SAN DIEGO STYLE ROOFTOP WEDDING AT OTTAWA ART GALLERY

A planned wedding in Greece. That reality started slipping away in the early stages of the Pandemic. All their dreams of a sunny elfresco wedding in Europe was but a glimmer. It was inevitable, the wedding had to be cancelled. Both Anastasi and Saam were respectively devastated and disheartened. Lost deposits and a painful feeling in their hearts they didn’t realistically feel that they could recreate their vision, and in, of all places- Ottawa while also living in Toronto.

Amidst the pandemic Anastasia & Saam re-grouped and started contacting vendors to help them celebrate their wedding day the best they could. But they were up against a Covid and the world had other plans. Newly updated restrictions without notice, grey areas of interpretation and guest safety was a major concern. Dancing was officially banned, while food and beverage was being served guests were to remain at their seats, masks to be worn if a guest left their designated seats, live performers had to be placed far from guests, 1 meter physical distance had to be maintained at all times, tables needed to be spread far apart, guests had to be seated in their own bubbles, contact lists needed to be formulated for contact tracing for guests and vendors alike, security was tight etc which continuously posed new challenges Anastasia and Saam didn’t have the strength to get through. The obstacles mounted and the murky logistics seemed like a never ending battle they weren’t prepared for. How could you possibly celebrate in such circumstances?

When Saam and Anastasia contacted us we could feel the tension in their voices, the mourning for their beautiful wedding in Greece. We had large shoes to fill. With the unknown ahead of us, we began planning their wedding in stages with a 2 month head start. The date changed numerous times, the amount of guests permitted changed based on our local health regulations and the work put forth was as if we were planning 4 weddings at once. There was a plan A-Z and I think at the end we were on plan W. Covid provided its own set of hurdles to overcome with short supply in vendor availability, constant price changes, scarce furniture rental ability, short supply of floral product, staffing shortages, and new costs associated to Covid cleaning procedures and food safety. All of these things played into how we would be able to design and plan their wedding. A spiderweb of complications which left all of use with extreme highs and lows. A roller coaster ride no one want to be on. Where was this silver lining everyone talks about?!?!

In over a decade of working in this industry, I had never had to deal with so many unknowns. In some respects it felt like this was the first wedding I had ever planned. Nothing was the same and every day had a new surprise which was completely out of our control. It took a lot of creativity and out-of-the-box thinking, major discussions that were hard to have and a lot of personal favours called in to make this wedding happen as close to the clients vision as possible.

We personally had sleepless nights, mini anxiety attacks and mini fits of disbelief. But we pulled through and it made us strong for it. It’s an experience my team and I will not soon forget and a huge learning opportunity. It pushed us to the brink- but the reward of hearing “It was the best day of our life”made it ALL worthwhile.

I remember meeting with Saam and Anastasia after the wedding and the sheer joy they emitted was palpable. They explained that throughout the whole process they were skeptical of how they would actually feel on their wedding day having been robbed of the privilege in having their dream wedding in Greece. But, they explained, it was everything and more then what they would have expected for their dream wedding. It was incomprehensible how the day all came together and that their day was truly special in every way. Cloud 9.

And this only begins to scratch the surface of this wedding story….

Vendors:

Planning & Design Toast: Events

Photography: Lace & Luce

Venue: Ottawa Art Gallery

Florals & Decor: Wedecor  

Makeup Artist: Klava Z Beauty

Hair Stylist: Hair By Adamo

Cake: Girl With The Most Cake 

Caterer: My Catering Group

Entertainment: Luxe Duo 

Videography: Up North 

Entertainment: Shawn Marino 

DJ: Matt Ferguson 

Transportation: Antique Limo Services & Maestro Limousine

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TOP 5 PLACES TO ELOPE OR HOST YOUR MICRO WEDDING IN ONTARIO & QUEBEC

Yesterday on my Instagram Live I spoke about my top five places to elope or host a micro wedding in 2021. And to be honest I have a long list of adventurous niche spots that didn’t make the list but are amazing options for couples who crave that unique intimate wedding or ceremony spot. If you’d like to hear the full Live, click this link, select my profile and click the little IGTV button. There you will see all my recent lives including “Ontario Covid Restrictions for Weddings in 2021”, “Quebec Covid Restrictions for Weddings in 2021”, “My Predictions for Covid and Weddings in 2021” and so much more….

