I always know when a bride is in the wedding industry, the details are going to be good, but for this wedding photographer, who grew up in the industry, the details are really good! Like most couples of 2020, their original day was altered due to the lovely P word…the pandemic. After creating plans A through Z, their final wedding day was absolutely stunning and more than meaningful with the bride’s father, Studio G.R. Martin Photography capturing images of the day along with Lace and Luce. With design and decor by Wedecor the details were flawless, like the gelato cart by Farinella and the backdrop by none other than Style Me Pretty! Check it all out below and I encourage you to read the bride’s story!
From the Bride…From the age of 13 years old, I have dreamt of and planned my wedding day more times than I should probably admit! For me, my earliest memory of planning my wedding day took place while first assisting my father with the many beautiful weddings he has captured – as a professional wedding photographer. I was always tasked with placing the bride’s veil and dress, bringing my father his rolls of film and I would dream of one day being a bride myself! Thank God I changed my wedding vision a few times before actually getting to the planning of our wedding. Otherwise, I would have ended up with either a feather birdcage, sequence tablecloths, or an insane amount of burlap everywhere!
In August of 2019, Mike finally popped the question! By that time, I had already started a “Secret wedding Pinterest board” and quite frankly knew exactly what I wanted! Thankfully, I had a very trusting fiancé and he let me take the lead. I also have great friends in our local wedding industry and knew I wanted to support as many of them as I could. Had it been feasible, I would have purchased multiple dresses from different boutiques, hired multiple wedding planners and hired every local florist, just so I could show my support for everyone in our wedding industry; -unfortunately, that wasn’t realistic! Picking vendors was quite a bittersweet process, but in the end, we truly felt comfortable with everyone we chose to work with. Mike had just proposed and by JUST, I mean, within 4 hours of his proposal I already knew I had to start making calls! I knew where the 2020 wedding season was heading (brides scrambling for venues and the booking of weekday weddings because all the venues were being fully booked). I quickly contacted one of my favorite venues; Stonefields Estate. We had initially planned and reserved Stonefields Estate for our August 23rd wedding, but just like many other 2020 wedding couples, our 2020 wedding plans took quite a turn come March. As much as I have grown to dislike the word “Pandemic” and “Covid”, I have no choice to use it in our wedding description! For many months, we kept our fingers crossed in hopes that we would be allowed to go forward with our larger, 150 guest wedding at Stonefields. However, as time passed, we quickly realized that we would have to seriously downsize and reconsider our wedding format to adhere to the provincial social gathering rules and regulations. With that, we opted to plan a micro wedding at my grandfather’s beautifully maintained residence that sits elegantly along the Ottawa river and modified our wedding plans as provincial guidelines changed. What began as a tiny intimate wedding, quickly grew larger in tandem with the ever-evolving social gathering restrictions and with it, the progressive increase in the number of guests allowed to gather. Similarly, as food and social restrictions changed, so too did our wedding menu and food concepts.
I suppose, from the very beginning, I always imagined wedding planning would be quite a breeze for me and come very naturally – being a wedding photographer in the industry myself. However, as I began conceptualizing wedding plan A, B, C & D throughout Covid-19, I kept telling myself that planning a wedding feels almost as if it’s a “right of passage”; for every woman who’s become a wife, they all must first endure “the planning”. Lol. For myself, because wedding planning had been so fun and easy pre-covid, it felt as though something HAD to take a turn to challenge me and my wedding planning. We planned a covid-friendly wedding and had a full backup wedding plan (plan #120) in case it rained! Lol. Yes, the forecast said 90% -20mm of rain, and somehow & someway, we ended up getting the most perfect day you could imagine!
Mike is extremely supportive. I could not have planned this wedding without him by my side! Our families and friends were also incredibly supportive and understanding! I wish the entire planning process were a breeze but quite frankly, logistically, it wasn’t! We lost a lot of money from making multiple wedding plans, we had to un-invite guests (which was honestly one of the hardest things we had to do) and I may have endured many sleepless nights! We had to change and adjust our expectations about a million times but in the end, I knew all the hardship and challenges would be worth it if it meant I would get to call Mike my husband! So, we kept our heads up and planned the most perfect day EVER and truthfully, it helped us grow into a stronger couple! Looking back at it, a Covid wedding and all the unexpected turns, taught us a valuable first lesson in our new marriage; we are a team united and strengthened by communication!
What did you envision your wedding being prior to planning?
The question should be: what wedding didn’t you envision? LOL. I honestly daydreamed of every possible wedding you can imagine. The elopement in Italy or Greece, the boho-inspired cottage wedding, the traditional wedding, the rustic barn wedding… But once I met Mike, there were pretty much two things I knew for sure; I knew he would be the one standing at the end of the aisle and I knew who I wanted to officiate our wedding, her name is Lynne.
