Catherine and Jake McGuire consider their wedding a “mini-elopement.” After getting engaged at the iconic Fairmont Banff Springs in May 2019, The Kitchener, Ont.-based couple began planning their relatively small 60-person ceremony in Muskoka for September 2020. But they, like many others, had those plans dashed by the pandemic. Keen to keep their original date, Catherine and Jake first pivoted to an intimate backyard ceremony before settling on a two-person ceremony — just them, and their officiant — at Kitchener’s iconic Langdon Hall. The mini-elopement, as it were.  “We had s ..read more

As an event planner, naturally we are always looking ahead, but sometimes it is just as exciting to look back and reflect on the past. My husband Chris and I celebrated our fourth wedding anniversary on December 2, 2020 and looking back on it, our wedding was without a doubt the best day of our lives to date and we love reliving the wonderful memories we had. Falling in love with the planning process is what sparked my passion to become a wedding planner as I wanted to give couples that same joy we felt on our special day. Without the experience and knowledge of the industry, we went into our ..read more

A magical holiday celebration was the perfect theme for Brodie and Garrett, who looked to Johanna Sharpe from Johanna Leigh Weddings & Events to bring their motif to life. “When we started this process I was fraught with indecision. I loved the natural elements of summer weddings and especially the opportunity to play with colour. For some reason I felt having a winter wedding meant we would lose both-but our planner Johanna expertly brought a colourful Christmas wedding to life. I am a New Years baby and Garrett and I both love to ski so this time of year has always felt magical. Onc ..read more

When Covid-19 lockdown measures forced Kevin Rodrigue and Jimmy Doucet into quarantine, they, like so many others, ended up spending a lot of time online — but, in their case, it was to plan a wedding. Rodrigue and Doucet, who had met in 2016 and got engaged a year later, had originally planned their wedding for June 2021 — exactly five years after their first date. So in early 2020, during early quarantine measures, Rodrigue says the couple hunkered down over their Pinterest boards. “We did a lot of online shopping, like everyone else, but for us it was for a wedding,” Rodrigue says. “It ..read more

Robert and Chloe Chung met in China, at a mutual friend’s wedding, in January 2019. Robert, who was born in China, had been living in Canada for more than two decades, while Chloe still lived there. “Our mutual friend knew we were both single,” Robert says. “I think she was playing matchmaker.” It worked: after the wedding, Robert and Chloe decided to keep in touch, with Robert travelling overseas twice — first to Shanghai, then to Japan — to meet Chloe. On September 15 — which just happens to be both Robert and Chloe’s birthday — Robert proposed, and Chloe said yes, and the couple set a ..read more

Ali and Jody Graham had known each other since high school. The two remained in each other’s social circles throughout adulthood, during their respective first marriages: “He actually coached my son’s hockey team,” Ali says, “and our kids were friends.” After not seeing each other for five or six years, the two ran into each other at a ski hill in January 2020, “and we’ve been together ever since.” The couple got engaged about six weeks after the ski hill reunion — on March 22, 2020, just when the Covid-19 pandemic had shut down most of North America. But, to hear Ali tell it, the pandemic did ..read more

When Mariam Ayyoob and Chris Menezes got engaged, in summer 2019, Mariam knew she’d love a fall wedding. She just didn’t know that hers would take place more than two years later. “This was actually our third try” Mariam says of their September 25, 2021 wedding, which had to be postponed twice due to Covid-19. “We had actually completely cancelled the wedding — in the meantime, we bought a house, we got a dog, we weren’t even thinking about getting married. But in spring, we got the ball rolling again.” The couple had always planned a small wedding, making shifting plans easier than it might h ..read more

Suneel Khanna and Carl Wolter were married at Toronto’s Fairmont Royal York Hotel on June 14th, 2020 in an incredibly intimate wedding (10 guests total) that was brimming with love, colour and luxury touches. “Our original wedding was supposed to happen at Toronto’s The Church of the Redeemer followed by a reception at The Chef’s House,” Suneel shares. “We were expecting guests from New Delhi, India, Palm Springs, California—where Carl is from—Switzerland, and various locations across the U.S. and Canada. When COVID 19 happened, all these plans were erased.” On top of all of this, Suneel share ..read more

Paul and Lindsey met at a mutual friend’s wedding in Seattle, getting to know each other over the wedding weekend and beginning their long-distance romance immediately afterward. “Paul was the one guy at the wedding I had never met before, our friend’s university friend who lived in Toronto,” Lindsey explains. “Upon meeting the night before the wedding, Paul asked to walk me and my sister back to our hotel—what a gentleman!” Their romance culminated in an engagement in December 2017. The couple allowed their venue to influence the theme and design of their wedding. “Paul and I fell in love wi ..read more

Sandrine and Oliver tied the knot early last September at Pointe du Moulin, a historical site located on the tip of Perrot Island, on the Saint-Lawrence River with a spectacular view of the island of Montreal. The enchanting location represents another historical event related to the couple as it was where the bride’s parents had their wedding photos taken 30 years prior. “It was also where we had one of our first dates,” added the bride. The couple met thanks to Sandrine’s mother who arranged for them to meet at the Montreal Wine Show. “Oliver worked for the SAQ (Quebec’s liquor corporation ..read more