The 15 Best Moments From Our Wedding Day

Today is Colin and my first wedding anniversary!

I’m writing this post a few days ahead of our anniversary, but if all goes to plan (aka if no flights are delayed) we should be spending our anniversary in Paris! I’m envisioning taking a nap at our hotel to get over jet-lag, heading out to our favourite Italian restaurant in Paris for the seafood pasta I still dream about, and curling up in bed with a sweet treat while we rewatch our ceremony video and scroll through our wedding photos.

And if we’re really feeling up to it, maybe we’ll venture out to the Eiffel Tower after dark to see it all lit up. It doesn’t get more romantic than that for a wedding anniversary, right?

I’d love if we made it a tradition to travel somewhere every year on our anniversary. Though, as I’ve already told Colin, celebrating our first anniversary in Paris is going to be tough to beat!

In honour of our anniversary, I’m looking back on the 15 best moments of our wedding day. I actually wrote this list last year when our wedding had just ended. So revisiting these moments and remembering how special they were a whole year later was extra fun for me!

Having breakfast together

Colin and I designed our wedding day so that it would be as relaxing and stress-free as possible. I didn’t want to get up at 5am to start doing my hair or rush around town to take photos or complete a bunch of last minute errands. And I definitely didn’t want to spend the majority of my wedding day separate from the person I was going to marry.

So I absolutely loved that we started our wedding day waking up in a beautiful hotel room and heading downstairs for a delicious breakfast in the hotel restaurant together. It was so grounding to start the day with a leisurely breakfast and to look at one another with giddy smiles, knowing we were just hours away from being wed.

Getting ready together

Carrying on with the theme of spending the day together and keeping things low-key, Colin and I decided to get ready together. Being fairly non-traditional, we didn’t care that Colin would see my dress and I would see his suit before the ceremony – in fact, I helped him pick out his suit and he saw my dress at a fitting, where the seamstress showed him how to zip it up!

It was really fun to spend those final getting ready moments together, just the two of us. I loved that it was my partner who zipped me into my dress and I was the one who got to put his cufflinks on him. And, of course, Ellie couldn’t help but steal the show!

Enjoying a little pampering

My regular beauty routine consists of a handful of pedicures every year, a haircut every other year, and maybe some concealer or mascara if we’re going out. Most days, I’m a messy bun and Chapstick kind of gal. So it was really nice to indulge in a little pampering on our wedding weekend.

The day before our wedding, my mom arranged a quasi-bridal shower where some friends and family met us at a salon to get our nails done. We then followed that up with happy hour drinks and appetizers with a few more loved ones – the perfect way to spend the night before your wedding!

On the day of our wedding, I headed across the street from our hotel to another salon to have my hair and makeup professionally done. I knew I wanted a professional hand since I’m pretty hopeless at hair and makeup and wanted something that would last all night. It was so fun to get glam for a couple of hours! And even though the curls in my hair barely lasted until I crossed the street, I still felt quite pretty with the whole look.

All the little touches

Some of the things that really made me smile on our wedding day were all of the little personal touches we added.

It was very important for us that Colin’s dad, Randy, be represented on the day. In addition to having Randy’s brother and best friend give speeches, we also made sure that Randy’s urn was displayed on our photo wall where we had photos of many of our guests and loved ones. Colin also wore Randy’s watch on the day.

Another little touch was a special necklace I had wrapped around my bouquet. This is a travelling necklace that I’ve shared with my best friends from high school; we’ve been mailing it to each other all around the world ever since we graduated. It was so special for me to have a piece of their love and friendship with me on my wedding day.

And then there were the silly personal touches too, like Ellie’s customized “dog of honour” wedding bandana and having “C+R” painted on my nails!

Funny photo moments

After getting ready together, Colin, Ellie and I walked around Yaletown with our photographer, Amber Leigh Photography, to take some photos before the ceremony. These photos are even more special now as Yaletown was not only our wedding venue, it became our new home. Little did we know that just a few weeks after our wedding, we’d be moving into the neighbourhood!

While taking our wedding photos in a busy Vancouver area, we had lots of people yell congratulations at us, tell us how cute Ellie looked or honk their horns as they drove by. It was really fun and definitely got us more excited for the ceremony ahead!

