We asked for isight into Jenny and Matt’s wedding at Propeller Coffee Co. from Ali Harrison, a local paper cutting artist and owner of Toronto-based arts business Light + Paper and thats what she had to say.
I am not a wedding planner. I am actually not even a “wedding person.” But I do have a love for making beautiful things, an annoying attention for detail, and a hidden desire to boss people around. So, when my good friends Jenny and Matt asked me to help with a few aspects of their wedding, I quickly grew addicted to the power and soon became de-facto wedding planner.
Jenny and Matt agreed that they wanted to throw a chill, fun party for their friends and family, with great food and music. Neither of them had ever dreamed of the perfect 3-tier wedding cake, the designer gown, or the towering centrepieces, so planning the night became a game of “how can we make this the most fun?” and “how can we decorate with what we have laying around?” Luckily, Jenny and Matt know how to throw a good party, and I have A LOT of stuff laying around.
It was decided that Propeller Coffee would be the perfect venue for the relaxed affair. It was downtown, open concept, with outdoor space, and the rustic minimal interior meant that we didn’t have to do much to dress it up. Jenny and Matt loved the offerings from Citizen catering, and decided on both passed appetizers and food stations inside and outside. The menu included so many delicious offerings, my favourites were the oysters, porchetta, and tuna ceviche.
For the decor, we wanted to accentuate the beautiful space with some colourful additions. We added string cafe lights and rows of paper tassels to the ceiling, succulent centrepieces on wooden boards on the tables, polaroid cameras with Jenny and Matt’s faces as photo props, and our crown jewel – the hanging paper garland backdrop. The pops of colour in the decor perfectly accented Jenny and Matt’s outfits, her blue shoes and his suit, and the orange and pink in her bouquet.
Having an art studio and access to a lasercutting machine meant that we had a relatively easy time at the DIY aspect of the decor. We borrowed the tassels from a friend, and used vases and bottles we both had collected – the only tricky part was fitting all the flowers into my studio’s mini-fridge. Having decided to keep most aspects simple, we did want to create a magical and ambitious piece for the backdrop, and being a paper artist, I aimed high. We sewed together colourful paper shapes into long strings, to be hung in front of the large windows at Propeller.
Watching Jenny and Matt meet under the paper backdrop, with light streaming in through the windows was magical. They were married and the party could begin! With many high fives, heartfelt speeches, and polaroids passed around, the night flew by. However, the best moment came at the arrival of the Ice Cream Truck – when all the guests piled out to the street to order soft serve cones, popsicles and slushies. We danced around Jenny and Matt, who had tied giant balloons to their backs, holding sticks with photos of their faces glued to them in one hand, and ice cream cones in the other – the funnest, most perfect moment that still makes me uncontrollably smile.
Music : – alt-J – Warm Foothills ( iTunes )
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