- Nov 23, 2020

Summer Garden Wedding • Carling & Carson

T h e L o v e S t o r y

Carson and Carling met in 2016 while working at a small service company. She was on a six month contract and he was a full time employee. Over the summer they became really close friends and although there was an obvious connection between them, neither wanted to pursue a coworker. They didn't schedule their first date until one week before Carling's contract was due to expire and from that point on they've been inseparable. The only catch was that she had received word two days later that her contract was extended for another six months... whoops!

T H E P R O P O S A L

10.05.2019

Carson was leaving for a few weeks for work so he planned for a little mountain getaway for the two of them. He really wanted to do some hiking but Carling had to stay within cellphone reception for work. That morning as they were leaving he tells her that he thought of a way that they could still go up a mountain while maintaining reception, a gondola. As you can probably guess—he proposed on the gondola (that the couple had to themselves) on the way up. It was magical.

T h e D r e s s

Carling's wedding dress shopping experience was definitely not what she pictured after watching a decade of Say Yes to the Dress. She went with the VIB experience at Cameo & Cufflinks because she wanted to make an evening out of it (and so glad she did). It was really special to have the people there that she loves and trusts most, and there was the added bonus of not going through a bunch of emotions in front of strangers. She had a very clear picture in mind of what she wanted, but Carling never saw any pictures online of "the dress" so she didn't give much direction to those picking out gowns. She found a Justin Alexander dress that was pretty close to what she wanted, but with a different neckline. Our ladies at C&C sensed her hesitation and pinned it into a traditional sweetheart neckline so she could see what it would be like if it was altered and BOOM! There was her dress.

T H E W E D D I N G

08.22.2020

Carling and Carson got married at the Rouge Restaurant in Inglewood. Due to COVID-19 their wedding plans shifted dramatically. Originally they were going to have a 150 person wedding at the Palliser in the fall. However, once they realized that they most likely wouldn't be allowed to have that many people, especially indoors, they decided to completely shift gears and have an intimate, outdoor, summer wedding instead. Carling's original vision was very formal: white roses everywhere, rich hues, and grand details (string instruments, ornamental vases, silk dresses and linens). The colour palette was predominately white with navy and dusty blue accents. Their wedding planner channeled all of these elements perfectly into their new wedding. They still had an abundance of white roses incorporated other florals, the string instruments, the same colour palette (leaned more into the lighter blues), and instead of ornamental vases they had decorative porcelain plates. All of the details were repurposed and not forgotten.

What was one of your favourite moments from your wedding day?

Chatting with Carson during dinner was probably the best part, in my original wedding I would've never imagined a sweetheart table but it was so cool to have him all to myself and have the "can you believe this is happening" conversation about 10,000 times. Another moment that I will always treasure is my four year old nephew, Elliott, coming up and sitting on my lap for the speeches, it was so cute and sweet.

H o n e y m o o n

Carling & Carson bought a house and covid ruined their travel plans but they would love to do Italy when things calm down!

W o r d s f r o m t h e b r i d e .

Where did you find inspiration while planning?

I've been planning my wedding since I was a little girl so I have just collected ideas over time mixed in with my own personal style. During official planning I started a Pinterest board and followed a few Instagram accounts.

How did you find your vendors?

My sister in law is a photographer (@melaniegauerr) who knows SO MANY wonderful vendors. Naturally we would have loved to have her capture the day, but she was going to be busy celebrating with us so she recommended some other talented photographers that she went to school with. When we saw Kaity's photos we knew our styles would align. Mel also recommended Meadow & Vine for the florals and Top Knot as the beauty team and they were both AMAZING. The majority of our other vendors came from our planner Jacqueline, who I found because she designed and produced The Bash wedding show.

Do you have any tips for future brides?

Get a planner, get a planner, get a planner. Jacqueline was worth her weight in gold. I always thought someone as detail obsessed as I am would be okay planning things myself, but let me tell you... it is stressful and it sucks and it makes you hate weddings. Then Jacqueline came into my life and everything instantly got better and I had the best day ever.