Couple:

Stephanie & Kevin

Location:

Historic Leith church & Bayshore Community Centre

From the Photographer:

This wedding will always stay with me. Even when I’m old and grey, I am going to think about the NYE wedding that had us out in the middle of a blizzard at Hibou Conservation area, photographing on the edge of turquoise Georgian Bay with Stephanie with no jacket, and Kevin’s cheeks rosy from the biting wind. I fell in love with these two the moment I met them at Tim Horton’s. (oh how Canadian of us) We chatted over tea and timbits (there may not have been timbits, but I’m going to re-work my memories to say there were). Steph & Kevin are down to earth, big hearted humans who love each other deeply and chirp each other with such fondness. In other words, my kinda people. The emotion throughout the day, especially between Stephanie and her dad still get me right in the ticker. Their trust and openness to all my crazy ideas (including stealing onto the Owen Sound Attack’s ice part way through their reception) is unmatched. I may have lost my favourite glove in the middle of the blizzard, but I scored two great friends, so I think I won this round.

From the Couple:

How did you choose your venue?: For the wedding ceremony we chose the Historic Leith Church, partly because Kevin grew up in Leith and was familiar with venue, but largely because of its beauty, history and presence in the area. The quaint and small setting was illuminated by a late afternoon sun through the large bright windows, and it was very special to see all of our guests gathered in such an intimate space!

The wedding reception was held at the Bayshore Community Centre in Owen Sound. We chose this venue for its location to the waterfront, as well as the convenience it offered guests with proximity to all sorts of accommodations and amenities for their stay.The Bay Room at the Bayshore has a beautiful water view, and on a dark and stormy New Year's Eve night, the lights across the harbour made for a scenic backdrop to the party!

What was the most important thing for you for your wedding day?: The most significant thing for us on our wedding day was to celebrate with the people we love the most. It was important to us that our guests felt as much a part of the day as we did. We also wanted to throw a great New Year's Eve party, and leave the formalities that a wedding can sometimes carry at the door!

What was the atmosphere you were trying to create?: We wanted to create an intimate and relaxed atmosphere for our wedding day. We wanted a simple ceremony, with a relaxing dinner and wild party to follow - an elegant and fun New Year's Eve!

What area of your wedding did you splurge on? (what was your top priority): Our top priority for our wedding day was photography - we wanted to ensure that we had a photographic record of this day for ourselves that was as organic and natural as possible (with, of course, some formalities like family photos that we are happy we have!!). Frances and Joel delivered in a big way, and offered so much support and guidance throughout the day that we were very grateful to have. In hindsight, many of the most fun moments came from having photos taken and truly appreciating each other's company and absorbing the present moment.

Our biggest splurge for the wedding was, without a doubt, the Honeymoon...2 weeks in Costa Rica to collect ourselves could never have been long enough!

What area of your wedding did you save on?: For our wedding day, we researched vendors and services heavily, and what we found was that locally available vendors were very well priced and very experienced in their craft. We feel as though we saved not only money but also coordination time, and stress by hiring excellent local vendors that delivered entirely as expected. In terms of financial savings, we saved by choosing the Leith Church and The Bayshore as our venues - both are very reasonably priced, and provided everything we needed for a successful day. We also saved by keeping our wedding menu relatively simple, but delicious (all thanks to Green Door Cafe, who provided excellent options), and having our own liquor licence and hired bar staff for the event (thank you, Leanne!). These choices helped save us money, without compromising on quality, for our guests.

Another way in which we saved: Stephanie's mother handmade all the table numbers, the guestbooks, the notebooks on each table, the card box and the bows at the church. It meant a lot to have these pieces that were handmade with love incorporated into our big day.

Please describe any unique details from your day and why they were special to you: After our wedding ceremony, we slipped away from the crowd for photos of just the two of us. Frances suggested we take advantage of the amazing scenery of Hibou Conservation Area, and this turned out to be the most intimate portion of the day for us. It was a huge relief to be married and free, and we felt so relaxed by this point, that we spent an hour just having fun together in the snowy weather and taking photos.

We also share a wedding anniversary date with Kevin's parents, which added a special significance to the day. Stephanie was fortunate to have been given some heirloom jewelry from her Oma for the wedding day, and she wore it with pride and gave it new life as her Oma had intended.

What was your biggest challenge in the planning process?: An unexpected challenge that came to us during the planning process was planning an event in which we were the centre of attention in a large group of people. This was a strange social hurdle to overcome, but was easily overcame as we realized that our guest list was made up of the people we care for most in the world, and would support us through any discomfort felt for the formality of a wedding celebration. The love and support of our guests ultimately made our wedding day the special day that it was, and quickly erased our anxieties.

What wedding advice would you give to someone planning their wedding now?: Remember that your wedding day is simply YOUR day. Enjoy it, for everything that it is. Many people will have opinions, suggestions, critiques etc. along the way, but your choices are the best choices because they are yours alone.

What was your first dance song?: Otis Redding - That's How Strong My Love Is

What was your most memorable moment of the day?: The entire day was full of great memories, but a few memorable standouts: Photos at Hibou, kissing at centre ice in the Bayshore, and forgetting to book ourselves a ride home after the reception in a snow storm on New Year's Eve...