Perhaps the funniest moment was when a group of women all decked out in costumes on their way to a Rugby Sevens game walked by our photo shoot and asked if we needed any bridesmaids. I was ready to laugh them off but Colin invited them to join us. They did and it’s one of my favourite photos from our wedding day!

Greeting people at our ceremony

Colin and I knew we didn’t want to do an aisle walk or any formal entrance for our ceremony. We wanted it to be intimate and casual – especially since it was just us and our 20 guests. So instead of walking down the aisle, we were already waiting at the front of the ceremony space when our guests came up the elevator.

We hadn’t planned it, but as each guest came in, it only felt natural to beckon them forward and greet them with a hug. Before we knew it, we had personally hugged and greeted every single guest before our ceremony began.

Looking back, it was one of the most special things we did on our wedding day. I love the photos Amber captured of the genuine love and warmth between us and our guests. Everyone was smiling and immediately connected to us without any of the formalities of a typical ceremony. I couldn’t imagine a better way to start a marriage than by truly feeling all the love from the people in the room with you.

Personal vows

One thing I knew I wanted for our wedding was personal vows. Luckily, Colin was on the same page. We actually spent part of my birthday weekend watching a vow writing video (thanks, Young Hip & Married!) and working on our vows.

For months leading up to our wedding, I had been adding ideas to a note on my phone anytime vow inspiration struck me. Putting the vows together wasn’t easy but it was also some of the best wedding prep we did. I was constantly overwhelmed by emotion, taking in the importance of what we were doing and trying to summarize our love in just a few minutes. I wanted every word to be meaningful and each promise to be true.

Colin and I both agree that our vows were our favourite part of our wedding day. I’m not sure anything will ever top hearing the words and promises Colin wrote for me. It was such a special moment and there wasn’t a dry eye in the house!

Dancing on the rooftop

Being non-traditional and budget-savvy wedding planners, Colin and I had decided on no DJ, no band and no dances. Well, we didn’t cut out quite as many wedding traditions as we thought we would! 

The week before our wedding, Colin’s brother got married (love was in the air!). At his wedding, Colin’s mom mentioned that the singer they had hired was amazing and that she should hire him for our wedding. We laughed, but after a quick conversation revealed that the singer, Paul Filek, was not only available the next weekend but actually lived in Yaletown, we had to agree. Margie booked him and we suddenly had live music at our wedding!

Not ones to waste a gift, we knew that if we were having a musician, we should also add in some wedding dances. So the week before our wedding we selected songs, informed our parents (who would be dancing with us) and spent a few hours on YouTube trying to figure out how to slow dance without tripping over our own feet (spoiler alert: I still tripped!).

We ended up dancing to Glad You Exist by Dan & Shay for our first dance. It was a new-to-us song but after hearing Paul do a cover of it on his YouTube channel, we were sold. And now whenever that song comes on, I get a huge grin on my face. I love that we have a song!

For the parent-child dance, we asked Paul to play In Case You Don’t Live Forever by Ben Platt. I think each one of our parents told us they teared up when we first sent them the song; the lyrics are just perfect. Not wanting to leave anyone out and not wanting to do four different dances, Colin and I choreographed a schedule so all of our parents (my dad, my mom, my stepmom and Colin’s mom) each got a turn to dance with us. In the end, it was perfect!

The first time I said “my husband”

This is such a small moment but one of my favourite from our wedding day. After we finished our dances and group photos on the roof, we came back inside to kick off the reception. Colin and I wanted to start with a speech so we could thank everyone for coming and supporting us. We opted to speak at the beginning of the night instead of the end so I could cry and mess up my makeup without worry (which ended up being a good call!).

I started our speech by saying, “My husband and I…” to which everyone let out a great big cheer. I had the hugest smile on my face getting to call Colin my husband for the very first time. Feeling that love and excitement in the room was just so fun!

The good food

Self-catering our wedding was no easy feat. While we loved the flexibility to serve our favourite foods, it was a lot of work to coordinate deliveries, decide what to serve and ensure it would all be the right taste, temperature and quantity – plus easy to eat without cutlery or tables. We could not have pulled it off without a lot of help from our various delivery drivers, servers, dessert tasters and more!

But pull it off we did and everyone raved about the menu! We started with chicken skewers from Banana Leaf and caprese skewers that my mom put together. For the mains, we served our favourites: sushi for me and pizza for Colin. There was something for everyone!