Tell us a bit about the attire!
I ended up falling in love with a dress named Sabine I found online by Anais Anette; a Canadian designer. The gown seemed to have been used for a lot of promotional material and styled shoots but never worn by real brides. I begged my friend Earleen, the owner of Revelle Bridal Boutique, to pull whatever strings she could to get a sample of Sabine in her shop. In the meantime, I tried different gowns and loved some of them, but could never commit to any of them until I tried Sabine. I tried her and it was love at first sight! The flowy sleeve, swiss lace, and silhouette made this gown a true extension of my own personal style. Earleen paired my gown with a long veil by Made With Love which added a bit of romance to the look. As for shoes, I chose an elegant timeless pair of Jimmy Choo pumps. They had little polka dot detailing in the lace of the shoe which reminded me of the swiss lace on my dress. As for Mike’s attire, we had talked and envisioned a black tuxedo for him but when all the local tailors started closing up shop during the pandemic, we started to panic a little! But Moore’s came to the rescue and managed to complete a custom suit for Mike just in time for our big day! We opted for a silk lapel and a classic fitted tuxedo. A black bow tie, that to this day Mike is proud to boast he tied himself, and suspenders completed his look. I’ll admit… he looked quite handsome and very dapper!
Walk us through your color palette!
Oh the color palette; how I struggled! It seemed like every week I would fall in love with a new color and tell myself: “it’s ok, this new color will go well with all the million other colors I already selected”! I like to think things worked. I tried to stick to dusty blue, light blue, gold, ivory, vintage rose and peach tones.
Tell us about the ceremony details!
The ceremony was certainly the most special part of our day. My seven lovely bridesmaids made their way down the aisle to where Mike and the groomsmen were waiting. Following the bridesmaids were the most adorable flower girls and ring bearers. My parents walked me down the aisle. A good friend, Lynne, from Exceptional Ceremonies, officiated our ceremony and it could not have been more lovely. She composed a custom ceremony just for Mike and me. She described how we met and how Mike proposed which made the guests laugh and created a warm ambiance for the ceremony. Writing our own vows was at the very top of our wedding “must-haves”! Mike being such a great writer and English being my second language, I was a bit worried that I may be at a little disadvantage and that my vows would come out all wrong! We both stumbled a few times while reading our lines from the little vow booklets I created for the wedding ceremony, but we made it through with giant grins on our faces. I remember rubbing Mike’s hands with my thumb as we held hands during the ceremony eagerly waiting to say our “I do’s”. Neither of us was nervous; everything somehow magically fell into place at that moment. We walked down the aisle as husband and wife to “Loving You Easy” by Zac Brown band (the song Mike had played when he proposed) all while confetti canons blew confetti all over us and our guests. It was pure bliss!
And of course, the reception… give us the 411!
Much of our initial plans had to be modified because of Covid-19. However, there were some important details we made sure to retain in order to keep some of that initial excitement alive! For that reason, immediately following our ceremony, guests were greeted by a gelato cart hosted by Farinella! I adore my sweets, so we had to incorporate as many desserts and treats as possible! As our wedding took place outdoors, we were lucky enough to use as much of the outdoor space as possible to maintain social distancing measures and create an easy-going relaxed atmosphere for all to enjoy. We also incorporated a large linen sign made by Style Me Pretty, purchased at Michael’s, which acted as a backdrop to our photobooth where guests were able to capture memorable moments. This also became the theme of our incredible wedding motto: “Together is a beautiful place to be”! All the décor (tables, linens, chairs, lounge area, etc), was provided by Wedecor. The owner, Nancy, was like my fairy God Mother throughout the entire process of wedding planning.
Shortly thereafter, guests were welcomed by an array of charcuterie and assorted bread and crackers prepared by friends and family. As the main course, local catering company Meatings expertly provided a southern BBQ style menu for our guests: briskets, taco’s, mac n’ cheese, Mexican style street corn all of which proved to be a delicious and memorable menu that the guests enjoyed. We had a sparkler first dance to ‘I Am Yours’ by Andy Grammer followed by surprise fireworks. We chatted the evening away and ended the night curled up next to a campfire by the river & drinking mojitos near the bars that Mike had custom-built with his father. Everyone’s belly and hearts were full!
What unique elements or DIY details did you include?
