City Weddings: Toronto Edition

Bright lights, beautiful city!
Via misttoronto.com

I fiercely, unapologetically, unabashedly love Canada. And the beating heart of my Canada is Toronto. T.O, the T-Dot, The Six - call it what you will, but there really is no place like home!  I've spent most of my life in the 416, and moving to Durham region was, in a word, heartbreaking.  I've been here for 12 years and only *just* put family pictures up in the house, I've finally acquiesced to Pickering!   Even though my postal code is 905, my heart will always belong to the city where you can find great and varied food choices just around the corner no matter what neighbourhood you're in; the city where you have a million choices for things to do on any given night of the week, and urban landscapes that give way to green spaces and places to roam. So OF COURSE I would find my heart soaring and melting and fist-pumping when I read about Kerri Yoles and Rob Bryan's wedding weekend.

Weekend wedding (and baseball!) warriors!
Via thestar.com

Kerri and Rob's nuptials took place this past Saturday in Toronto, the city that 'felt the most right' for the couple.  Their guests were coming from near and far to attend and they wanted to show their out-of-town guests why Toronto means so much to them.  After their reception that took place at the Drake Hotel, the celebrations didn't end there.

Via ilovetoronto.com

The Drake Hotel: A Room With A View
Via weddingful.com

The next day, the newlyweds took almost ALL of their wedding guests (yep, you read that right: not just a post-wedding celebration with the wedding party, but an afternoon with most of their family and friends that attended the ceremony and reception the day before!) down to the Rogers Centre to see the Blue Jays take on the Houston Astros.  Of their 140 guests, 104 took advantage of what I think is THE best wedding favour I've ever heard seen, if I could have ANY favour in the world, money being no object!*

*~Take Me Out To The Ball Game!!~*

A wedding with a theme that I can get on board with-

Via fringetoronto.com

-plus a healthy dose of

#BlueJaysSwag

Via nationalpost.com

Count me in!!!!!

Wishing you a day as limitless as you are~
Lisa and April


*(Side note: OK guys, it HAS to be said -  this couple just taught a master class on how to treat your guests who have come to celebrate your special day!   I'm not saying that EVERY couple has to do this because the price for their 'favours' - 104 tickets for one of the hottest events this year next to Adele, Rihanna, Beyoncé or Drake! - cost $2,600. But the principle of their gesture is a teachable moment with one take-away:  Be kind to the people who have come out to your wedding and give a favour that goes a little beyond the norm.  The importance of wedding favours has become increasingly overlooked and, lets be blunt, favours are the one item in a wedding budget that is the first to be, well, whittled down. Like, waaaaaay down. But can we all agree that Ferraro Rocher are great as stocking stuffers or impulse purchases at the grocery store checkout, but lack a little creativity as a bonbonniere? Trust us when we say this - there are AMAZING items you can select as wedding favours that have great significance, look luxe or extravagant, maybe even decadent, and start at $3 each? Truth bomb: you CAN find swanky items that earn you a heck of a lot of raves even if you're on a budget! April and I have done the legwork!!) *getting off my soapbox*

#TBT - Blue Jays Edition

Via Pinterest

One week ago, Toronto was in the grips of our first case of the Blue Fever in 22 years as we were hopeful our boys would take us on a World Series road trip.  One week later, we are reminiscing about the season that was and the championship that was not to be. Some of us, instead of seeing blue, are seeing red over the news that Alex Anthopoulos is leaving the team but that's a whole other story...... So, instead of being mad about this Blue Jays decision (#thankyouAlex#sadBlueJaydays) how about a little slice of Jays awesomeness?

Kevin Pillar, Toronto Blue Jays centre fielder, potential Golden Glove winner this year (and very likely related to Superman!) got married last October and he and his lovely wife Amanda's wedding was featured on 100 Layer Cake and it was beautiful! The theme was outdoor rustic, and everything, from the bride's shoes to the wedding favours, was a study in cozy and inviting. Take a look!

*~Mr. and Mrs. October: Kevin and Amanda make October beautiful!~*

Happy one year anniversary Kevin and Amanda!

Wishing you a day as limitless as you are~
Lisa and April

#TBT - CanCon Edition!

Photo via kisax.com

Happy Thursday! It's a pretty happy Thursday for us because last night,  the Blue Jays advanced to the AL Championship!

Photo courtesy of  sportsnet.ca ..... and karma

#batflip#joeybatsforthewin#baseballkarma#torontowantsitmore#byebyeRangers

And wow, did we.

Despite being down by two games and the Rangers needing to win only one more game of the remaining three to eliminate us, despite some inflammatory Blue Jay rally towel/Texas pitcher's butt action (Staying classy: you're doing it wrong, Derek Holland), DESPITE a head-scratcher of a Texas run scored (the homeplate umpire hadn't called 'play' and ruled the run dead as the runner crossed the plate but it ended up being allowed when reviewed due to a little known rule, which shouldn't have mattered anyway because the UMPIRE HADN'T CALLED FOR PLAY TO RESUME WHEN SAID RUN SCORED!) and desssssppiiite some bench-clearers (one being blowback from Rangers pitcher Dyson walking directly into Tulowitzki on his roundabout, exaggerated way to the dugout in a blatant attempt to exchange a few words and nudge him) ..... We. Came. Back.

Photo courtesy of theprovince.com.... And karma!

22 years ago, Toronto was in the throes of baseball fever and that fever is burning through this chilly October day!  We won our last World Series in 1993.  So it seemed only fitting that our Throwback Thursday wedding would today, while our Canadian hearts swell with pride, be another Canadian icon that does us proud....

Photo via Pinterest 

Shania Twain married producer Mutt Lange in 1993. They met earlier that year when he heard some of her early work, and things developed quickly for them, leading to a wedding in 1993 at Deerhurst Resort, where she used to perform in the late 1980's. The wedding was simple and sweet, considering Lange was a pretty successful producer: they would go on to make her album 'The Woman in Me' together which was a massive success for her but prior to that, he had worked with some big artists like AC/DC, Def Leppard, Bryan Adams, XTC, Heart, Foreigner, Michael Bolton and Tina Turner. The day seemed to really be about the two of them starting their lives together and they led low-key lives as a married couple, until they announced in 2008 that they were divorcing,  after he cheated with her (former) best friend. In an interesting twist, she found love with the ex-husband of this friend and they remarried in 2011. But before we had Puerto Rico in 2011, we had Ontario in 1993.....

*~Before magazines ran special 'Wedding Album' issues - Shania and Mutt Lange say I Do~*

Wishing you a day as limitless as you are~
Lisa and April

#goJaysgo