Caitlin and Patrick share their unique romantic modern Airship37 wedding with insights from their super star vendor team.

From Caitlin

Looking back what makes you the happiest about your wedding day?

Caitlin : Our favourite and happiest moment was when we made our entrance into our reception. It was an incredibly overwhelming feeling that all those guests were there for us, and it felt amazing to see everyone so happy for us. We walked in to Lizzo “Good as Hell” and that very appropriately described how we were feeling during that moment.

What were some of the best choices you made in the planning process that paid off the most?

Caitlin : All of the vendors we selected. Every single one of them did such an incredible job and were so kind throughout the chaotic planning process. We went through so many different dates and so many changes based on new regulations, everyone was so flexible and understanding. However best decision we made was hiring Ray Chance, professional MC and Magician. We always knew we wanted something different and unique for our wedding. Patrick and I LOVE magic ( fun fact: our 2nd date was to a magic show haha), so when I found out that an MC/Magician even existed we were so excited. Ray did such an amazing job; everyone was in awe. One of my favourite memories from the night was just having a front row seat to see the look on everyone’s face while he was performing. Every time we talk to someone who was at our wedding the first thing they bring up is Ray and his performance and how much fun it was.

You had a greeting that said We’ve waited a long time for this party accordingly . What is are some of the extended story lines of this fantastic greeting ?

Due to the pandemic, we had to postpone multiple times. Our original wedding date was June 19th, 2020, which was then moved to August 3rd 2020, and then October 16th 2020. After that last postponement, we were feeling very defeated. I recall sending a very emotional email to all of our vendors informing them and also letting them know that we would be taking a long break from anything wedding related. It wasn’t until August 2021, Patrick and I were enjoying a lowkey night in, enjoying some take out and some good wine, laughing uncontrollably about some dumb joke one of us made when I stopped and announced to him that I really wanted to marry him. That night, we sent emails to all of our vendors and a week later we were in full wedding planning mode again.

It took a long time to get to our wedding but it was absolutely worth the wait.

Caitlin your wedding dress is gorgeous what is the story behind it ?

If you were to ask me prior to wedding dress shopping what I was looking for, I would have described the complete opposite of my dress from designer Alyne. While shopping at Kleinfeld’s, the consultant described this dress as a “palate cleanser” dress. Something completely different from what I had been trying on, different fabric, shape, design, you name it. As soon as put it on, I knew it was the one. It was the only dress that I had tried on that brought me to tears. As I walked out of the change room towards my mom and sisters their mouths dropped and there were tears everywhere.

I felt beautiful, strong and chic.

What were your first impressions when you got your full album back from your photographer and which ones were your favourite?

As someone who doesn’t love getting my photos taken, I was so nervous! However as soon as I saw even the first 3, my nerves calmed. I absolutely love our photos! The background of our hotel, the venue, not to mention the distillery made for some pretty amazing back drops. My absolute favourite photo is of Patrick and I walking in the distillery holding hands. It was after the ceremony walking back towards the party and it was just such a beautiful and euphoric moment. Another extremely special photo is a photo of myself seeing one of my bridesmaids and best friends, Jessica. It was really touch and go for a while whether she was even going to make it to the wedding due to medical complications. She ended up surprising me about 30 minutes before we left for the venue. I bawled my eyes out like a baby. I was so incredibly happy when I saw her face. Jessica has been by my side since I was in kindergarten and I could not imagine her not be by my side at my wedding.

From Rose Vine Studios

There is a very luminescent natural light-filled quality to the gorgeous album. Was this an aspiration at the onset and what were some of the strategies to achieve these results?

Rose Vine Studios : Our studio loves incorporating natural light as much as possible as we find it captures the raw and authentic moments as they were lived. To mimic this look in the evening, we use a combination of 2 off-camera flashes to create a bright and soft light that illuminates within the airship37 walls and ceilings.

Your wedding couple has a very genuine relaxed look in the wedding portraits, throughout the day. There is also a fantastic range in mood and expression. What do you think contributed to this success?

