Late Summer Wedding at The Ancaster Mill in the Governor's Room

This Ancaster Mill wedding from August 2023 was one of the dreamiest late summer weddings we’ve done. Jess and Greg got ready at The Barracks Inn, a beautiful hotel in Ancaster which in itself was a lovely setting both inside and out. Their ceremony took place in the Miller’s Chapel and reception in the Governor’s Room of the Ancaster Mill.

Jess’ bridesmaids wore satin dresses in the loveliest shade of vintage rose, each with a different cut for the top to suit them best, which in my opinion is a timeless wedding trend. Greg and his guys were dressed in classic black suits with ties and bowties. Hair and makeup were done by one of our favourite and best Toronto wedding beauty teams, ES Bridal.

The team at Forever Wildfield did the most wonderful job of the floral elements which really were the star of the show at the reception and more than a gorgeous topper to complement the linens and tabletop rentals from Simply Beautiful Decor.

All photography was captured by Jeff Shuh and stationery was by All That’s Lovely.

We truly feel so lucky to have been a part of this incredible wedding that bride, Jess, so carefully planned and trusted us in executing!

Service: Event Management

A Colourful Summer Tent Wedding in Copetown, Ontario

By now you probably know that tent weddings are our jam and a challenge we embrace with open arms. There’s something about building a beautiful space where nothing exists that will never get old. And this particular wedding is a great example of a wedding that oozes class but with a casual edge. I think that also sums up so much of what we try to do with all of the weddings we plan so this feels like a great example of what we strive to build.

Not only that, this was something we fully planned in just four months. The family’s property is stunning, with the home being over 150 years old. It was standing in 1867 when the Dominion of Canada was created. How neat is that?!

Guests were greeted by a champagne table with the sounds of a New Orleans-style band playing, and it felt like a true celebration! The ceremony was set under a huge old tree, offering shade for guests and an incredible backdrop for the exchanging of vows and a reception following, catered by the incomparable Treadwell Catering and bartended by our favourite mobile bar truck, The Sway Bar. Guelph Tent Rentals pole tent was a showstopper with its Father of the Bride lighting, making a lovely glow all night long. Kendon Design Co. was tasked with the responsibility of filling the space with colourful florals including a round ceiling installation hanging above the head table, set directly in the middle of guests for a less formal feel. Simply Beautiful Decor’s fresh new line of Hampton Plaid linens and Florina Tan dinnerware helped to feed that casual chic design vibe. Once dinner was complete, The St. Royals, our favourite Toronto wedding band, kicked off the dance party with a short break that somehow so perfectly timed the launch of a firework show! It was all so serendipitous.

Oh, and I can’t forget to mention what is probably my favourite wedding cake that I think I’ve ever had for a client. A huge thank you to The Dessert Room for making this one just so perfect!

Kayla Potter Photography outdid herself capturing all of the details we all worked so tirelessly on for and we, and I am sure our clients, will be forever grateful! I still cannot get over the incredible flat lay she did of the invitation suite so carefully designed by Statue Rue, along with all of the other wedding stationery pieces.

We wanted this to feel fun, bright, joyful, and elegant and I think we accomplished just that. Enjoy scrolling through this beautiful colourful summer tent wedding in Copetown, Ontario. You’ll find the links to all of our wonderful vendors at the bottom of this post.

Kayla Potter Photography, Guelph Tent Rentals, Treadwell Cuisine, Kendon Design Co., The Dessert Room, Statue Rue, Simply Beautiful Decor, The Sway Bar, ES Bridal, St. Royal Entertainment and Special Event Rentals.

Service: Full Planning and Design

A Colourful, Private Estate Tent Wedding in Millgrove, Ontario

Kathryn and Evan’s colourful, pattern-filled wedding took place on her parent’s private estate in Millgrove, Ontario on October 2, 2022.

If you’ve followed along for a while, you know we love the challenges of planning tent weddings on private estates. The best part is that you can start from scratch with the design as there’s not much that controls the aesthetic like you would have in a traditional venue with its own style.

