Inspiration

Holly and Dani's gorgeous wedding day is just one of the weddings featuring in our soon-to-be released book. If you haven't preordered a copy then you can do so here - there's not long to wait now! Your Day Your Way, written by our founder Charlotte O'Shea and brimming with exclusive styled content from the team, will be out this Thursday! We can hardly contain ourselves for nerves and excitement here at RMW HQ. We really hope you love it. Holly and Dani's wedding made it in the book because we absolute adore the whole thing. Two stunning Brides wearing beautiful dresses, magical styling at super cool venue East Quay AND utterly dreamy couple shots in the Wintery drizzle under umbrellas. After all, what's more romantic than kissing in the rain?! Images come from the wonderful Pen and Cam at Mckinley Rodgers, whose work you'll find on many pages in our book and right here on RMW.

The Dresses

Holly: I was really nervous about finding a dress because I don’t generally dress up much. I had a fairly specific idea of what I wanted - something feminine and a bit glamorous, but that I would still feel like myself in. My first appointment was at Sash and Bustle in Toronto and the staff there immediately put me at ease. They were so friendly and helpful and all the dresses were designed by fresh, up and coming North American designers. I decided on the Eden dress by Truvelle, a designer out of Vancouver, BC. Dani: My dress was created by Lana Lowon (now retired) of Lowon Pope in Toronto. I loved Lana’s shining eccentricity and vintage styles. The experience was very different than the other boutiques I visited. She took control and used her expertise to show me dresses that fit the style I described, but that also would work well with my physique. As someone who was apprehensive about the dress shopping experience, and also quite indecisive, this was fantastic. She also personally handled all of my fittings and her creativity and perfectionism definitely paid off in the final result. I could not have had a better dress shopping experience.

The Accessories

Holly: Olivia the Wolf. The headpiece I selected was a collaboration between Truvelle and Olivia Woolf. What I loved about these two designers is their modern, eclectic approach to designing unique and beautiful pieces. I wanted to find shoes that were both comfortable and as beautiful as the other details we’d put so much thought into. Using the trusty tool of Pinterest I found a pair of gold, sequinned shoes that would complement my dress perfectly but couldn’t find where these shoes were from or where to buy some. After some research, I found Shoes of Prey, an online company based in Australia where you can design your own shoes. I can’t say enough good things about the company - the design process was easy, they arrived quickly, and were just what I had envisioned.

The Venue

Our venue, East Quay, was discovered by Holly’s parents who had attended an event there. They immediately called us and told us how they thought it was so quintessentially us with it’s elegantly casual vibe. Since we live in Canada, we had to make the decision before we saw it in person based on reviews and online pictures. When we did get the chance to see it we were stunned by how perfect it was. Our wedding was in January and with the rainy weather, it was nice to have the ceremony and reception in the same venue. The way the space is divided, with the ceremony taking place upstairs, and the dining room slightly separated from the reception/ dance floor downstairs, we had the benefit of multiple spaces without having to brave the cold. The staff could not have been more helpful and friendly throughout the planning and the day of. Nothing seemed to be too much trouble.

The Decor

Although we didn’t have a wedding planner, we had Holly’s mom and that was just as good. She worked tirelessly pouring over Pinterest and eBay to design and individually select all the decorations. By the time of the wedding she was on first-name terms with the postman. We didn’t have a specific colour scheme, but rather wanted to create an atmosphere that was rustic and warm and complemented the character of the venue.

The Flowers

Jane at Graham Greener was wonderful. We had an initial consultation about a year before our wedding where we told her what kind of look we were going for and she helped crystallise the idea of a wintery warm theme with plenty of wintery bluish greenery and mistletoe. Jane impressed us by really transforming the already beautiful space into exactly what we had in our minds, and actually much better than what we had imagined!

The Ceremony

Our ceremony was crafted by Katie Keen of True Blue Ceremonies. We didn’t want a traditional ceremony script, but rather wanted something that was personal and meaningful to us and our closest friends and family. Katie was a great find, she was the perfect combination of professional and personable. She had us separately fill out questionnaires about our relationship and our thoughts and feelings towards each other and our future. She then arranged a number of Skype meetings to discuss these things in more detail as well as what we wanted from the ceremony. She also reached out to a few close friends and family members to get their insights and anecdotes before writing a first draft. We were moved to tears by Katie’s ceremony script and wouldn’t have changed a thing about it.

The Entertainment

Rachel Somerset played violin as guests were entering and being seated, as well as during the ceremony and reception. She played a great mixture of traditional music and new contemporary pop and rock songs. We were able to send her a list of songs that we wanted included in the set and she was happy to learn new songs that she did not already know. Her music really helped set the atmosphere and mood for the day. Rachel was incredibly professional and talented. One of our besties, Roisin Tuohy, played guitar and sang our first dance song. She had flown out from Canada for the day and was terribly sick but pulled through and it was beautiful. She has such a beautiful voice and it was a great surprise for our guests. Awkward but enthusiastic dancing: Hullabaloo is well known at East Quay, and through researching the venue is how we first heard of them. We were convinced they’d be perfect after learning of their diverse range of songs that would appeal to the different tastes of our guests. And they didn’t disappoint on this front as they kept everyone dancing!

The Food

East Quay provided options of either a three course meal or buffet style. We opted for the three courses. The food was outstanding, with a beef wellington, lobster, and vegan option for the main which kept everyone happy. We had so many complements from our guests on how great the food was. Instead of a wedding cake, we opted for a cheese and port table provided by The Cheese Box. Besides looking stunning, the cheese options were delicious and locally sourced.

The Photography

Choosing a photographer was probably the most important decision for Holly. Once she saw Pen and Cam’s work she was absolutely set on having them record our day. Their style is very natural and journalistic, opting to capture many of the special and intimate moments as they naturally happen rather than staged photos. In addition to their gorgeous photography, they were lovely to have around for the day making our guests laugh and keeping things running smoothly. They were incredibly professional, but also made us feel like we had become friends by the end of the day.
Fern Godfrey

Written by Fern Godfrey

Holly's Dress: Truvelle | Boutique: Sash & Bustle | Dani's Dress: Lowon Pope | Holly's Headpiece: Olivia The Wolf | Shoes: Shoes Of Prey | Venue: East Quay | Florist: Graham Greener | Ceremony: True Blue Ceremonies | Violinist: Rachel Somerset | Band : Hullabaloo | Cheese: The Cheese Box | Film: Story Catchers Films
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