I absolutely love micro weddings. It allows us vendors to really create something truly unique and detailed to our clients which is unreplicable. There is no other experience like small micro weddings and elopements. It allows you to really slow down, live in the moment and truly enjoy being a guest at your own wedding. My hope, even without a pandemic, small intimate weddings are here to stay. So without delay, here are my personal top 5 places to elope or host your micro / petit wedding in Ontario and Quebec.

OTTAWA ART GALLERY": ALT/AR Luxury Wedding Ceremonies

IMAGE: Lace & Luce

YOU DESERVE SOMETHING BEAUTIFUL You've found the love of your life, you're read to say "I Do". But the world had other plans. ALT/AR - is a new collaboration between Ottawa's top luxury wedding vendors, offering everything you need for the unique, intimate, wedding ceremony of your dreams. A complete wedding ceremony package for you and up to 20 guests. A stunning, award-winning venue, design and styling by with editorial-worthy photos are just the beginning. The best part? All you need to do is show up and let their dedicated team take care of the rest.

THE ALT/AR ceremony package: INVESTMENT: $3600 + HST

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IMAGE: Joel & Justyna

FAIRMONT CHATEAU LAURIER

I’ve been planning weddings at the Chateau Laurier for over a decade and I am privileged to be one of their preferred wedding planners. During the pandemic I experienced the Chateau in a completely new light. With the halls empty and not a guest in sight, for an elopement- it felt as though our couple had the castle to themselves. We planned their elopement in Suite 458, which design wise has not been changed since the hotel was built. Dark wooden paneled walls, asian patterned wallpaper, deep burgundy curtains, antique furniture and a gorgeous fireplace gave way to a beautiful transformative Victorian Era experience for the bride and groom. The ceremony for two took place in the Suite’s living room with pictures in the seemingly abandoned ballroom and dinner back in their suites dining room. The Chateau also has The Karsh Suite which is more creamy colored and newly furnished, The Prime Minister’s Suite and also the Quebec Room which is perfect for a micro wedding. The presidential suites I have mentioned all have a living room and dining room which can seat up to 10-12ppl. Depending on restrictions you are able to order your dinner from Zoe’s and have the wait staff drop-of your f&b just outside your door. Currently they are not permitted to enter any guest rooms. Since I was already present, I set the dinner table for my couple. Another note to consider is that the hotel will always be open, so if we fall into a red or grey zone, though your service may be different- you likely will never need to cancel or postpone your elopement. If you are having a micro wedding with guests, additional restrictions would apply.

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FOREST & STREAM CLUB

For over 130 years, The Forest & Stream Club, one of Canada’s premier clubs invites both members and non-members to host their weddings on their beautiful property on Lake St. Louis in Dorval Quebec. The Club is a 20-minute drive from downtown Montreal. This Mansion was built in 1880 and offers the capability to have your wedding elfresco, tented or indoors with bridal suits for getting ready. I haven’t planned any events at this location, however it checks all the boxes for a private lakeside mansion elopement or petit wedding. All the english countryside charm is sure to transport you to feeling as though you’re in Europe.

IMAGE: cepstudio.com

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IMAGE: The Wander Resort Website

WANDER THE RESORT, PRINCE EDWARD COUNTY

Imagine it’s your wedding day, you’ve scheduled an early morning yoga session with your bridal party on the sandy beach. As the Club House prepares your breakfast charcuterie boards and mimosas you take your pup to their DOG PARK!!! Your private modern scandinavian cabin and beauty team awaits for you and your bridal party to get ready. Ceremony beach side, dinner alfresco, in your cabin or at the Club House, ending the night with a bonfire, live music and smores. Your weekend micro wedding retreat in Prince Edward County. This newly built resort is beautiful all season round. It’s the perfect setting for a modern alternative couple looking to escape the everyday.

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IMAGE: Julia Garciaprat

LE PONT COUVERT

I have fallen in love with this quaint boho wedding venue quite literally built atop a bridge. Nested in the heart of the Bucolic village of la Conception, Le Pont Couvert is located 10 minutes from the renowned Tremblant Resort. With a ceremony outside the venue or a quick flip inside, this venue would be perfect for a micro wedding under 30 ppl. Imagine all the possibilities. Hanging florals or twinkle lights… Le Pont Couvert also has a green policy in an effort conscious waste reduction, plastic straws, water bottles plastic , the confetti non-compostable , the floating & flying lanterns are prohibited. If you’re an eco-friendly bride, this might just be what you're looking for!

