Goodbye 2015

It's New Year's Eve again! We have had a challenging year with family health issues which we hope are now under control. 

We are looking forward to a fantastic 2016 and helping you with your Ontario wedding plans. There is a double page spread in the current issue of the Perfect Weddings travel supplement - take a look and contact us with in any queries. Finishing our Christmas break in Ontario but back in the office next Monday. 

Have a fab celebration tonight! 

2015 nearly over

2015 has been a challenging year. More than anything, there have been health challenges which are now under control and being managed. Although it is only just November, we are looking forward to Christmas as we are so glad to be able to spend it with those we love. It was fortunate that we were not busy this year so we didn't have to let anyone down. Not that we would have done, but more would have needed to be delegated.

I have received these recommendations/referrals from two of our recent weddings - think they indicate just how "hands on" I tend to be.

Caught my eye ...

I had in mind to do a post this week about flowers as it is almost Spring - please, let it be almost Spring! However, I have been side tracked slightly.

A couple of weeks , I wrote about Pantone colours and Marsala being the colour for 2015. This morning I came across a wedding from last year where they were ahead of the trend. The flowers (so not completely sidetracked!) were really lush and plentiful and the bride's bouquet was more an armful than a  handful. Everything was beautifully colour co-ordinated - dresses, flowers, cake, groom's tie even down to adding additional colour from the bouquets to the table arrangements to highlight the reception barn interior wood.

But ..... have you noticed what REALLY took my eye and made be go "Wow"? Shoes!!!!! The groom's shoes!!!!! They are so on colour!!!!! 

You can see all the images from this wedding on StyleMePretty

Wedding venues and locations

I thought it may be an idea to run through some of the wedding venues and locations that we have on offer. Most of these are (or will soon be) available through Canadian Sky Weddings as well as directly from ourselves. There are all based from Toronto.

First offering is right in the middle of Toronto. But oh so neat - and rustic!

The Treehouse!!!!!

There is only enough room for a party of 10/12 but if you're set on an elopement style or a small destination wedding - how fab!

Inside it is a little basic - just wooden benches and walls, but it can be prettied up with some decor very easily.

Still in the City, we also have

The Bank Vault !!!!!

Originally a bank (who would have guessed?) and now converted to a luxury hotel, the owners decided to keep the Vault and use it as a meeting/wedding space.

as you can see here, the door is still in place.

The CN Tower

A firm favourite with tourists and a long-term icon from the city skyline. The 360 restaurant is a treat in itself and the magnificent views make it unmissable. However, for the last couple of years there has been a new attraction here - The Skywalk. Yup, you've guessed - around the OUTSIDE. One plucky couple actually got married suspended out there!

You can find the video on YouTube. A little scary but if you have the head for adventure .....

Still based in the city but a drive out is a place like no other. 

Crawford Lake Conservation Area

Beautiful and tranquil at any time of the year, there's a meromictic lake (which means it is so deep that the water at the bottom never circulates to the top) surrounded by a boardwalk and there's also a 15th century reconstructed Iroquoian village. It's scientific and historic but boring it's not!

See that little podium on the lakeside? Have your celebrant stand there and look over the lake as you take your vows. 

And to dispel the myths from the Westerns we all watched as kids - no wigwams! The Native Americans originally lived in long houses AND were a matriarchal society. If Momma said "NO", no it was! 

Seriously though, even if it's not for you as a wedding location, it is well worth a visit. Give us a call and we'll help you locate it as it's not that easy to find if you don't know it's there. (Actually, it's at the bottom of the road where my husband lived as a kid, but won't help you find it either!)

Back into the city, again for the final venue today,

THE CHILL ICE HOUSE !!!!!

I'm sure you've all heard of the Ice Hotels in Europe and Canada, well this is slightly different in as much as you don't sleep there! It's a fab bar where you can drink, eat and party! It's decorated with ice carvings and if you hold your wedding ceremony here, you will have the opportunity to have a personalised carving. For your ceremony in a booth off the main dance floor, you will be given a black and/or white cape each which you can take away with you. 

There's always one! And this one didn't want to wear a cape - obviously a hardy soul.

Colours

Every year, the people at Pantone tell us the colour of the year. I have no idea how they decide but designers and consumers will all supposedly be using, wearing, and buying it.
So this year's choice is Marsala - 

Personally, I quite like it but I understand a lot of people don't. Maybe I like it because I quite like Marsala wine and have a favourite recipe Fresh Peaches Baked in Marsala with Mascarpone Cream. 

Also, does it make you think of Burberry? It's sort of in the background of their check. 

We did a blog post back in September 2012 which featured a styled wedding based on Burberry - it was a fab shoot and there was quite a lot of burgundy/maroon/marsala. I'd had the images for a while but had wanted to see if they stood the test of time; they did then and they do now.

Another post we did was based on perceptions of colour. Getting colour right is one of the most difficult things we encounter because our vision of a colour, probably isn't yours. We had three brides last year who were very specific about the particular colour they wanted in their bouquets. Royal blue, purple and hot yellow. We got there in the end but I wonder if these were the colours you imagined?

These are two images of the same bouquet. One was taken indoors and one outside - what a difference the light makes!

We had to mix the varieties of rose in this bouquet. We managed to get some "hot" ones although after we did say that we would probably have been better to try and match to sunflower or daffodil yellow.

Incidentally, an easy way to "explain" the colour you have in mind is to get a paint chip from the local DIY shop, especially if they have the option to mix paint as you will have lots of shades of the same colour.