This is it. The time has come. Blake and I have finally reached a point in our lives where our friends are starting to get married. 2020 will be quite the busy year for us wedding-wise. We currently have 2 sets of friends that are getting married and then, we will be ending the year with a wedding of our own! We got our first taste of weddings, this July, when my college friend/roommate, Katie Webber married her highschool sweetheart, Harrison McCrindle.
The two of them got married on Friday, July 19 in Collingwood. Blake and I both had to take the day off to ensure that we were there. Unfortunately, Blake could only get one day off and had to work the night shift on Saturday, so it was an exhausting weekend for him. The wedding was at 4:30 p.m. at the Bear Estate on Living Water Resort. I thought we had left with tons of time to spare, but traffic had other plans. My plan was to leave at noon, but we had left the wedding gift to the last minute, so we had to rush out and get some gift money/a card. We ended up leaving at 12:30, which - again - I thought would give us enough time.
The drive itself wasn’t too bad. It was long, but I had a Blake-and-Kaylin-friendly music playlist, so we had entertainment. The traffic got really bad in Orillia and probably delayed us approximately 45 minutes. 45 minutes that we did NOT have. Luckily, I had curled my hair prior to leaving and had wrapped it up in a head scarf/towel. People were giving me funny looks, but, as long as my hair looked good after the 3 hour drive, I didn’t care. At this point, our plans were to check into our B&B and then quickly change before racing over to the wedding.
I had booked a bed and breakfast through AirBnb. We stayed at the Joseph Lawrence House, which was a beautiful century home that had been converted into a B&B. Check in was super easy. We were immediately shown up to our room and asked what time we wanted breakfast the following morning. Once inside the room, we had approximately 10 minutes before we dashed back out like a couple of crazy people. I had come to the horrible realization that, although I had mapped out directions to the B&B, I hadn’t actually gotten the directions on how to get to the venue from the hotel. At this point, my stress level was through the roof and I had a very short/heated conversation with my parents as they attempted to give me directions (Sorry Mom and Dad).
The venue was just a short ride away and we got there in the nick of time! Immediately after we parked, we were shuttled to the wedding location and overheard the wedding planner tell our driver, “Ok, go and get the bride now.” We made it - with zero time to spare - but nonetheless we were there! Yay!
It took the driver a bit to get the bride and the bridal party over to the venue from the hotel, so we were left waiting for approximately 15 minutes. I had planned ahead for the warm day and had brought a fan to cool myself off. Others weren’t so lucky and got up to stand in the shade while we waited. The fan was definitely a life saver.
The wedding ceremony started with the groom and his groomsmen walking down the aisle. They all looked very handsome, but I was getting more and more excited to see Katie. Once Katie walked out the doors and proceeded down the aisle, she looked beautiful and very happy. I definitely got a little bit emotional. Now that Blake and I are engaged, my emotions run high whenever anything that has to do with weddings happens (this includes when I watch Say Yes to the Dress alone in my basement...here come the waterworks). Katie wore a fit and flare dress with an illusion back and her hair up, while her bridesmaids wore long grey dresses. Katie and Harrison exchanged the traditional vows, but also had written their own vows. Harrison went first and his vows were both sweet and funny; and included him “Rick Roll-ing” everyone. Once he had finished reciting his vows, it was now Katie’s turn. Note to self: make sure I go first because I will for sure be a sobbing mess once Blake goes. Katie was emotional, but was able to keep it together to recite her vows. I was so happy that they had a microphone so they were easier to hear, but, sadly, Katie was a little harder to hear because her back was to the microphone. The officiant attempted to move it in the middle of Katie reciting her vows and the microphone let off a horrible screech. Luckily, the rest of the night appeared to go smoothly, so I guess the microphone screech being the single bad/unexpected thing that happened (always have to have one thing at every wedding) wasn’t so bad.
After the ceremony, the photographer asked that we all stay in our spots so that they could take a group photo before stealing the wedding party away so that they could finish their photos. While they were doing that, Blake and I headed over to the cocktail hour located in the Bear Estate just behind where the ceremony was. Blake ordered a drink while I signed the big wooden “M”. There was also a Polaroid camera so that guests could take pictures and sign them for the bride and groom. Located just off to the side of the cocktail area, they had a cute ladder that held photographs of passed loved ones. It was beautiful and a great way to remember those important individuals that couldn’t be there that day.
