These adorable humans eloped! Melissa contacted me just a few weeks before the big day to ask if I’d photograph her and Andrew’s secret elopement and of course I said yes! We have a bunch of mutual friends and for me to keep this a secret was hard but yet so exciting! Everything was just perfect: an adorable little Victorian B&B and Reif Winery next door made for great photo locations. Side note, can you believe Melissa made her dress? MADE IT!! Her vintage look came together so beautifully from the venue to the hair & makeup. Melissa also had some stunning jewelry that represented the special people in her life that weren’t there. A huge congrats to Melissa and Andrew who currently are living an adventure in China, thank you for letting me be there to capture this memory for you and your loved ones!

-Niki

Describe the vision/theme you had for your wedding in 5 words or less: Intimate, relaxed, classic

What are you favorite memories of your wedding day?
Bride: having an amazing meal, just the two of us (with plenty of wine), on the patio of peller estates.
Groom: seeing Melissa walk towards me

Best wedding related decision: having Niki there to document our elopement!

Favourite detail: We weren’t exactly about details as everything was low key, but the rose petal aisle was pretty wonderful. The b&b manager had some extra petals from a previous wedding in the fridge, and she made an aisle for us on the stone patio, it was the perfect addition! Oh and the wine barrels with the glass vases for the candles. It was all sort of thrown together, but looked incredible!

Advice for future brides & grooms: Don’t stress about details. I went into a florist a few hours before the ceremony and asked for a “loose, white and green bouquet” and she had it ready for me in an hour. It was perfect! But also not having too specific of a design in my head really helped me enjoy everything that much more

Would you change anything if you could do it all over again? I think we should have had some lunch beforehand!

Best surprise of the day: Andrew says the officiant. We found him online a week before because the guy we originally talked to couldn’t make it on a Thursday afternoon. It was short, but very meaningful and he seemed really happy to be there with us for our special day.
Melissa says the menu at peller estates. Every course was a surprise since we chose the 7 course tasting menu, and it was all so delicious!

Favorite HRM picture from the day (and why?): The one after the ceremony where we are walking to sign the marriage certificate (I think it’s in black and white). We are both so happy, Niki captured the moment perfectly.

Anything else you’d like to add: The B&B was the perfect location for the wedding and pictures after. We loved all the gardens and greenery surrounding that beautiful porch. Andrew found it online about a month beforehand, and it was everything I had hoped for.

VENDORS: Ceremony Location: The Grand Victorian B&B, Niagara-on-the-Lake | Reception Location: Peller Estates Winery | Dress: me! I used a pattern for the structure, but made a few changes. My dress cost less than Andrews suit and I made it in just over 1 day!

WEDDING SONGS: First Dance: John Legend, All of Me