Claudia Benvenuto and Michael Apa kept hearing about each other through mutual friends, but it was four years before they actually met. Both were starting teaching at the same elementary school. When they compared notes, they discovered that through those mutual friends, they had even attended the same high school dances. ey didn’t waste any more time and were soon dating.
One snowy day, Michael suggested they spend the afternoon on Mount Royal. Suddenly, on bended knee, he was proposing, while a friend, hidden away, was recording it all on video. When Claudia said, “Yes”, their parents also jumped out of hiding and the celebration began!
On their wedding day, they drove through the streets of Old Montreal in a 1926 yellow Cadillac convertible while passersby waved and called out good wishes. They said they felt like Hollywood celebrities. Then, their 129 guests enjoyed their favourite jazz classics during the cocktail hour in the lovely Espace Cormier reception rooms at Lo Hotel.
The colour themes were white, black and gold, with rooms draped in sheer white linen, huge baroque black and white chandeliers hanging from the ceiling, and a wrap-around winding staircase that allowed them to make a grand entrance.
Photographer: Black Swan Foto
Ceremony location: Chapelle Notre-Dame-de-Sacre-Coeur
Reception location: Espace Cormier at Loft Hotel
Reception decor: Bravo Rentals
Gown: Kenneth Winston
Hair: Vera Di Lauro & Platine Coiffure
Flowers: Camille Florist
Favours: Mini bottles of imported extra virgin olive oil from Portugal
Invitations: That Sky Blue
Jewellery: Laurentian Jewellers
