A beautiful winter wedding at La Maquette

We were honored with the privilege to photograph my brother Christian’s Toronto winter wedding to his beautiful wife, Atrisha. We were so excited about this wedding because our winter wedding in Toronto was only a year before this. And now, one year later, we got to introduce another new member to our family! And, we got to do it in a way that we know best: photographing and doing videography for Christian and Atrisha‘s Toronto wedding at La Maquette.

Getting ready for the La Maquette Toronto wedding at Omni King Edward Hotel

We started the day at the Omni King Edward Hotel in Toronto. Atrisha with her bridesmaids while they laughed, dance, and drink mimosas. With a playlist bumping everything from Britney Spears, to Nicki Minaj, to Beyoncé, it was the ultimate girl power playlist meanwhile, at the apartment with the boys, Kenneth photographed Christian and his groomsmen getting ready. There are many personal details to this wedding, on both sides of the marrying couple.

A unique wedding theme at La Maquette in Toronto

The La Maquette wedding merged two themes that do not, on first blush, merge together. Atrisha was from the Seychelles (a small group of tropical islands off the East Coast of Africa) and wanted to incorporate some cultural elements from the Seychelles into her special day. The tropical vibe for a winter wedding was hard to accomplish. Atrisha and groom also have a deep passion for the show the Bachelor and the Bachelorette and wanted to incorporate single-stemmed, red roses and a rose ceremony.

Winter wedding ceremony at St. James Cathedral in Toronto

The winter wedding ceremony was at the St. James Cathedral, a very large and opulent Anglican Church. It did not need much decorating. The reception incorporated a lot of small details:  shell place cards to indicate where guests were to be seated, coconuts with rum at each table, vials of sand from the Seychelles, & a vase filled with long-stemmed red roses. Atrisha wanted a very simple dress style that was winter-appropriate and opted for a gown that very much evokes Meghan Markle’s wedding dress. Christian wanted to wear a traditional tuxedo.

Special touches for this Toronto winter wedding

Christian & Atrisha tell us “The most special moment was when the organist at the church played Taylor Swift’s Love Story on the organ with a strong vocal accompaniment.  His performance was truly fantastic and was a nice surprise to all wedding guests.”

A Bachelor-themed wedding to remember

Red roses were the florals of the wedding. Each bridesmaid walked down the aisle with a single-stemmed rose (as handed out by the bachelor to each bachelorette on the ABC show). Each groomsman had roses on their lapels (as handed out by the bachelorette to the bachelors). There was a final rose ceremony at the reception where Atrisha and groom exchanged their final rose.

Making this Toronto winter wedding at La Maquette personal

The itinerary for the evening at La Maquette was very personalized. There were only two speeches (maid of honor and father of Christian). The remainder of the evening entertainment consisted of a “Coco du Mer ceremony”, a traditional Seychellois wedding ceremony where the MC described the history of the Coco du Mer and led everyone through a toast of coconut rum. The final element of the reception was the “Final Rose Ceremony”. Since Atrisha and groom exchanged traditional religious vows during the ceremony, this was the opportunity for the couple to express in their own words their personal feelings and vows. The Final Rose Ceremony was hosted in the traditional Bachelor finale style.

The wonderful Toronto wedding vendors:

Ceremony Location: St. James Cathedral, Toronto

Reception Venue: La Maquette

DJ: DJ Ken Lindsay

Hair & Makeup: Carley Artistry

Wedding Planner: By Nina Events

Photography/Videography: Brooklyn Wedding Photo