Couple:

Erin & Nic

Location:

Private Vineyard, Manatoulin Island

From the Photographer:

I've known Erin (the bride) for many many years, and so this elopement is very near and dear to my heart. I'm so excited to see this day featured because I know just how tough it was for Erin and Nic to finally be married! They went from their Plan A wedding, to Plan B, to Plan C, all in a matter of months. Covid restrictions really threw them for a loop, and these two overcame SO much just to finally say their vows. I am so proud of them for crafting a day that truly reflected who they are, and I am beyond honoured to have been part of their teeny celebration!

The day was quite unique in many ways. The fact that the property itself is the couple's very own private vineyard and no one has ever been married there before was one of the coolest aspects. And instead of doing formal portraits of the couple after the ceremony, Erin and Nic took me vegetable picking instead (and even sent me home with fresh veggies from their beautiful garden). Actually, we didn't do any formal photos whatsoever (not even family photos), as the couple really just wanted their day documented exactly how it happened - this was the first wedding I ever photographed without those traditional family portraits and it was amazing! Their puppy Ruby was their ring bearer, which was also quite a special aspect. And even the idea of doing their first dance on the big rock they were married on, surrounded by their family holding up sparklers was a unique element that really made their day beautiful.

- Lauren, Lauren McCormick Photography

From the Couple:

How did you choose your venue?: To accommodate the 120 guests we had originally invited to our wedding, we chose the Inn at Gore Bay on the west end of Manitoulin Island. It is a cute, rustic lodge on the water with beautiful views of Lake Huron, a great chef, and lots of space for all our guests. We had discussed the idea of hosting the wedding at our own vineyard property, but decided it would be too challenging for our big numbers. Then Covid happened...

After we started navigating the covid restrictions and decided to move forward with a tiny elopement, we knew right away that it was our chance to get married at the vineyard. The vineyard gave us views of our grapevines, green hills rolling down to the lake, and the white quartz outcroppings that spot the property. The location was sentimental to us because it's where our life has happened; it holds many memories and milestones for us as a couple. We actually got married on the same patch of rock where Nic proposed to me one year earlier.

What was the most important thing for you for your wedding day?: Sharing our vows for each other with our family by our side.

Please describe any unique details from your day and why they were special to you: Getting married at our vineyard and having our Bernese puppy (Ruby) deliver the rings. She was a bit of a handful but it made for a lot of laughs, and she was adorable.

Taking Lauren on a garden tour for pictures. Nic loves his garden a lot more than he loves getting photographed, so instead of traditional couple pictures, we just toured Lauren around the vineyard. We picked tomatoes and cucumbers from the garden and played in the grapevines as the sunset over the lake.

Eloping with only our 8 immediate family members made for the most intimate ceremony. Our family stood so close to us and were involved the whole time. Each of our moms read a poem and everyone chimed in during our vows with cheers, laughter, compliments, and some teasing of the groom.

What was the atmosphere you were trying to create?: Romantic and simple. We wanted everything to be casual and easy and wanted to let the natural beauty of landscape be the centrepiece.

We told our family to wear whatever they wanted and stand wherever they liked for the ceremony- there was no strict timeline, order of events, seating, etc. For decorations, we popped some votive candles in mason jars and scattered them around the rocks. Done!

What area of your wedding did you splurge on? (what was your top priority): For our original big wedding, we planned to splurge on a fabulous dinner and an open bar for our guests. Since we only had 8 guests, this changed considerably! The big dinner and bar tab turned into cupcakes and a few bottles of champagne. This made for a slightly smaller bill. Since our overall budget shrank so much, we splurged on little things: I still got a big bridal bouquet and Nic splurged on fancy champagne.

One of my other top priorities from the beginning was having Lauren as our photographer. Even though our 8 person sunset ceremony was short and sweet, I still wanted her there capturing all the memories.

What area of your wedding did you save on?: Because we ended up having the tiny elopement, we ended up saving in a lot of places. All of the costs associated with a large guest list (dinner, drinks, snacks, etc.) disappeared. Our venue was also free since it was our own, and our simple decorations cost next to nothing.

What wedding advice would you give to someone planning their wedding now?: Remember the reason you planned your wedding in the first place. If, like me, the most important thing is to marry the person you love, then know that you can still do that! Once we shifted our mindset, we quickly discovered that smaller didn't mean "less" in any way. In fact, the tiny elopement ended up giving us more of all the best things: more intimacy, more beauty, more time together, more time with our family, (even more money in our pocket!). I still got to wear my beautiful dress, walk down a makeshift "aisle" with my dad, have a first dance, stuff cupcakes into Nic's mouth for the classic "cake picture"; and most importantly, I got to marry the man I love.

What was your most memorable moment of the day?: Dancing to Jack Johnson by candlelight on the rocks and looking out over the vineyard.

What was your biggest challenge in the planning process?: Covid was the obvious challenge for us, but the only thing that was really stressful was deciding if we wanted to postpone or elope. Yes, there was a lot of debating and agonizing over what to do in the beginning, and plenty of calls and emails with my vendors, but once we committed to the elopement, the shift was pretty easy. At the end of the day, I actually had a lot less to do than I would have for the big wedding!

What was your first dance song?: Jack Johnson- Angel / Better together - The Live in Paris album does a mix that sets the two together.