JOLENE & CRAIG
Where: Fields On West Lake, Bloomfield Ontario
When: September 2017
Bridal Gown: Lillian West, purchased at Lovebird Bridal Boutique
Photography: Niche Photography ~ Nikki Rennie
Officiant: Ceremonies Unlimited, Peter Norman
Florals: Janet’s Wedding Flowers
Catering: Jack The Happy Chef (Everyone raved about the food… absolutely FANTASTIC! By far one of our very best choices for our wedding day!)
Brides Hair: Divine Hair Studio, Brianna Sharpe
Makeup: Lace Face Makeup Artistry, Lacey Lalonde
Transportation: Marshall Limo Bus Services
When: September 2017
Bridal Gown: Lillian West, purchased at Lovebird Bridal Boutique
Photography: Niche Photography ~ Nikki Rennie
Officiant: Ceremonies Unlimited, Peter Norman
Florals: Janet’s Wedding Flowers
Catering: Jack The Happy Chef (Everyone raved about the food… absolutely FANTASTIC! By far one of our very best choices for our wedding day!)
Brides Hair: Divine Hair Studio, Brianna Sharpe
Makeup: Lace Face Makeup Artistry, Lacey Lalonde
Transportation: Marshall Limo Bus Services
The Inspiration: My husband and I absolutely love Prince Edward County. We had our second date (a whole 12 hours long might I add) in the County. We experienced ‘Taste of the County’ together where we tasted a variety of the county’s culinary specialties and cheeses paired with local vineyards wines and local breweries beers. Afterwards, we went to Waupoos Winery where we selected a bottle of wine together, to put away and share some day (which we later decided would be saved for a special occasion). Dinner was next at Lake on the Mountain, which was absolutely delicious. We finished the night off with a country concert under the stars. We knew from that point on that we were serious about dating one another. It was an amazing full day together, and it made PEC that much more special for us.
When we decided to get married we knew the County was the place to make it happen! My husband proposed in April and told me that he wanted to get married that same year, so the pressure was on! It worked out perfectly because I LOVE the fall season best and planning a wedding in 5 months meant I didn’t have time to let my indecisive ways get the best of me. It all came together beautifully. I wanted ‘rustic elegance’ to be my theme- the venue being the rustic element with all my decor to fill the rustic space to create an elegant ambiance. If you know me, then you know that I love everything in shades of white, creams and soft greys. So sticking with a monochromatic colour scheme kept everything simple, yet timeless. I didn’t want to look back in 10-20 years and wonder why I did something too trendy or too off the cusp. My husband Craig and I went to look at Fields on West Lake first, and we knew immediately that we could envision our special day and all of our close friends and family filling up that beautiful venue. We didn’t give it a second thought. And because we were late in the year already, there were no Saturdays left, so we opted for a Friday mid-September. And from that point on, everything just came together to make our day absolutely PERFECT!
Moments to Remember: The one thing you cannot control is the weather. After a summer full of rain, I was worried but we sure lucked out with our mid-September wedding. It was a beautiful day, and it felt like the summer we had never had. I was so thankful that we were able to follow our plans of an outdoor ceremony and cocktail hour. We got so many beautiful outdoor photos, some taken at sunset with the farm fields and natural setting as our spectacular backdrop. And best of all was that our sweet dog Wrigley was able to attend the outdoor ceremony in his role as “Best Dog”.
We chose not to do first-looks that day. Craig wanted to see me for the first time coming down the aisle, traditional style. Seeing one another for the first time that day filled us with excitement and butterflies all at once. A feeling that truly cannot be put into words, but will forever be something we remember about our day. The most funny and unexpected part of the day was at the reception. In order to get the bride and groom to kiss, guests had to share a funny story about one of us. My niece came up with the mic and told an embarrassing story of Craig loving Taylor Swift’s “Shake it off” song. Before we knew it, the song was queued up by the DJ and we were dancing to the catchy tune with all 7 of our nieces and nephews (all of which were our flower girls and ring bearers). It was caught on camera and video, and it was completely spontaneous and adorable!
