Envision Weddings - Blog

Congratulations, Jessica and Jason!

2010-11-07T18:05:00.001-08:00

When Jessica and Jason and I had our first meeting, I knew immediately that this couple had the right idea in mind. This "short and sweet" couple managed to involve several friends and family members in the planning of their wedding and allowed them to have their talents shine through certain elements. The bride was no exception - she was the epidemy of do-it-yourself, a trait that could be proven successful if you have a strong vision of what you want for your wedding. And did she ever!

The ceremony was held at a traditional Catholic church in Scarborough with modern architectural designs, followed by photos at the beautiful Knox College at University of Toronto and ended with an intimate reception at the Board of Trade Country Club in Vaughan. No tank of gas was spared, but it was all worth it to see 180 of their closest family and friends gather in one place. From the small, closely arranged space at the Country Club, to the photos brought from home of old family wedding photos (still in their original frames) displayed in the cocktail area, this wedding was nothing short of intimate, and I was honoured to be a part of it!

Special thanks to Suzette for assisting me that day, and to Camerie, Megan and the staff at the Country Club for their excellent service.

Photos courtesy of Greg Ljepkema and my iPhone 3G :)

Bows with fresh flowers were created by Jessica's stepmother and adorned every other pew

The sloping ceilings at the Annunciation of the Blessed Virgin Mary Church added a modern architectural touch and a grand appeal

With their colours - black, white and sage - in mind, the centerpieces were created with ivory and pale green roses, carnations and spider mums (also courtesy of Jess' stepmother). Each table had a piece of square damask fabric in the centre, cut by Jessica herself, and the candles were purchased from IKEA. Table cards (not shown) were printed by the couple from home.

More damask fabric made the table runner and sage and white candles from IKEA lined the head table. Vases were purchased by Jessica and filled with stones for the bridesmaids to display their bouquets.

The cake was created and provided by another friend, Yvette, and mimiced the damask design. A sage green ribbon added a personal touch and "bride and groom" strawberries were added as cake toppers. Jessica and Jason later fed this to each other rather than the traditional wedding cake feed.

A birch tree in a vase was displayed at the entrance of the cocktail space, with little notes of marriage advice hanging from it's branches. The photo frames (not pictured) surrounded the tree with vintage candles giving it a warm feel. Btw, I thought this note was particularly cute.

The stunning bride and her beautiful bridesmaids. Makeup done by my good friend, Jennifer van Son, hair by Fashion Hair in Richmond Hill and bouquets lovingly prepared by Jessica's stepmother.

I always approve of jumping shots!

Jessica and Jason - congrats, guys!

Wishing you a lifetime of happiness,

K.

A word about time management.

2010-09-26T20:34:00.000-07:00

It's no surprise that planning any large event is a daunting task. And even more so if you have never thought of yourself as a particularly organized person. I always find that keeping yourself organized in your professional life is worlds apart from keeping organized in your personal, day-to-day activities. Some are rather natural at it. Some don't know where to start. And when you are planning for 200+ guests (or even 60 guests) for one of the single most important events in your life, it's easy to lose yourself among the multiple schedules, budgets and meetings. So here are some tips if you feel like you need to find method to the madness.

1) Start early. You've heard it time and time again: that TIME, in itself, is your best friend. And be honest with the type of person you are. If you are generally a more indecisive type - be it with attire or design or anything else - make sure you give yourself enough time to make those decisions. In short, it's never too early to start reading and researching about the latest trends in weddings.

2) Trick yourself. You will be surprised at how calm you feel if you tack on an additional 1/2 hr to all your meetings and travel time. If you need to meet with a vendor after work and work ends at 5, tell them 6:30 is best. This will give you time to travel, grab a bite or even plan for emergencies at work. If you start doing it innately, things will all start to run more smoothly. This will come in handy when preparing your wedding timeline and day schedule.

3) Be real with yourself. Know your limits and how much you can do before asking for help. An average person spends 250 hrs planning his or her wedding, and knowing when to pass off tasks to trusted friends or professionals is key to a smooth planning process. Even coordinators have assistants!

4) Understand how the wedding industry works. Too many brides assume that their wedding on a budget will turn out just as glam as the $70,000 featured wedding in the magazine, if only they try harder. While it's true that even budget weddings can still be beautiful and special, industry prices are what they are (even with negotiations) and generally either the budget must change or the vendor. This may not sound like a time management issue, but understanding this will minimize the amount of time tweaking and stressing about the budget and searching to find the perfect vendor that marries budget and quality. Generally, the rule of thumb for vendors is "you pay for what you get". This, of course, is a little different if you have a wedding coordinator with connections - or if you have connections yourself!

All in all, everyone is different and everyone tackles the planning of their wedding differently. You may be happy with doing things at the eleventh hour, and that is absolutely your prerogative. Just remember to give yourself all the time you need to make this day perfect for you!

Congratulations, Karen and Michael!

2010-08-10T07:53:00.000-07:00

I had the privilege to oversee Karen and Michael's cross-cultural Chinese-Canadian wedding on August 7, 2010. They were, in short, the essence of chill! My assistant and I were stunned at how everything went ultra smooth. Everyone was on time, everyone knew what they were doing and the bride and groom kept their calm demeanor throughout the entire evening. The only minor blip was when 1 of the 2 Chinese ribbon dancers fell ill shortly before the performance. But with a little negotiation between myself, the bride and the client, it was resolved quickly and painlessly.

Their ceremony was held at the immaculate Trinity College Chapel in downtown Toronto, following by their reception at Spot 33 at the Sutton Place Hotel. Muchos thanks to Erica for being my right-hand woman that day. :)

Trinity College Chapel

Their 3-tier fresh cream fruit cake, made by Furama Bakery in downtown Toronto. Flowers provided by Rachel Clingen Designs and placed on the cake by yours truly.

