Couple:

Jaclyn & Colin

Location:

Sequel Inn, Creemore

From the Photographer:

This is a beautiful natural venue to shoot in, I love the closeness of the river for a little couple escape after the ceremony. It creates an intimate environment for the guests being set away from everything else. The roaming chickens and campfire, the big open fields, all contribute to the feel.

Jaclyn and Colin are a down to earth, kind, genuine couple who were fun and natural with each other. They have a great love for their dog Gibson who was a part of the engagement shoot and the getting ready with the boys. Jaclyn and her dad had a surprise dance that they practiced many times before the night. Jaclyn also surprised her groom with a serenade before the dance began. The details were very thoughtful and creative (many many antique doors went into creating the head table backdrop) but not overstated. It was very fitting to the venue. The wreath style flowers for the bridesmaids were such a creative and interesting touch. Jaclyn has almost a bohemian air about her, she is a very natural beauty with a generous spirit that was obvious from the start. She has a childlike exuberance in the best possible way. Colin is so quiet so that you almost miss a quick wit and wry smile behind it. They felt uncomfortable at the idea of being photographed but we had a winter engagement shoot at sequel where we wandered on snow covered back roads and into fields, there was a lot of laughter and that allowed for a more relaxed wedding day, they trusted me completely and were able to just enjoy the celebration and joining of their families.

From the Couple:

How did you choose your venue?: The Sequel Inn - The most beautiful venue I’ve ever seen! Colin works on the site doing the irrigation and landscape lighting. Years ago before this place became a wedding venue, I told Colin I wanted to get married there. The Garden of Eden has a special place in our heart. This location just up the road was Colin and mines second date. As well, his grandfather use to have a hobby farm at the very location. In remembrance we had a sign put up with his name. Lisa and Eric worked really hard and it showed. It was amazing to have a venue who organized and dealt with all the small things. This allowed us to work on other areas like building back drops and making photo collages. The food, from appetizers, dinner and dessert, was extraordinary!

What was the most important thing for you for your wedding day?: The most important thing for us was that everyone enjoyed themselves. From the ceremony, food, drinks, music, campfire, and surprise performances. We wanted our guests to have the most fun. What was amazing, after our wedding we had so many compliments about everything. It was a really good feeling to know how many people enjoyed our wedding day.

Please describe any unique details from your day and why they were special to you: We did a lot of repurposing with our floral. We had flowers at the ceremony, on the wooden arbour. After the ceremony the florist brought these to the tent and laid them out on the head table beautifully. As well the bridesmaids had hoop bouquets with some greenery and flowers. They were repurposed and hung on the doors behind the head table. Another unique thing we had at our wedding was a bonfire. We had a s’mores station set up by some muskoka chairs. It was a nice quiet area for people to go to chat with one another.

What was the atmosphere you were trying to create?: We wanted to create a boho country wedding. Lots of greenery, and natural decor items. We found old doors that was made into the head table back drop and a picture booth. As well we used large window panes for the seating chart and doing picture collages of ourselves when we were young. As well as a memorial table and pictures of our grandparents on their wedding days. We worked on making our signed, planning, cutting and staining. We had a friend of ours do all the writing for the signs. She painted them all by hand. The venue is already beautiful with the land and the barn. It wasn’t hard to make our dream come a reality.

What area of your wedding did you splurge on? (what was your top priority): I would say we probably splurged on food, we wanted to ensure everyone enjoyed their meal. I would say one of the most important things at a wedding is the food. It’s something that people do remember.

What was your biggest challenge in the planning process?: Trying to stay in our budget was maybe our biggest challenge. We ended up spending more then we intended.

What area of your wedding did you save on?: We did saved a lot on decor. I found some great deals at Michael’s with 70% off on most of the items I purchased. Which was amazing as we weren’t allowed to have candles that burned. So I got enough artificial flickering candles of various sizes for a great price. As well I did some thrift shopping and was able to find so many clear glass vases in various styles and sizes. We were also fortunate to have family and friends that had items were were able to borrow. Such as an antique couch, some plants, large bird cage for cards, etc. Repurposing decor in different areas also helped save on extra costs.

What wedding advice would you give to someone planning their wedding now?: I would say don’t stress about the little things. Even if things aren’t working out they way you planned, it will all work out in the end. Also if you can have someone help with organizing and planning the day. Having our wedding planner really helped us out. On the day of the wedding I didn’t have to worry about table settings, floral, etc. I was able to enjoy getting ready without having to think about what needed to be done.

What was your most memorable moment of the day?: For myself it would be my surprise singing acoustic performance to Colin. I’ve always thought it would be fun to serenade him. I sang a song by Emerson Drive “That kind of beautiful” He was very surprised as I kept it a secret for months and very little people knew about it. Normally I would be terrified to do something like that but I just focused on him and made it through.