We started with a colour palette that pretty much included the rainbow and got started on the custom colour-blocked wedding invitations with Paper and Poste and a stunning lush floral design by Forever Wildfield. We then got the tent secured which was a gorgeous sailcloth tent from Guelph Tent Rentals. From there, we worked with Simply Beautiful Decor and Plate Occasions to select linens and tabletop pieces to carry through the navy and teals from our colour palette in a way that felt refined and elegant but still very in line with a more relaxed setting of home.

When it came time to food and beverage options, Kathryn had a specific vision in mind and there was no question that Saving Thyme Bistro would cater the event as Kathryn’s family has been long-time patrons of the restaurant. The cocktail experience was important to both Kathryn and Evan, and The Sway Bar knocked it out of the park preparing six speciality cocktails while also making sure everyone had their favourite wine and beer at the ready. To satisfy the sweet-tooth post-dinner, Sweet Celebrations created an epic cookie bar!

Additional lovely vendors include Radford Beauty, Signal Hill Band, 586 Event Group, and Wellington Music

Captured by Will Reid Photo.

Service: Full Planning and Design

THE FLOORPLAN

Tent wedding floorplan layouts can be tricky since you’re starting from scratch. Below is the floorplan we created in case it helps inspire your own tent wedding reception floorplan layout.

Taylor Swift Love Story Inspired Wedding at Elora Mill

All this talk about Taylor Swift and Travis Kelce’s love story has come at the perfect time to share this gorgeous Elora Mill wedding. I’ve you’ve ever wondered what Taylor Swift’s wedding might look like, we’ve got a good idea for you. This wedding has garnered a lot of attention on florist, Forever Wildfield’s social media and we are thrilled to finally be sharing it ourselves today.

We begin with the romantic setting of the Elora Mill, a top destination wedding venue in Ontario. Elora is a picturesque town just an hour from Toronto and it makes for the perfect weekend getaway with a quaint downtown area, fantastic restaurants, and options for exploring the gorgeous scenery.

The Elora Mill is full of beautiful design details and furniture inclusions that give it a natural effortless romantic vibe, so it’s not difficult to have a beautiful result, but the challenge comes from making it not feel like every other wedding there each weekend. Allie’s dream wedding vision was full of romance, candlelight, and soft textures, something we’re always on board for so we jumped at the opportunity to create a design that met all of these goals in a way that felt fresh.

Soft, warm hues of pink, creams, and sandy taupes made for the perfect romantic palette. Lots of candlelight and florals galore were the goal and my goodness did Forever Wilfield take it and run with it! Red Bicycle Paper Co. created a timeless invitation suite with flowing fonts and wax seal details and we worked with Simply Beautiful Decor to provide the most elegant table accent details from charger plates, napkins, and runners.

We can’t forget Allie’s gorgeous wedding gown feels like a modern take on the gown from the Love Story video. We’re still dying over this Taylor Swift Love Story Inspired Wedding at Elora Mill. Scroll to see the photos and the vendor list below!

The Floorplan

We’ve also included the floorplan we made for the Grand Room as some inspiration for your own wedding layout at Elora Mill.

Our Services: Creative Direction and Event Management

Vendors: Kat Arndt Photography, Forever Wildfield, Elora Mill, Simply Beautiful Decor, Red Bicycle Co., The Soenen Sisters, Total Betty, Christina Pfaff Makeup, The 99s, LPA Sound Services, 586 Event Group, Fancy that Cake

A Colourful Wedding Reception at The Arlington Estate

We have been incredibly lucky to work with exceptionally kind, thoughtful and caring clients and Georgia and Kyle top the list of couples whose planning journey and wedding days we want to relive over and over again. Their plans were greatly affected by the pandemic so we just held on until the timing felt right which allowed them to also start a family! They were married May 28, 2023 in a traditional Greek Orthodox wedding ceremony with their almost one year old son, Leo, by their side followed by a wedding reception at The Arlington Estate.

We had a colour palette of pinks, caramels, yellows, and deep rust-reds paired with a soft cool-blue.

