Yesterday I shared the beginning of a love story and today that story continues with a sweet proposal story and a beautiful lakeside wedding…
The proposal
It was the day before Valentine’s Day (Friday the 13th), and Paz surprised me with a date night. We weren’t planning on doing anything for Valentine’s as we both think it’s a bit lame, and that you should show your partner that you love them year round. So, in protest, he decided to take me out on Friday, which was a complete surprise and we had the loveliest night. He’d found out about a premiere of a new play by a playwright I liked taking place at my favourite theatre in Manchester, at the Royal Exchange.
After the show, we strolled into the night in search of dinner and ended up at my favourite Italian restaurant, Piccolino’s. We shared a bottle of red wine, a decadent meal, and lots of great conversation; I was feeling pretty smitten. Then we sat on a bench in St Albert’s Square, in front of the ornate town hall. It was a mild, clear night, and we had the square to ourselves. I had no idea what was coming… I was chatting about a great book I was reading, and he was sitting there with a ring in his pocket! When he asked me, it came from the bottom of his heart, and I was caught completely off guard. I could barely form words. I just smiled and nodded as my eyes welled up and he took my hand and put on the ring. He was planning to wait until we were in New York the following weekend, but he was too excited, and he also wanted to do it when I wouldn’t be expecting it. Also, it seemed perfect to begin this next chapter in Manchester, because it was in this city that we shared our first home, and where our love grew from something new to something solid.
The wedding
Hair: I lucked out with a great stylist from Beauty & the Beach in Grand Bend. She listened to my vague description of what I wanted and nailed it on the first try.
Make-up: My cousin Nicole.
Dress: Barbra Allin Bridal, a fantastic in-house designer at Beckers Bridal in Toronto.
Shoes: Cute white flip flops from some shoe store at the mall.
Bridesmaids/flower girls: My man-of-honour was Kevin Howley, who has been one of my favourite people for something like 12 years. And “best bridesmaid” was Zoe Sweet, who I met in my first year of university, and love to bits. My flower girl was my friend Carin’s adorable 20 month old daughter, Berkley.
Groom/groomsmen: Standing up with Paz was his brother Paddy (the Best Man) and his cousin Vanisha Mistry (the Best Woman!) both of who had flown over from England.
Flowers: From Garden Gate in Grand Bend, who were wicked accommodating, as I was a bit last-minute in organizing this part. Mine were a mix of bright mini gerbera (yellow, pink & purple) with white interspersed throughout. Bridesmaids had a bouquet of 8 white mini gerbera and the men each wore a yellow rose with bear grass loops.
Transport: My dad!
Ceremony: A beach on Lake Huron, near where I grew up. The lovely & multi-talented Maya Chilton played violin for the ceremony.
Reception: The big backyard of a cottage belonging to friends of my parents, overlooking the lake. All the decorative details were co-imagined by my parents and my uncle, Bert Hilkes (who works in events and was an enormous help with all the last minute details of the wedding.) The centrepieces were bright sand-pails with colourful planted gerbera daisies and yellow shovels. The same sand-pails we used for the centrepieces had colourful candy sticks “planted” in them, each with a guests name and table number. And for favours guests got picture frames with a local artist’s photograph of a Lake Huron sunset.
Food: Culinary Catering, based in London, Ontario. We had 2 food stations, each with a live chef. One was a BBQ station with chicken, lamb chops, Portobello mushrooms, tiger prawns & baked potatoes. The other was a build your own pasta station, with a choice of sauce, meat & veg. There were also lovely passed appetizers during cocktails, and a late night snack of BBQ sausages, a nacho station and a Mediterranean platter. For dessert we had 10 kinds of cupcakes, baked by my amazing mother, served along side your choice of sorbet in an individual ice bowl.
Entertainment:The first dance was to Stay With You by John Legend, performed by the band and the “Man of Honour.” My friend Maya Chilton put together an amazing band for us, and kept the crowd happily dancing, despite the ridiculous humidity. For the father of the bride dance, my dad surprised me by singing Elton John’s Your Song. There wasn’t a dry eye in the house. Instead of clinking glasses, the table had to get up and sing us something, and if we deemed it worthy, we’d kiss! Everyone got really into it and there were some memorably hilarious moments, like my brother Taylor knowing all the words to Beyonce’s All the Single Ladies and my Uncle Rob’s Axel Rose impression.
The best bit…
Exchanging the vows we’d written. Marrying my best friend.
All awesome images courtesy of Z Molu Photography
Such a gorgeous, fun day with a truly beautiful bride. And for those of you that may have noticed a little bump under Thea’s dress… well that bump is now a beautiful baby boy! Zachary Narayan Lambert Mistry was born more than three weeks early, I believe, so he could get the awesome birth date of 1.1.11! I’m so excited for this new chapter in Thea & Paz’s story and can’t wait to meet the lil’ man next time I’m in Canada. A huge thank you to Zaheer for letting me share his amazing work and lots of love to Thea, Paz and Zachary :)
Debs
Photographer Details:
Zaheer Molu’s website
Contact Zaheer via his website form
Phone: 905-553-7866
Debs
