laura + scott | laid-back Owen Sound wedding at Serenity Cottage

I have been dying to share this Serenity Cottage wedding since Corrie and I documented it. Not only is the venue perfect, intimate and unique but these lovebirds are some of my closest friends AND I introduced them! I will take credit for their relationship forever :)

Laura + Scott planned the best weekend get away turned wedding filled with relaxation, water sports, dancing and more.

I asked Laura a little about their love, their wedding and what they would recommend to future couples planning either a cottage wedding or an intimate one.

Have a read and enjoy these beauties!

Tell everyone a little bit about your love story…

Scott and I heard about each other in December 2010, when he saw my picture on Megan’s Facebook. After he asked her who I was and what I was all about, she thought it would be great if we met. Megan organized a night out downtown where a bunch of us just hung out, drank and danced. We instantly became the best of friends and hung out basically every day from that day on. Throughout our year as "just friends" we continuously heard many of our friends say "you two will be married one day". Those comments quickly started to feel like that could become true when we evolved from the just friends status to boyfriend and girlfriend. We have a bond that is so special and rare and has been since day one. My dad once told me that in order to have a successful and happy marriage you need to be best friends before lovers, and that quote rings true about us. After 6 years together, right before Christmas, Scott came home with a journal (which I had asked for for Christmas) for me to open, Swiss Chalet take out, and wine. I opened the first page of the journal and began reading a beautiful letter Scott wrote me and looked up to find him on one knee. The answer was obviously yes (followed by a few 'holy effs'), I couldn't wait to marry my best friend.

At what point in the planning process did you guys decide to keep it small and intimate? and then a wedding weekend?

Scott and I are the most laid back people so wedding planning just kept getting put on the back burner. We instantly knew we both wanted something small and intimate, that was never a question or thought for us. We went back and forth with the idea of just having a ceremony in a field, and a cool dinner out. But after talking we kept saying we didn't want dinner to be done than the night was over. So we looked into a few places where our guests were able to stay over night. We stumbled upon Serenity Cottage which would sleep the perfect amount of people for our immediate family and wedding party. We thought this would be the perfect way for us to celebrate our wedding, with our best friends and family. We are so so happy we followed through with our wants because the whole weekend was so perfect and just completely us.

What were 3-5 things that were of most importance to you both?

The most important things for us were: 1. It was done our way. 2. it was laid back and easy 3. the food was good. 4. the whole environment was pretty and chill 5. everyone would have fun.

For anyone planning a small intimate wedding, do you have any advice for them? 

My advice for anyone planning a small intimate wedding would be to only think of the two of you, what it is that you two want to do, what will make it 'you guys'. Pick five things that you feel are the most important to you and focus on those and do not worry about the little details. Our five things were 1. Great photographer (nailed it x1000 - we couldn't have asked for better) 2. Food is delish (it was unreal.. major shout out to Justins Oven) 3. good tunes 4. good wine 5. an environment that everyone will feel themselves and relaxed. Another piece of advice my sister gave me, was to take a minute during your big day and just look around and appreciate everything that's going on around you. While all of our guests were having a drink on the downstairs patio before heading down to the ceremony, I sat on the back porch in my dress with my dad and just talked about how awesome this moment was and looked around at everything and everyone. It is a moment I will always cherish.

What made you decide on serenity cottage?

We chose Serenity Cottage because it was beautiful, rustic, and on Georgian bay (we both LOVE that body of water). Serenity had so much to offer for everyone attending. It had a kids play ground, horse shoe pit, a seadoo, stand up paddle boards, darts, and so much more! It allowed our guests to do whatever they felt like when ever they felt like it. Everyone enjoyed all that Serenity had to offer throughout the weekend. It allowed for our environment to be chill, relaxed, and so much fun. The cottage also had enough rooms to sleep all of our guests, and enough space for everyone to comfortably get ready for the wedding. I would definitely recommend Serenity Cottage to anyone who wishes to have an intimate (perfect) wedding.

