Nicole & Mike had a classic & elegant wedding at St. Peter’s Cathedral and Sunningdale Golf & Country Club. Every detail was perfect, thanks to a creative & organized bride. It was a beautiful day and absolutely love some of the images we captured – one has since placed second in the Professional Wedding Photographers Of Canada’s quarterly image contest! Congrats Nicole & Mike! Also, a big thank you to videographers Honey & Dear for being so great to work with!
– Heather
Describe the vision/theme you had for your wedding in 5 words or less: Classic, Elegant, Gold, Champagne & Vintage
What are you favorite memories of your wedding day?
Bride: There are too many favourites to choose! I have so many memories of the day that stand out – going to the salon with my girls and then seeing them in their dresses looking like models straight from a magazine; making my dad cry a little when he saw his little girl wearing pearls & a lace gown; my family and friends smiling at me, and feeling their love and support was amazing… but I have to say that my most memorable moment was seeing Mike take a huge deep breath and smile at me as I was walking down the aisle with my dad. I think he was shaking a little (he did look a little pale) but once we were holding hands standing there, he told me everything got a little better for him because I was there by his side!
Groom:My favorite part of the day would hands down be the first time I saw Nicole when she started her procession down the aisle of the church. She was so absolutely stunning, gorgeous and she looked so happy. I hadn’t seen her dress until that point and it was perfect and exactly how I imagined it looking. I am pretty sure that it’s an image that is forever burned into my memory. I may have got a bit choked up when I saw her. There are so many other great memories too, but one other that stands out in my mind would be the drive over to the church. The old truck was running like a top and the skies had cleared and it looked like it was going to be the perfect weather for a wedding. I looked over to my brother (best man) in the passenger seat and told him “It’s great day to get married”. And it truly was a great day.
Best wedding related decision: Bride: I think the best wedding decision that we made was to give ourselves plenty of time for planning. We had an 18 month engagement, and we really utilized the inital months to do tons of research, define our vision, make a plan and then execute. It really made the decision making easier, since we knew exactly what we wanted to achieve. Groom: I also think that the same day edit wedding video was a great decision. It gave me a glimpse into Nicole’s morning, and helped some of the “little moments” shine through. I think I have watched it atleast a dozen times since the wedding.
Favourite detail: Bride: I had five favourite details that were made for me by special people! My family friend and talented florist Ian (McKellars Flowers in Sarnia) created an absolutely stunning bouquet of roses, peonies, freesia and hypericum berries – it was my favourite accessory and it held my something blue – a family heirloom rosary, passed on for 4 generations! Next was our cake, created by Martha (Every Occasion Cakes) which was not only stunning, but absolutely delicious! I’m excited that we were able to save some for our anniversary and the first Baby White’s Christening. After the ceremony, I changed my veil for a custom fascinator made by Nicole McInnes of Oh Dina! – I love that it was modern but classic all at the same time with pearls, feathers and teardrop shape. The most detailed and creative items were the hand drawn table numbers created by my amazing sister-in-law Nina! I asked her for vintage photo frames, and she completely came through in a totally unique and 100% hand drawn design… so talented! Last, but most certainly the most thoughtful was a charm containing a picture of my Nana that my friend Kelli gave to me the night before the wedding “so that she can be with you tomorrow”, she said… we both cried, but it was wonderful to have a picture of my Nana with me.
Groom: My favorite detail of the wedding was probably Nicole’s dress. Amazing.
Advice for future brides & grooms: Bride: Our wedding was in London, which is a considerable distance from where we currently live. We had a few momentary “we’re crazy for getting married 400km away” thoughts during the planning process, but working with great vendors and by planning our weekends thoroughly, we were able to get the most out of our time spent in London. If you’re wondering why we chose to get married close to our hometowns instead of where we currently live, it was all about knowing a local wedding would be easiest for our friends & family to attend, rather than all of our guests trekking to Kingston. However, for anyone considering planning from a distance: be prepared that you will require extreme organization, will spend a lot more time e-mailing and talking on the phone with your vendors (rather than in-person meetings) and most of all, your friends & families must be understanding that some of your weekends at ‘home’ are actually for wedding planning purposes (and are not going to be used for visiting or socialization of any kind : ) I remember a weekend where we arrived at my parents at 11pm Friday night, said hi, went to bed and were out of the house at 7am on Saturday for a day FULL of wedding-related appointments, only to return aroud 6pm for dinner… and repeated the next day before heading back to Kingston. Our social lives suffered a little bit when we were really busy, and I think our families missed us, but the big party at the end was absolutely worth it! Try and find a good balance if you choose to get married in your hometown, but are living in another city. Set aside a weekend here or there for wedding purposes, but make sure you take time to have dinner with your fam, and see your friends for coffee too – they’re just as excited about you getting married, and will want to hear all about your plans!
Groom: One bit of advice that I would give future grooms is that your bride is going to try and take on an awful lot during the planning of the wedding. Your job is to do your best to be as supportive as you can, ask questions, try and be involved. It is a day for both of you.
