Cathee & Derek's Dance Party Wedding

DANCE PARTY CITY!

An interview with Bride #15

It’s been a really rainy summer and our wedding was on the weekend that all the rain started, but we were really lucky that it stopped long enough for us to do our pictures. We did our first look and bridal party pictures at Osgoode Hall and we feel like the rain worked in our favour because there was nobody there. I’ve heard stories of bridal parties getting into fights for spots but we had the run of the place and the only one other party showed up as we were leaving. Right after we took our pictures, we got in the limo to head to the venue and it started raining so the timing couldn’t have been better.

I love telling people that our wedding was in a furniture store. It was actually on the upper level of the same building but there is a window that runs along the floor of one wall that allows you to see in - which was just one of the really cool details (Milk Crate Walls! Barn Doors! Steel Beam Ceilings!) that we loved about our venue.

We didn’t intend to have a theme, but still wanted Toronto to be represented so we used the TTC font for signs and seating cards. Instead of table numbers we actually went to several stations and took pictures of the names on the platforms and turned them into subway tiles for table names.

We had such amazing food by Food Dudes (people are still talking about the chopped salad!) and then spent the night dancing our faces off to 90s pop and rock music. It is so much fun doing the Baby One More Time and Backstreet’s Back dances in a big ol’ ballgown!

When we were looking for a venue, one of the major things that we took into consideration was a great beer selection. We didn’t want to spend a ton of money on a wedding and then end up with beer that we wouldn’t normally drink (#beersnobs). Ideally, we really wanted to be able to bring in our own beer and even more ideally, it could be made by someone we know who makes really great beer! Luckily, Canvas allowed Special Occasions Permits and my husband’s friend got to work and made about 6 different kinds of beer - everyone was happy to take on the challenge of trying all of them.

I wish we had skipped the limo - it was the most expensive one way ride I’ve ever taken and put us under very strict time restrictions. I originally wanted to Uber to the venue but we decided fairly last minute to get the limo and in the end, I don’t think it was worth it. Our driver even yelled at us for being a few minutes late for the pickup and it put a real buzzkill on the drive to the ceremony.

My bridal style: I like to think of it as Classic With A Twist since it’s very traditional and simple ballgown that just happened to have a colourful floral print.

The best part of my dress was that everyone loved it but nobody was particularly surprised. The most common reaction other than “I love it!” was “This is so you!” which made me very happy. Floral print wedding gowns are hard to find (and expensive when you do!), so I tried to stay open to white dresses and almost fell for a few but I’m really happy that I stuck it out and went the custom route to get what I really wanted.

What's your advice for future brides?

Is “Bride Brain” a thing? It was in my case and I forgot all sorts of things, so my advice is to be Santa. As in, make a list and check it twice! People always “slow down” ON your wedding day so you can take it all in - I say slow down the day/week before. Calm down and take a breath and make sure you’re organized. Double and triple check everything against a list before you leave so you don’t have to make any extra trips or send people to buy new shoes at the last minute because yours are at home. Once you load in and set up, everything is done so relax - you did it!

Now go get married and have a blast!

Date: May 6th 2017
Location: Canvas Event Space

Vendors:
Venue - Canvas
Catering - Food Dudes
Photographer - Jennifer Van Son Photography
Dress/Veil+Hairclip - Lisa Van Hattem Custom Wedding Gown Design
Hair and Makeup - Danielle West, All Dolled Up
Day of Coordinator - Jan Ng, Willow Rose Events
Flowers - Summerhill Floral Boutique
Cake/Donut Tower - Rolling Pin Bakery
Officiant - Kip Philp, Fun Weddings
Photobooth - Snaptique
DJ - DJ Shamz, Sole Power