Looking back on your wedding weekend, would you do anything differently?

The only thing we would do differently was make it a tad longer!!! I know everyone says their wedding was perfect... and I could totally say the same thing... but ours was just completely "us" and that is the most important thing!!

Curated by: Tallie Garey

Second Shot by: Corrigan, Megan Michelle Photography

Venue: Serenity Cottage

Skirt: Breeyn McCarney, @breeynmccarney

Florals: The Flower Place, Barrie, @theflowerplacebarrie

Caterer: Justins Oven

lindsay + edwin | intimate St Mary's backyard wedding

briar + clayton | charming Grimsby wedding at Beamer Falls Manor

Briar + Clayton planned the most beautiful, relaxed and colourful wedding filled with so much emotion, incredible people, personal elements and one of the best dance floors ever.

We sat down with Briar and Clayton to talk about their wedding and how they went about planning the most epic day.

Enjoy!

1. tell us a little bit about how you met

Clayton and I both grew up in Grimsby, which is the kind of town where everyone knows everyone. Our families lived down the street from each other, we went to the same high school, my grandfather and his dad knew each other from the gym... but our paths didn't cross until about 7 years ago when we met at a party hosted by a mutual friend of ours. We officially met then, but for the first couple of years we were just acquaintances that would occasionally see each other at social gatherings. I recall a couple of Halloween parties; Clayton insists we were at the same New Year's Eve party one year but neither of us can be sure. We even went on a big group camping trip one summer (during which I might have taken a motorcycle ride with a complete stranger, but that's another story). This was all in the first two years we knew each other, and during that time the most in-depth conversation we had was probably something like "hey, nice to see you" / "yeah, you too".

In April 2014, two days before my birthday, we both found ourselves in Grimsby hanging out with our friends Wes and Brennen, which was completely unplanned but wonderful. The four of us went out for a pint, and it was really the first time we ever had a conversation that was more than exchanging pleasantries. Pints at the pub turned into a backyard bonfire at Wes's, which eventually led to Clayton asking for my number. As I was giving him my number, he realized that it was already in his phone. Small towns, I tell ya. Anyway, he texted me the next day and we went on our first date about a week later, and have been inseparable ever since. 

2. when it came to planning your wedding, what were three of the most important things to you

I'd say that the big three for me were the venue, the dress and atmosphere. We wanted an outdoor venue in Grimsby, and we fell in love with BFM right away. I knew exactly what I wanted my dress to look like and the lovely Caroline Yoon of Champagne and Cupcakes made it happen (I didn't go to a single bridal store and I have zero regrets). We both knew what we wanted the day tofeellike and the kind of atmosphere we wanted to create for our guests - welcoming, laid back, fun - and I think we accomplished that. 

Clayton's were the venue, ceremony and food. Making our ceremony feel like "us" was really important to both of us, as was choosing a humanist officiant. We met Katherine Dimou of Lifetime Ceremonies and immediately knew she was our person. The food was one of the first things we decided on and we were both so excited about it. Chef Brad Rempel and his team are absolutely phenomenal - they took care of all of our rentals for the day including the tent, tables, chairs, linens, etc. as well as our bar, staff, set up and take down... seriously, wedding dream team. 

3. What made you choose Beamer Falls? did you look at other venues?

In my early twenties, a friend of mine did catering and they needed an extra bartender for a wedding at Beamer Falls Manor. Even though I grew up in Grimsby and had been to Beamer Memorial Conservation Area countless times, I had no idea that BFM existed until then. Shortly after Clayton and I got engaged, I remembered BFM and we decided to look into it. We went for a tour with our families and met Brian, who was so lovely. He and his wife Nancy had just taken ownership of the manor earlier that year and had done extensive renovations that made it even more magical than I remembered. We loved it so much that we booked it right away - we didn't look at any other venues. 

