / Groom's + Groomsmen's Attire: Tom’s Place / Hair and Makeup: Studio 237 / Music: Driver / Stationery: DIY, The Bride / Day-of-Wedding Coordinator: Jaclyn Harrington (harrington.jaclyn@gmail.com) / Alterations: Barbara Krysiak / Tent: Affair Rentals