April + Andrew's Romantic Autumn Wedding

An interview with bride #85

There's no way our wedding would have been as successful as it was without the people in it. Our bridal party was loud, always hyping everyone up, the food was amazing, the entertainment was everything.

A few days before the wedding, I had a devastating accident that resulted in an emergency dentist visit and a trip to the ER. So on the day of the wedding, I was drugged up on T3's with a swollen lip, a lisp, and a fake tooth. Despite all this, our wedding day was still absolutely perfect.

Our wedding coordinator made sure I had the best day of my life and our bridal party went all out to make sure I had a good time. The beginning of the day was calm. My girls and my moms and I got ready, the boys went for drinks and we all just hung out.

Andrew and I got married at the same place that held our reception so we were forced to take first look photos before the ceremony. Everything was just magical. He cried (which was my ultimate goal), then cried again when I walked down the aisle (goal exceeded). The venue was stunning and was far above our expectations.

For having a wedding on a November day, the temperature outside was 8 degrees. It was warm out, but unfortunately it rained, so our planned photo shoot to take place outdoors at the Aga Khan Museum was ruined. Luckily, my photographers and videographers did what they could and we ran outside briefly behind the hotel when it stopped raining for a few shots.

I wouldn't have changed a single thing about our wedding day.

Describe your wedding day in 3 words.
Romantic. Loud. Memorable. 

Tell us about something your wedding just HAD TO have.
If you ask my husband what he HAD to have, it was the gelato bar and the premium bar package, ha! For me, I just wanted to make sure my grandparents were incorporated into my wedding by any means even though they weren't present.

My grandparents helped raise me and when they said they would come back to Canada for my wedding as long as they were still alive, my husband and I rushed our wedding date by a year and got to planning. Unfortunately, my grandmother on my mom's side passed away and my grandparents on my dad's side got too weak to get on a flight.

On the day of the wedding, I made sure we had photos of them everywhere. I ordered charms from Etsy to frame their pictures and hang off my wedding bouquet and made sure to include them in my wedding speech. Although they weren't able to make it, I felt all their love on the day of the wedding and knew they would've loved to be there.

Tell us about something you could have done without or wasn’t necessary in the end.
I corrected this mistake before my wedding day. I have a small handful of close girlfriends that I really trust. When Andrew and I got engaged, we HAD to have his friends and our brothers as his groomsmen. There was absolutely no way we would get married without them.

I had always felt like I needed to match the number of bridesmaids to groomsmen. This meant having people in my bridal party that I wasn't especially close with. It almost felt like a pity asking these girls to be part of my bridal party, but I settled for 6 bridesmaids compared to his 8 groomsmen.

As time went on, the vibes just weren't right so I decided to change plans. On the day of the wedding, I had my 2 closest girlfriends next to me at the alter (whom I love to death) and my little sister. Andrew stuck to his 8 groomsmen, so our bridal party was SUPER uneven, but I had exactly who I needed up there with me. Quality over quantity!

Tell us about your bridal style.
I'm simple and have always been that way. However, I went ALL out for our wedding day! I can honestly say that I got my dream wedding dress. It was a tight mermaid lace dress which by itself was pretty plain. So I added a few blingy pieces, threw on a long veil to match my long train, and I was happy.

The venue was extremely industrial but we made it look unbelievably romantic with all the nude and blush accents, string lighting, and acrylic details. Overall I'd say my bridal style was romantic yet super modern.

What's your advice for future brides.
The first piece of advice I have is to enjoy being engaged. My husband and I were so excited about getting married that we jumped straight into planning the wedding, and didn't take the time to just enjoy that very special moment in our lives which was committing ourselves to marriage.

My second piece of advice is to look into getting a day-of coordinator if you don't already have someone planning your wedding. Especially if you're having a large wedding like I did. I thought I was unstoppable from day one. I planned our entire wedding and met with all the vendors, signed all the contracts, handled all the correspondences between myself and the vendors, handled all the payments and schedules, and designed my wedding from head to toe. BUT! I still needed a day-of coordinator.

With all the planning I did for my wedding, I wanted to make sure I was a guest just like everyone else and enjoyed myself. I found myself always wanting to make sure everyone would have a good time, that it almost took the fun out of marrying my best friend. Enjoy your day because it goes by so fast!

My last piece of advice would be to try to take pictures with every table. There are so many guests we saw but didn't get to chat with because our guest list was over 250 people. One of my biggest regrets was not taking the time to have each table come up and take quick pictures with. People will come from far and near to celebrate with you, so it's important to make them feel like they meant something to you too!

Date: November 24, 2018
Location: York Mills Gallery Hotel, Westin Prince Hotel
Vendors:
Day-of Coordinator: Tanya Rebecca Chan Weddings
Wedding Dress: Blue Bridal on Main
Venue: York Mills Gallery
Make-up: Judy Lim Makeup
Hair: Alysse Kathryn
Nails: Brenda's Nails
Photography: Great Heights Photography
Videography: Raw Media 
Vinyl dance floor: Axe Media
Flowers, linen & decor: Fete Boutique
DJ: HRLD
Gelato bar: Love Gelato
Wedding cake: Matamiese Cakes
Invitations: Brooklin Paper Co.
Catering: ZB Hospitality
Lighting: Sole Power
Rings: Diamond Boi