Rose Vine Studios: Caitlin and Patrick were such a joy to be around. They were truly excited and happy even if we ran into some rain during our creative session! We would check in with them to see how they were feeling and make sure to accommodate them throughout their big day. Giving them fun prompts while photographing them also allowed us to capture genuine happiness between Caitlin and Patrick!

What three words would you use to describe this unique stunning wedding?

Rose Vine Studios : Romantic, Rustic, Fun!

From Euphoria_wedding_designs

How would you describe the gorgeous wedding style you created for your couple?

Euphoria_wedding_designs : The couple and I created a vision that was going to compliment the unique space at airship37. Caitlin and Patrick had an organic clean line style with a mix of moonlight city romance feel. I knew that the design will marry so well with the space at airship37. The space transformed beautifully with modern and art.

How did you co ordinate all the elements with a vendor team to get the stunning results?

Euphoria_wedding_designs : As I was hired to also coordinate their day. I decided it was best to have another expert join me in leading the day to coordinate Caitlin and Patricks’ big day. I hired Ashley Velvet Bordeaux to take the lead. We worked together to ensure everything was perfect and that the couple came as a guest to enjoy their happiest day with their friends and family. Working closely with the vendors like Patrick ( the mood curator) to Ray from Chance Magic from a month before their wedding to make sure that the couple’s day was going to be exactly what was planned for almost two years ago. On the day of Ashley and I made sure to run through a few key points with each vendors to keep the flow smooth sailing. Communication is key and staying on top of things is very important.

Getting married during this time and spreading your wedding budget across unique small businesses had a critical positive impact during challenging times for small businesses.

What advice would you give couples for choosing their vendor team and making an impact ?

Caitlin : During the planning phased, I reached out to multiple vendors of multiple sizes, from the biggest most popular vendors in Toronto to the ones that I randomly saw tagged in a friend of a friends IG picture. My piece of advice is bigger does not mean better. Going with some of the smaller scaled vendors means more one-on-one time and attention, more collaborative work, and typically a lower cost! Also, If you are going to hire a vendor to be a part of your special day I suggest making sure you have a connection with them. It will make the whole planning process so much easier and way more fun! I was so lucky and adored every person we worked with.

What do you feel was uniquely special about having a more intimate wedding.

Caitlin: Its funny, we always wanted a smaller wedding but our families are large and we have large groups of friends, so our original number got out of hand pretty quickly. The requirement for the lower numbers at our wedding was a blessing in disguise. Our final guest count ended up being 85. It was so nice being able to spend quality time at each table AND be able to eat ourselves, which from what I’ve heard is a typical not easy to do.

Did you a good experience with your vendor team ?

Caitlin: Yes, absolutely. I think I assembled the best team ever. The amount of guest that even reach out giving kudos to my coordinators Leanne and Ashley is crazy! Also, let’s be real, people are still talking about Ray Chance and trying to figure out his tricks.

Where do you source your flowers and were there challenges doing this during covid conditions?

Euphoria_wedding_designs : I source my flowers from a select few floral wholesale. The biggest challenge is the scarcity in the floral market. The rising cost and delay in materials. I had to hand pick my flowers because I wanted to ensure that they were available and meet my standard of freshness. Some items didn’t arrive in time and wouldn’t be in Canada in time for this busy summer/ fall wedding season but we do what is best for our clients and create alternatives.

Tell me about your pre wedding injury and how you navigated it?

Caitlin : While my head was in the clouds, I think I forgot to look where I was walking. While walking towards the Pantages Hotel and our finish line for the night, I tripped and ended up getting pretty badly injured. I had bruises on my arm, a scraped knee, and what ended up being a broken foot.

We immediately iced my foot and hoped for the best. I woke up in pretty bad pain but throughout the morning the pain subsided a bit. Not sure if it was the adrenaline or champagne but the day of it ended up being okay. Once we got home we went straight to the hospital to find out it was in fact broken. As if we didn’t have enough stories to share along our wedding, this was just the cherry on top!

