Our wedding stationary was designed by my friend Sarah's talented sister, Jordana Magwood. Going on the colour palette and basic ideas I gave her, she came up with a super special paper set I'm even now still so enamored with. All of the tiny details Jordana was able to put into it just slay me. The Toronto skyline at night and mini Brett's teensy arm tattoos are perhaps my favourite part. The calligraphy for all of the guest's addresses was hand lettered by the supremely skilled Barbara Kua.
The wildly talented and all around awesome gal Alison from Coriander Girl did our wedding flowers. In the meetings leading up to the big day when she would ask what I was looking for I would say ridiculous things like "vintage but fresh" "bright but classic" "totally throw lots of pink in there but don't make it too girly!" "loose and wildflower-ie but at the same time all tied together, ya know?". Alison simply nodded and assured me that she knew exactly what I was talking about and strangely some how she did. On the day of I was greeted by a sea of expertly arranged tiny daises, dinner plate dahlias, ranunculus, wax flowers, black eyed susans, and craspedia among endless other pretty pretties. Her flower wizarding prowess speaks for itself really, she truly brought all of my floral wedding dreams to luscious and vivid life.
As a wedding present my Mom gave me my grandmother's engagement charm bracelet. It's an extraordinary piece of art and family history all rolled into one. I didn't even know of it's existence before it was given to me which made it's appearance all the more staggering. My Nana built the gold bracelet charm by charm over the course of her engagement to my Granddaddy. She was still living in her hometown of Montreal at the time and Granddad was in Halifax. Some of the charms include a train with wheels that spin, a heart with "Betty" inscribed on one side and "Don" on the other, a fully addressed (!) tiny envelope to my Nana from my Granddad, a beer stein with the words "Happy Days" on it, a telephone that alternately reads "Hello!" and "I Love U" when you flick the rotary dial, and a two sided locket with a smiling picture of the two of them on either side. It has instantly become my most treasured possession and I hope someday to give it to my own daughter on the occasion of her wedding.
My 1930's inspired headpiece was designed by my friend Lori-Anne, the hugely talented milliner behind the one of a kind head adornments from LaKrause. Reworking a vintage brooch from Magwood she intricately stitched dozens of pearls, rhinestones and itty bitty beads on to a pale gold length of metallic lace. In short the finished piece was absolutely perfect and the proverbial cherry on top of the vintage Art Deco glam cake.
Our wedding cake was made by pasty chef Heather Mordue who at the time was working at Bestellen (Brett's sometime place of business and all around awesome restaurant). I asked her to make a very simple three layer carrot cake (my fave!) with cream cheese icing. Some of that day may have gone by in a bit of a blur but time stood still when I took my first bites of that cake! Best carrot cake ever. When Heather heard we were serving mostly vegetarian food and would have a few vegan friends in attendance she whipped up a gorgeous little vegan chocolate cake just because! What a sweetheart. Brett and I were definitely overwhelmed by her generosity and talent. We also bought pies in every flavour imaginable from a Mennonite bakery in Saint Jacobs because that's where Brett proposed and the pies they make at the Stone Crock Bakery are wonderful. To round out the dessert spread we got a wee macaron tower made by Nadège consisting of cotton candy, salted caramel, matcha green tea, and chocolate chai flavoured lovelies.
For wedding favours my endlessly patient and wonderful mother-in-law helped me can (what felt like) millions of jars of strawberry jam and garlic rosemary jelly. Broken up over the course of a few days we got together to mash and boil and pour our little hearts out. Although the final products were very yummy I have to say that it may be a little while longer until I feel like canning again. I topped the jars with Liberty Print fabric squares and handwritten labels made by my friend Carli. As a bit of a last minute idea Brett and I put together loot bag/hangover kits for our guests. In brown and white chevron patterned paper bags I tucked stickers, sweet tarts, a dinosaur figurine, ibuprofen and a drinkable vitamin c supplement. All the ingredients necessary to make any hangover faintly whimsical and definitely more endurable.
For the ceremony streamer backdrop I found this awesome DIY from 100 Layer Cake. It was a relatively quick and easy project to complete. My awesome lady friend/bridesmaid Sarah and I made short work of it in one evening minus a hot glue burned finger or two. I loved the impact it had in the ceremony space! I made the "La La Love You" sign using a bit of foam paper, stencils, and glitter as a finishing touch and a small homage to my beloved Pixies.
I knew early on in the planning process that I had to have a blanket fort at the reception. A cozy little nest of pillows and quilts where guests could steal away to drink all cuddled up with friends or perhaps have a quick make-out seemed like a downright lovely idea. I rented many super neat items to flesh out the reception decor from the unique and wonderful company Hazlitt Vintage Rentals; including the colourful quilts used to make the fort come to life. Utilizing a preexisting nook in the form of some stairs leading to nowhere, Sarah graciously volunteered to slave away with safety pins and rope to conjure up the ultimate blanket fort for me.
We got our good friend Noah to play dj for the evening and he put together a killer mix of our favourite songs. Everything from 90's indie rock to pop-punk to 70's folk to 80's power ballads made an appearance at the reception. After all the speeches were made and the cake was cut Oldies 990 took the stage. The band consists of a bunch of talented dudes who normally play with other bands but occasionally get together to cover sweet jams from the 50's and 60's. I can honestly say without reservation that they're one of the funnest/danciest bands I've ever had the fortunate of seeing live. We were so lucky to snag them to play at our wedding.
Funny fact: Brett and I were legally married on Friday September 14th in the Wedding Chambers at Toronto's City Hall. We knew we wanted our friend Chris to be our officiant but being an Australian citizen made it a little difficult for him to become certified to perform legally binding marriages in Canada. So a little trip down to City Hall to get the officially official paper stuff out of the way made the most sense to us. It was also a great excuse to prolong the wedding weekend festivities and I would get to wear not one but two wedding dresses! My City Hall outfit was a super romantic and very "Virgin Suicides" vintage 1970's dress from Magwood. I knew I wanted to wear a flower crown (what else would you pair with a sheer and lacey white dream of a 70's dress?) and my sweet bestie Sarah wonderfully offered to construct one. She surprised me at my apartment that morning with the flower crown AND a stunning bouquet to match. Both were made at her mother's amazing floral and events shop, Fiori. After some paperwork and a super quick mini ceremony in front of a few close family and friends we all went out for lunch at Mercatto. Surrounded by our nearest and dearest lots of bubbly was drank and pastas and pizzas eaten. A highly memorable day and the perfect warm up for the main event that would soon follow.
(photos by Lori Waltenbury)
(picture of wedding stationary taken by me)
(last picture via my sister Zara's Instagram, @zarahuntley)
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