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IMAGE: The Wakefield Grand Website

THE WAKEFIELD GRAND

30 mins or so from the Ontario border, in Wakefield is a precious and unique boutique hotel owned by le Belvedere. It’s swiss and scandinavian aesthetic provides and intimate getaway in a charming village. It beautiful pergola lends itself for the perfect ceremony backdrop or outdoor dinner. Complete with a firepit and indoor dining space. The Grand is the perfect place for small weddings of 10 to 20 persons. This is the closest you’ll find to a close retreat like wedding within the Ottawa area.

Intimate Wedding Package Includes:

• Overnight Accommodation

• On-site Ceremony

• Complimentary Champagne Toast

• Post Ceremony Canapés

• 5-course Gourmet Plated Dinner

• Late night Fireside Snacks

• Complimentary espresso, coffee, tea and non-alcoholic drinks

• Price Includes 15% Service Charge

Price per person is $375 (+ tax)

IMAGE: Paul Sanderson Photography

FINDING SPRING MICRO WEDDING AT OTTAWA ART GALLERY

This beautiful micro wedding was featured on Style Me Pretty this past summer and was shot the week before our Canadian Covid lockdown.

Inspired by the Art Nouveau era perfume ads, we desired to create an editorial to radiate the change of the season from Spring to Summer. Wanting to use the idea of fragrance and how it evokes memories our main elements consisted of highlighting the abundance of arching florals to the essence of our delicate blooms creating fragrance in form of a parfumerie infused shoot.

Careful attention was made in the creation of crystal etched and antique perfume bottles as favors, a DIY Parfumerie bar where guests could create their own personal scent, and an art-deco inspired hand painted floral canvas which resembled European perfume advertisement in the 1920’s.

From the SMP article

“Today's stunning editorial captured by Lace and Luce, was inspired by European perfume advertisements in the 1920’s - I mean, how cool is that? Toast Events brought their vision to life with every thoughtful detail, including crystal etched and antique perfume bottles as favors and a DIY Parfumerie bar where guests could create their own personal scent.”

Photos by Lace and Luce

ALT/AR Ottawa's Luxury Socially Distanced Ceremonies

I know it’s been really hard. The uncertainty, constant challenges, mounting anxiety with the hope that something may change. But as soon as the clouds start to part and the sun start shining- the world has other plans.

But love always finds a way. It’s been a tough couple of months which has challenged me in ways I’ve never had to in my decade of planning weddings and events. What can I do to help that supports deserving brides & grooms and our industry... Many of my couples have postponed BUT still wanted to tie the knot in 2020 and celebrate their one year anniversary with all their nearest and dearest... like ringing in the new year with champagne and those scarce things called hugs. But even though they were postponing I still wanted to provide them the gorgeous ceremony they had envisioned for their special day. That even though not everyone could be with them, that there was still as much pomp and circumstance. And ALT/AR was born. The all inclusive socially distanced Luxury ceremony with the most sought after wedding professionals. The image you see here is what YOUR ceremony will actually look like. YOU will be walking down that same aisle... 

NOV 7TH & 21ST

NEW YEARS EVE & NEW YEARS DAY

Imagine walking down this exact aisle as you celebrate with your nearest and dearest.

Each date has 5 openings. Upon booking you will be connected with myself to guide you through the process of planning your ceremony. On your wedding day, upon arrival I will greet and escort your guests to the bright and airy socially distanced ceremony space. As you take your first steps down the aisle, musically accompanied by Luxe Duo, Edward, The Hitch Doctor will be in waiting to guide you through your vows. After the ceremony a Champagne toast, cake cutting and a fine art portrait session with Europe’s Finest traveling photographers Lace & Luce. And we can’t forget those keepsake details photos! Your ring placed and captured in Toast’s signature flat lay vignettes with a custom take home Vow Booklets.

