Sonia & Justin Sky
Held at a kids’ camp, this wedding had all the must-haves for a true camp experience. The guests stayed in cabins and all the food was cooked on an open fire.
Name change: During the ceremony, Sonia and Justin announced to their guests that they would both be changing their last names. Sonia explains: “We are both last of our names. Justin is the only male and I don’t have any brothers. We spoke about assuming the ‘Hein’ name from Justin’s side, however this was a name given to his grandfather when he worked on the railroad and didn’t hold much relevance to his Chinese heritage as a result. Justin’s Chinese name is ‘Won’ so we toyed with the idea of taking this name and modernizing it to read ‘One’, however we ultimately wanted to take on a name that had influence from both of our families. That being said, we followed the three-letter trend from ‘Won’ and with my Polish background created ‘Sky’, a modern-take on all Polish names (including my own) ending in Ski. No one knew this story/idea except for our wedding officiant who shared it with our guests right before we were pronounced as husband and wife (including our immediate families!). We felt this was the perfect time to share our story and new legacy we set to create together.
Favourite part of the day: Sonia says it was the first look. “It was special because we had it at our cottage property just down the street from the venue. It was very private and allowed us to incorporate our cottage into the photos. We also really enjoyed the ceremony because it was held in an intimate setting within a clearing in the forest among all our closest family and friends.”
What went wrong: Two days before the wedding, the caterers’ equipment was held up at the border and couldn’t get through customs. The caterers arrived with 14 staff and foraged all sorts of local goods from around the campground and immediate area, building tables and shelves and cooking equipment. They miraculously pulled it off (and the bride had no idea any of this happened until after dinner was served!).
Photographer: Robyn Russell and Jane Decle for Scarlet O’Neill
Planner: Jessica Stacey, Bonafide Events Studio
Ceremony and reception location: Camp Kintail, Goderich, Ontario
Bridal gown: Blush by Hayley Paige
Hair & Makeup: Victoria Barrett
Groom’s attire: Spier Mackay
Bridesmaid gowns: Show Me Your Mumu
Flowers: Cool, Green & Shady
Dessert: Cauldron doughnuts and berry crumble, by Heirloom Fire
Invitations: Joe Paonessa
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