Best Day Ever! Our Wedding

We got married on May 18th, 2019. It was a perfect spring day. The weather was overcast (great for photos!), the cherry blossoms were in bloom, and the date fell on our 5 year anniversary together. May 18th was also my late great grandmother’s birthday. When we first got engaged, we initially wanted to do a fall wedding. Given the timing though, it would have been really tight to plan and save in just over a year. We opted for Spring 2019, and when we saw how the dates fell, we knew we just had to pick that date.

Ceremony

We said “I do” in front of 200ish of our family and friends at St. Raphael’s Parish in Burlington. We met with the priest prior and got to choose our ceremony songs and readings. We also added some personal touches to the “prayers of the faithful”. We joined St. Raphael’s parish 2 years ago. It was important to us that we joined a church that we enjoyed attending and felt a strong sense of community. It felt surreal that our wedding day had finally arrived. We opted for the full length mass which included communion. After our ceremony, we took family photos in front of the Church with some cherry blossom trees that were in bloom! We were worried that we wouldn’t have time to go downtown Burlington in the craziness of a Saturday of the long weekend so we were so glad that this worked out!

Planning

With being in the wedding industry, we had the privilege to meet, work with, and get to know many of the different vendors. We had most things planned and booked, however, we were a little stressed when it came to the final details and as we inched closer to the big day. We hired Krista from KJ and Co. for month of coordination. Krista was super helpful and streamlined our planning with helpful tips, advise, and excel sheets to keep us organized and on the ball. We are so glad we hired Krista and her team for the big day because honestly – she put out fires that we didn’t even know about. She made our day run smoothly and kept us on time and on track. She bossed us around and what our main contact. We had a code phrase that we actually had to use! All in all – Krista is the sweetest and is so good at what she does. If I can recommend a future bride anything – get a planner!!! If not a planner, a month of or day of coordinator to oversee any of the issues that rise and to keep everyone in check!

Everyone told us afterwards that our wedding was so much fun but also so organized and ran smoothly. The speeches weren’t too long and everyone truly enjoyed our wedding day, down to the very last detail.

Photography

Ariana and Alex are the dynamic duo behind Ariana Del Mundo Photography! We did an engagement mini session with them. We have since worked with them on a handful of industry shoots and have become friends with them. These guys are so talented and we are so glad and grateful we found them! We found them through a Facebook Group, The Rising Tide Society’s Follow Friday instagram post!!

Hiring them as our wedding photographers was seriously the best decision. They got our wedding vision to a T! Their light and airy style and keen eye for details truly made our spring wedding extra perfect.

Aside from being uber talented, these guys worked so well with the other vendors and made our wedding party, friends and family feel so comfortable. We truly had the absolute best time with them and thought of them as cherished guests at our wedding.

By the time that we made it back to our hotel room at 2am – we were surprised by a message from Ariana with a link to our sneak peak gallery!! She must have started editing right after she drove all the way home after a full day of shooting!! It was seriously just the cherry on top of our perfect day.

I cannot recommend this team enough!! Not because they have become friends, but because they are soo stinkin’ talented, so so good at what they do, and they are just truly such a joy to be around.

Venue

When we first started looking, we checked out a handful of places from Niagara to Oakville. The Burlington Convention Centre was right around the corner from us and wasn’t even on our radar. We decided to check it out one day and we’re blown away by the professionalism, the stunning decor, and choices we had for the meal.

The staff and service at the BCC was incredible! Quick service, professional, and the food was hot and cooked to perfection. We met with Julie and she took care of us throughout the whole process. A few days before we met the owner and we truly felt taken care of.

A few months prior to our wedding, we had a menu tasting with both our parents. It was a fun night together and we got to try the different selections and choose our menu.

We opted for the deluxe meal which includes pasta, salad, 2 entrees with potatoes, veggies, rice and dessert. Oh and a late night buffet with sweets, fruit, pizza, and a swan ice sculpture! We wanted to swap out the sweets for a poutine bar and leave out the swan. At the last minute, The BCC threw in everything, including the swan!

The only thing that my dad cared about was having an antipasto bar. We’re glad we did it because it was a huge hit. The whole dance floor was set up with meats, cheeses, dips, veggies, sautée stations. SO. MUCH. FOOD.