We loved that we had the venue for the weekend and that it included accommodations for some of our wedding party and their partners. We arrived on Friday afternoon and got our guests settled into their rooms before doing some decor set up and having drinks by the pool, followed by our rehearsal dinner. (We were going to have a bonfire but the weather had different plans.) Our hair and makeup team arrived on Saturday morning and met us in the parlour, where we had coffee and muffins... along with leftover and pizza and caesars. After the last limo left on Saturday night, those that were still standing who were staying at the manor gathered under the patio lights to drink the last remnants of wine and take literal bites out of our wedding cake as it got passed around to everyone, which was hilarious. It was all hands on deck on Sunday morning while we tidied up and got ready to head out, all the while exchanging stories of the day and night before. Having a venue for a weekend made all of those moments possible, and they're some of our favourite memories. 

4. when it came to your colours and florals, you went outside the box (which I LOVE), how and when did you decide you were going to do it your own way

For followers of The Bridechilla Podcast, you'll be familiar with the concept of the FIB (fuck-it-bucket). Flowers were in mine. It's not that I didn't care about flowers at all, it's that they weren't a huge priority for me because most bridal bouquets aren't really my style. I set a modest budget and took on the attitude of "we'll figure something out". 

Originally, I was going to go the wholesale-from-Costco route (which I still think is a great option) but then my mother-in-law expressed interest in growing the flowers for us at their home (I know, how sweet is that?). She suggested that we head down to the Grimsby Farmer's Market and inquire with the floral vendor, Jen from Wendalane Farms, to see if they had any recommendations before we dove into the project.

I hadn't been to the market in years, but when I lived in Grimsby I used to buy a bouquet from Jen every week. They'd most often be filled with colourful zinnias which I absolutely loved. So while my mother-in-law and I were down there asking Jen whether she thought we could take on the task of growing our own flowers, which unsurprisingly was starting to sound like quite a lot of work, I asked Jen if she ever did weddings. Thankfully she said yes, and that was that! I didn't provide her with a ton of instructions or specific requests - I just said that I liked what she does at the market and told her that we wanted everything to be bright, colourful and local. She did my bouquet, the bridesmaids bouquets, our centerpieces, our aisle flowers, the flowers for the arbour and all the boutonnieres and corsages. We were so happy with how it all turned out!

5. do you have any advice for anyone planning their own wedding right now

• One of the best decisions we made in planning our wedding was having a 2 year engagement. This gave us our first pick of vendors and plenty of time, so nothing felt rushed and we actually got to just enjoy being engaged.

• Use technology to help you plan - we used Wunderlist to stay on top of our to-do list, and had spreadsheets for our budget, weekend timeline, etc.

• Don't be afraid to delegate. That was difficult for me but when it came to the week-of, the moms were on duty. Thank you, moms! 

• If you're in Toronto, I'd also highly recommend joining Bunz Wedding Zone. I scored some great trades including #thejustmarriedjacket and some bunting that we forgot to set up (lol) but more than that, I found a community of people who were so incredibly supportive every step of the way. Love you, bunz <3 

• I highly recommend booking a month-of coordinator. Jane of Jane Suh Weddings was absolutely phenomenal to work with and was worth her weight in gold. It was so reassuring to know that she was there to pull all the pieces together. We'll never be able to thank you enough, Jane!

Clayton said "Take everything step by step and don't panic, everything works out in the end. Also, marry someone who is type A because they'll be super organized." So there's that, haha. 

6. looking back, would you do anything differently?

There really isn't anything either of us can think of! 

Second shot by: @ashleamacaulayphoto

Blog curated by: @talliegareyphoto

Planner: @janesuhweddings

Florist: @wendalanefarms

Caterer: @chefbradrempel

Hair + Make up : @prettyinpinkmobile

Dress Maker: @champagne.and.cupcakes

eva + alan | dreamy Ireland wedding at Lough Rynn Castle

In January of this year, my dear friend Tami Klein introduced me to Eva and Alan. Eva and Alan we're planning their wedding in Ireland, where Alan is from, for July of this year and Tami was not able to document it and passed my name along. Not long after the initial introduction did the three of us meet for a Guinness and it was love at first sight haha 

My family reigns from Ireland and it has been an ultimate goal for me to document a wedding or even couple session there and to now have done so, I feel so incredibly thankful and honoured. 

