Katie and Chris met as snowboard instructors at Georgian Peaks Club, a ski hill in Thornbury. In the nine years since, they’ve snowboarded and lived in New Zealand and British Columbia, and spent three months camping across Canada. Now Katie is a high school teacher and Chris works in Sustainable Energy.
On the couple’s eight-year anniversary, while Katie was recovering from knee reconstruction surgery, Chris trudged them through the snow to the riverbank on Katie’s parents’ property, where they had planted trees together years before. There, he got down on one knee in the snow and proposed!
“It’s a tie between so many,” says Katie when asked which wedding moments were among their favourites. One of the favourite things the couple had was a huge appetizer course, including fresh cheese, fruit preserves, fresh loaves of bread, and delicious salads in baskets at each table with bottles of wine and Prosecco. “That made the speeches more enjoyable for the guests as they ate, drank, and cheered on speakers,” says the bride.
The couple’s favourite detail? That’s an easy one! “We loved having the beach bonfire for guests to relax at when their feet got tired of dancing,” says the bride.
Photographer: Everyday Deelights (Danielle Taylor)
Ceremony and reception location: Beachfront cottage, Thornbury Ontario
Reception décor: We let nature do that work for us; minimal white tablecloths and delicious food under a large tent with a backdrop of the beach, soft waves, and the escarpment
Bridal gown: The Brides’ Project (not-for-profit used dress store: all proceeds go to cancer research)
Bridesmaid gowns: Hudson’s Bay
Veil: The Brides’ Project
Bridesmaids’ necklaces: Swarovski
Hair & Makeup: Glo Hair Salon, Thornbury
Cake: Chocolate mousse cupcakes and Bourbon pecan tarts from Sustenance Catering (Jean Louis Knight)
Favours: White Pine saplings in burlap, with a note and planting instructions; also pashminas wrapped around every chair for guests to wear as it got chilly and then take home.
Flowers: Picked from the bride’s aunt’s cottage garden, in neighbouring town Collingwood
Invitations: DIY – The couple created little booklets, and perforated the back page to allow guests to tear it off and return it as an RSVP. They also used fallen branches from the previous winter’s ice storm to cut circular wooden magnets with our names and the wedding date on them.
Wedding planner(s): DIY with help from Louis Knight (Sustenance Catering)
