Vanessa and Arek took a leap of faith in 2020. They reached out to their photographer mid-summer and said they were planning an intimate wedding at Waupoos Winery in Prince Edward County, and that everything would be happening in approximately one month’s time they thought “heck yes, we’re in”! Not only did Vanessa plan an intimate Ontario winery wedding in just over 1 month, but she planned the wedding while 5-6 months pregnant. This woman is a superhero, not only in wedding planning but in real life too, she’s a nurse in the NICU.
How did you meet?
We met in 2011 via the dating app plenty of fish. Shortly after we started dating I ended up getting injured and was on bed rest for 4 months while living with my parents so we stopped dating. We always stayed a part of each other’s lives, continue to date on and off over the years. In January 2019, we rekindled our old flame and started seriously dating. In January 2020, we started talking about moving in together and found out in the beginning of March that we are actually expecting a baby.
What is your proposal story?
I love to hike in the woods and had mentioned to Arek I was hoping to be camping when he proposed. Unfortunately because of Covid camping was not possible, so instead he planned a hike to Hilton falls and he proposed there.
Tell us a little a bit about your wedding.
Since Covid was happening we never expected to be able to get married in a venue such as Waupoos. One of our good friends knew the owner well and we ended up going there for a nice weekend getaway after we got engaged and that’s when they had proposed to us about being able to get married there and became reality shortly after.
Tell us about your attire choices.
I was six months pregnant when I was trying out dresses and my maid of honor had booked an appointment at David’s Bridal. I had some thought of what I wanted but never did I think I would choose the dress I ended up choosing. The sales person suggested it and it ended up being such an elegant choice that I would never have expected and I loved it. It felt so perfect for a winery wedding
What was the most important to the two of you while planning? Was there anything that you chose to splurge on or skip?
The only thing important to us was staying under budget and being sure everyone still had a good time. We definitely didn’t want to skip out on entertainment even though it was a bit tough with Covid restrictions. We managed to find a really great DJ.
What were your favorite parts of the day?
The ceremony was perfect and the officiant was so funny, he had everyone laughing for the whole thing. I really loved his style. It was so different from the norm. Our DJ played such great music, it felt so wonderful to see people enjoying themselves on the dance floor and letting lose, especially this year when no one has been able to dance in months.
Tell us about your wedding flowers.
Our wedding flowers were provided by Floralora. I wanted to have a bouquet that accentuated my dress and complimented all the greenery surrounding us. The archway flowers really helped to bring out the beauty of the Waupoos dock.
Tell us about your wedding cake.
We used butter dream cakes and wanted to go with a very natural woodsy look to the cake.
What did you do for favors?
We bought these handheld wine and beer bottle openers in the shape of a mini wine bottle. That had a wine label with our wedding date that said “cheers to love”
Please describe any DIY, handmade, or personal details.
I decorated the vases for the table centerpieces by gluing these pearls onto vases and put blue and clear rocks on the bottom. I got the idea from DIY Pinterest wedding ideas.
Did you include any family heirlooms or special traditions?
Not really, both of our families didn’t have any traditions or heirlooms to pass on. The wedding was also planned in a month and a half
Do you have any advice for couples planning their weddings now?
Don’t spend a fortune on fresh flowers, you can use fake flowers for quite a few things, just choose the important things that you want fresh flowers for. Don’t get fixated on little details, it’s about enjoying the day and not getting everything perfect!
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