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Couple:

JOANNA & DAN

Location:

Serenity Cottage, Annan

From the Photographer:

We're excited about this feature because we’re a husband and wife photography team and one of the reason’s we remember this wedding so well is because they share the same wedding date as us (June 15)! It was a unique wedding because the groom is from the UK so there were many family members and friends, also from the UK, that were at the cottage.

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From the couple:

How did you choose your venue?: As my husband is originally from England we started our search in both Canada and England. We knew we wanted a venue that felt authentic and that we could add our own touches to.

As we were looking to organize most of the wedding ourselves without a planner we opted for a Canadian venue. It meant we had easier access to suppliers and could see the venue for ourselves and get a sense of the space to see what size wedding we could realistically have as well as for decorating and setting out the wedding day itinerary.

We had called a few places but hadn’t fallen in love with anything. When Serenity cottage came up and they had a weekend free, we jumped at the chance. When we first met, Dan and I went to a cottage for Labour Day weekend for his birthday. Since then it has become a bit of a tradition to do that every year with friends and family. We wanted to share that with all of the guests. We also loved that people could have the comfort of a cottage, with views of Georgian bay, and a small forest walkway. We could create an ethereal feeling that still felt grounded and authentic. Needless to say we booked the weekend immediately!

What was the most important thing for you for your wedding day?: We wanted our guests to have fun. As well as us. We had people from England coming to visit and we really wanted to give them a true Canadian cottage weekend.

Having the ceremony outdoors was also important. Dan was checking the weather religiously that day. Rain was in the forecast and it was raining from when we woke up and continued while we got ready. So we asked for the wedding to be taken from the patio by the waters edge to inside the cottage. The florist and the musicians hauled everything inside as guests were arriving in the rain. All of the guests were huddled inside the top floor living space and about 15 minutes before the ceremony was due to start, the rain stopped and we made the call to go outside. Out went the flowers, and the musicians and others wiped all the chairs dry so we could have it outside, bless them all. The sun came out strong just after the ceremony. We couldn’t have been luckier!

Please describe any unique details from your day and why they were special to you: With only 40 guests the dinner was very intimate. The speeches came from all over the room from family and friends and the plated service elevated the atmosphere and kept everyone in the moment. We planned this wedding intentionally, we roped in our closest family to help set up the decorations the day before. As this was the first time some of the family had got together it was a great way for everyone to get to know each other. And they got to feel involved in the creation of the day itself!

What was the atmosphere you were trying to create?: On a visual level we wanted an ethereal forest style theme, but also to include many personal touches throughout the wedding that felt genuine to us. We hand crafted a family tree with wedding photos from our parents and our grandparents. We also had a Polaroid wall where people could take their own photos and pin them up as the day went along.

What area of your wedding did you splurge on? (what was your top priority): Good food was important to us. We wanted people to be well fed, and the service attentive. We splurged on our budget here.

The venue was also important. As we had it for three days for family to stay in during the weekend this was also a big spend. We really wanted to give the newcomers a taste of what it’s like to go to a Canadian cottage.

What area of your wedding did you save on?: Pretty much every aspect that wasn’t a service. Decorations we bought ourselves at the thrift store or made them. The drinks were supplied by us. These were the biggest savings for the day.

Also, the music was all created by us on Spotify! We had a dinner play list, a first dance playlist and a party playlist. All played through a speaker onsite. We didn’t really need a big setup and it worked just fine.

What wedding advice would you give to someone planning their wedding now?: If you don’t get a wedding planner, at least get a ‘day of’ coordinator. It would have made the day much less stressful.

We approached our day as big family event. I took on a lot of the responsibility myself, which I wanted. I would advise anyone planning a wedding like this to give yourself plenty of time. Your day comes so fast. We had 11 months of DIY projects. Designing all of the stationery, from the invites to menus, cards, in-room hampers, the list goes on and on!

What was your most memorable moment of the day?: I think we mentioned a lot of our favourite moments above but we also took a lot of moments to ourselves throughout the day to make sure we could take everything in. It was important for us to be able to stop and just watch people having a good time.

What was your biggest challenge in the planning process?: Finding the right vendors to work with. They had to be a good fit for us and understand the kind of day we wanted. Amy, from O&B, who helped plan the food and service was especially helpful. She went above and beyond though organizing staff to help with a number of extra things during the day.