The Wedding

My day began when I arrived at the Manitoba Club to transfer the decor items from the main floor meeting room, where the decor had been stored from the day before, to the second floor event space. I rolled my utility cart inside and was having some difficulty with it. I initially thought it was because of the carpet but I soon saw that there was an issue with one of the wheels. Upon further investigation, I discovered that 3 bolts (out of 4) were missing from holding on of the wheels in place! This seemed quite odd to me, as it seemed like the bolts would have had to be removed intentionally for this to happen… but who knows. I knew that my utility cart would not hold up if I continued to attempt to use it in this state and I also knew that carrying all the heavy/bulky items myself would not be ideal, so I headed off to a hardware store to pick up hex bolts and washers. Thankfully, I had a wrench in my emergency kit! I returned to the venue and got to work fixing my cart. Then, it was back to set-up.

Everything was almost completely set up and all the candles were lit by the time the Bride and Groom arrived on site. They had gotten ready at home and Jenna put on her dress after arriving at the Manitoba Club. This was a really great way to avoid managing a big dress with getting in and out of the vehicle! It also allowed Mark and Jenna to arrive on site together, which I thought was a really nice element of their special day. Jenna and Mark chose to do a first look after individual photos. The photographer, videographer, and Mark set up and then Jenna got into place. I loved this really special moment between them. One of the benefits of doing a first look is that now the Bride and Groom get to spend the rest of the day together, instead of waiting till the ceremony. They were able to take lots of photos together and get some of the wedding day jitters out of the way without many guests observing. One thing I noticed is that their first look did not take away from the specialness of Jenna walking down the aisle to Mark.

Following their beautiful personally-written vows, Jenna and Mark sealed the deal with a kiss and then it was time for family/wedding party photos. Sometimes this is one of the most chaotic aspects of being a wedding coordinator but I love it! Reminding the 4 year old Flower Girl to stand like a Princess and the most handsome “Ring Bear” (as he thought it was called!) to put his tie down was so cute.

The wedding party, Bride, and Groom then joined cocktail hour, which was underway in the Galleria. Finishing touches were taken care of in the reception space - the Grand Ballroom. Let me tell you, the Grand Ballroom did indeed look grand! The couple chose to do one big, long reception table instead of having multiple tables. They were seated in the middle and were surrounded by loved ones. The centre of the long table was filled with flowers and candles. It was beautiful, if I do say so myself!

Following a served dinner, cupcakes were available for dessert. The assortment of cupcakes were a big hit among guests. Speeches and the ‘shoe game’ came next, followed by the First Dance. Jenna and Mark had attended a wedding a year prior and that couple had hired Big City All Star Band for their reception. Jenna and Mark loved them so much that they hired them for their wedding too, and let me tell you, they were AMAZING. Once the dancing had begun, Jenna and Mark told me I could head home if I wanted to, as I had had a long day and had done a lot. I was grateful for the chance to go home early, however the band was just so good that I decided to stay a bit longer to listen to them! I did some clean-up and enjoyed the music and then the late night snack (pizza… my fav) was put out. Of course, I had to try some and it was the perfect late night snack after a busy day.

Jenna and Mark had arranged for quite a few activities for their guests to do during cocktail hour and the reception. These were my favourite elements of their wedding! They created an audio phone book in lieu of a traditional paper guest book, and they also had a paint-by-number and 'sip and solve’ crossword puzzle for guests to do. A photo booth was also available for guests to take fun photos in; not only did they get a printed photo strip of 3 photos, but they also got a digital copy as well! The photo booth was a big hit.

Congratulations, Jenna and Mark!