First wedding of the year this year was my friend Jon Elrick! He is originally from Guelph but moved out to Vancouver about two years ago, which proved to be a very good life decision for him, because wouldn't you know it, he came back with a wife!
I had a chance to see Jon again just days before the wedding and meet his wife Megan. They had already gotten married in Vancouver but decided to come home to Guelph and have a wedding here for family and friends. I instantly connected with Megan. She was really easy going and seems really in love with Jon, they were great together.
Their wedding took place on Saturday, February 26th, in the afternoon. Their ceremony and reception was held at Gambrel Barn which was just outside of Milton, Ont.
The atmosphere when we pulled up was instantly so romantic. It was snowing softly and it was so peaceful. There was a slight downside, the walk from the parking lot to the reception hall was tough in heels in the winter, aside from that I was instantly in love. As we walked into the hall I just let out a huge sigh. The barn is simply stunning. Exposed beams, and a huge amount of space to transform into the wedding of your dreams.
Megan and Jon's decor was simple, but that's what I loved most. Peacock colours were found on the Cupcake stand, and peacock flowers were found on the backs of chairs. White lights scattered the walls along with some twig balls I had seen hanging which I thought were gorgeous.
The ceremony had me in tears almost instantly. I have said before that I love when couples have something in their wedding that is different or individual. My favourite part was the Hand Ceremony they did. (Hand Ceremony Examples) I thought this was so meaningful and romantic and I really loved the idea of it!
After the ceremony, there was a two hour break before supper where guests could visit, snack, and of course drink! The bar was really well priced at 6 drink tickets for 20$ and the snacks were veggie and fruit plates which were nice and light. Dinner was excellent, both a meat pie and a vegetarian lasagna was served with buns, salad and potatoes. I had the lasagna and I must say it was the best lasagna I have ever had. I always say the most important part of a wedding is the food, and I always find it's a hit or miss, I was extremely happy! Then came the cupcakes for dessert! The cupcakes were hand made by Jon and Megan, and although I was too full to eat one, my whole table LOVED them.
I really loved Megan and Jon's wedding because they did a lot of DIY decorations and such. Their wedding fit in to the blog perfectly and I was so excited to do the feature!
Here are some questions I had for the bride and groom to get more insight into wedding planning and wedding budgets!
My questions:
Favourite part of the venue? Least favourite?
Are you happy with your choice of venue?
Price range that your wedding costed? (you don't need to give an exact as I know this is a pretty private thing for a lot of people but my blog has a lot about saving money on weddings so a price range could help!)
What was included in the venue rental?
Did you spend more or less then you had hoped?
ANSWERS.
1.Jon - Favourite was the atmosphere and convenience of everything being in one building/Least Fav was no elevator access to the balcony.
Megan - Fav-so old and unique/Least-same as Jon
2. Jon/Meg - Absolutely. Couldn't have asked for a better place.
3. The wedding itself cost around $8000. The venue was $1800 (a small amount extra if you wanted it the night before for rehearsal). Caterer ended up being around $2500 for his budget buffet with 110 people. We made all our decorations, centrepieces and the cupcakes and cupcake tree, so that saved on quite a bit of money. Our flowers were donated by a friend of Megan's mom. Bartender was a $500 deposit, but since it was a cash bar, we may make some of that back. DJ was around $300 I believe. I can't think of anything else.
4. Venue rental included all the chairs for the ceremony, tables and chairs for the reception, head table (all table cloths were extra), setup of all tables and chairs, heating and lighting costs, help with floor plan arrangements, and they allowed us the use of several other buildings for the bride's getting ready and the photo shoot.
5. I think overall we spent more than we would have liked to, but at the same time, we ended up with an amazing day and couldn't have asked for a more perfect wedding day. Everybody involved was amazing and so helpful, and you really see how much everyone cares about you with all the free labour and services that people offer. It was truly a blessing for us with everything that went on.
Check out some of the people involved in the wedding that were absolutely PHENOMENAL!
