Donna & Gary's Beautifully Intimate Family Wedding :)

When we first met with Donna & Gary, a couple of things were immediately obvious: that they are both very warm and genuine people, and that they are both very proud parents. Each of them has 3 sons (all in their 20's), and the only people maybe more excited than Donna & Gary for them to be joining their lives together are their boys :)
It was a perfect day, and made even more so by the closeness of everyone there. Small weddings are a personal favourite of mine (we had one ourselves!), and I think these images will show many of the reasons why..

Donna was radiant :)

 Donna's close friends Manon and Denise were there to help her get ready, as well as her entourage of lovely ladies: Allison, Charlotte, Vanessa, and Jenn :)

Gary had a play list for the morning.. most brides would have been worried that one of the first songs was "Born to Run", but this is a couple that has travelled the world to see Bruce Springsteen ;)

Once they were dressed, the guys headed over to the Irish Embassy for a drink and some laughs 

 One of my favourite parts of the day - the "first look".. I love the anticipation of this moment! (I also loved this beautiful vintage Bentley!)

 Donna's sons Matthew, Michael, and Jonathan helped lead her down the path to where Gary was waiting..

Since music is such a big part of their lives, The Toronto Music Garden was the perfect place for Donna & Gary's intimate ceremony :) The bridal party consisted entirely of the couple's sons, with Donna's sons preceding her up the aisle, and Gary's sons Cameron, Craig, and Ian standing next to him

This was beautiful - immediately following the ceremony, everyone released a Monarch butterfly :) Donna's decided to stick around, and was perched happily on her bouquet..

We had lots of fun with this group! 

(I have to say - a bridal party of just young men in black suits is pretty striking..)

The guys, showing off their fancy socks, and aerial skills :)

 I love love LOVE these images of the newlyweds with the late summer garden and glowy sun :)

 The dinner reception was held not far away at Canoe, which has stunning views and amazing food

 The guys were surprised by Gary's classy dance moves, but that was nothing compared to the surprise he had planned for Donna..

Just before sitting down to dinner, Gary stood up and started to sing "I Love You Baby" to Donna :) The look on her face was fantastic, especially when all the guys got up and joined in! 

I don't know if you remember the crazy lighting storm we had a couple of weeks ago..? This was that night - and the feeling of being in a cosy candlelit room while watching lighting strike the CN Tower about a dozen times was absolutely awesome! 

I've heard a lot of wedding speeches, but what was different about these was that instead of the bride & groom's parents talking about how proud they were, it was the bride & grooms sons saying how grateful they are for everything their parents have done, and how much it means to them to see 

Donna & Gary so happy together.. I'm sure most parents never get to hear that from their kids, and it was really touching :)

If I had to pick two words to describe this day overall, they would be "elegant" and "joyful" :)

Donna & Gary - we loved your wedding so much, and were so honoured that you had us there as part of your "family" for the day! Even nicer than knowing that you had such a perfect day though, is knowing that the two of you will be bringing each other so much happiness for all your future days together.. May there always be music in your love and in your lives :)

xo

Jessica + Norman