We ventured out last week to a cookie decorating class with instructor Jaclyn Douglas at the Bonnie Gordon School of Cake Design. To round out the group, one of our newly engaged readers, Carolyne and her friend Karen joined Catherine and me, at the school for two hours of education in royal icing. It was a sweet afternoon!

Even though none of us had much cookie decorating experience, we all left with three delightful seasonally inspired engagement cookies, a snow-couple’s engagement on a winter’s day, an announcement on a scroll and an engagement ring box, complete with sugar ‘diamond’ — each would work beautifully as a surprise engagement announcement, a save the date or a wedding announcement. We love the idea of leaving a pile of “we’re engaged” cookies out for family and friends to discover over the holidays (or anytime!)

From the right: our super talented instructor Jacklyn, Catherine, Carolyn, Karen and me.

Continue reading the post to get the DIY instruction and tools for your own cookie decorating.

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Today we’re thrilled to bring you a wedding from the AGO. In her email about the wedding, Elizabeth McMenemy wrote: “Jenn I and I met 2 years ago and knew very quickly this was it.”

“She bought me a band with diamonds in it a year ago asked me to marry her,” Elizabeth, who had just begun to a position at the AGO as an event coordinator, wrote, “I was very excited but unsure of what I wanted to do, many, many Friday nights I suggested we go to City hall and just do it but… family was a concern for the both of us. We both come from very supportive and close knit families and we wanted to make them a part of our wedding day.”
The AGO was a great fit because, as Elizabeth explained, it was a place they were both getting to know and felt comfortable, as well as a spot they felt they could throw a great party. The food was important to them, Jenn is a chef with Mark McEwen’s Bymark restaurant, and they knew Anne Yarymowich, executive chef at Frank Restaurant, would prepare something perfect for the event.

The wedding, a glamourous cocktail party with food stations was just what they wanted. And as Elizabeth said in an interview, “our priorities were to look good, and have good food, fun music and a great party … a lot of our friends made comments about exactly those elements at the end of the night.” One couple actually got engaged when they went home that evening, they were inspired by what Elizabeth and Jenn had created and realized they didn’t necessarily have to be tied to a more traditional formal.

Flowers: Karina Lemke/Posies
Photography: Michael Francis Photography
Officiant: Jeremy Citron

It’s a trend that’s on the rise, and when we started to think about it, the only way to get a real appreciation for modern boudoir photography was a trip to the front of the camera. When the opportunity came up, our stunning Wedding Show Coordinator and current bride-in-residence, Stephanie Gareri, volunteered to go the front lines, as it were, for a first-hand experience of what it’s like to strip down and oil up for a private boudoir session with photographer Josée, from Élisir. Stephanie also agreed to be interviewed about the process:

The Wedding Co.: Sooo… how did it go?
Stephanie Gareri: It was awesome, loved the experience.

TWC: What did you anticipate most about the shoot?
SG: I was definitely apprehensive about being totally nude in front of a complete stranger. It’s quite rare we bare all and strut in front of the lens. When I look through my baby albums I rarely had clothes on and loved every minute of it. I was really comfortable before puberty and learning about body image!

TWC: How did you prepare?
SG: As per Josee’s instructions, I lathered my body with cream about three times each day for a week, I also found a great DIY-face mask recipe for the night before so my skin would be glowing and detoxified (1 TBSP of honey and a 1 TBSP of oats). I wish I would have gone and had my nails done.

I find it awkward to be the centre of attention so I coaxed myself into being open to Josée and leaving all my inhibitions at the door. Curiosity also played a role, who doesn’t want to know what they look like naked?

My goal was to embrace the feeling of naked freedom I had as a child while injecting some sexiness and losing my inhibitions to achieve some creative and beautiful pieces of art that both my fiancé and I could enjoy.

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The Wedding Co.’s premier bride-in-residence tied the knot this August. Yes, Kellie married Glenn and together they threw a super party on one of this summer’s few gorgeous balmy nights.

The couple, along with their closest friends and family, descended on the Distillery for a ceremony at the Arta Gallery and a reception at the Boiler House restaurant. The evening ceremony meant there were few other people in the historic district of the city and for attendees to the wedding, it felt like the party could have spread beyond the barriers of the venue.

You may recall, if you’ve been keeping up with Kellie’s adventures as a bride-to-be, that she agonized over her gown, {who wouldn’t?} and the one she wore was a custom Ines di Santo creation, really it was three of Kellie’s favourite gowns by the designer melded into one spectacular dress. Catch up on the background of her great dress hunt here.