Toronto wedding invitation designer, Paper Palette, designed an impeccable wedding invitation suite with a watercolor floral pattern atop a cool blue envelope, accompanied by rust-coloured ink for the copy and a soft pink reply card envelope. Wild North Flowers, a Toronto wedding floral studio, took our palette and hit a home run embracing those warm caramels and rust-toned reds softened by whites and pinks for a bridal bouquet fitting for a late-spring wedding. Simply Beautiful Decor’s tabletop pieces carried the design through to the tactile details with which the guests would interact. Oh, and we can’t forget the acrylic arch behind the head table from Exquisite Occasions that Wild North Flowers decked out in florals for a floating effect.

One of my favourite details has to be the custom mosaic tile-inspired dance floor vinyl by Designer Dance Floors. We also included some lounge furniture from Detailz Couture in the front lobby of The Arlington Estate to offer some soft seating for a casual cocktail hour period and some large 13’ ficus trees from Event Rent in the West Wing to play with the scale of the room being so large. The party portion of the evening was kicked off with fireworks from Firemaster Productions followed by an epic performance by The Dave Murphy Band.

Purple Tree Photography beautifully captured the day in its full splendor.

The other Toronto-based wedding vendors included Cocoa Cakery, Hotshotz Photobooth, Wild and Free Films, Nadia and Co., Erin Nicole Makeup Artistry, and Eryn Shannon Bridal.

Service: Design and Management

The Floorplans

We’ve also included the Arlington Estate wedding floorplan we designed for the West Wing and lobby as some inspiration for your own wedding layout at Arlington Estate.

Getting to know your DJ with Jamie from QA Entertainment

Why is having a DJ so important for a wedding?

Jamie says, “I could not possibly imagine a celebration without music. Music evokes emotion, and a wedding day not only is a day full of love, but the right music can certainly heighten any and all emotion that comes with the big day.

A DJ is also so good at reading the room, and can play the right song at the right moment, something that is a huge drawback of having just a set playlist from Apple Music or Spotify. DJs are more versatile in many different genres of music that can be played, which is an advantage over having a live band that may only have a handful of music genres in their repertoire.”

Image by @rubiconphotog

What is your favourite part of your job?

Jamie says, “The best part of my job as a wedding DJ is the appreciation from couples when their expectations were exceeded. Also, the reaction from their guests as they are thoroughly enjoying the music. Playing great music truly never gets old.”

What is your best advice for couples when looking for the right DJ for them?

Jamie says, “Do your research! A good DJ vendor should have nothing to hide. Here are a few different things to check as you begin doing research:

• Reviews! Reviews from past clients is a good place to start. Here at QA Entertainment, our contract asks for reviews because we are confident in the final product.

• Social media (or just photos in general from past events) should be a resume for DJ vendors. If your DJ cannot share what a couples dance floor could look like throughout the night, that could be a red flag. A picture speaks a thousand words!

• Ask your DJ about their experience! Doesn’t hurt to ask where they’ve worked, how long, etc. A company could have been around for decades, but the DJ arriving on your wedding day could be newer, and have started as DJ less than a year ago. No big deal, just helpful to know and discuss in advance!

• Something to avoid? Listening to a DJs mixes online is not the best for choosing your wedding DJ. If they make a mistake on that mix, they can stop and re-record the mix. You need to be confident that your DJ can play live. Unlike many other wedding vendors, DJs have to be great in the moment as our talents are on display in real time.”

What can couples do to ensure you know what kind of party they want?

Jamie says, “Communication is key! Share the music you like and having a must play and do not play list is so important. It’s also more than just music - if you want a busy and full dance floor, you and your new spouse should be on the dance floor too! Tell you guests “the best wedding present is to meet you on the dance floor” and let us do the rest.

If you and your spouse are not big on dancing that is perfectly fine. Tell us about your guests, how old they are, where they are traveling from and what genres of music you believe they would appreciate for a more relaxed vibe.”

What could couples do to make your job easier during the planning process?

Jamie says, “It is important for couples to be clear with their expectations: whether it’s the music they would like to hear or the overall vibe they are looking for. QA Entertainment provides a detailed Online Wedding Planner tool which organizes the important milestones during a wedding day. Completing whatever your DJ (or any vendor) asks of you will provides us (or them) with ample time to prepare for your day exactly how you’d like it and is the best way to make life easier for everyone! It minimizes the guess work or rushing anything! Also, trust your vendors - you’ve booked a professional! We’ve got this.”