INCLUSIONS

Ceremony in a light & airy space

Florals & Decor as seen in photos

Wedding Planning Assistance

Bridal Bouquet & Boutonnieres

Officiant

Live music by Luxe Duo

Champagne Toast

Petite Wedding cake

Fine Art Photography Session

Keepsake Vow Booklet

Let’s edit 2020 ; love always finds a way.... 

Or contact Beth from the Ottawa Art Gallery at bevans@oaggao.ca

OUR LATEST WEDDING DESIGNS

We’ve been so busy in the office as of late designing for 2020 and 2021 brides. To say this is my favourite part is an understatement. If you’ve been following our Instagram Stories lately you would have have see a few sneak peaks of what I’ve been working on. But I thought I would show you everything we’ve done since the Pandemic! The creativity doesn’t just stop.

ROMANTIC INDUSTRIAL TOSCANO

This gorgeous client is getting married at the Horticulture Building. All her original inspiration came from on of our past wedding featured on Style Me Pretty. See the full wedding here. Because our brides wedding is this fall we decided to add burgundy and deep crimson pops of red/black. Our floor plan also changed quote a bit with multiple floating greenery halo’s throughout the whole building. We also included the DJ within a large bar, giving it that luxury vibe.

ECO LUXURY CLEAR TENT WEDDING

This gorgeous client planning for this September in Quebec at a private club had two variations of her design. At first she was thinking of a more luxe look with pops of black but opted for a softer look bringing in french Parisien wood elements with two large lounge areas to keep the vibe luxe but casual and comfy. She also pitched the idea of a Versace printed dance floor in a nude color… so I’m excited to see how that turns out. I LOVE it when clients take the leap in incorporating things they’ve never actually seen before!

BOTANICAL GATSBY RHAPSODY

Yes you heard me right! Gatsby esq design. This client is getting married on Halloween this year! To say i’m excited about this design is and understatement. Our design here is for the Ottawa Art Gallery for 200 guests. Because they’re wedding falls on Halloween, they wanted to play up the black tie costume aspect giving their guests and opportunity to really “zhuzh it up” to the max gatsby style! Everything needed to be larger than life for this wedding. The bride asked for an organic and mid century modern variation of Gatsby…. a challenge?!?! Never! I pushed my creativity to the limits. Our floor plan includes a FULL . ROOM . FLIP . …… Did you read that?!?! Yup from 200ppl for a ceremony to 200ppl cocktail in the Alma Duncan Room. Imagine this, walking down the herringbone patterned aisle with 5ft tall oversized crystal chandeliers floating above encompassed by floral halo’s and a ceiling of twinkly lights….. at the alter a large floral arch awaits with the twinkling lights waterfalling from the ceiling to the floor….. and that’s all you get to know! The client and I cameup with some super cool never done before concepts which I can’t wait to show you on the day of! It will blow your mind!

70’S NEW AGE ITALIANO RETRO

I had a lot of fun with this design. The Bride wanted a few key elements including pampas grasses, burnt orange and a tuscany 1970’s vibe. At first it was hard to imagine the combination and we had to be careful how we added the burnt orange so that it didn’t look too pumpkin Halloween. It’s hard to get burnt orange in the flowers I would typically request for a design, so i decided to add in the terracotta to balance the color and also the 70’s vibe were looking to achieve - keeping in mind the pampas grasses. I always like to have hints of a theme instead of theming it out completely because then it looks overdone and super intentional. The verdict is still out on this design…she may not like the terracotta element or decided to axe the pampas grass. We shall see.

UPDATE:

Since this email has been drafted we’ve had a mood board revision. Sometimes when you see all the elements on your wish list come together- it wasn’t as you had imagined. This being said our bride opted for a more tan inspired look.

DESIGN PROCESS

For every client we do Full Planning with, design is always included. But we do have many clients from other cities and countries that we design for which may of may not have their own planner. In that case with our Design Only, we also include a Technical Doc which you can see a bit of bellow. The imagery and the process allows us to design full weddings and leave the coordination and planning to the client or their planner.

We currently have a client getting married in Picton and she has hired us exclusively for design and partial planning and will have their own Day of Coordinator whom is local which we will work with in conjunction. This works great for clients who want to support local but also want a gorgeously design wedding.

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So that is all of what we have completed in design during this Pandemic. I purposely took what might have felt like a bleak day, tuned on some tunes and designed my little heart away!

