Cakes

Wedding cakes tend to be very different in North America from how they are in the UK. Instead of a heavy fruit based, royal icing coated Christmas style cake, they are more of a madeira style sponge with a lighter covering of buttercream. It's usual to flavour both the cake and the buttercream with delicious choices. 

Some cake flavour ideas are Vanilla Chiffon, Chocolate, elderflower, Banana, Red Velvet, Carrot, Fresh Ginger & Spice, Pumpkin & Spice, Buttermilk Cake in Vanilla, Lemon, Lime or Confetti whilst Vanilla Bean,  Chocolate,  Mocha,  Salted Caramel, Cookies & Cream,  Strawberry,  Raspberry,  Lemon Curd, Cream Cheese, Key-lime, White Chocolate, Hazelnut or Peanut Butter are favourite buttercream and filling tastes!

Fresh flowers matched to the bridal bouquet are a less expensive choice than sugar flowers which take an inordinate amount of patience as well as time to make.  

   

             

    

                                  

Fall Weddings in Ontario

When asked what would be my favourite season to get married in Ontario, it has to be The Fall.  The images here show why!  

Canada to reopen border

Canada to reopen border.

Fully vaccinated international tourists permitted to enter as of Sept. 7th

This is the news we've been waiting for and we're so excited to be able to say 

"We're back in business"

35 years ago

Last Christmas Eve, it was my 35th wedding anniversary and this afternoon I went to take a look at my bouquet!

I've found a supplier of lovely paper flowers that we will be featuring in our revamped online shop. Looking at the images and reading how long the "flowers" will last, prompted me to have a look to see how my "flowers" were getting on. I had a posy of dried flowers, grasses and little extra interesting bits. There's a tiny basket, a little dove on its nest and a tiny posy replicating my larger one. Originally, the posy was a sage green and cream but it's "aged" to look quite pretty.

These are some of the paper flowers that I've been looking at today.

 and finally, a pretty flower crown.

Lots more new bits to come over the course of the next few weeks as we ready the website shop to launch - AND there's also a new brand, Maple Leaf Tablescapes, coming with ideas and products for wedding and home tables.

Inspired to share

It does seem hard these days to find a wedding dress that is different. In fact, the more I look at wedding dress sites, the more inclined I am to look at fashion sites to see what they are offering that would work as a wedding dress. Jumpsuits and trouser suits are appealing to me more and more as are dresses that can be worn again.  I found these today, from Reiss - 

and if you wanted a jacket in case of a chill in the air, this one would be great (even though it's shown here with jeans - if you dared!)

There was a dress .....

and finally, trousers, a top and a CARDIGAN! 

(If there are two things I love in a bridal wear, they're pockets and a cardigan - this has both!!!)

This dress would also be a useful honeymoon/holiday dress (saving on suitcase space for a destination wedding) and is also from Reiss  but not in their sale as all of the above outfits are.

Whatever your style, have a great day shopping!!!!!

New brochure

 We have a new brochure ready. Please message or email for your copy. Hope it gives you an idea of what we can do to make your wedding day the day you live your dream.

There are some great locations and venues which have captured our imagination as well as some new vendors to enhance your day. Decor designers, florists and photographers are all waiting to hear from us.

Currently, the border is closed for non-essential  travel but as soon as we have a date for it to open, we will let you know and be ready for the off!!!

New competition

Not a full wedding this time but a sparkling prize - a bottle of Ice Cuvée for the winner. 

To enter, all you need to do is take a set of images (minimum of 4, maximum of 8) on what would have been your wedding day. You can be in your pj's, loungewear or all dressed up with nowhere to go! Make them as entertaining or beautiful as you like. Indoors or in your garden just remember your social distancing!!!!!

Post them on Facebook  -  Maple Leaf Weddings or Instgram - @MaplePennie. You will need to ensure that if you don't take the photos that the person who does is ok with them being posted as they will own the copyright. 

Competition closes when (unrestricted) weddings can takes place again.

Winner will be chosen by a photographer friend whose decision will be final.

Remember - Take Care and Stay Safe

Win Your Wedding competition winners

Our competition winners were such a super couple and even after 30 years, it was obvious to all who met them that they simply adore each other! There is an amazing story to tell about why and how they entered the competition. Beautiful photos from their special day and more from their travels after (their mini honeymoon, if you like!)

It was as if they were meant to win as we had contacted 5 couples prior to them, who had either not responded back to us or who were unable to take the prize. (Not as simple as you'd think running a Win Your Wedding competition!)

Let's begin by introducing them - Alex & Sue Leach from Whitley Bay.

They have four grown children and two grandsons. They had been to Canada once before to see their son skate (that's as Sue first gave me the information, but more about this later) and I'm guessing this photo was taken there.

When they had been married for 25 years, Sue was sick and so Alex promised when she was better, they would do something REALLY special for their next milestone at 30 years. Obviously a man of his word, he enters our competition to try and win. And win, they did. To be perfectly honest, I'd all but given up on getting a winning couple having had FIVE, yes FIVE, couples either not responding or unable to take the prize for one reason or another. I was about to contact Air Transat with whom we had then flights booked to see if by any chance, the dates could be changed. As I scrolled through the Win Your Wedding at Valley Croft email inbox, the mouse seemed to want to stay highlighting an entry so I thought I'd give it one last chance. Off went the email and within 5 minutes, there was one very excited gentleman on the phone asking if it was true? Had they won? Really, had they won? And yes, they had! To be honest I was as excited as he was because I'd almost given up on anyone wanting to claim the prize. And that was just the beginning ..... many emails later, I finally met my prize winners in Toronto.

Sue has volunteered to help write "the story" and the next blog post will be from her.

Countdown

The count down is on! Our lucky competition winners arrive at Toronto Pearson airport on Thursday, drive to Valley Croft on Friday for their ceremony on Saturday. May have some sneak peaks of preparations as we go through the week!!!!!

We have a WINNER!!!!!

We are so happy to announce that we have a winning couple for our Win Your Wedding competition. 

Alex & Sue from Newcastle are going to re-new their vows. They've been married for 30 years. They have a lovely story which we hope to share with you as we progress their journey. Right now, we're excited to get the flights sorted out so that they can get their tickets and know that this IS going to happen!

WIN YOUR WEDDING - second draw

48 hours went by without the original winner getting in touch with us. We did email them a couple of times within the 48 hours but didn't get a response.

We have now drawn another winner who again has 48 hours to get in touch so if you entered to Win Your Wedding, please check your email box (including the spam/junk folder just in case!) and respond within 48 hours.

Good luck!

FINAL CALL-OUT

FINAL CALL-OUT ..... CHECK YOUR EMAILS TO SEE IF YOU'RE A WINNER. 

CAN'T GET TO YOUR INBOX? MESSAGE US TO ASK IF YOU'VE WON. 

WE WILL BE RE-DRAWING AT MIDDAY!

WE HAVE A WINNER!!!!!

Entries to our competition closed at midnight yesterday. We drew the winner this morning and an email has been sent. They now have 48 hours in which to claim the prize.

If you entered .....

CHECK YOUR EMAILS NOW!!!!!

This could be you.

CLOSED .....

The competition to Win Your Wedding is now closed. The winning couple will hear from us within 48 hours. Good luck to all who have entered - and if we've tempted you to think about getting married in Ontario, please contact us and we will help all we can.

www.mapleleafweddings.com

pennie@mapleleafweddings.com

WIN YOUR WEDDING closes at midnight

Last chance to enter - email direct to competition@mapleleafweddings.com

A selection of photos from the venue to tempt you!