As much as I love DIYs, I didn’t want to overwhelm myself with a billion projects prior to the wedding! However, since my mother loves flowers, we decided to work on the wedding floral arrangements ourselves. Since I had skipped out on a bridal shower and bachelorette due to Covid, this mother/daughter/girl time was great! A few bridesmaids and family friends even came to help. This time spent playing around with floral truly helped me channel my wedding nerves into something creative and beautiful! My mother is also a soap maker and makes all-natural soap bars. For this reason, she created custom scented soap bars as wedding favors for our guests which we packaged in linen bags imprinted with our wedding monogram. I also created a signing book with the engagement photos my father captured of Mike and I. Our guests filled the empty pages with messages of support and love. It is such a great keepsake!
What was your favorite moment?
As cliché as this may sound, our favorite moment was by far our wedding ceremony. We had chosen to see each other prior to the wedding in order to do a first look, so I thought maybe the magic of walking down the aisle and all the emotions that would come with it would be gone – but that wasn’t the case. Walking down the aisle, I could see Mike getting a bit emotional which was the sweetest thing to see. For social distancing reasons, we opted to sit everyone around us in little family clusters as we stood on an elevated stage in the middle. Having everyone seated around us amplified the feeling of love and support for this monumental moment in our lives.
Any advice for future brides?
Sometimes, as I would plan, I would think to myself “why am I giving myself soooo much trouble; is this really worth it; should we just elope?” The good thing is that I can tell you with so much certainty that all your effort and time is worth it because it will be the most magical day! Your wedding day will honestly be the best day ever! And the days following your nuptials and the support and love you will receive from your family and friends are so beautiful and overwhelming.
But for all those tiny little details you are spending so much energy stressing over but can’t actually control, let them go! It is not worth stressing over them. I remember absolutely wanting snow peas and white ranunculus in my bouquet but funny enough, the snow peas came in the wrong color and I was informed that the ranunculus we had ordered were delayed due to some form of overseas police raid (I swear I am not kidding lol!). There was some form of police raid involving flowers coming from Ecuador where drugs were allegedly being hidden in the flowers. All this to say that I didn’t get the flowers on time and honestly, I couldn’t have cared less on the wedding day. Focus your energy on what you can control and enjoy the overall process. Don’t sweat the small stuff and embrace every bump on the road as a fun puzzle piece in your wedding planning journey!
Although it may be tough to see it at the time of your wedding, try to acknowledge and be thankful to all those who have played a role, whether big or small, in bringing your wedding vision INTO reality. For myself, I came to realize the many intricacies and moving parts that were required for our wedding to take place without a hitch! Whether I’ll ever be able to thank them enough, I am forever grateful for the last-minute work all my friends and family did to help make our day absolutely perfect!
Another important piece of advice that the photographer in me must include: invest in photography! Lol! I cannot tell you how amazing it is to go over our wedding day photos captured by my father, my friend, and co-worker Justine and Lace and Luce. A lot of the photos are just standard wedding snap-shots to the “photographer” in me but those same photos mean THE WORLD to the “bride” in me. I can not wait to share this milestone with our family and future kids. It was important for my father to capture my wedding day photos but I also wanted him to enjoy the day. So last minute, Mike and I decided to hire the amazing duo at Lace & Luce to capture our ceremony and cocktail; allowing my father to enjoy many key moments. In addition, this allowed me to experience a totally different perspective on wedding photography.
And as a final piece of advice: do not underestimate the value of a wedding videographer! At first, we were a little apprehensive about spending the money to secure a videographer for the wedding. After much research and many discussions amongst ourselves and with friends who have gotten married, we put our trust in LongNMedia, from Ottawa, to capture and forever encase our wedding day in the form of a wedding video. From the get-go, it was clear LongNMedia was highly dedicated to his craft and when we finally received the final wedding video we were enamored by his work. The beauty of a photograph is it captures a single moment, and the beauty of a video is it manages to capture moments you may have otherwise missed. Looking back on it now, we realize the synergy that is created by both photography and videography in the context of an incredibly special moment like a Wedding.
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Photography: Studio G.R. Martin Photography | photography: Lace & Luce | Videography: Long N Media | Wedding Dress: Revelle | Wedding Cake: Serendipity Cakes by Olivia | stationery: WEDECOR INC. | Brides shoes: Jimmy Choo | Catering: Meatings | Makeup Artist: Cocobella Spa | Hair: Jasper Hair Design | DJ: Dynamix Production | Groom's Attire: Moores | Officiant: Exceptional Ceremonies | Bridal Robe: Le Rose | Decor and Design: WEDECOR INC. | Dress designer: Anais Anette | Gelato: Farinella | Location: St. Raphael’s Ruins | Rentals: WEDECOR INC. | Veil: Made With Love