In honour of Flash Back Friday, we are taking it back to August 2016 when one of our beautiful brides, Lisa, married her long time love, Kevin. Below is their story and her advice to couples getting ready to tie the knot!

Kevin and I are long-time friends who fell in love after many years of friendship and now are proud to call each other husband and wife. I am a preschool teacher and Kevin is a police officer and our little family was recently made complete by Stella, our adopted kitten.

Kevin and I were friends from high school. In fact, he was my prom date and we have the awkward prom photos to prove it! We stayed in touch during the years I lived in Vancouver and he lived in Toronto. Once a year we had a breakfast date to catch up when I would fly back to Ontario for Christmas. In 2014 I moved back to Toronto and I got one of the last flights out in the middle of the ice storm. When I got off the plane, Kevin was waiting to pick me up, ice storm and all, and I realized more than ever what a truly amazing person he is. Twelve years of friendship quickly bloomed into romance.

We got engaged in December 2015 and decided to get married the same year. South Pond was recommended to us and it was the first venue we checked out. We fell in love instantly and didn’t look at any other venues; we knew it was perfect. The planning process was fun and we were so lucky to have lots of help from friends and family. Having everyone work together to make all the personal touches for the wedding was one of the best aspects and made the process enjoyable. Because we planned the wedding in 7 months, I’ll admit it was a little all-consuming and at times I felt like it was the only things on my mind. It was one of the best days of my life but it was also nice to return to normal life when it was over and have time for other hobbies and interests again!

As you plan your wedding, keep in mind that your wedding is all about you two and try not to get caught up in what other people say you “have to” do. Our approach was to focus our time, energy and budget on the things that mattered to us most. For us that meant the food, drinks, band, photographer and decor. Don’t obsess over the little things that don’t matter to you or try to make everyone happy. If we caught ourselves stressing, we would remind ourselves “This is fun!” and remember that at the end of the day it was about the two of us.

The wedding day was magical and it was so surreal to see all the little details and planning come to life. South Pond did an excellent job and the day was exactly what we wanted; a relaxed and casual party with the people in the world we love the most. I thought I might feel anxious being the centre of attention but instead I felt all day like my heart was bursting with happiness. Our band, Whiskey Epiphany, was the perfect soundtrack to the day and it was so special to hear them play some of our favourite songs that they learned just for us. We rented nearby Ironhorse Ranch and it was beyond our wildest expectations…our wedding day was complete with a friendly goat, we did not see that coming!

The best advice I got from a friend was that during the ceremony, as you say your vows, look into your partner’s eyes and really think about the words you are saying and the promises you are making. In that moment everything else melted away and it was just Kevin and I beginning the rest of our lives together.