2009-07-27 08:30:00 by BRIDE_TO_BE
CountryBride/City Bride
When Adam and I decided to get married in Toronto, we knew a few eyebrows would raise. While we have the same small town Ontario roots, our lives – and indeed our lifestyle – are now firmly planted in the “big city”. I’ve always known I was a city girl at heart, so there was no question that our wedding should be in the place we now call home. Well, that and the thought of celebrating our marriage in an arena that also hosts square dances, weekend hockey tournaments and fall fairs did little to conjure visions of a wedding wonderland.
With the prospect of hosting so many out-of-town guests, we've made it our matrimonial mission to create a wedding that appealed as much to our urban sensibilities as our rural roots and the people that nourish them.
We want to incorporate all the amenities we love about the city with the community spirit and friendly faces of a small town. Call it "comfortable chic". Our venue -The Assembly Hall-
is the cultural centre of our Lakeshore Village neighbourhood and had all the elements we were looking for to create a relaxed yet elegant atmosphere. Once part of the former Lakeshore Psychiatric Hospital, this historic building now features a glass and chrome facade and modern facilities. And since our guests are all about wide open spaces and fresh country air, the gorgeous surrounding grounds will prove once and for all that, yes, it’s possible to enjoy the great outdoors in the heart of the city. (Let’s just hope the garbage strike – and more importantly, the accompanying smells – are a distant memory by September).
We're keeping it local to simultaneously showcase small businesses (the backbone of small towns everywhere) and the diversity of the city. Since we're already familiar faces to many of the shop owners in our neighbourhood, everyone we've approached as a vendor has been more than willing to customize their goods and cut us a deal for our wedding.
We've hired Falafale Royal, our favourite Lebanese restaurant for our rehearsal dinner (chicken shawarma and falafel will be a first for our fams) and added handmade ice cream from Sweet Olenkas, our favourite local shop to our big day dessert menu. And our local butcher The Village Butcher will be trading in his apron for a bowtie to showcase the culinary creations of his catering business. When we told him we wanted "family dinner kicked up a notch" he was all but too happy to personalize our menu with comfort foods everyone will love: pot pies, roast chicken and macaroni and cheese for the kids.
When it comes to decor, we're keeping it modern and minimal - a sign of city chic if ever there was one. But since we want our guests to feel at ease, we'll warm up the space with flowers imported from my mother-in-law's country garden, heirloom silver serving pieces and family wedding photos.
What factors helped determined the location for your wedding?
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With wedding season in full swing, we thought it would be fun to have a local bride share with us her tips and tricks on doing more with less leading up to her wedding. Heather Watterworth is a Toronto smart bride knee deep in planning for her upcoming September wedding, and every week she'll be sharing loads of useful information to inspire you as you plan your own wedding.
