Gabby + Chris by Alecia Patrick - Together Journal

We wanted to keep it simple and effortless.

Tell us a little about yourselves, what you do, what you love…

We’re Gabby and Chris! We both grew up in Ontario. Gabby is a former youth basketball phenom from the historic university city of Kingston. Chris is a washed up hockey player from the small rural town of Shelburne. We now call Toronto home. Professionally, we’re both accountants—Gabby works in consulting, while Chris is in the healthcare industry. Outside of crunching numbers, we find joy in the simple things. Some of our favourites include scenic drives with great music, weekend coffee walks, cuddles with our adorable cat Penny, enjoying a cold beer together at the viewpoint of a hike, and being in proximity to large bodies of water. We’re always up for an adventure, and above all, we cherish making memories with each other and our family and friends!

How/where/when did you meet – and what were your first impressions?

Our story began at a seemingly unromantic place – work. In 2018, we were staffed on the same project that led to many days spent together, everywhere from ice fishing shacks in Northern Ontario to office towers in downtown Toronto. While our work productivity declined, our friendship grew stronger as we bonded over a shared outlook on life and a love for after work happy hours. Busy work weeks flew by when we were together, and before we knew it long days in stuffy corporate offices turned into nights on the town.

First impressions – Chris: Outside of being a badass at work, I thought Gabby had a really warm, fun personality, and it was clear that people in her circle were drawn to her. I also thought she was really hot. Gabby: Chris came off as a very kind and genuine person. I could tell that people gravitated toward him and I knew I wanted to get to know him more. I thought he was really cute and found it easy to laugh with him.

When did you first realise that this was someone you’d like to spend the rest of your life with?

It was always so easy spending time together, we became fast friends and realized pretty quickly that we had so much in common

After spending four months as colleagues, Chris had to leave the office to finish his master’s program. We had gotten so used to spending time together without having to think about it that we were unsure how our relationship would continue. It became evident to both of us around this time that this was only the first chapter of a longer story together

Tell us about the vision you had for the mood and style of your wedding. (theme, key styling elements, florals, colour palettes etc.).

Since our wedding was situated in the country, we really wanted to include wildflowers and all of their colours.

We wanted to keep it simple and effortless, without the rigidity of needing every single element to be the same.

Lots of bows
Lots of candles to bring in warmth at night
Letting the beauty of the venue speak for itself

Making everyone feel like they were very welcome / keeping the wedding as intimate as possible; we hand-wrote notes to all of our guests.

Overall, we wanted more of a casual vibe and wanted it to be a party with everyone we love; we made sure to lead the charge on the dance floor with our guests.

What styling and visual elements worked best for you? (could be things, the florals, particular hire products or your marquee etc., something the stylist created or simply just the scenic beauty of your location or the existing design of your venue).

We LOVED our florals – they were perfect and really tied everything together.

We also loved our venue, the venue on its own without any decoration is truly beautiful (scenery and the different locations on site being the farmhouse, gardens and the reception space); we’re happiest when we’re outside so it was important to find a space that brought together the beauty of the countryside in Prince Edward County with the stunning interior and exterior spaces at The Brighthouse.

Overall, we kept it simple on added decor and let the venue and florals speak for themselves.

What did you enjoy most about the planning process and do you have any tips for couples starting their wedding planning journey?

We had weekly “dates” at one of our favourite coffee shops to do everything wedding planning; it was a special time for us to connect and get excited about our wedding.

The planning process allowed us to be creative and gave us time to reflect on the experiences and things we love and the best ways to share these with our loved ones for the big day.

Tips: All of those last minute tasks will take you longer than you expect, make sure to stay ahead of them to help you feel relaxed going into your wedding week/day of!

Tell us about your main outfits, what was unique, is there a story?

Gabby: Went shopping with my mother, mother-in-law, and a couple of my bridesmaids. The dress I picked was one of the last ones I tried on, and I knew it was the one. I loved the low back and the bows that could be added to the straps – it felt like it fit the venue perfectly. I was not someone who always dreamed about my wedding and knew which wedding dress I would want, and was surprised when the decision came so easily. I wanted to make sure I could have a good time on the dancefloor, so a short reception dress was a must; I opted for something completely opposite of the main dress, so I went with something sparkly and strapless.

Chris: Wanted a more casual style tux to stand out from my groomsmen and also something comfortable to wear for the reception. It was my Opa’s dream to be able to dance at his grandson’s wedding, so I wore his bow tie to honour his wish and a very special person to me.

What was one, or two elements that were most important to you both that you were happy to spend a little more on? (food, photography, florals, the venue, your outfits?)

Photography and videography to capture our day; we were so lucky to find incredibly talented people who went above and beyond throughout our wedding journey and captured our day perfectly; having the photos and video to look back on has been really special to us.

Venue, because we wanted the perfect space that suited us and the type of atmosphere we wanted to have; we were fortunate enough to have access to the venue for the whole weekend, which really helped us relax and soak it all in.

Florals really helped add to the atmosphere and complemented our venue perfectly; they helped create very visually stunning memories of our weekend.

Did anything happen on your wedding day that you laugh about in hindsight (even if it was stressful at the time)

The weather radar fluctuations and the on and off risk of rain; good news is the venue had a great plan for us, rain or shine, and everyone still had a great time regardless of the unseasonably cold weather!

Arriving at our unstaffed hotel at the end of the night, only to realize Chris left the hotel keys and his phone at the venue.