If this has inspired or excited you feel free to send us a note and maybe we could be designing for you next!

xoxo Elise

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MORE INFORMATION

BEHIND THE SCENES

EXPECTATIONS

THE REAL COST OF WEDDING DECOR

Photo by Lace & Luce

Do you ever look at gorgeous wedding inspiration and wonder- what does this actually cost?

Our industry is full of over the top unattainable design ideas which are outrageously costly. One of the top three questions I’m asked in my consults is:

“How much is the average wedding? ”

That’s such a tricky question! There are so many things I could address by answering this one question. The first thing I tell brides, is that you should be thinking of your wedding as a pie. Now cut that pie in three. One part is decor, one part is food & beverage and the third part is everything else. Now, depending on where your actually priorities lay- those three pie pieces get bigger or smaller and adjust accordingly. Then I tell my clients, whatever image you’re looking at… whatever dollar figure pops into your head, times that by 3.

BUT! There is a big BUT here. I have designed and planned absolutely stunning weddings for budgets from 20k which can look as beautiful as a wedding you might see in a magazine with a 50k decor budget only. The secret lies in years of experience and a few tricks of the trade.

In todays blog post I’m going to breakdown the cost of my last styled shoot with Lace & Luce and Lavish Decor at the Ottawa Art Gallery.

Before we begin, here is a great behind the scenes clip pulled from my instagram account. This will give you a better perspective of the scale of what we created. You won’t believe what it costs!

In this shoot we set a head table for two and two “honour” reception guest tables for a total of 18 guests. It’s important to note that we also re-used the large white standing art structures for the ceremony and again behind the head table. In this design we also used minimal florals and greenery with an emphasis on candles.

So here is the breakdown:

DECOR

• 2 Art Structures @ $450

• Gold Fan Chairs @ $12 each

• 3 Glass tables with ornate gold guild legs @ $350 ea

• 1 Round glass cake table with ornate guild legs @ $150

• 5 Crystal Candelabras per reception table @ $75 ea

• 24 Crystal Candlestick holders & candles @ $10 ea

• Gold rimmed scalloped dinner plate & side plate $6 per setting

• Gold cutlery set @ $3 per setting

• Silk linen on head table $40

• Decor installation cost $500

• Table stationary $18 per person

FLORAL

• Greenery and blooms on art structures $150 ea

• Greenery and tables with select blooms $150 per table

• Floral installtion cost $500

DESIGN TOTAL COST $6,243.00 (aprx)

Now you can look at this in a few ways. This design if applied to a full wedding would be $346 per person. You can do the math quite easily if you have 100 guests, granted you keep in mind some costs mentioned above are fixed and not variable by guest count. It can be costly! Crazy how something that looks so simple can be so costly. But let me change your perception for a minute because if you were a real client I would tell you to keep this design for 1/3 of your guests, and the rest of the tables to something simple and tastefull like floating candles in water with a few tossed blooms and greenery. That would reduce your decor cost by 30%. Now if you’re loving this design, but don’t have the budget I’ll tell you think about doing this design for the head table and family “honour tables” only. Leaving simple decor for the rest of the reception tables. Its’ a design principal I’ve been using for years and how with fore-thought and intention we can make your wedding absolutely stunning while being budget conscious.

I had a nice conversation on-set while setting up this styled shoot with Jenny from Lavish Decor. She’s originally from England so our chat naturally ended up being about the differences between our bridal industry vs Europe’s. And she told me something really interesting. She said- in England they keep all the lavish over-the-top decor in the centre of the room closest to the head table. That way when the photographers shoot- their images make it look like it’s a celebrity wedding. All the other tables are plain with only a few candles or a single candelabra. This eludes to what I had mentioned before about being budget conscious. i always find it fascinating what’s seen as the “norm” in other countries. I was first introduced to this when we planned a wedding in Germany. After the ceremony we arrived at the castle for champagne in the gardens followed by cake and coffee. We then moved guests into the chateau courtyard where we had more cocktails and dinner alfresco. A long procession of eating and celebrating. Oh and the DJ plays until the sun comes up…. not the 1am shut-down time we have here!

So next time you look at beautiful decor pictures on Pintrest, keep in mind that it’s probably three times more expensive than what you think- but that it can be possible if you’re open-minded.

xo

Eliza