Would you change anything if you could do it all over again? Bride (with a little editing from the Groom): The wedding day itself felt absolutely perfect! All of the time we spent planning was worth it, and all of the elements that we had arranged were beautiful. We mentioned before that we worked with great vendors, and that really helped since their products were stunning and they definitely understood the vision we were after. There isn’t anything that we planned that we would change! Anything that didn’t go as well as we would have liked was out of our hands. There were a handful of actions and choices of other people that we would have liked to have gone differently, but the reality is that you can’t make choices for them or anticipate that they’ll deviate from your expectations. We did our best to deal with the situations as they came up though, and I think we did a good job of avoiding disaster : ) Some quick examples: we had to find replacement wedding favours at the last minute because the ones we were given weren’t what we had asked for – thankfully I know a pastry chef and she saved the day! Two guests wore white outfits – who does that?! Mike’s grandmother missed the ceremony because there was a miscommunication (or the person responsible for picking her up forgot to, we’ll never know) but she arrived in time for photos. A more unfortunate event was that one of the speeches offend a lot of people, including us, but our MC really saved the situation though by having transitions prepared between the speechs (jokes and anectodes). That, and she got my parents up to the podium as fast as possible – they had an amazing (and hilarious) speech that changed the tone from dreary to cheery, and lightend up the crowd : ) So, even though everything we did and planned was perfect, we chalked up all of those things to human error, and that it could have happened to anyone. Ultimately we didn’t allow anyone else’s drama or less-than-stellar actions ruin it for us, which in hindsight was the best way that we could have handled them. I think a lot of that had to do with the fact that the only people we wanted to make happy were each other – Mike and I had an absolutely amazing day, that is what really mattered and is what we’ll remember!
Best surprise of the day: Bride: My dad gave me a beautiful pearl necklace and matching diamond and pearl earrings that he designed for me, with the help of his friends at Grandis Jewlers in Petrolia. I had gone with him to the store to research what I liked, but the first time I saw them was on the wedding day – and they were absolutely stunning! I felt like a very spoiled one-and-only daughter : ) Other than my gorgeous accessories, there weren’t too many surprises (I planned everything afterall), yet I was really impressed with our Same Day Edit wedding video by Honey & Dear – it was better than I could have ever imagined, our guests were amazed and I think I’ve watched it 50 times since the wedding! I do have to pat myself on the back however, for being the mastermind of the day’s most important and greatest surprise… just before the ceremony, my accomplices gave Mike an envelope that contained an owner’s manual to a 1960 Dodge Dart Pioneer, a vintage car of his own! Eventhough I wasn’t there to see his reaction at receiving his gift, one of the first things he said to me during a quiet moment at the church at the alter, after a “you look beautiful”, was “when can we pick up the car?”, and I knew that he loved it!
Groom: Yup, the surprise of the car was the best!
Favorite HRM picture from the day (and why?): Its really hard to choose just one favourite picture… mine is our kiss at the altar, Mike’s favourite is with the red truck when he’s kissing my hand : ) Awe!
Anything else you’d like to add: We both would like to extend Heather & Holly a massive THANK YOU! for the beautiful photos of our wedding day. The first time I looked at the photos, I couldn’t stop smiling. The pictures show true joy, happiness and love, not only between us, but also in the faces of my family and friends who shared the day with us. Holly, you were the sweetest by lending me your flats when we were taking photos in the field… I think I owe you a pair of shoes! Heather, I’m looking forward to sharing more milestones with you – I simply am in love with how you capture life! xo to you both!
VENDORS: Ceremony Location – St. Peter’s Cathedral Basilica, London, ON | Reception Location – Sunningdale Golf & Country Club, London, ON | Cake – Every Occasion Cakes by Martha Zaccharias, Grandma’s Oven Bakery, Aylmer, ON | Dress (designer and/or store) – gown and veil by Enzoani – Becker’s Bridal, Toronto, ON | Fascinator, “Fern” by Nicole McInnes, Oh Dina! Toronto, ON | Jewlery (custom) pearl necklace and earrings by Grandis Jewlers, Petrolia, ON | Clutch (custom) ivory damask with ivory & champagne flower by OatmealLace Designs, Etsy.com | Hanger (custom) ‘Bride’ and ‘Bridesmaid’ by blackscrapcat, Etsy.com | Bridesmaids dresses by Bill Levkoff, netbride.com | Wedding Planners – Bernadette Taylor (mom), Anne Donovan (aunt) & the bride! | Flowers/Decorator – Florist: Ian Nailer, McKellar’s Flowers Sarnia, ON | Decor: Jackie Philips, To Suit Your Fancy, London, ON | Table Numbers & Seating Chart: custom by Nina Polidoro | Hair/Makeup – Hair: Joy Ouellette, Toppers International, Sarnia, ON | Makeup: Side Street Salon, London, ON | Caterer – JoAnne Hosack, Sunningdale Golf & Country Club, London, ON | DJ – Kevin Graham, Soundmaster DJ, Toronto, ON | Videographer – Andrew & Emily Sorlie, Honey & Dear, Barrie, ON | Limo – Grandeur Limosine, London, ON | Chivari Chairs – A&B party rentals, London ON | Harpist – Georgia Marsh, London, ON | Organist – Dr. Ronald Fox, London, ON | Cantor – Cathryn Hall, London, ON | First dance choreographer – Jazz Munteau, (Sweden) Kingston, ON
WEDDING SONGS: Processional Bridesmaid’s processional – ‘Jesu Joy of Man’s Desiring’, J.S. Bach; Bridal processional – ‘Canon in D’, J. Pachelbel | Recessional ‘Wedding March’ from a Midsummer Night’s Dream, F. Mendelssohn | Entrance ‘I gotta feeling’, Black Eyed Peas | First Dance ‘The Way you Look Tonight’, Frank Sinatra | Parent Dances ‘Walk with You’, Edwin McCain (Father & Daughter), ‘Simple Man’, Kappa Danielson (Mother & Son)
Nicole is definitely a shoe girl!
A very exciting gift from his bride-to-be!
Favorite HRM picture from the day (and why?): Its really hard to choose just one favourite picture… mine is our kiss at the altar (below), Mike’s favourite is with the red truck when he’s kissing my hand : ) Awww!
Favorite HRM picture from the day (and why?): Its really hard to choose just one favourite picture… mine is our kiss at the altar, Mike’s favourite is with the red truck when he’s kissing my hand : ) Awe! (below)