What are your thoughts on being an MC & a DJ at a wedding? Does it make it easier or harder for you when couples ask you to MC versus asking a friend?

Jamie says, “I love the personal touch of having friends or family appointed to MC a wedding. However, there are a few elements of MCing that a friend or family member may be unaware of due to lack of experience and we are always willing to provide pointers to help your chosen MC throughout the evening.

Do be aware that it certainly makes the event more challenging when asked to MC and DJ a wedding as it’s another hat we are required to wear. Wedding MCs must provide the appropriate energy during wedding party entrances, adhere to timelines, prepare speakers for toasts, phonetically pronounce names properly, speak on behalf of the venue; all while being charismatic during the process. Having a wedding planner also helps keep us on track as we juggle this extra task. Not an easy task, but certainly doable!”

What are your thoughts on being an MC & a DJ at a wedding? Does it make it easier or harder for you when couples ask you to MC versus asking a friend?

Jamie says, “I love the personal touch of having friends or family appointed to MC a wedding. However, there are a few elements of MCing that a friend or family member may be unaware of due to lack of experience and we are always willing to provide pointers to help your chosen MC throughout the evening.

Do be aware that it certainly makes the event more challenging when asked to MC and DJ a wedding as it’s another hat we are required to wear. Wedding MCs must provide the appropriate energy during wedding party entrances, adhere to timelines, prepare speakers for toasts, phonetically pronounce names properly, speak on behalf of the venue; all while being charismatic during the process. Having a wedding planner also helps keep us on track as we juggle this extra task. Not an easy task, but certainly doable!”

How do you best judge a crowd, keep the energy high, etc?

Jamie says, “I was fortunate to have a father who was a DJ and was thrown into the trenches of DJing events at the age of seven, therefore, experience is my main ally in judging crowds. Just like your guests will sit down and eat delicious meal from a talented chef, they will dance all night to a talented and experienced DJ. From my experience once a crowd knows you’re a great DJ, you will quickly earn their respect and appreciation which leads to a magical dance floor.

As mentioned, knowing how old your crowd is will not only inform any DJ on what decades of music to play, it will also aid in determining how long they would dance for, before getting tired, and when to pull back on higher energy songs for something lighter or easier to dance to. Another trick I have? You can learn a lot from how guests respond to the music being played during cocktail hour and dinner.

Lastly, there are generally three types of guests at a wedding and there is one you should focus on the most. But, that’s a whole different conversation. Reach out to me on social media and we can talk about it in depth - my inbox is open!”

Learn more about Jamie on his website, and learn more about what QA Entertainment has to offer.

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A Summery Outdoor Langdon Hall Wedding

It is always a joy to design a Langdon Hall wedding and we were lucky enough to do two back-to-back wedding weekends in 2021. Sarah and Peter’s wedding at Langdon Hall Country House and Spa in Cambridge, Ontario was held on August 14, 2021.

Sarah’s wedding vision was soft romance, through a light colour palette and subtle texture changes. We incorporated soft blues, greys, and the smallest amount of blush to create a wedding palette that felt fresh and garden-inspired.

We were lucky enough to have local artist, Niki Kingsmill create a custom illustration of Langdon Hall to incorporate into the invitation suite done by Red Bicycle Paper Co.

Florals were a huge part of Sarah’s vision as her grandmother used to be a florist herself so we were careful to select a florist who was willing to work with us in the creative vision while letting Sarah’s grandmother do the bouquets. This can be a tricky situation, but Grandma was careful to use the same variety of florals that Forever Wildfield had selected for her floral recipe so that it felt as seamless as possible. I think only a trained eye would notice the difference.

We worked closely with Simply Beautiful Decor to pick just the right white linen and layered effect with chiffon runners for a texture-on-texture look and the tablescape was completed with charger plates from Tabletales.

Photographed by Mango Studios, videography by Wild and Free Films, beauty by Dawna Boot, and a sweets table by Sweet Celebrations.

Service: Design and Management

THE FLOORPLAN

We’ve also included the Langdon Hall Summerhouse floorplan we designed for them as some inspiration for your own Langdon Hall wedding.