You can really tell when a bride is relaxed and not worrying on her Day. It is obvious from the look on Erica’s face that she heeded the “don’t stress about it” advice shared by her aunt and enjoyed her wedding. And what a beautiful wedding it was!
Erica & Demos | September 19, 2009 | Riverbend Inn and Vineyard – Niagara-on-the-Lake, Ontario, Canada
How he proposed
I actually caught him getting the ring delivered to our house! Since I was home, Demos asked the jeweler if they could meet at the top of our street. When I went to walk our dog, I saw him at the corner with a jewelry bag in his hand. I then overheard him say “If I take her to a fancy restaurant, she’s going to know!”. He looked over and realized that I had heard what he just said. He was so surprised that he tried to hide behind a tree! To see this big guy with a pink bag attempting to hide behind a small maple tree was absolutely priceless. I just laughed and continued to walk our dog. I came back into the house, and that’s when he asked me to marry him. I wouldn’t change that proposal for anything. For me, it was absolutely perfect.
The ceremony
Our wedding was held at the beautiful Riverbend Inn at Niagara-on-the-Lake, Ontario, Canada. We had an outdoor ceremony in front of their gazebo, which overlooks the Inn’s private vineyards. We were so lucky that we got one of the only sunny Saturdays of the entire summer. The aisle was adorned with rose petals and little bouquets hanging in canning jars. We had a classical string duo playing in the background and the mood from the music, flowers and the amazing views, was just magical. After we tied the knot, we had everyone blow bubbles as we walked back down the aisle. The whole wedding party then went back up to the honeymoon suite to have a quick, private champagne toast before we went for photos with our guests. It was such a nice way to take a moment to celebrate and say ” We did it!”
The reception
The reception was held right next to the ceremony in an outdoor tent so we could continue to enjoy the fabulous view of the vineyards and local wineries.
I guess you could call our theme “casual elegance”. We didn’t want our wedding to feel formal – We wanted our guests to feel at ease, have fun, and just enjoy the natural beauty of the venue and surrounding wine country. We opted not to have a head table; instead the wedding party and their spouses all sat at a round table right in the center of the reception tent so we could be surrounded by our guests. We kept the decor minimal using the flowers to setting the mood for the wedding. All of the floral arrangements were not overly structured and contained items that were “off the beaten path”. Each of our centerpieces were unique – the arrangements, as well as the vessels, were different at each table.
The moment Erica will never forget
Our first dance. In hindsight, I think we should have picked a song that was shorter than 4 minutes. It felt like forever, but at least we were laughing and having fun through the entire song!
What made her wedding dress “The One”
I had tried on about ten dresses before I went to see the new Monique Lhuillier collection. The first dress that I tried on that day was the Kennedy and when I came out of the dressing room my aunt started to cry. The rest of my family also thought it was “the one”. I thought that they were jumping the gun a little bit – What about the other five dresses I was about to try on! But when I looked in the mirror, I saw why they were so enthusiastic. It was “the dress”.
Her advice for other brides
Enjoy your wedding day because it flies by so fast! Even if things don’t go exactly as planned, just embrace it, and really treasure each moment. Most guests will have no clue when things are not going according to your master plan so there’s no point in getting upset. My aunt gave me this advice before I got married and I can honestly say that my wedding day was one of the best days of my life because of it.
