But then to supplement the menu, every guest brings something to else to eat in lieu of wedding presents. What do you guys think? :)

Also, for my fellow Torontonians, which park would you recommend? We were thinking High Park.  

I sent an email and Heidi got right back to me with a form I need to fill out to be on the show.

I am so excited!!!  Wish me luck!!

It's almost been two months since my wedding, and finally here is my wedding review!  It was a FANTASTIC day!

It's long, sorry about that!

First of all, I planned this entire wedding long distance. I’m currently attending school in the states, and I don’t think if it was for my amazing vendors, I would have been able to pull everything together.

Venue: Toronto Argonaut Rowing Club

Score: 10/10

I booked this venue blindly without seeing it. I went on the photos that my parents took as while as trusted their judgment after they went to the venue. I have to say that Lynn, the manager at the venue was an absolute pleasure to work with. I did not have a decorator that I hired, and did not need one. Lynn took care of all the details for me the day of, including setting all the decorations I had dropped off for both the ceremony and reception. The venue was very organized and knew what they were doing.

Lynn made sure all the timing was correct for the ceremony, and even arranged to have food and drinks ready in the bridal suite for after the ceremony. She also kept tabs on the bar for us (as we had a cash bar and I wanted to make sure it wasn’t getting out of hand) and she gave me many updates through-out the night when I asked.

Another great thing about the venue, was when we had to postpone it by a year, the venue took our deposit and held it over to our new date. We did not lose it. It was very nice of them to do that, as most vendors will not.

I would recommend this venue to anyone who was looking for an amazing hidden DYI gem of a venue. The price is amazing for the view, and you can bring in your own everything in terms of vendors.

Catering: Blair's Catering 

Score: 10/10

                One thing I was very about was food. I’ve been to a lot of weddings where the food was horrible. I knew it would be a challenge to find great food in the city that fit our budget. We did however, when we found Blair’s Catering.

Not only did Mark move our deposit over for us, but he gave us memorable food. I didn’t hear one person say anything negative about the food. In fact, all a lot of my guests talked about was how good it was! It really was too. I almost went for seconds, but I was so full from the first plate I took that I couldn’t!

We had a cocktail hour as well, as the food was fresh, and displayed very well, and seemed to be enough for everyone.  For dinner, we had a buffet style menu and had lots of choice for our guests. The food was just fantastic. I loved it!

The ONLY complaint (which I won’t take marks off for) was apparently, we were due to have fruit trays with dessert. It’s not something I noticed until my mother brought it up the following day, so it’s not something I really focused on missing out on. I DO wish I had done a small late night buffet for my guests, but that was my choice not to do it, not Blair’s.

 

 Officiant : Helen Sweet via All Seasons Weddings

Score: 10/10

Helen was the most fantastic officiant to work with. Right from our first conversation and emails I knew that we had selected the right person for us. First of all, I’d like to comment that while All Seasons Weddings connected us, I feel that the “finder’s fee” they take away from the officiant’s is completely unfair. It’s more than 50% of the total, and considering I didn’t even get a follow up email ensuring that services were done correctly, or that everything even went well, I would not recommend them.

Helen however, I will. She is a sweet down to earth woman who runs the Brides project in Toronto. She donates a portion of her fee to the project that helps tons of women every year. Helen gave us a short and simple ceremony that she helped me write. During the ceremony, she was calm, and relaxed and believe that it helped us both a ton. I obviously recommend Helen to anyone, and also recommend her Brides project!

If you’d like to see a copy of our ceremony, let me know.

 

 Photography: Jessica Blaine Smith Photography

Score: 10/10

 I also booked Jessica blindly after my parents met her, although once we had our first phone meeting I knew I had made the right choice. Jessica is so passionate about photography and really loves what she does. When I was looking for a photographer, that was a key ingredient I was looking for.  We did engagement photos with Jessica in June 2010 and couldn’t have been happier. She is a very social person, easy to talk to and responds to emails quickly. I never once had an issue with getting a hold of her or having her not answer a question.

The day of the wedding at the reception, she was a ninja. I didn’t see her in the crowd, and yet she got tons of beautiful shots. It was nice to know that she was there taking shots, but not being visible about it.  Along with her assistant, they provided us with images that not only do we love, but our family love. Jessica agreed to do a photo booth for us the night of and I couldn’t have been more pleased with the shots.  I have gained a friend in Jessica, and I really hope that I get a chance to have her take my photos again in the future.

I’d recommend to her anyone for any type of photography! She does it all!

please  check out her website (link above!) to see images from our wedding! Here is one of my favorites though :)

 

DJ:  Hello DJ (Lisa Ng & Husband)

Score: 10/10

From day one, I knew Lisa was going to be a fantastic DJ. She has the best personality; that is fun, outgoing and a love for music. Lisa was kind enough to come to the venue when I was in Toronto the year before, and we discussed what type of vision we had in mind. We did the same closer to the wedding date, and I felt more than confident that Lisa would get it done – and she did! Her husband and her were both fantastic during the night, playing all the music we wanted to hear and even had a great way to deter “clinking glasses”.  She even put up with the drunk bride a few times (thanks Lisa!).

Lisa was also another vendor that gladly moved our deposit over to the following year.

Highly recommended to other brides who want a young, fun hip DJ!

 

Florist: Eco Stems

Score: 10/10

Joe, the owner of Eco Stems couldn’t have been a better florist. When I first started looking, I was worried that I wouldn’t find quality flowers within my budget. Once speaking with Joe, and see his previous work for another bride, I knew that he would be able to provide beautiful arrangements that not only fit our budget, but that would fit the look we wanted for the wedding. The day before the wedding while making a payment, I got to see my BEAUTIFUL bouquet, and couldn’t have been happier with it. The day of, the flowers were gorgeous. Everyone couldn’t stop commenting on them all night, and everyone wanted to take them home. We had them at the house the week following the wedding, and they lasted for the entire week. The quality of the flowers, and the care that Joe took into making the different pieces for the wedding showed that he cared about providing his brides with an excellent service, and I really couldn’t have been any happier with my choice to use him.

Recommended to everyone and anyone who wants an amazing florist!

And a few photos of the amazing work Joe did!

 

 

 

 

 

 

Thanks in advance!

soo frustrating. i used to be able to log in and browse/add items and for the past few weeks it has not been working. of course, customer service are HELPLESS and just tell me to go to the store and update it there... but what if i don't want to do that?! grrrr..

am i alone in this battle vs. the registries?? 

All feedback would be greatly appreciated! :)

Our plan is to get married now at Toronto's city hall and have an all-out Catholic wedding after graduation and we're no longer starving students. I did the initial calculations of the marriage license and ceremony/officiant/music fee which is kind of the whole central thing. I'm buying a short white prom dress for a couple hundred dollars and my future mother-in-law used to do hair for high-end fashion shows so I don't have to spend a ton at a salon. We have photographer friends so they can do our pictures for free.

But what I wanna know is about after the ceremony. We can't afford an entire reception so what are some low budget ideas that we can use where we can have some fun and just enjoy being with our friends and family. We're thinking 15 people and like I said, we're starving students so it has to be relatively easy on the wallet. Thank you! :)

I am getting married February 23, 2013.I am looking for either a candle alter, or branch/twig alter - but, I am having a hard time finding such things. Would anyone know how to locate such an alter or arch?

Below are some examples of what I like: