I have a beautiful wedding for you today. And what makes it even more special is that it was shot by my friend Taylor Jackson. If you haven’t seen Taylor’s work you should definitely check out her website and her blog: she’s currently travelling in Asia and her images make me want to pack a bag and get out of here right now! This girl is incredible at photography, completely passionate about her work and a bloomin’ lovely lady too. I’m so proud to know her and delighted that she wants to share a gorgeous wedding on my blog :)
The meeting
Dana & David met through a small group at church.
The proposal
On January 29, 2011 David had promised Dana brunch after Dana came home from work on a Saturday morning. Instead, he blindfolded her, placed her in the backseat of his car and drove to an unknown location! David parked the car and led Dana, blindfolded, across a busy street and through some deep snow banks. When he finally removed the blindfold they were standing in a pavilion in the Aboretum at Sunnidale Park in Barrie – the exact place David had asked Dana out 6 months before! David got on one knee, pulled out a ring, and asked Dana to marry him, to which she replied, “Yeah!!!”
The wedding
Photographer: Our photographer was Taylor Jackson. She did an amazing job at capturing all the important moments and emotions of our day with vivid and colourful pictures! She was prepared with creative ideas and made the process of family portraits, bridal party shots, and bride and groom poses easy and enjoyable.
Stationery: Invitations, programs, etc. all created by the bride and groom with help from friends and printed at Staples. Invitation envelopes were blue and hand-made by the bride with some help from friends.
Dress: My gown was off-white taffeta and was from Elizabeth Stuart Discount Bridal, Mississauga, Ontario.
Hair and makeup: Bride, Maid of Honour, and bridesmaids had their hair done at First Choice Hairdressers in Alliston, Ontario. The bridesmaids did their own make-up and the sister of the bride did the bride’s make-up.
Bridesmaid dresses: Cotton sateen dresses from David’s Bridal in Mississauga. Our experience with David’s Bridal and Moore’s was excellent. The dresses arrived within 5 weeks of the order!
Groom’s tux: Calvin Klein, from Moore’s.
Flowers: The bride, sister of the bride, and mother of the bride, put all the bouquets and arrangements together the day before the wedding. We used mainly plum Calla Lilies and white Dahlias, and a little faux hydrangea mixed in added to the vintage look. We topped bouquets and arrangements off with Bear Grass to make things a little more stylish and wrapped fake pearls around the bouquets. The flowers were purchased and corsages made by Mid Valley Greenhouses in the Holland Marsh.
Ceremony location: The ceremony was held in the Corbetton church on the grounds of the Dufferin County Museum and Archives in Rosemont, ON. Guests were able to walk through the museum without paying an entry charge for an hour before and an hour after the ceremony.
Reception location: The Gibson Centre for Arts and Community Culture in Alliston. A beautifully restored manufacturing building built in 1889, the Gibson Centre’s original brick and hard wood flooring, combined with many bright windows made it a great place to host our wedding reception!
Caterer: Our caterer was Custom Catering headed up by Chef Ron Wilson with the help of Pamela Wilson. Custom Catering is located in the Gibson Centre. Many of the guests commented on the delicious food and Ron, Pamela, and all of the servers were very friendly, flexible, and stayed in the background throughout the night unless needed.
Cake: We had a small wedding cake for the bride and groom, as well as cupcakes for the guests, all homemade by the bride’s cousin, Kelli VanBolhuis, a recent Culinary Management graduate.
Favours: We gave small purple wrapped liquorice candies to the guests, however we donated money on behalf of the guests to Serving in Mission, an organization that the groom’s aunt is working for in Peru. We did this partially as a thank-you to her for flying from Peru for our wedding.
Music: Friends and relatives of the bride and groom performed all the live music, and a mix of Jack Johnson CDs provided great dinner music.
Wedding song: ‘You and Me’ by Lifehouse: Totally describes how you feel as bride & groom, surrounded by so many friends and family but so focussed on each other. “It’s you and me and all other people and I don’t know why, I can’t keep my eyes off of you…”
Best moment: Getting to the front of the church & facing each other at the beginning of the ceremony & realizing that we were about to actually get married!
Debs
Photographer Details:
Taylor Jackson’s website
Taylor’s blog
Contact Taylor
Phone: 647 376 6733
Debs
