So You're EnGAYged, a LGBT wedding blog

Exchanging our vows in front of our family and friends, and then getting to wear our rings!

Favorite design element of your big day? Any tips for readers on how you created it?

Keeping things simple and down to earth was the key.
We loved our suits. Made up of a variety of pieces from different stores. We wanted to be comfortable and not ‘stuffy’ looking.
We also loved the outdoor friendly decor at the reception including our centre-pieces created by bundling our tree-saplings with some rocks and candles and our best-wishes tree.
Lastly, we had an amazing photographer. She captured the magic of the day beautifully, made us feel like super-models, and now we have the most amazing photos to cherish forever.

What was the biggest challenge you faced planning your wedding as a LGBT couple, and how did you overcome it?

We were lucky enough to have a challenge-free wedding! The only humourous part was dealing with certain store owners and vendors who asked where the happy bride was. We decided to plan our ceremony in an unconventional way. First we had the private ceremony, then we flew off to Spain for a week-long honeymoon, and then we held a week-end-long celebration at a resort in cottage-country with all of our friends and family. Stretching a one-day wedding out in such a way was challenging, but very rewarding to everyone!

Three adjectives that describe the day are:

emotional, positive, loving

What was the ceremony like? Who officiated and how did you make the ceremony meaningful to the both of you??

Our ceremony was very simple. Although we had many other people who would have loved to attend, we only invited our immediate family, and a few close friends. We wanted a very intimate ceremony. We found an officiant on the internet and met with her at her house north of Toronto. In addition to writing our own vows, she allowed us to help script the entire ceremony, including personal readings that were special to us.  (note from Jordan(their wedding photographer) – one of the readings was from Buffy the Vampire Slayer, which made my day.)

Funniest moment of the day?

As many of our guests had never been to a gay wedding before, we thought it would be important to break the ice during the celebration dinner. Our M.C. told everyone that they obviously came to see a big gay kiss, but instead of us, my (straight) uncle and my (staight) father stood up from their tables, ran across the dining room and gave each other a huge kiss and hug. The crowd was in tears laughing and it really started the evening off with a bang!  (note from jordan:  the MC also ran a fabulous version of the newlywed game, where tables had to work as a team to guess answers to questions that Barry and Darren had been asked already.  People really got into the spirit of it, with tables competing against each other and lots of laughter.)

See their wedding photos over at our other post.

Planner: We did it ourselves with help from friends and family

Photographer: Jordan Lyall photography (www.jordanlyallphotography.com)

Ceremony: Pamela-Covert Slater (www.weddingsont.com)

Weekend Celebration and Reception: Eganridge Inn & Country Club (www.eganridge.com)

Florist: we used tree saplings from Pineneedle Farms (www.pineneedlefarms.ca)