Our 25th anniversary party will, without question, remain in our hearts and minds as one of the highlights of our life together. What began as the wisp of an idea became an evening to remember. This move from general idea to actual shape is owed to the talented and efficient @CarenDoherty from Forever and Always Weddings. I approached her with a, “you might not have any ideas but I thought I’d give it a try”, and she came back with a plan that made my excitement start to build. Working with her was a dream and she is just a wonderful person on top of her skill as a planner. Here she is in the lead-up, with her great eye for detail, making sure things are perfect for us.
So every plan needs a place and Caren linked us up with @SchoolHouseWed where the venue is absolutely perfect for an intimate evening cocktail reception and an indoor or outdoor ceremony. The space is cozy and tastefully elegant, and the decor was romantic and added class right down to the red carpet, lanterns that lit our way, and gorgeous flower balls. Here is just a little glimpse:
An unexpected but brilliant addition to the evening was live music performed by the exceptionally talented Kimberley Dunn. Not only is her voice beautiful and her piano playing magical, but she showed such an incredible willingness to meet our individual style by adding three new songs to her repertoire based on our requests. The lyrics were meaningful to us and she made them a special part of our evening.
And here we are dancing to We Will Dance:
The decision to reaffirm our vows was initially made with a tentative desire to mark our day with meaning but without wanting anything over the top. To say our vows, we really wanted someone to provide a structure and this was where Caren arranged our meeting with @GordMarriage , whose name could not possibly be any better right? Gord is a minister and licensed officiant who can offer a secular ceremony or one with strong spiritual content in a church. As people of deep faith but challenges around religion, we were impressed by his ability to meet us right where we wanted things to be. Not only were his words perfect, and his support of our ideas complete, but he made an incredible impression on our guests. He was a blessing to us on that day and here he is providing his leadership, humour, and setting the deeply genuine tone of the evening:
And of course people have to eat. And drink. And we wanted our guests to feel pampered. The folks from @ScrumptiousCat were absolutely unbelievable. Passing hors d’oeuvre, offering drinks, a stationary table of delicious foods, and a receptive bartender – all going above and beyond throughout the evening. You can see that we had a delicious menu of goodies along with wine, beer, and delicious sangria, loaded and virgin.
And then we decided that our son, whose birthday was the following day, could be celebrated by our full extended family so Shakira from @_LittleCakes stepped up last-minute and provided some gorgeous cupcakes and a delicious red velvet anniversary cake, along with the tower to display them. And she delivered them right to us.
If you ever have a chance to work with any of these fabulous people…Do It.
M
What a wonderful summary of your 25th Anniversary Celebration. I am honoured to have been a part of such a special event and thrilled that it turned out to be everything you wanted.
Caren, we cannot thank you enough for bringing this wonderful event into being for us. With my health issues interfering so much you were a godsend for us. For years I thought about how to mark this milestone when we reached it – but nothing compared to how it actually turned out. I will always be grateful to you for helping us make it as special as it should have been.
As Mary has already indicated by words and pictures those responsible for making their very special celebration really special should be congratulated. Each and everyone of you did a fantastic job.
It was a wonderful evening
Agatha (Mary’s mom)
Reaching a 25 year wedding anniversary for many couples, in this day and age is indeed a milestone. It was such a pleasure to read this post and to see that so many talented people put their hearts and souls into seeing that this vow renewal was everything you could have imagined for yourselves, your family and friends. Sincere congratulations to you and Gary. You both look so lovely in all the photos and I wish you continued happiness. May you be blessed with celebrating many more anniversaries together.
Thanks so much Paula. We were very, very happy to celebrate this achievement and to do so in a way that felt special to us. Thanks for reading
Wow. Gorgeous. I’m so glad it was extra special for all of you. Wishing you many more happy, memorable times to come.
Thanks Pam. It was a night to remember.
Everything looks like it was so lovely! You picked some amazing people and places in Ottawa to assist you with your Anniversary, looks like all went off without a hitch. Congrats again and here’s to the next 25!!
We sure met some amazing people who are talented and efficient. It made the evening an absolute pleasure. Thanks for your best wishes.
Mary & Gary,
You are both such an inspiration to myself and many, many others. Thank you for including Little Cakes in your most touching and amazing day!
You both ROCK!!!
xoxo
AWWW, thanks Shakira! You made our son very happy. When I announced that we would sing he happened to be standing up at the balcony rail so he was up there looking down as we all sang to him. It was a lovely moment. And he thought the cupcakes were delicious and fun with all the little touches about his life right now. Thanks again.