Fellow dog lovers, you are going to LOVE this wedding!  You might remember this couple from their sweet fall engagement session at home with their amazing pup. Erica and Simon kept their wedding true and unique to themselves in every possible way.  Originally from Toronto, they decided to host their wedding at the family cottage in Thunder Beach, their favorite place to spend time together.  Everything about their day was rooted in comfort, simple elegance, and down to earth family values. I freeking loved it!

They started the day getting ready in separate sides of the family cottage.  Erica wore a beachy lace dress and white wedding moccasins (if you can’t tell already, she’s an earthy girl after my own heart!) and carried a simple bouquet of gorgeous fresh lilac blossoms cut from outside the cottage that morning.  Simon wore boat shoes with his suit, and sported a comfortable open collar with no tie for most of the day, before getting changed into the most fantastic ‘party suit’ I have ever seen for the evening.

The intimate ceremony took place at the end of a long pier stretching far out into the bay.  Their much loved pup, Drax, carried their rings down the aisle, tied in a leather bag on his collar. After delivering the rings safely down the aisle, he lay down on the dock at their feet for the rest of the ceremony, as Erica and Simon exchanged their vows overhead. The other three family dogs provided some comic relief from emotional ceremony moments by jumping into the lake occasionally, and digging holes down into the sand to cool off.  The whole ceremony had the most gorgeous, minimalist, Wes Anderson vibe to it, I can’t wait for you to scroll down and see the setting!

Plenty more people arrived in Thunder Beach for the reception, so the party moved down the street to the local cottage community center for the reception.  Having toured the space a few weeks earlier, I was absolutely BLOWN AWAY by the transformation that Katie and Gavin from Georgian Roots had affected on the space.  Guests entered by way of a spectacular clear tent, decorated with driftwood, upholstered couches, vintage Louis Vuitton trunks, and modern chandeliers, before moving into the rec hall that had been whitewashed, strung with wisteria hanging from the rafters, and filled with long harvest tables covered with colourful florals and herb-covered plates and appetizers.  Guests arrived in stylish vintage vans, ate fresh oysters, and ordered drinks from the most beautiful moss-covered bar I’ve ever seen.  Set back into the forest, the tent was glowing warmly when I finished for the evening, lighting up the pines towering up into the star filled cottage country sky above, the whole wedding felt like a fairy tale. 

Vendors:
Hair – C.E. Bridal
Makeup – Makeup by Chelsey B.
DJ – Bryan Taylor
Wedding Planners – Georgian Roots Events
Wedding Dress Boutique – Helen’s Bridal
Wedding Dress Seamstress – Stacey O’s Something Blue
Caterer – Whose Catering
Candy Skewer Wedding Favours – Cre8tive Candy
Tent/Flooring Rental Company – Westway Tents
Table Setting/Other Rental Company – Event Rental Group
Florist – Fresh Flowers by Leanne