a Valentine's Day Wedding

I don't know John and HeatherAnn, but when my friend, Marianne, asked me if there could be a wedding in the vineyard on Valentine's Day, I thought "why not?"

As I got more details, I got more excited and into the whole thing. Art and Marianne needed to find a way to Ontario and a place to stay. John and HeatherAnn needed a way from Scarborough area to Niagara and back again and a place to stay in Niagara. The groom's attire was taken care of (some one gave him a tux!!), but the bride needed a whole outfit. As the list grew, so did my excitement and my frustration (lack of communication). But once Art and Marianne arrived, the ball began to roll. I met John and HeatherAnn at the airport when I went to pick up Art and Marianne. We had a quick coffee and then I was headed back to Niagara with my friends, but left the bride and groom behind. And now that Marianne was here, the wheels that were already turning, started to fly into warp speed.

Through kijiji, we were able to get the perfect dress and veil! Aimee's Forget-Me-Not Photography was having a special promotion which included a photography session, hair and make-up for the bride and 20 images.  On the day of the wedding I planned to pick up a bouquet from the grocery store which was to be transformed into a hand-held bouquet. And we booked a room for the bride and groom. So with the major details taken care of, we were feeling pretty good. If only the weather would co-operate.

The wedding was to be on Monday (the 14th) and on Saturday night we got a strong, warm wind blowing. Normally I wouldn't complain, but the snow started melting and the wind didn't let up until well into Monday. The previously snowy and frozen fields were now muddy and slushy - not ideal when the bride is wearing a white, floor-length gown.

Thankfully, I had my brother on retainer, not only to plow the location if necessary, but also to scout out the best possible location on our vineyards. He was able to give me a good one that was still pretty much covered in snow and we were able to have the ceremony out in the vineyard despite the fairly frigid temperatures.

We then moved the party to the base of Brock's monument up in Queenston Heights where the photographer was able to capture some intimate moments before we headed to the world's smallest church for a few more shots before taking shelter in the heated vehicle.

Through out the week, I had been trying to find a location where the 6 of us could have a nice dinner, but it was to no avail - every place I called said they couldn't accommodate us. So I was brainstorming some more as we were driving back to Niagara-on-the-Lake and voila! We went to the Old Fire Hall in St. Davids for a nice, quiet and yummy meal. The atmosphere was perfect and the food was wonderful. And after our meal and dessert we headed back to our "homes" for the evening. It was a day filled with joys and blessings and I wish John and HeatherAnn a life filled with amazing things to come.

For a bit more of John and HeatherAnn's story, check out Art's blog post of John & HeatherAnn's history and Art's blog post of the big day.