The view from Spot 33 at the Sutton Place

Fuschia, pink and purple flowers on top of a tall vase made their centerpieces. The small double happiness symbol on the front added a personal cultural touch.

Double happiness

Giant topiaries against the window

Karen (in her traditional Chinese cheungsam) and Michael, cutting their cake

Wishing you a lifetime of happiness,
K.

Congratulations, Andrea and Daniel!

2010-05-20T09:13:00.000-07:00

Andrea and Daniel married on May 15, 2010, and what a wedding it was! Firstly, their ceremony was held at Sts. Peter and Paul Church, the church that I grew up in (major flashbacks on my part) and their reception held at the always-wonderful Mississauga Convention Centre.

While the ceremony was your traditional Catholic service, Andrea and Daniel's reception was nothing short of unique. Bringing together their Filipino and African cultures was the general theme and keeping their guests entertained was the goal. From the African and Filipino dance performances, to a beautiful ballad by R&B singer Kim Davis and peppered with traditional elements like the Filipino money dance, this reception was off the hook!

Everything barely went off without a hitch, except for the minor problem of having some guests show up that were not on the guest list. Nevertheless, everyone seemed to have a blast.

Thanks to my wonderful fiance and top-notch assistant, Michael, for his help that day.

Unfortunately, photos were not taken at the time of the reception, but will be posted soon. This one is just from creeping Facebook a bit ;)

Wishing you a lifetime of happiness,
K.

Congratulations, Tessa and Frank!

2009-09-17T12:04:00.000-07:00

Tessa and Frank were the last contract signed during my first year of planning and they made the profession look super easy! With their relaxed nature and down-to-earth personalities, helping to coordinate their wedding - which occurred on September 12, 2009 - was definitely a cinch.

This couple has been together so long (7 years, so I heard) that they took the practical approach to planning their wedding. They booked the venue and the planner first, and then decided to get engaged! Truly an inspiration for those couples out there that don't want to follow the traditional schedule. Then they took an additional year and a half to plan their wedding, which proved to be a good decision in the long run. Everything turned out perfectly, although there were some minor blips along the way (i.e. faulty bonbonnieres that were shipped, with the manufacturer not offering a refund - Tessa and Frank opted for simple Forget-Me-Not seed packets instead).

All in all, a beautiful wedding for a beautiful couple! Ceremony and reception held at the West River Event Centre in Vaughan.

Special thanks to Suzette for assisting me that day.

Ascending down into the garden

The beautiful garden wedding

Husband and wife!

Forget-Me-Not packets as the giveaways

Reception

Tessa and Frank cutting the cake

Wishing you a lifetime of happiness,
K.

Congratulations, Reetu and Aman! (Flashback post)

2009-08-07T11:29:00.000-07:00

Reetu and Aman got married on August 1-2, 2009, a long weekend that will never be forgotten. Having known Reetu and Aman personally prior to the wedding, I have to say that the wedding fit their personalities perfectly - classy, elegant, extravagant and beautiful. With a slight sense of humour. While their wedding ceremony followed traditions from their Hindu and Sikh religions, they gave their reception a Bollywood twist, creating a video mimicing the hit movie "Slumdog Millionaire".

Video by ABCi Productions

Needless to say, their good sense of humour and warmhearted nature drew several guests eager to see them get married. A total of 500 guests attended their wedding ceremonies at Rattlesnake Golf Club and another 448 attended their reception at the Bellvue Manor in Vaughan. Despite large amount of people, we managed to follow the strict schedule that we created together with the couple and their families, which resulted in an overall wonderful wedding weekend.

Many thanks to Laura, Reena, Sahar and Michael that helped me during the week - including delivering gift baskets, folding napkins and stuffing menus!

The groom entering on a horse

Sikh ceremony

Mandap at Hindu ceremony

The bride's mehndi for her sangeet

Sweetheart table at reception - immaculately designed by Manti

Place settings - menu, napkin folding and table cards by Envision

Raspberry cake with cascading purple roses by Dufflet Bakery, downtown Toronto

The beautiful bride and groom

Photography by Ross Singh Photography

Wishing you a lifetime of happiness,
K.

Congratulations, Tiomi and Ken!

2008-09-06T17:45:00.000-07:00

Tiomi and Ken made me revisit my reasons of why I love the University of Toronto campus for weddings. It was a beautiful setting for a simple, yet elegant, celebration for this couple. Having been dating since their teenage years, Tiomi (affectionately called Ti) and Ken finally tied the knot on August 30, 2008.

High ceilings, antique fixtures, and a general aura of greatness exuded from the Hart House in downtown Toronto that afternoon and evening. Ti and Ken welcomed about 130 guests for an intimate ceremony in the Hart House courtyard, followed by a glamourous reception in the Grand Hall. They chose clean, neutral colours (yellow and champagne) for their decor and provided their guests with a taste of culture by wedging the traditional Chinese tea ceremony in between the festivities.

The day went smooth, with no glitches to report, and this could all be in part due to their down-to-earth nature and meticulous planning. Even the large fans that substituted for air conditioning (on a hot summer day in August) didn't stop the crowd from having a great time!

Special thanks to Suzette for assisting me that day. :)

Ceremony set up

Tiomi and Ken at the tea ceremony - dress custom made by Yanagi Couture

Chinese roast pig at the cocktail reception

Centerpieces - yellow orchids immersed in water with a floating candle - all flowers provided by Petals

Seating chart alphabetized and by table, with a map - created and printed by yours truly

Photos and hydrangeas :)

The beautiful bride

Wishing you a lifetime of happiness,
K.