Luxurious Inspiration for Wedding Planners & Brides! Part 1!

Monday was an evening of luxurious inspiration as Distinct Occasions proudly hosted over 60 Wedding Planners at downtown’s 130 West Event Centre! The event brought together established, new and student Planners interested in taking their clients events from wow to WOW! With luxury vendors on-hand to teach this informational and educational seminar and to inspire some of THE MOST luxurious weddings Toronto has ever seen!

My Motto: Luxury should be for every bride, at every price point, in every wedding, surrounding us daily.

Thank you again to our vendors:

Crystal Adair-Benning – Distinct Occasions

Jason Robins – Seventh Heaven Fine Catering

Daniela Perri – D&D Floral Designs

Anna Brandes – Have a Seat

Lisa Van Hattem – Lisa Van Hattem Custom Gowns

Michael Coombs – Prodigy Entertainment

Judy Cormier – Elements of Foto

Enjoy these images of what I believe to be true luxury… all images courtesy Elementz of Foto.

Stay tuned for more wedding eye candy early next week!

Style Me Pretty: Little Black Book! We’ve Been Added!

If you’re looking for the best of the best when it comes to style, grace and unique elements… look no further than online Blog, Style Me Pretty by Abby Larson. This Blog is a holy grail of wedding ideas from stationary to cakes, decor to dining and of course Planning!

Today, Distinct Occasions was honoured with being asked to join their very prestigious Little Black Book of Vendors for Toronto Wedding Planning. The book only includes the 3 top vendors in any category within any city and we’re delighted to have achieved such an honour!

Stylemepretty.com’s Little Black Book is an online guide to the most innovative and unique designers, planners and bridal industry professionals… we’re in great company!

So, if you haven’t already checked it out… www.stylemepretty.com

Teaching at George Brown College

This past week I had the great honour of being guest lecturer to a Wedding Planner course at George Brown College. The night proved fun and lively with ancedotes and fun talk over Preferred Suppliers and how to choose and use the very best in the city (and beyond)! I had a great time talking about why I work with my Preferred Vendors in the city, what makes them exceptional and why that makes my clients nuptials exceptional!

The class of twenty-six students are well on their way to becoming the next up-and-comers in the city, and I was honoured to share my insight and advice on their climb to the top!

Fall In Love…

What a glorious fall weekend we had here in the city! It was the first Thanksgiving on record that I can remember eating my turkey with all the trimmings on our back porch in the sunshine surrounded by the incredible plethora of colour provided by the changing leaves!

What’s this have to do with weddings you say? Well… everything!

Fall is my favourite season…. beautiful colours, crisp cool air, warm apple crisps, hot toddies, pumpkins, sweaters and… falling in love! If your like me and in love with this season it’s hard not to be in love with your hunny just a little bit more too! The air gets cooler and it’s a chance to snuggle closer. You rub cold noses on each other in warm eskimo kisses. You break out your favourite warm bevvie (for me a great Scotch) and toast each other!

Yes, if you’ve never been in love in the fall… your missing out!

Weddings during this season are stunningly perfect by Mother Natures own grace. Brides can wear beautiful shawls, wraps, or even muffs to keep warm. Guests look demure in long gowns, capes and woolen sweaters. Grooms & Groomsmen finally stop sweating and enjoy their suits & tuxes. Yes, if you’ve never thought about Fall for getting married… think again!

Now I’m just going to indulge myself here with a menu of fancy… falling in love inspired…

Bevvie of Choice: Scotch (neat & warmed to take the chill off your bones)
Soup: Warm Spiced Pumpkin served in mini-white pumpkins studded with crystals
Entree: Braised Lamb Shank with Mashed Potatoes in a Red Wine Jus
Dessert: Steaming Hot Apple Crisp with Cranberrys and a dollop of maple whip cream

So good you can just taste it, right?

Now the decor…

Rich dark woods, square tables with caramel linens, woolen shawls for warmth on the chair backs, russet coloured napkins, centrepieces of gourds, dahlias, and pumpkins, surrounded in crystal votives in shades of red.

And the bride…

A long gown of off-white lace with full sleeves, a cape of brilliant red and a muff of soft white faux fur. Her hair left curling around her shoulders and her makeup soft with crimson lips to mimic her cape. Her shoes, a bold hue of scarlet, a flash of colour beneath a demure gown.

And the groom…

A morningsuit of deepest black, with a boutonnierre of corn stalk twisted and tied with a crimson ribbon upon his chest.

Bridesmaids…

A bold shade of burgundy with hair loose upon their shoulders carrying a small posey of dahlia tied with raffia.

Groomsmen…

Suits of black with dahlia and raffia tied boutonnierres.

The backdrop…

A woodland forest of boldest shade. Trees dropping leaves on the ground before you. Your aisle, made my Mother Nature using leaves instead of petals. Hot toddies served to guests on trays as they arrive.

Dare to dream, lovebirds… dare to fall in love…

Sweet Love: Ani & Mike

Saturday, October 4th might have been chilly outside but nothing but loving and warm on the inside as sweethearts Ani wed her longtime love, Mike in a beautiful Catholic ceremony in Toronto.