Dessert was probably the biggest hit. We had a beautiful fruit bouquet, Cartems donuts, which are always incredible, and cake jars featuring Oreo, Skor and strawberry shortcake flavours. The desserts were so good that rumour has it one guest went home with a few cake jars in her purse!

Family speeches

While we opted out of a lot of wedding traditions, speeches were something we decided to include. As a writer, words are very important to me. I knew I wanted to hear from our loved ones and have that experience on our wedding day.

We heard speeches from my parents, Colin’s mom, Colin’s aunt and uncle, and great friends of Colin’s family. Everyone spoke with so much emotion and heart. I bawled as my dad sang Leaving on a Jet Plane, a song he always used to sing to me before leaving on business trips; smiled as my mom recounted so many beautiful details of our relationship in the thoughtful way only she could; and felt so loved by Colin’s family as each person welcomed me to the family.

While we didn’t hire a videographer, we did opt to live stream our ceremony and film the speeches on my phone. I’m so glad we’ll always have those special words to look back on.

People helping us

Our wedding day truly would not have happened without the love, support and help of our friends and family. Our parents were instrumental in bringing the day together, especially my mom who essentially ended up playing wedding planner, venue host and catering manager!

On the day of, we had people who helped us coordinate food deliveries, pick up bouquets and set up decor. Some guests even jumped right in to help out during the reception. My sister made it her personal mission to get everyone to sign our guest book (it was actually a guest map!) and it’s thanks to her that every single guest signed. And my Auntie Grace and Uncle Bing stayed late to help my mom clean and put things away so the bride and groom could get some much needed sleep.

Incredible vendors

Since we had a small, in-home wedding, we didn’t have a lot of vendors. But the vendors we did have were fantastic!

My bouquet and Colin’s boutonnière were beautifully done by Celsia Floral. I actually dried my bouquet and have it in a vase in our house. I loved getting my makeup done by The Glamoury. I was nervous about not opting for a trial first but they did an amazing job!

Spending time with our photographer, Amber Leigh, was awesome. She made the day so much fun and really put us at ease. We really appreciated how great she was with Ellie, how she helped us carry our things from one location to the next, and her surprising us with champagne to pop. And how great do her photos look?

Paul Filek, our last minute one man band, was the perfect addition to our day. It made everything feel more special and romantic to have him singing as we entered our ceremony and reception. And the dances we got to include were such special memories. Plus, the man has the voice of an angel!

And lastly, we literally could not have gotten married without Jane Halton from Young Hip & Married to officiate our ceremony. I’m a little biased since I work for them, but having a personalized ceremony that we got to help craft was one of the best parts of our wedding day. I love that we had a ceremony that truly represented us and that told our love story – not something traditional or cookie-cutter.

So many of our guests, both in person and on the livestream, said it was the best wedding ceremony they had ever been to. And it was so special to be married by a good friend – thank you, Jane!

Hanging out with all of our guests

I’ve always wanted to elope with a very small guest list. And after a few years of talking about it, Colin realized a small wedding was his preference too. Not only would a small guest list keep our wedding more intimate and affordable, but it was the safest option for a pandemic wedding.

I love that I actually got to talk to and hug every single one of our guests. That doesn’t happen at most weddings with 150+ guest lists!

It was so special to look around the room and see our closest loved ones all in the same place, plus knowing how many more were joining us virtually. We felt so loved to know that people had come in from out of town and taken time off to be with us.

I loved seeing people from different sides of the family and parts of our lives interacting. It was hilarious to watch my 15 year old brother playing King’s Cup with a bunch of 20-somethings and warmed my heart to see my dad connecting with friends of Colin’s dad. And still to this day, people ask us about Colin’s best friends, the notorious Voros twins!

Feeling so loved!

Of course, the overwhelming feeling from our wedding day was just love. Not only did I feel incredibly loved by my husband, but all of our friends and family, both near and far, showered us with love. Everyone was so happy for us, so ready to celebrate and so eagre to welcome us into our new families.

Listening to the speeches, hugging my best friends, dancing with my parents, hearing my husband’s vows, and reading all of the well wishes we got in cards and social media messages just warmed my heart so much. While our wedding day wasn’t 100% perfect, it was perfectly full of love!

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Happy Anniversary, Colin! And thank you to all of the friends, family and kind internet strangers who have continued to make us feel loved in our first year of marriage. Here’s to many many more!