All I want is you: a December real wedding

Meaghan & Connor Green

A spring wedding became a winter wedding, but everything was perfect! Bride Meaghan explains it all below.

Tell us a bit about your love story: Connor and I met in high school at Erindale Secondary School in beautiful Mississauga. We had a ton of common friends but were more on the “outer rings of the orbit,” never truly connecting until after University. We would be at the same parties in and out of high school and even ended up at a few of the same bars during University, but everything changed when a girls-only trip to Las Vegas became more of a “more the merrier” trip to Vegas. Upon arriving at the first pool party at the MGM Grand, Connor had everyone doubled over with laughter. He instantly caught my attention and has kept me laughing since that day back in 2015.

How did planning go? We originally had our wedding date set for April of 2020 with a guest list of 160 people.

With the uncertainty of the pandemic we ended up changing our wedding date to December of 2020 and reducing the guest list down to 115 attendees. Having our wedding in December felt a lot more special – there is something about the Christmas season that really feels romantic. We still stuck with our original floral design and didn’t change any of the colours. We didn’t want the wedding to feel like a “Christmas themed” wedding, but we definitely added aspects of Christmas (like handing out Santa hats on the dance floor to get everyone really pumped). Our final song of the night was also Mariah Carey’s “All I want for Christmas is You,” which brought the house down.

What was your favourite part of the day? The first look was definitely a top moment for both of us. Finally seeing one another and being together made all the worry and anxiousness disappear. I will never forget tapping on his shoulder to turn around and falling right into his arms. We were both shaking with excitement and were so ready to get married and be with our friends and family! The ceremony was also our favourite part and walking down the aisle as husband and wife – there is nothing like that feeling!

Did anything go wrong? We had 100-km gust winds on our big day! It felt like we were going to get blown away during our first look and all the group photos we took afterwards. But, we made the most of it. We got the shots we needed, skipped out on going to a park for photos due to the wind and the grounds being very wet. We ended up saving about an hour of time which we spent with our closest friends in the stunning Solarium Room at the Mill drinking champagne and playing our favourite songs. Our photographer Brittany Williams captured a lot of these moments and we smile so big looking at the photos.

Favourite wedding detail? Can we say everything?

The Elora Mill wedding team is outstanding, their service and attention to detail is unparalleled. Every guest we spoke with was completely floored by the level of service they received and the food – the food was impeccable.

The florals and décor were extremely important to me and our florist, Wild North Flowers, made all my dreams come to life. We chose mauve, pink and bright peachy candles to line the tables along with all the beautiful floral arrangements. I remember walking into our reception and the room took my breath away. All the candlelight mixing with the dimly lit Grand Room chandeliers – the room had this rosy, romantic hue that I can’t explain. It still gives me goosebumps.

What will guests remember most? They will remember the love. Connor and I have been together for 8 years and had the same group of friends close to 17+ years. It wasn’t only a big day for us, but a big day for our tight knit group of friends and family. The room felt so connected, everyone was ready to celebrate after not being able to for so long. You could feel the love and the energy in the room and the Elora Mill was this fairytale setting to such a romantic day. We wish we could go back and pause so many moments.

What advice can you give to couples who are planning their wedding? Plan your wedding as a team with your partner. We chose specific tasks based on who would excel at planning it better; Connor did a ton of practical stuff for the wedding like building our signage out of copper pipes and being a wizard with all things Excel, whereas I took on a lot of the design and reaching out to vendors that I had had my eye on for a while. Use each other as a soundboard and chat about aspects of the wedding so you can have clarity and be on the same page. Also, remember to cut yourselves some slack; planning a wedding isn’t easy but working as a team can ease a lot of stress!

Photography: Brittany Williams Photography
Venue: Elora Mill
Florals: Wild North Flowers
Wedding dress designer: Rachel Rose Bridal
Wedding dress boutique: Sash and Bustle
Makeup: Taylor Switzer Makeup
Hair: Shannon Petrolito Hair
Suits: Surmesur
DJ: DJ Donna Lovejoy