The Bride was a stunner in a gown she’d dreamed of since she was 16 – hand beaded, lace and all-white she was every part the blushing bride. Her groom, Mike, wore an elegant and classic suit finished with a white rose boutonniere. Bridesmaids may have found their shorter cocktail length chocolate brown frocks chilly but the smiles never left their cheeks as they watched their friends wed in an intimate and personal ceremony.

Sidenote: You may recognize one of the beautiful Matron’s of Honour as Fotini – one of our brides from earlier this year! Ani was Fotini’s Maid of Honour back in July and now Fo returned the favour!

Ani, was a definite DIY Bride, with a flair for creativity and projects. She custom designed and created her monogram, aisle runner, and candy buffet! She took inspiration from magazines, fellow brides and even a few ideas tossed in from Distinct Occasions, to create a look that was all her very own wonderland masterpiece of periwinkle blue, white and chocolate brown accents.

Every detail was meticulous from the headtable monogram to the hydrangea florals on periwinkle linen, the exceptional food stations for sweets and treats, the sentiments done on mirrors in the foyer of Live, Laugh and Love, and the pashminas for chilly couples, and even the dancing shoes for tired tootsies!

Ani & Mike went the extra mile for their guests and it showed. They used live music for their cocktails (violin) and during dinner. They opted for a whimsical caricaturist to wow guests and they created memories through games, gifts for the children, and a candy buffet that exceeded anyone’s wildest dreams complete with a hershey’s kisses tree, gumball topiaries and sugar planted lollipops. Both young and old were overwhelmed by the sweet sweet love shown by this magical two-some.

Some of my favourite details from the day included the professional dancers hired to showcase their skills and then to teach a ChaCha lesson to guests! The beautiful full colour programs accented with charms at the church. And the napkin cards, embellished with personal touches including menu details, kissing game explanation, charity donation information and a Lucky in Love lottery card and penny for each guest. Personally though, the most heartfelt touch of the day was the charity hooks. Guests were given placecards with a little bell and a ribbon attached, throughout dinner they were asked to hang their placecard on their favourite charities hook and in lieu of favors, money would be donated to the charity of their choosing. It was a tough decision as guests opted between the Ontario Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals and The Angels Foundation for Learning!

To some, sweet love is a term we toss around and take lightly – to Ani & Mike, it is a term taken to heart and shown to each other always.

Congratulations to a very ‘sweet’ couple. May today’s lollipop be everlasting…

Jazz & Joy: Karrie & Geoff

On Friday, October 3rd, 2008, Karrie & Geoff wed at the beautiful (and eco-friendly) Toronto Botanical Gardens. Their day was a celebration of their personal joys in life – the outdoors, jazz, fine wine, and their friends & family.

The day began crisp as Toronto’s autumn landscape began to reveal itself with temperatures around 5 degrees! The sky looked a bit overcast but we decided to take our chances on an outdoor ceremony that the couple had wanted so badly. The reception, was to be indoors in the Floral Hall and cocktails in the Foyer.

Despite the chill in the air, you could feel nothing but warmth from the couple, their family, and their friends. Outdoors at 5:30pm the ceremony began in the West Terrace accompanied by two incredible jazz musicians, Jean-Jacques & Marc. The Bridesmaids were lovely in long gowns of navy and bouquets of calla lily. The Bride was radiant in an off-white v-neck gown in a modern silhoutte and a beautiful veil to match.  Her bouquet of calla liles and orchids in a trailing cascade the perfect accent.

The ceremony was brief but touching with a colleague and friend, Dr.Dave, performing the ceremony and legal officiant, Tina, signing the papers. The couple opted to face their guests and have Dr.Dave with his back to them during the vows and ring exchange. Immediately afterwards, the couple and their guests moved indoors to the Foyer for passed appetizers and refreshments.

The reception was designed as a ‘tribute to jazz’ and the couple really wanted an intimate, romantic and elegant fete for their guests. Tables were swathed in navy and bore names instead of numbers, of Jazz greats like Dinah, Chet, Sonny, and others. The centrepieces were simple and elegant rectangular plates filled with crystals, three votives and two orchids. The head table was draped in white and silver fabric. The cake was custom-created by Dina at Cake Couture and featured an art deco design. The cake itself was baked by the Groom’s Mother.

 

Guests feasted on antipasto platters, gazpacho and a choice of lamb, chicken or vegetarian meal options. The delicious and beautiful Labrador Strike cake was served to guests as dessert!

As the meal ended, Jean-Jacques and Marc played once more for a romantic first dance for the newlyweds to ‘The Very Thought of You’ on keyboard and trumpet. 

This wedding was special and touching because of the mood the couple created – they wanted their loves – each other, good food, good wine, and jazz. In the end, they struck a perfect melody…

Congratulations to Karrie & Geoff. Long may your melody play!

Double Wedded-Bliss Weekend!

This weekend is gearing up to be very busy with two of our incredible couples saying ‘I Do’!

First, Karrie & Geoff, will be celebrating in style in an indoor-outdoor celebration at the Toronto Botanical Gardens. Then, Ani & Mike will share glorious ‘I Do’s’ at the Bayview Golf & Country Club!

Both couples incredible fall fete’s will be stunners and we’re thrilled to be part of them!

Congratulations!