📋 Get the Wedding Quick Start Guide!

Elegant Evening Wedding

When you shop via links on our site, we may earn a small commission if you make a purchase. Learn more.
Elegant Evening Wedding

Morgan & Adam

Toronto, International
- 01/09/2017
Total wedding budget $15,000
wedding hangar
wedding dress
wedding shoes
wedding ring
wedding ring
CD wedding invitation
white wedding bouquet
white wedding bouquet
white wedding bouquet
bride getting ready
bride getting ready
bride getting ready
bride getting ready
embroidered suit
groom shoes
wedding boutonniere
wedding band
record cufflinks
wedding pocket watch
groom attire
first look
first look
couple photos
couple photos
couple photos
couple wedding photos
wedding ceremony
wedding bouquet
wedding shoes
wedding ceremony
wedding ceremony
wedding ceremony
wedding ceremony
wedding ceremony
wedding ceremony
wedding ceremony
first kiss
wedding recessional
wedding recessional
wedding recessional
hotel couple wedding photos
hotel couple wedding photos
hotel couple wedding photos
hotel couple wedding photos
wedding party
wedding couple photos
music themed wedding reception
music themed wedding reception
music themed wedding reception
music themed wedding reception
music themed wedding reception
music themed wedding reception
music themed wedding reception
music themed wedding reception
music themed wedding reception
cupcake table
cupcake table
dessert table
dessert table
record guest book
first dance
first dance

What was your budget?

Our budget was $15,000 (Canadian)

  • Venue: $3220
  • Food: $2435
  • Beverage: $2625
  • Photography: $2245
  • Flowers: $485
  • Invitations: $300 

How many guests did you have?

We had 65 guests, mostly family and our closest friends.

What creative or personal aspects did you include in your wedding?

We wanted a modern, intimate and cozy feel. Our color scheme is navy and gold, and our theme was music. Adam and I both have such a passion for music so we thought it would be a great way to add personal touches for our day. Our first dance is to “Song for a Winter’s Night.” We had little touches of our theme throughout the reception and even before then. Our invitations were mixed CD’s that looked like Vinyl. Our guestbook is a record with our logo in the center, and we have flowers made out of sheet music. Our card box is covered in sheet music as well. There will also be white lights on the ceiling.

We had a one-tier cake and then cupcakes. The tiered cake was Rainbow flavored as requested by the groom. There were flowers to match my bouquet on the cake. The cupcakes were white with gold sprinkles.

Did you do any DIY projects or create any handmade items for your weddings?

The invitations, guestbook, welcome table, were made by the best man. The cake was made by a friend.

What was the biggest thing you did to save money?

Our biggest challenge while planning our wedding was finding things to work within our budget, and finding time to go to meetings together. Doing a lot of things ourselves saved a lot of money. We also had a cocktail set up instead of a sit-down dinner. We chose to have a later wedding so we just did passed food and desserts. We had a Taco station, as well as platters put out with all different yummy selections!

What’s the best advice you have for planning your wedding now that you’re on the other side?

Just be organized! I could not have been more organized throughout the whole process and it definitely paid off. The day of was totally relaxed because it was all done ahead of time. The other thing is to have a core team of amazing helpers. I could never have pulled it off without my awesome family and friends.

What was your biggest splurge?

We spent the most on our venue!

What was your favorite detail?

Our invitations and guest book Record. Our best man Bill designed our Invitations for us, we wanted something different and when we decided to have music somewhat be a theme for our wedding, it came naturally that we incorporate that into our invitations. Each guest got a Mini Vinyl sleeve as their invitation which had a burned CD of music we chose inside. We decided to get a full-size Vinyl Sleeve for us to keep and to put on our welcome table. Then we got a record and put our logo on it. It was such an awesome touch that we will get framed and treasure forever.

My best friend Courtney helped me with a lot of our decor. She is so talented and made many of our handwritten signs and my favourite touch the Mr. and Mrs sign for the Sweetheart table. We also loved the sheet music flowers made by my Mother-in-Law. They were absolutely gorgeous and were displayed in both our ceremony and reception. Both on tables and she glued them on branches as well.

We were so lucky to have a family friend make our Cake. It was extra special because we gave her our initial ideas, but then the rest was a surprise! It was nice to just be able to trust her and know she would make us a cake and cupcakes that we loved. Which she did! It was gorgeous and tasted delicious!

What is the most memorable moment of your day?

Our ceremony was the highlight of the day for us! It was completely and honestly “Us”. From finding an officiant that totally understood us and that we got along with so well, to writing our own vows. There wasn’t one aspect of our ceremony that felt formal, which is what we wanted. It truly felt like we were just standing in front of our loved ones and doing things exactly how we wanted! We laughed and cried with our guests throughout the whole ceremony.

We had three special readings in our ceremony as well:

  • The first was read by Adam’s Sister from “All I Really Need to Know I Learned in Kindergarten” By Robert Fulghum. She did a beautiful job, and both Adam and I felt really proud of her!
  • Our second reading was incredibly special. My Nana who is 92 years old stood up and read a love letter that my Papa had written to her on their 69th Wedding Anniversary. We lost my Papa earlier in the year and they would have been celebrating their 70th anniversary in June. He was an incredible writer and having him a part of my ceremony was beyond special. I couldn’t believe my Nana was so poised and spoke so well. She even turned to me and said ” How are you doing Hunny?” A remarkable lady and a moment I will never forget.
  • I am a huge Winnie the Pooh fan so it seemed fitting to pick something by a favorite author. My best friend Holly did a reading from “From Now We are Six” – A.A Milne. I think the best part of it is that our officiant forgot this reading and had already announced us as husband and wife! It was such a real moment and we all just laughed and cheered and let Holly come and say it anyways. Then our Officiant Daniel said “Now Morgan you may Kiss the groom” Since Adam had already kissed the bride.

 

VENDORS

Photography: Samantha Ong Photography • Venue: Gladstone Hotel • Bridal Boutique: Kleinfeld Canada • Bridesmaid Gowns: J Crew • Cake Designer: Denise Watterson • Florist: Amy of Pink Twig • Groom Attire: Indochino • Make-Up Artist: Alyssa Caron of Bridezilla Beauty • Stationery: Bill Watterson