Top 5 memories

Getting ready in the morning with my girls and mom was so fun!
Seeing Jessica walk through the doors.
Walking down the aisle towards Patrick
Grand entrance (we got the moves)
Seeing the looks on peoples faces during the magic show. Marina captures some hilarious photos that I will treasure forever.

OKAY 6

A really special memory from the night was actually once everyone was gone. We were talking to the staff of Airship in particular the security. He was asking us questions about the night and he was sharing funny stories of our friends that he witnessed. Then he asked if we wanted to go see the air streamer – it was closed during the wedding due to covid. He took us in, told us about the bus and took some cute “ after” photos of us. After we got out it was pouring rain and he told us to go to the middle of the yard and dance – and dance we did. He ended up taking some adorable photos and again, it was just such a special moment. All the pieces were finally together and it was all finally done.

That dress !!! Have you had a kitchen dance party in it yet (because It’s So gorgeous !!!

Haha not yet! It actually just got back from being dry cleaned. The rain definitely did a number to the bottom of the dress. But don’t worry, I will be taking her out for a spin on our 1 year for sure!

Velvet Bordeaux Events

What was it like hopping into the planning process so late in the game?

Velvet Bordeaux Events : Le Anne brought me on as Lead Coordinator to make sure every plan and detail went according to our Bride and Groom’s vision. It is always so thrilling to jump into plans that couples and their planners have worked so hard on – Le Anne, Caitlin and Patrick all spent some serious time on ensuring the day was planned perfectly, as the day got closer they called me up to take over Coordination which also included creating their wedding day itinerary and going over schedules with all vendors. We had a handful of meetings where I got to meet Caitlin and Patrick virtually to get an idea of who they are to better grasp their vision. As much as I love full planning for events, it is so exciting coming in towards the end and taking everything off the couples hands and saying “go, enjoy your day, I got this!” Execution is a big part of what planners do, it’s showing that our bark has bite, that our actions speak louder than words and that we will take care of every single aspect of your day so that you can sit back and enjoy it.

What are some details you were on top of to ensure the couple is having the best experience?

Velvet Bordeaux Events : First, everyone knows that food is a major factor at a wedding – if the food is outstanding, that is something the guests will be talking about for ages! BUT, while the couple is off taking photos during cocktail hour, very seldom do they get to try some of the delicious hors d’oeuvres they picked out for everyone. One of the things I always make sure to do is to communicate with the venues catering where the couple is taking photos (if it is on site of course!) so that someone is able to bring a platter out to them. It is a small gesture that goes a long way – nobody likes feeling hangry! Secondly, as often as I can, I try to view the day through my camera lens – when you are in the moment, sometimes a small detail can go unnoticed but, when you go to capture it on camera you can spot it right away! Details like straightened cutlery, an out of place chair, an off centre photo on the receiving table, just a few things that have been caught on my camera, and I would rather it mine than your hired photographer! This way, I can adjust silently and efficiently before anyone even enters the space!

What were some of the best ways you worked with the other vendors to coordinate and create such a cohesive successful day?

Velvet Bordeaux Events :The most important thing to remember is that, whoever you may be, whatever you were hired to do that day, we all have the same goals and that is to make sure our client is happy. A lot of vendors snark at the idea of a wedding planner/wedding coordinator but it is not my job to be bossy or demanding, it is my job to work with you, the vendor, to make sure your job is easier so that our clients are happiest. To put it simply, communication. Communication is a HUGE factor in being able to work with so many different people – communication and transparency – be honest, ethical and true to yourself and your clients needs.

Best memories of this day?

Velvet Bordeaux Events : My best memory of the day, hands down, was Caitlin and Patrick’s face when they saw their venue after it had been flipped from Ceremony to Reception. Those moments are so rewarding because it is all your hard work and precision of the day, the hard work of yourself and everyone involved that gets noticed and it is all of their wildest dreams right in front of them. It’s an overwhelming feeling to see your couple’s eyes light up when they realize that dreams do come true!