REAL WEDDING | Intimate and Romantic Elopement Style Lake Wedding in Canada | Dani Photography

REAL WEDDING | Intimate and Romantic Elopement Style Lake Wedding in Canada | Dani Photography

Today’s wedding is filled with all those intimate and romantic touches that truly make a wedding special. Madison and Matthew got married on a lake in Canada and it was everything that they could have asked for. There were only 14 guests and it was such a warm and cozy event that it makes me wish I could have been there.  I just love everything about it. Check it out for yourself below!

Madison  + Matthew

Tell us about your wedding:  We’re both introverts, who are from large families, and weirdly have lots of friends, so we were torn over what to do when it came to getting married. We love our friends and families, but a big event just didn’t feel right for us. We decided to go with an elopement style wedding over spring break (as Matthew is a teacher!) and keep it at a minimum. We only invited our parents and siblings, and ended up with a group of 14, including us. It turned out to be everything we had dreamed of; intimate, beautiful, special and a family oriented event.

Wedding Colors: We didn’t have an exact set of colours, but we love neutrals. Our home is neutrals only, and we wanted our wedding to feel like a reflection of us. We stuck with metallics (gold and copper), off white linens, light greys and a nude colour for my dress. We wanted something classic, but not traditional, and I think we achieved that.

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How did the two of you meet? We met on Tinder! Matthew had been on Tinder for 2 weeks, while for Madison it was longer….and more painful!

Describe your engagement: Matthew planned a great day for us, we went to our favourite restaurant together Gyu-Kaku – a restaurant where we’ve shared lots of sacred conversations about the future, delicious Japanese BBQ and many laughs. After dinner, we drove all the way to the little gelato shop we used to go to on Friday nights when we first started dating. We lived about 45 minutes away from each other, that we only spent our weekends together when we first got together, and our Friday night tradition was to have donairs for dinner and then get gelato from Matteo’s. When we got there, Matthew gave me a “love-speech” in the car about how this place was so special to him, and all of the special memories we made in those early days. It was cold, but we still got gelato, ate it in the car actually, as people were watching a hockey game in side (not so romantic haha) and it was raining. We then drove to Rocky Point in Port Moody, where we had our second date and where Matthew held my hand for the first time. It was perfect, it was slightly raining and nobody was around. We walked to the end of the pier and he asked me to marry him.

Personal or handmade details: We ordered vow booklets to write our own vows in so that we could keep them forever and share them with our child(ren) one day. My sister also had my family write me letters to read in the morning I recieved 9 letters to read and it really set the tone for the day. Matthew and I also wrote each other cards to read while we were getting ready in the morning. My mom brought my old, borrowed and blue items. Old were some vintage plates she found in her storage room that were my dad’s moms. I am named after her (my middle name) and she passed away a long time ago. It was really special for all of us to see them there on the day. We used them to put fruit, nuts and other day-of snacks on while we were getting ready. For my borrowed piece, she brought a hummingbird pin that she usually wears – I pinned it to the back of my bouquet, and for my something blue – she brought the book “I’ll Love You Forever”.

Describe your flowers: I didn’t have huge restraints for my florist, because I trusted her, and i LOVE flowers. I really wanted to try to push the envelope on what it meant to have “wedding florals”. I wanted them to be texture rich, and for my bouquet to be neutral in color, but crazy in texture, while the table florals were to have a bit more color. She outdid herself, and I loved them all SO much. My theory with flowers is, the more wild, the better. I am now drying my bouquet over my bedside table to keep in our home. I just can’t part with it.

Memories and Stories about the Day: “One of my favorite parts of the wedding day was that I got to spend time with both of my parents, in the same place, and everyone was having a good time. Even though they are very much divorced (and remarried to people that we love), I asked my parents if we could drive together to the ceremony site. So there we were, the “”OG five”” (me, my brother, sister, mom and dad), all together again. My parents both walked me down a very sketchy snow covered side of a hill to the ceremony; my dad in front carrying the umbrella and making a path, me holding on for dear life and my mom carrying the back of my dress. We screeched and laughed and even though it wasn’t officially part of the ceremony, it was weirdly one of my favourite parts of the day. Family is cool and all, but a family that has separated and changed and can still come together and have a great time as a group is truly something to celebrate. Matthew’s vows to me were totally breathtaking, here is a little snippet: “The murmurs of my soul brought me to you. The wonderful you that you are stoked a fire inside of me which I will spend my whole life tending to. A light that guides me to always choose you above all else. A flame that shall never go out but instead shelters us and keeps us warm even on the darkest of days…In this fraction of time I promise to love you until every star ceases to shine. I promise to care for you until my body fades and before that, I promise to make memories with you that will give you the warmth of our love even when I cannot be there for you. I promise to help build our perfectly imperfect little life together and in doing so honour that you are the queen ruling over my heart and forever in your service am I. These things and those which I cannot articulate into words, I promise you.” The food was delicious and the speeches were amazing. Overall, the day was perfect and I would not change a thing. ”

The thing that we would have done differently is? I think maybe a rehearsal would have been good. I really didn’t think we needed one, but honestly as soon as it started I had no idea what to do. As soon as I got there, I gave away my flowers because Matthew was crying (and he is not a cryer!) and I just wanted to hold him so we held hands the whole time haha.

Your advice for other plus size brides: If you see a dress you love, try it on, buy it, whatever. Don’t stress about the photos, just make sure you feel beautiful in it and have a great time on the day. I would also say….go with your gut. My dress originally had white lining on the skirt, and while my mom and seamstress said they liked it that way, I really wanted it changed to match the top. At the end, they both said I made the right call.

Three adjectives that describe the day: Intimate, romantic, family-filled!

What has surprised you most during the first few months of marriage? We’re just a week in, but I think overall it surprised me HOW much it has already changed our relationship. It really is different, even if you feel like you’re already living in a marriage-style relationship. It has literally changed everything.

Photography: Dani Photography | Venue: Nita Lake Lodge | Bridal Attire: Renz Bridal | Wedding Stationery: Minted | Hair Stylist and Makeup: Clare Louise Makeup & Hair | Caterer: Aura Restaurant | Jewelry: Olive + Piper | Bakery: Macs by Ron | Groom and Groomsmen Attire: Indochino |

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Shafonne Myers is a certified wedding and event planner who longed for bridal inspiration that looked like her. She has created a website and magazine that brings bridal inspiration to plus size brides. She does speaking engagements educating the world about plus size brides and self confidence.
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