The high energy pair decided early on in their engagement that theirs would be a non-wedding and to do away with many of the traditions and rituals that accompany a wedding. No bridal party to ‘attend’ the couple meant no potentially mind numbing showers involving toilet paper but did entail two high stakes trips to Vegas with each group of respective friends. The details of those trips are here, and the story about Kellie’s super modern wine shower are here.

From the candy labels to the invitations and website to the photo booth and custom goco, which put their names in light on the dance floor, the wedding showcased the talents of both and their mutual love of everything fun. Dinner was a mix of stations and passed food which included mini fish and chips, poutine and dumplings; guests wandered through the loft-style restaurant, settled at the spectacular long bar and found quiet corners outside under the stars to munch and mingle.

The atmosphere of fun and love pervaded every aspect of the night and speeches were a combination of hilarious odes in the forms of poetry and prose, Kellie’s mother described her as a person who has been full of joy her whole life and the unofficial best man brought the house down joking that theirs was the classic story of Burlington meets Newmarket.

A communal first dance combined with a traditional Polish shot got the party started and guests left the party with a box of favourite sweets for the ride home and a cd of the tunes the pair selected to represent their night.

Photographs by Anthony Manieri/ 5ive15ifteen photo company

By Stephanie Gareri

...after I said Yes! at Lago Di Como

Being the avid F1 enthusiasts that we are, when my boyfriend Scott told me we were going on a last-minute, jet-setting weekend to the F1 Grand Prix of Monza, I was naturally super-excited. What I was not expecting was that he master-minded the entire weekend.

On Saturday evening, at La Piazzetta in Lago di Como after a lovely dinner, and to my complete surprise, he popped the question and … I. Said. YES!

Looks like I will be taking a break to walk The Wedding Show for some of my own ideas in January. Stay tuned as The Wedding Co. officially has a new bride in residence.

The Wedding Co. caught up with our Bride-in-Residence, Kellie Smith, last week to see what she had planned for her last 5 days leading up to her wedding on Saturday. Needless to say that after a year and a half of serious planning, she’s a little excited to see the evening she and the bf, Glenn, have worked so hard to put together.  “It’s tangible now,” she said, “and now my friends are getting excited and talking about what they’re wearing.”

The striking black envelope, calligraphed in white, that Kellie and Glenn's invite arrived in, immediately set the tone for their non-wedding wedding celebration.

Like most brides, Kellie’s got a lot on her plate for this week, from final dress fittings to small items that have to be left to the last minute like putting together welcome gifts for guests who are staying at hotels and working on the tags for the candy bar. The nice thing is, all the really hard work is over and the details she’s got to finish up “are the fun stuff.”

Two thing’s she’s learned over the past few weeks however are the value of a day-of planner, “It’s been so so so worth it,” she says, “I can’t imagine having to follow up with all my vendors during work hours and there is a profound difference between being relaxed and feeling chaotic on your wedding day, with the 1,000 things that need to be done, I think my planner is the best investment for the entire day!” Secondly, Kellie’s wishing she took a little more time off work before the wedding day, between hosting a drop-in, welcome party on Friday and taking care of the final details, she’s wishing she had a little more time to get out of work mode before the celebrations begin.

Today, she’s officially off though, and I’m sure she’s zipping about town, checking off her to-do list, this time next week she’ll be in Maui, sipping cocktails on the beach!

Our bride-in-residence, Kellie, is now counting days rather than weeks to her wedding and to celebrate, both she and her boyfriend, Glenn, took individual trips to Sin City for a weekend of fun with their best friends.

His trip involved 22 guys and a 5 day weekend in Las Vegas “so that he could attend the UFC 100 fight(s). On the last day of his stag, Glenn lucked out and was able to meet his favourite UFC fighter, George St. Pierre (from Montréal).” Kellie wrote in an email.

Her trip a week later included 9 ladies, a coveted poolside cabana, The Fashion Show Mall and their own Montréal connection, box seats for Cirque’s “O”, something Kellie has been excited to see for years.

Both parties stayed at the Palazzo Hotel, which Kellie and her girls loved for its all-suites set up because it was perfect for sharing rooms and unpacking their many suitcases. “There was so much people watching, the cabana was crazy fun … we took advantage of the in-house spa on the overcast day.”

She re-capped her weekend jaunt in a short phone conversation last week and told The Wedding Co. there were tons of other bachelorette parties going on around the strip and they filled the gamut from over the top to toned down, which was more akin to Kellie’s pace and style, she was not interested in playing games or identifying herself as a bride-to-be with costume get-ups, but was able to indulge and lounge with her best girlfriends.