The location Eva + Alan chose is what dreams are made of. Lough Rynn Castle was stunning from the old building to the walled gardens to the lake, it couldn't be a more perfect venue. I spoke with Eva about their planning, their love story and their wedding. Have a read! 

How did you two meet? Tell us a little about your love story

E: "Alan and I were both working in financial services at the time, and "met" initially through email when we were working on the same client. Slowly our work emails started including more and more personal updates, and we had to start a separate email chain just for chats. Eventually Alan got up the nerve to ask me out on a date and it was the best first date I had ever been on - we both laughed SO hard the whole evening, and neither of us had anything to drink. We went to a board game cafe and found out after arriving that they didn't have a liquor license."

A: "One day Eva called me on an issue (we still hadn't met yet) but she was really sick at the time. We joked that she was going to get me sick over the phone. Eva thought it would be funny to send me a Strepsil through interoffice mail just incase. Unfortunately for me the Strepsil arrived at my desk when my supervisor and manager were standing there and they both asked me - "Why is Eva Curtis sending you mail? What is it?". I reluctantly opened the envelope and out dropped the Strepsil, my co-workers were super confused, but I thought to myself, I think I might marry this girl."

With you being from Canada and Alan from Ireland, how did you decide where you would have your wedding?

E: "After travelling to Santorini a couple years ago, we both decided that was where we wanted to get married. But after doing some research realized it would be difficult for people to get there from Canada. We then started looking at other options outside of Toronto and eventually decided on Ireland. We have built a home in Toronto, but Ireland is where Alan lived most of his life, and we liked the idea of incorporating it into our story by celebrating there."

How did you guys choose Lough Rynn?

E: "We went home in July 2017 to look at wedding venues and start the legal process for us to get married in Ireland. We had a couple venue appointments setup, based on researching online, and weren't actually planning to see Lough Rynn. Alan's friend mentioned he had attended an amazing wedding at Lough Rynn recently, and highly recommended we check it out. We scheduled a last minute appointment to take a tour and it was the third venue we saw. As soon as we drove up the driveway we were pretty much sold. It is such a beautiful venue and the grounds are stunning. After taking the tour, we were so impressed by the professionalism of the staff, we knew that they'd do a great job and would be easy to deal with while planning an overseas wedding. We cancelled all our other appointments after the tour and signed a contract that day."

What was most important when it came to your wedding, what did you want to make sure was included?

E: "There were three things that were super important to us (aside from each other and our wonderful guests) - great food, good music, and a photographer who was able to capture the events of the day in a candid style."

Looking back, would you of changed anything?

E: "The whole day went perfectly - we were both shocked how smoothly everything went. Honestly neither of us would have changed a thing."

Did you find it difficult to plan a wedding from another country? How did you find your vendors?

E: "Planning a wedding in Ireland, while in Canada, was definitely challenging at times. But our vendors were all SO amazing, they made the process extremely easy and were very helpful throughout everything. It also helped having Alan's family and friends in Ireland, as they helped out as well. Special mention to our wedding coordinator, Michelle at Lough Rynn. She was so helpful and made sure the day went smoothly without any issues. We found our vendors through a mixture of family/friend suggestions and suggestions from Lough Rynn."

Your wedding was flawless and not one thing went wrong BUT is there any advice you would give to couples planning their wedding? More specifically, from another country?

E: "Planning a wedding from another country - I would suggest picking a venue which provides you with a designated wedding coordinator - someone who will help you throughout the planning process and also be there on the wedding day to make sure everything goes as planned. That really helped to alleviate some stress, and made the planning process a lot easier for us. I would also highly suggest having a first look - we were both nervous the morning of the wedding, but as soon as we saw each other the nerves melted away and we were both super excited for the day."