The venue had opened up the reception area early, so we found our seats. We had been seated at the couples table. We ended up getting along quite well with our table companions, so it was a great seating placement. Since people were still mingling and the bridal party were still outside getting their photos done, I had the chance to take a couple of photos of the reception before things got too crowded.
I started with the table arrangement which was chic and simple. I really liked it. It seemed rustic, but in a classic sort of way. Katie and Harrison gave wooden coasters as wedding favors. The wood had come from Harrison’s family’s farm and they had branded their initials onto each one. Afterwards, we snacked on the cocktail food which, if you knew Katie and her “dietary restrictions”, were perfect for them.
We started getting antsy for the wedding to continue, so we decided to go for a walk along the pier. The wedding was located right along the water and it was a beautiful view. Blake and I snuck past the bridal party and raced down to the water for a relaxing and peaceful few moments together. I also made Blake take a lot of pictures while we were down there.
When we returned, the wedding was continuing to progress, with the bridal party making their grand entrance. We took our seats and welcomed them into the reception. When Katie and Harrison entered, they immediately went to do their first dance. Everyone was shocked and I kind of embarrassed myself by responding to their gasps and whispers by saying, in a louder voice than I had intended, “Yeah, that usually happens at weddings”. Whoops! They had all of their dances and it wasn’t long before dinner was served.
(Sorry in advance for the awful pictures of the food. I tried a "food" setting on my phone and completely failed at changing the settings properly. This is why I need an actual photographer for my own wedding.)
We started with a delicious goat cheese salad.
Then, Blake and I both ordered the steak. We laughed because all of the men at our table ordered the steak and all of the women ordered the fish … except me. My steak was delicious by the way. We did question what some of the vegetables on the plate were. Don’t get me wrong, they were delicious, but Blake and I had a big discussion trying to figure out what they were. I was sold on pumpkin, but I’m quite confident I was wrong.
We ended with dessert which was a delicious piece of cheesecake. We did eventually try their wedding cake later on in the night. Their wedding cake seemed to be plain sponge cake and red velvet cake. Personally, I’m not a fan of red velvet cake, but to each their own. The delicious cheesecake was all I needed to keep my sweet tooth happy!
What I REALLY liked was that they had a little platter of cupcakes that had been specially made for their gluten-free guests. I honestly wouldn't even have thought of that, but it was such a thoughtful idea. Also, the cupcakes looked delicious!
After dinner, Blake and I walked back down to the pier to digest our delicious food, but we ended up missing a couple of the speeches while we were gone. We did see most of the family's speeches, as well as Katie and Harrison's speech. Afterwards, the real party started!
Katie and Harrison had a great DJ! He was playing a mixture of fast-paced and slower songs, so it was nice to take a breather with a slower paced song every now and then. The ONLY thing I didn't like was that the DJ would announce who had requested each song. I was just like "Play the damn song! I don't need to know if Aunt Betty requested this song or not". Other than that, the music was great and Blake and I danced the night away. My shoes were actually too "grippy" so I couldn't twist and shout with everyone, but I still had a good time. I also want to take a moment to commend Katie because she did an amazing job mingling and making everyone feel included. She was somehow able to give each person at the wedding a moment of her time so that they all felt special on HER special day. So I applaud you Katie!
Unfortunately, I didn't get any pictures of the blushing bride and her new hubby, but trust me - they looked great!
We didn't end up staying too late because Blake had to work the night shift the following day, so we headed back to our b&b for the evening and went to sleep. In the morning, we packed up our stuff and headed downstairs for a gourmet breakfast at the B&B. The host had everything and anything we could have ever wanted, including a chocolate cake loaf. It was delicious and more food than we could have imagined. I wish we had a chance to explore Collingwood a little bit more, but we had to head home.
I know this is a little delayed, but congratulations Katie and Harrison! And thank you allowing us to attend and witness your special day!
