A small, but beautiful, real wedding

Caitlin Cameron and Jamie Cussen

With 18 guests, Caitlin and Jamie’s wedding was smaller than originally planned, but just as beautiful. Read below to hear what Caitlin had to say about their big day.

Tell us a bit about your love story: Jamie and I met at film school in Toronto and have been together for 15 years. We share a love of storytelling, travel and outdoor adventuring from campervan trips to hiking and surfing.

What were your original plans for your wedding day?  Our original wedding date was scheduled for August 1st, 2020 with 110 guests. Due to COVID, we pushed it to September 18th and reduced the guest list to just our parents, siblings and wedding party (a total of 18 people). Luckily, the venue and all our original vendors were so great and accommodating and we were basically able to have the wedding we had originally dreamed of, just with less people there in person. We were able to stream the entire ceremony over Zoom, so while there were definitely a lot of people we wish could have been there with us in person, we still feel like we got to share the most special moments with all our friends and family.

When you had to change your plans, how did you feel before and after? When we realized we were going to have to change our plans, the worst part was trying to choose between the seemingly endless options before us. Do we postpone to 2021? 2022? Elope with no one there but us? Skip the wedding entirely and move forward with other life plans? The variables were definitely nerve wracking. But once we weighed the pros and cons, and realized that our friends and family would understand if not everyone could join us in person on the day, we made the call and after that everything seemed to fall into place.

Will you be having a larger celebration next year? Probably something small with our extended family. For the most part, we really loved our wedding day and don’t feel like there’s anything to make up for. Although, while we did have an amazing time, we are looking forward to seeing friends and family who couldn’t be with us on the day and sharing a beverage and a hug when it’s safe to do so.

What was your favourite part of the day? For me, a really great moment was walking down the aisle with my parents and seeing Jamie at the end, waiting for me. Up until that point, the day had been great, but pretty hectic. At that moment, everything seemed to stand still and we were able to focus on the whole reason we were there.

We also loved the speeches. Because a lot of the wedding party went to film school with us, the multimedia presentations were out of control, hilarious and maybe the best wedding “speeches” we had ever seen. The more traditional words from our family were also incredibly touching and those are moments we’ll never forget.

What will guests remember most? I hope they’ll remember how much fun we had – this close knit group of friends hanging out together all day, eating good food, dancing and roasting marshmallows by the campfire. But probably, they will also remember that the entire event was held outdoors and it was a shockingly cold September day! Hopefully they block that part out…

What advice can you give to couples planning a wedding? At one point, we were so worried that people who couldn’t attend the event in person were going to be hurt, upset or even insulted when they found out we were having a smaller more intimate gathering that it caused us a lot of grief about going through with it. At the end of the day every single person has been so supportive and encouraging that it seems silly to have ever thought any of these wonderful people could have been upset with us. The people close to you will surprise you with their love and understanding, so you might as well just do what feels right to you. The people who love you will jump on the bandwagon.

Ceremony/reception location: Kortright Centre for Conservation, Vaughan, Ontario
Photographer: Laura and Paige of Rust & Bark
Planner: Amanda Chapman of Open Sky Weddings
Flowers: Sarah Sylvester of The Little Shed Flower Co.
Gown designer: Fox Gown by Rue de Seine, purchased at Loversland
Suit designer: Tiger of Sweden
Décor: Open Sky Weddings, The Little Shed Flower Co.
Macrame: Bride’s mother
Hair & makeup: Jazmin Veliov Makeup & Hair