Jolene & Craig's Advice: EVERYONE told us to enjoy the day because it flies by so fast. My husband and I are pretty sentimental people who both thought we would take moments throughout the day to ourselves to enjoy and take it all in, but it completely flew by! At lightening speed! So my best advice is to try not to have EVERY single minute of your day accounted for so that you have those ‘free moments’ to just relish and enjoy, and look around to take in all your hard work, with gratitude and appreciation. Be open to a Friday Wedding! It wasn’t what we had originally wanted, but it was perfect. Many of our guests loved the idea of taking a long weekend, where after leaving our wedding they still had their full weekends to enjoy. Plus, the venue and many of the vendors were less expensive when booking on a Friday versus a Saturday. So definitely don’t rule out a Friday wedding. After all, TGIF!
And lastly, hire a wedding planner (I didn’t but wished I had) because then you can let them deal with a lot of the “busy” work involved in decision-making and organizing your day. I planned every single detail and it was exactly what I wanted, but consequently I was left with less time and energy to enjoy the actual wedding planning process. Your big day requires SO much preparation, all for one day that is truly over in a flash, so make sure you remember to enjoy the process leading up to and during your special day as well. After all, it is one of the best days of your life! Xo
When we decided to get married we knew the County was the place to make it happen! My husband proposed in April and told me that he wanted to get married that same year, so the pressure was on! It worked out perfectly because I LOVE the fall season best and planning a wedding in 5 months meant I didn’t have time to let my indecisive ways get the best of me. It all came together beautifully. I wanted ‘rustic elegance’ to be my theme- the venue being the rustic element with all my decor to fill the rustic space to create an elegant ambiance. If you know me, then you know that I love everything in shades of white, creams and soft greys. So sticking with a monochromatic colour scheme kept everything simple, yet timeless. I didn’t want to look back in 10-20 years and wonder why I did something too trendy or too off the cusp. My husband Craig and I went to look at Fields on West Lake first, and we knew immediately that we could envision our special day and all of our close friends and family filling up that beautiful venue. We didn’t give it a second thought. And because we were late in the year already, there were no Saturdays left, so we opted for a Friday mid-September. And from that point on, everything just came together to make our day absolutely PERFECT!
Moments to Remember: The one thing you cannot control is the weather. After a summer full of rain, I was worried but we sure lucked out with our mid-September wedding. It was a beautiful day, and it felt like the summer we had never had. I was so thankful that we were able to follow our plans of an outdoor ceremony and cocktail hour. We got so many beautiful outdoor photos, some taken at sunset with the farm fields and natural setting as our spectacular backdrop. And best of all was that our sweet dog Wrigley was able to attend the outdoor ceremony in his role as “Best Dog”.
We chose not to do first-looks that day. Craig wanted to see me for the first time coming down the aisle, traditional style. Seeing one another for the first time that day filled us with excitement and butterflies all at once. A feeling that truly cannot be put into words, but will forever be something we remember about our day. The most funny and unexpected part of the day was at the reception. In order to get the bride and groom to kiss, guests had to share a funny story about one of us. My niece came up with the mic and told an embarrassing story of Craig loving Taylor Swift’s “Shake it off” song. Before we knew it, the song was queued up by the DJ and we were dancing to the catchy tune with all 7 of our nieces and nephews (all of which were our flower girls and ring bearers). It was caught on camera and video, and it was completely spontaneous and adorable!
Jolene & Craig's Advice: EVERYONE told us to enjoy the day because it flies by so fast. My husband and I are pretty sentimental people who both thought we would take moments throughout the day to ourselves to enjoy and take it all in, but it completely flew by! At lightening speed! So my best advice is to try not to have EVERY single minute of your day accounted for so that you have those ‘free moments’ to just relish and enjoy, and look around to take in all your hard work, with gratitude and appreciation. Be open to a Friday Wedding! It wasn’t what we had originally wanted, but it was perfect. Many of our guests loved the idea of taking a long weekend, where after leaving our wedding they still had their full weekends to enjoy. Plus, the venue and many of the vendors were less expensive when booking on a Friday versus a Saturday. So definitely don’t rule out a Friday wedding. After all, TGIF!
And lastly, hire a wedding planner (I didn’t but wished I had) because then you can let them deal with a lot of the “busy” work involved in decision-making and organizing your day. I planned every single detail and it was exactly what I wanted, but consequently I was left with less time and energy to enjoy the actual wedding planning process. Your big day requires SO much preparation, all for one day that is truly over in a flash, so make sure you remember to enjoy the process leading up to and during your special day as well. After all, it is one of the best days of your life! Xo
A big congratulations to Jolene and Craig from all of us here at LBB! xo