Is a groom that actually embraces pink too good to be true? Not with this guy here, who not only allowed it to take center stage but even had some stylish ideas as well. It may come as no surprise that this Bride and Groom are a couple of creatives and their talent shined bright at their fantastically fun fete full of color and whimsy. Mango Studios captured every bit and this gallery is a guaranteed smile-inducer.
From the Bride… How do you have a wedding that incorporates a lot of pink, without making your fiancé want to run away screaming? How do you get custom Nike’s for the groom and all his groomsmen when they won’t even ship to Canada? Can I do a few DIY’s without stress crying, have personal pavlovas for dessert and get pumpkin ale delivered?
We had all these questions and more when my husband Steve and I started planning our wedding. But we quickly found out that coming up with the solutions was actually… a lot more fun than we expected!
Steve and I met in college and started dating in our third year back in 2008. We’ve experienced cross-continent dating, multiple job changes and some amazing vacations together. In 2011 we moved to The Beaches in Toronto together so we didn’t have to commute to work at our long-houred advertising jobs. Despite talking comfortably about marriage for years, it was still a big surprised when he proposed on the Beach of Cox Bay in Tofino, British Columbia in 2013.
To us, having a wedding wasn’t just about “from this day forward.” There are so many stories and memories and experiences that had gotten us to that day, so we wanted to celebrate that – the past, present and of course – the future. And this sort of became our theme.
We were able to really bring this idea to life thanks to the amazingly talented Jeremyville. He illustrated the front of our invitations which showed the journey that Steve and I have gone on leading us up to this exciting point in our relationship. As an art director, having a unique stationery set was very important to Steve. He completed the pieces with bold typography, some fun foil stamping and even a pink foil envelope (and believe it or not, this was HIS idea!)
The pinks in our stationery were used throughout all elements of our wedding. From the bridesmaids dresses, to the grooms shoes, to the flowers, the balloons and even the DIY tassels and party crackers that my mom and I worked endless weekends to complete.
One of the most important things for me was having a not-so cookie-cutter ceremony. We had a Unitarian Minister marry us, and I loved that we had the opportunity to work with her and create a ceremony that worked for us. In addition to writing our own vows, my mom read a story by Shaun Tan, which was all about the wild, crazy and sometimes difficult adventures people go on to get to their wedding day. It was the perfect way to express the up’s and down’s of life without having to say “in sickness and in health, for richer or for poorer.”
To continue the journey theme, our table names were based on some of our favourite places in the world from the city of Surfers Paradise in Australia to a small Vietnamese restaurant in Hamilton, Ontario.
In terms of our vendors, we couldn’t have been more thrilled. I immediately fell in love with our florist Blush & Bloom and her amazing floral creations, and we knew we made the right decision with Mango Studios as soon as we finished our engagement shoot at the local skateboard park. They made us feel immediately comfortable and captured the real Karlie and Steve perfectly.
In the end, our wedding was more than we ever could have imagined. We danced, drank and loved the night away and we will never forget it for as long as we both shall live. See what I did there?
Photography: Mango Studios | Floral Design: Blush And Bloom | Wedding Dress: Allure Bridal | Bridesmaids' Dresses: Bari Jay | Groomsmen Attire: Moore's Clothing | Hotel: The Ivy at Verity | Hotel: The Drake | Wedding Venue: Berkeley Church | Balloons : Balloon Queen | Bridal Boutique: Ferre Sposa Bridal Boutique | Bridal Party’s Hair: Fuss Hair Studio | Bridal Party’s Makeup: Lisa Mandel | Bride’s Shoes: BHLDN | Doughnuts: Jelly Modern Doughnuts | Groom & Groomsmen Shoes: Nike | Groom’s Suit & Socks: Paul Smith | Invitation & Printed Pieces: The Hour is Here | Invitation Illustrator: Jeremyville | Printer: C.J. Graphics Inc