Toronto Wedding by Renaissance Studios Photography

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From Laura (The Bride) of Laura Olsen Events... Right from our engagement we knew our ultimate wedding day goal was to have fun and give our guests a wedding they had never experienced, while keeping with a timeless look we would still love twenty years from now. I wanted to capture the gorgeous style and feel of an old Hollywood cocktail party. I used classic colours of black, cream, grey, white, pearl pink and mustard yellow with a mixture of similarly classic elements of feathers, mirror, lace and silk. Our venue was a 1930s movie theatre that had been converted to an event space with the original huge chandelier and design elements intact. It took our breath away the moment we walked in. It was a venue that was stunning in itself, thus requiring much less expense on decorations and extras, a huge plus on the budget front!

I planned and DIY-ed absolutely every detail of our wedding. My passion is making beautiful things out of extremely economical materials so in order to prepare as much as possible ahead of time, I used surprisingly beautiful faux materials wherever possible. The bouquets were made from dollar store silk florals, wrapped in ribbon and lace, and then adorned with a unique vintage brooch. The boutonnieres for the guys and grandmothers were made out of feathers, lace, pearls and ribbons (mustard yellow for the guys and pink for the grandmothers) with the addition of pearl buttons for the ladies. Byron’s cousins acted as our ministers for the service (we had our civil ceremony the month before) and had complete reign over the ceremony. They surprised us with amazing mad-lib vows that were filled with answers from guests calling out during the ceremony. My beautiful best friend, Rekha Patel, along with close friends Derek McGowan and Ben Spivak, graciously did all of the music for our ceremony. My mom handmade my gorgeous lace jacket and Byron’s mom made our stunning vintage-inspired wedding cake that was set atop a vintage 1930s mirrored plateau.

To add another element of surprise to and form of entertainment for our guests, we made over 50 fascinators for the ladies to pick out during the cocktail hour and wear for the evening. According to our guests, it was like a sample sale when the table opened — arms flying and elbows in rib cages to get to their favourite one! For the heads displaying the fascinators, I spray-painted styro-foam display heads a neutral colour and then decoupaged them with strips of lace. Others were candlesticks or candelabras from the thrift store with styrofoam balls covered in black fabric and lace. The centrepieces for the cocktail tables were a mixture of thrift store finds (glass candlesticks, teapots, vases, etc.) with roses, ranunculus, carnations, hydrangeas. The centrepieces in the lounge areas were made of hurricane vases, spray-painted a vintage brown, filled with tall leafy palm frawns and a circle of hydrangeas around the rim. As a late night treat to keep our guests partying, we had a candy buffet with all of the classic childhood treats and my dad’s handmade ever popular fruit cake, a family recipe dating back to the 1920s. This was the guys' version of the fascinator “sample sale!" Our friends and family are still raving about how great the food was and that it "actually was the best wedding they'd ever been to," so I would say we had accomplished our goal!



Wedding Photography: Renaissance Studios Photography / Wedding Venue + Catering: Capitol Event Theatre in Toronto, Ontario / Wedding Planning: Laura Olsen Events (Owned by the Bride) / Bouquets + Boutonnieres: DIY by the Bride / Wedding Cake Maryellen Hern, The Groom’s Mother / Musicians: Rekha Patel, Derek McGowan + Ben Spivak / Wedding Dress: Barbra Allin via Becker's Bridal / Lace Jacket: Sandra Sales, The Bride’s Mother / Bride’s Shoes: Christian Louboutin /   Bridesmaids' Dresses: Le Chateau / Bridesmaids' Necklaces: Forever 21 + Their Own / Hair + Makeup: Turning Hedz