Grace & Toni || Cafe De L'Horloge Wedding

This wedding was featured on Junebug Weddings.

Grace & Toni met at a faith-based campus group at McGill. Grace says they connected

over the fact that we could talk for ages which we discovered while dissecting a book we had both read. We bonded also over being international students with surprisingly similar family backgrounds, in spite of having been brought up in Nigeria and Qatar. I noticed  how kind Toni was, how comfortable he was in himself, and his sense of humor and love for games;

Toni said “and I loved how compassionate Grace was (and still is), her wit, and incredible sense of style”

When I started talking to Grace & Toni, they had been planning a wedding for some time, and were struggling to find a venue that could accommodate a celebration uniting both of their large families that would be traveling from overseas.

What follows is what we all now know this year: the upheaval of the pandemic, the uncertainty built into planning anything, and then taking a chance and planning it anyway. As Grace told me,

Having to plan during the pandemic gave us the time and space to discern what mattered to us on our wedding day. It was fun (in the midst of the disappointment and stress) to be creative and  brainstorm within the restrictions and see plans take shape. It’s been hard having to miss some of the family traditions we had planned in both Nigeria and India this year. Thankfully our family has been virtually involved in the planning process, but, we have missed their physical presence and support here, and especially on the wedding day, we will miss Toni’s parents and other precious friends and family being with us in person. 

I can not stress enough just how swiftly Salar Events & Design switched gears in light of going into orange alert the week of their wedding (change of venue, disinviting more guests, adding a hotel to get ready in, pivoting and giving away decor etc.) and found a new accommodating space thanks to Yasmine at Cafe de L’Horloge in Rigaud. The vendor teams really pulled together to make this day happen so please make a note of them below! I must also give a shout out to the videographer, Plea, for pulling off technical wizardry in connecting Grace & Toni to their families attending from overseas via streaming services.

It was a beautiful day at the end of September — one of those days that did it’s best to feel like summer — and, well, I’ll let the photos do the rest of the storytelling :)

PLANNER Salar Events & Design DRESS Oui je le voeux SUIT Maison Leporem STATIONARY Deux Amoureux RINGS Ecksand RENTALS Casa D’Eramo FLORALS Efflorescence VIDEO Authentik Weddings CAKE Bayard Gateaux

A Fairytale Wedding set in the Autumn Colors of the Laurentians

It’s always exciting to get an artist as a client, especially someone who paints, because my work is heavily influenced by my mother who I grew up watching paint paintings. You don’t realize the abnormality of looking at art all of the time until you go to other people’s homes and start paying attention to the norms in society — so when an artist reaches out because they see the same type of painterly things in my work… well the bond feels almost immediate.

I felt really excited for Alex and Jordan to get married with their kids present. Like them, Dave and I kind of did the traditions in reverse so that our kids were present at our wedding too. There is something really special in having them there (despite some of the added work required to ensure they have suitable care during the day).

What a beautiful fall day it was up in Grenville-sur-la-rouge at the Hotel Lac Carling. The colors reached peak Autumn, peak sun throughout the ceremon. As a photographer working with harsh light has it’s dramatic benefits especially when there is a veil vying for a lot of attention. I mean… really I could do a whole blog post on the veil.

Jordan breaking down in tears as Alex walked up the aisle is something I’ll never forget, neither can I forget the warm welcome and relaxed vibe I experienced with all of the guests at their wedding. A side shout-out to my table partner James, who I became fast friends with in between meals and taking photographs — so a big shout out to him too if he’s reading this!

Anyway, this is a long visual post so I will end this here — but hopefully I put in a bunch of fun keywords here for the web crawlers to get more eyes on this beautiful wedding here.

VENUE & CATERING: Hotel Lac Carling BRIDE DRESS: Boutique Punta Chiara SUITING: Steven Berke RINGS: Ex Aurum HAIR & MUA: Wonderblush FLORALS: Westmount Florist CAKE: Cakes by Kirsten DJ: Schwintech PLANNING & DECOR: The Bride