Is there a moment that really stands out from your wedding day? 

E: " There were a couple moments that stand out, when we look back on the day - the first look was really special and emotional. It helped to kill our nerves and allowed us to spend some alone time together before being with everyone. The second moment was our vows during the ceremony - we both wrote our own and it was an incredibly special and emotional moment to share with our guests. The third was after dinner - we decided to take a walk and found some chairs down a hallway. We sat there for about 15 minutes and reflected on the day. It was really nice to be present in the moment and appreciate what a special day we had had so far."

deanna + josh | picturesque wedding at black creek pioneer village

Where to begin with Deanna + Josh's beautiful, perfect, fun and emotional wedding at Black Creek Pioneer Village in Toronto. From start to finish I was laughing, crying, laughing again and we are so darn happy to of met Deanna and Josh. 

This was our first time shooting at Black Creek Pioneer Village and I really hope we get back there, it is a dream to photograph at and also, the guests just love it too! 

"As soon as we saw Black Creek, we knew it was the right place. We loved the simplicity of it. We have some guests with limited mobility, and the ease of our ceremony/cocktail hour/reception being on the same lawn and area was super helpful. We loved the backdrop too. The juxtaposition of this old, rustic village with our guests all dressed up and fancy just made it more unique. It was exactly the type of comfortable we wanted, where there were lots of places for people to talk, chat with guests they haven't met before, dance if they chose to, or walk around the village to check things out." - Deanna

Deanna and Josh made sure to have so many personal touches throughout the day that made their day so special and all about them and not only what they want for their day, but for their guests too. 

"Before we had a venue or any concrete plans, we knew small details. Like, our baby pictures at each table and the memory table honouring loved ones who had passed away. The three things we kept in mind were concepts - we wanted comfort, warmth, and an intimacy. We wanted the guest list to be limited to people who knew us well and loved us. We wanted the venue to be comfortable with a lot of places to hang out so people could move around as they wanted. And we wanted the night to be celebrating us and our families, with small details (like the baby pictures/memory table) to warm the heart." - Deanna

"This is easy...the OPEN BAR.  Our families love to drink and have fun and they did just that! Some maybe a bit too much but they were having a blast." - Josh 

When we first met with Deanna and Josh, their main want for photography and what attracted them to our style was the candidness, moments and emotion we document. We asked them both what their favorite images were after seeing their whole gallery:

"The image of Deanna and myself with my Grandfather was something really special. He has Alzheimers but that day he knew exactly what was going on and even asked if he can walk down the isle with us! (cue tears) . He also said "thank you so much for letting me be here with you guys" which I just don't have the words to describe how special that really was." - Josh

"I will pick two because our pictures were so gorgeous I cannot possibly choose one. The first is the image of Josh and I hugging/dancing at sunset. We sort of went away and I remember feeling awkward, but Josh and I do awkward best and the picture is totally us. It's so beautiful and honest and I love the balance of our outfits against the natural trees and leaves. The other picture (or many of them) are the dancing photos right at the end - it was a real moment of pride to see our family join in the dancing and hold each others hands or watch each other for support. Macedonian dancing is quite intimate, so you're super close with people who you may not know, either holding hands or hugging shoulder to shoulder. There's no room for shyness or questioning who is who, and our guests totally ran with it. You can see the joy in everybody's faces. It's exactly the vibe we wanted. "

D + J, THANK YOU! We could not of had a more fun day and we are so thankful to of met you both. Such a perfect wedding that will be a favorite for years to come

Blog curation by: Tallie Garey

Second shot by: Tami Klein

Florist: @rootsandwildflowers

Hair : @jodi77 (hair)

Make up : @maquillagebypriya (bridal party), @catmaikeup (bride)

Dress Maker: @mikaellabridal

DJ - @djintrinity

Furniture Rental: Marvelle Events