Two pieces of advice Kellie had to share after spending a weekend with multiple friends in Vegas – the restaurants won’t seat you until your entire party has arrived, so think about alternative meeting places so no one is waiting for their seat alone, and if you are heading out to a club, be there before 10:30, even if you are on the guestlist.

The Wedding Co.’s Bride in Residence is Kellie Smith, she and her boyfriend, Glenn, (she hates the moniker fiancé) will be married this coming August at the Distillery District. Kellie also writes her own blog, The Bespoke Bride. The following story was written by Stephanie Wright after an interview with a very busy Kellie Smith!

Months ago, Kellie’s friend Jess asked to host the bride a shower. Agreeing that an afternoon do wasn’t her style, they put their heads together and came up with a modern socialite’s alternative to tea and cake – cocktails and canapés at an evening event that would not include games with toilet paper. Jess had loved her own wine-themed shower and so they built upon that to create a fun evening for Kellie’s 25 nearest and dearest.

Kellie didn’t want to ask for gifts, especially due to the economy, but anticipating that guests would arrive with gifts regardless, she loved that the theme dictated, for the most part, a gift that was easily budgeted for. In one hilarious case, a friend who had flown in from Boston and was sorry she’d miss out on Kellie’s stagette, brought lingerie instead.

Guests were asked to bring a wine that held some meaning for them. Included in the invite was a card to write a personal message to both Kellie AND Glenn. When Kellie received the messages with the bottles, she wrote the name of the wine on the back of the card and stored them together in her new wine-rack, “which we’ve never been able to fill,” she says.

While some bottles have been consumed already and others are likely to be cracked before the wedding, the couple hopes to host more dinner parties down the road and the ultimate goal is to enjoy the bottle of wine with along with the person or couple who selected it.

The messages Kellie and Glenn received were a complete mishmash of traditional toasts and more intimate notes but each was personal because it was handwritten.

Carrying the theme through the shower, the party was fueled with passed hors d’oeuvres, champagne and wine bottle-shaped cookies and of course, lots of wine!

Almost two weeks ago, the 30-Day Bride walked down the aisle. One of her close friends said after the wedding that it was the most loving wedding she’d ever been to: “Everyone was just so excited for them, I’ve never been to a wedding where every single guest was that excited. They both have this great energy and together it’s just amazing.”

When The Wedding Co. spoke with Cachelle before the day she said, “I am going to be so much better at my job when this is over, I always put so much pressure on myself for my clients. I say, “if it rains, I will make it perfect regardless.” Now I know that my [outdoor ceremony] may have to be moved inside and I understand that a Plan B may not be ideal, but it will be fine. I can say to my couples now, “make a plan B and be prepared to go to it and everything will be fine.”

But the weather held for some gorgeous outdoor portraits.

When Cachelle's designer, Fiona Liston, told her the plan for the decor, she completely re-designed her invitations, menu cards, table cards and name cards to suit the romantic French theme.

Photography by T.H. Jackson Huang and Gillian Williamson/Ikonica

Start at the beginning and read all of The 30-Day Bride entries.

The Wedding Co.’s Bride in Residence is Kellie Smith, she and her boyfriend, Glenn, (she hates the moniker fiancé) will be married this coming August at the Distillery District. Kellie also writes her own blog, The Bespoke Bride.

We do not have bridal party. It was one of the first things we knew we’d do differently when we got engaged.  I know, sacrilege.

Maybe I’m jaded from hearing one too many bridesmaids lament the money they spent on a dress they’ll never wear again, or stressing about the multiple events that they need to plan and/or attend. We just felt that it would be easier for our friends to not be a part of a bridal party. And to be honest, a formal wedding party just wouldn’t fit with our ceremony or reception. Don’t get me wrong, I do know there is an honour in being asked to be an attendant, but the thought of having a friend “attend” to us just didn’t seem…well fair, or modern.

It turns out friends want to help, regardless of lacking the MOH title. We certainly didn’t want to exclude anyone from the fun parts of the planning process just without them having to shoulder any responsibility or need to invest any money. Rather than the traditional duties our bridesmaids and groomsmen would have felt compelled to participate in, many friends have helped in multiple ways: they have listened to ideas we were tossing around, shared their insight from their own weddings and even proofread our invitation copy. My girlfriend came over one night to help me assemble our invitations over a bottle of wine. {In hindsight, the wine probably wasn’t the smartest move, as a few incorrectly stuffed envelopes proved, but it was a lot of fun and great way to spend a few hours catching up!}

On the day of the wedding, our ceremony will be mostly about family so to celebrate with our friends, I’ll be hosting a drop-in for the girls and the BF will do the same for his friends.