Eleanor & Liam's Gorgeous Fall Wedding at the Enoch Turner Schoolhouse :)

When I first met Eleanor & Liam, I noticed that they're one of those couples who - even though they've known each other for years now - are always holding hands or have their hands on each others knees. I love that about them :) For a couple like this, the joy in their wedding day has nothing to do with pretty details, and everything to do with a room full of love and your soul mate beside you. So months before the actual wedding, I knew it would be an amazing, fun, and heartfelt day. As it turns out, it also happened to be stunningly beautiful :) Here are some of my favourite images from this fantastic day..

The guys were very relaxed in the "getting ready" stage - and that was without even dipping in to the lovely bottles of rose gin that the groomsmen got as gifts ;)

 Looking good and ready to go - complete with a sword that's been passed down through Liam's

 family since the war of 1812! (more of that sword later..)

 There's something fantastic about bookshelves full of real books that people have actually read -

this one ran the length of the wall and seemed the perfect background, since it's a common love of theatre that brought Eleanor & Liam together in the first place :)

I love these reactions - especially Dad's!

We took these gorgeous ladies down to the Distillery District, where they turned heads
everywhere they went :)

 I'm so in love with these images of Eleanor on the little bench under the hearts!

If you thought that got a lot of attention, you should have seen the large crowd that gathered to watch as a piper led Eleanor, her dad, and the ladies from there to the Enoch Turner Schoolhouse for the ceremony! Thankfully they were kind enough to mostly stay out of the pictures ;)

an amazingly grand entrance :)

A post-ceremony photo with all the guests out front of the schoolhouse..

 I absolutely adore how the golds and oranges of the bridal party pop against the red brick
and blue woodwork!

 The beautiful hall, all ready for dinner - believe it or not, Eleanor had a ladies' night the night before and they did all these floral arrangements themselves! :)

 If guests wanted to see the bride & groom kiss, they had to get up and sing something for everyone - this might seem like a tall order, but it turns out this was a room full of very talented performers!

And here comes the sword! Not only great for cake-cutting, but also for the spirited Highland
dancing that followed!

Eleanor & Liam: I can't imagine a more perfect wedding day for the two of you :) It was a beautiful reflection of the genuine warmth and thoughtfulness that characterizes not only the two of you, but also your families and friends as well - may you have many many years of happy days together!

xo
Jessica + Norman

Venue: Enoch Turner Schoolhouse

Andrea + Dave's Beautifully Detailed Wedding at the Enoch Turner Schoolhouse

While I was preparing the images for Andrea + Dave's blog post I was trying to think why it was that I loved their wedding so much.. was it all the thoughtfully designed details? Or that they had used two of my favourite colours for all those details? Or was it the long list of talented and generous friends who made those details happen, and made the day incredibly personal? Or, maybe it was that Dave proposed to Andrea while they were staying in Nice, France, at the exact same hostel where I met my lovely husband Norman a few years back (how's that for a coincidence??)? Maybe all of the above? The fact remains: I loved Andrea + Dave's wedding, and I know they did too :) Here are some of my favourite images from their fantastic day..

Dave is a graphic designer (here's his website), and did all the designs for the invitations and labels (coming later..) The great argyle theme was carried throughout the day :)

 Andrea is a jewellery designer (check out Apa Design here), and made not only their wedding rings but also the jewellery for the bridesmaids (below, left) and argyle cuff links for the Groom! Also, her taste in shoes is amazing :)

Andrea's make-up was done by her friend Sonia, and all the girls' hair was done by Jamie (above) who's boyfriend also happens to be Josh, the Best Man. 

Dave's sister Heather sewed a tiny silver disk reading A+D into Andrea's dress, and one into Dave's jacket.

 The Beautiful Bride, ready to go :)

Andrea with her Mom, and with her sister "Best MoH Ever!" Daniella..

 And the Handsome Groom, also ready :)

 The wedding took place at the lovely Enoch Turner Schoolhouse in downtown Toronto - what a fabulous venue inside and out!

Bridesmaid Kirsten did a beautiful job making the girls' bouquets, and also made the centerpieces (coming up later..)

 Dave + Andrea wrote their own vows, and they were awesome. Yes, I cried. And for the record, so did Norman ;)

 I love this shot of "The Guys" (and Tara) gushing over Dave's new ring!

 More argyle! I loved Andrea's shoes, which were a vintage find :) I also adored her birdcage veil by the lovely and talented Nicole of Oh Dina!

 Definitely the most original invitations I've ever seen - I especially loved the thermometer where guests could fill in their "excitement level" when they RSVPed!

 Each table was named after a place that Andrea + Dave have travelled to together - and if that's not great enough, check out the amazing postcard table markers designed by Groomswoman Tara Phillips (below). And here are some of those labels I was telling you about, which Dave's Mom did the assembly for. She was also the one who planted all the pretty little herbs in the pots :)

 We made a fantastic guest book using images from Andrea + Dave's engagement photo session. The card box was made by Best Man Josh out of purple heart and chewy maple wood, which sounds as cool as it looks!

 The speeches were great, and included telling the story of how the car with all the girls' dresses got towed the night before the wedding, a showing of one of Dave's earliest portfolios, and Andrea's Dad thanking the "village" that helped the whole day come together :)

 This is one of my favourite things about weddings - how it brings out the romance in all the couples in the room :) These two (below, right) were Jenn and Connor Green - Andrea + Dave's lovely pre-wedding personal trainers..

I also loved that nearly every guest in the room joined in for the Bride's dance with her Dad, and the dance floor filled up again during the Groom's dance with his Mom :)

 Many friends and even the happy couple themselves contributed to all the goodness on the late-night baking table - yum! Dave's sister (and Bridesmaid) Heather made the feature dessert, which was a chocolate coffee mousse (yes, it was so good that I ate mine before it occurred to me to photograph it!)

 After all the excitement of such a great day, I snuck Andrea + Dave back outside for a few last shots :)

Even more than all the very good reasons way up at the top about why I loved this wedding, I think the main reason was that this was one truly amazing couple to photograph. Andrea + Dave - you two were so natural, so happy, so grateful, and so in LOVE that you were an absolute joy to be with and photograph on your wedding day :) We are truly honoured to have been a part of it, and wish you many years full of the kind of love and smiles that we saw so much of on your wedding day!

xo Jessica + Norman

{We absolutely *love* to photograph alternative and non-traditional weddings :) If you've got one in your future, please get in touch!}

Bride's gown: Jealous Bridesmaids
Officiant: Helen Sweet of The Brides Project did a lovely ceremony
Flowers + bouquets: Kirsten Rohloff Neiman, Sweet Splendor
Flowers from: Bloor & Kennedy Flower Shop (Bloor-West Village)
Caterer: Herrera's (dinner was amazing!)
Cake: Bunner's Bakeshop
Photography: Jessica + Norman, Jessica Lin Photography