Debbie and Pierre-Paul: Vignoble de Chelsea Wedding

Debbie and Pierre-Paul had such a beautiful wedding day at la Vignoble de Chelsea and I’m so excited to share it with you all. Leading up to their date was an adventure in itself. Their engagement felt so long because of course, covid. They had to change their plans and move their date around but they took it in strides and made the best of the situation. They had their son, Noah during that time and he definitely made their day complete.

I was so excited for their big day because throughout the Pandemic, Debbie had been a huge supporter of mine and is genuinely the kindest soul there is. And during their engagement session, Debbie and Pierre-Paul were such good sports. It rained throughout, and even dare I say, poured but these two never skipped a beat. They went with the flow and we ended up having a good time. The only thing we asked was no rain on the wedding day.

When we did finally get to the wedding day, NO RAIN. I was so thankful when I woke up that morning to see blue skies and the sun shining down on us. I arrived at Pierre-Paul’s parents home to find the boys getting ready while Noah was being fed. Last I’d seen him he was a little baby with just a little bit of hair. Now, he was a toothy, smiling little guy with the most beautiful blonde hair. We didn’t have much time together so I got straight to work with detail photos, and having the guys finish up getting dressed so they could help Pierre-Paul with his finishing touches. His mum, Marie-Hélène went and dressed Noah in his little suit while the guys helped Pierre-Paul. After pinning the boutonnières, we went outside for the guys to have a little toast and get some portraits done before it was time for me to run away.

I arrived at Debbie and Pierre-Paul’s home to find the girls in a very relaxed ‘’state’’. They were mostly just mingling about, sitting on the couch and having a bite to eat while Kathleen finished getting her hair done and listening to music. Debbie was so excited for me to finally be at her house not just for the photos, but to show off Noah’s nursery. Something she and I bonded over was our love for Harry Potter and his nursery is HP themed and so beautifully done at that. I of course, loved it but was I loved even more was her wedding dress and details. The dress had these beautiful tulle layers giving it such a whimsical feel. And the shoes, don’t get me started! Sparkly vans, are you kidding me?!?! I loveeddddd them. I also loved that she even got some fancy Badgley Mishka heels for the fancy shoes. And to top it off, she even got herself a denim jacket, encrusted in pearls but instead of the usual ‘’Mrs.’’ On the back, she got ‘’Always’’ written on. Another ode to Harry Potter and my heart melted.

We spent our time together mostly hanging out, talking about our excitement for the day and planning things out. Debbie really wanted to do a first look with her girls so after they got dressed, I actually got them to go hang out in Noah’s nursery while Debbie and her mom got her dressed in the living room. When they did see Debbie, they were all smiles and Kathlyn’s reaction was my favourite. She was Debbie’s made of honour and in October, Debbie will repay the favour. And you could tell how much love she has for her bestie. After a run around looking for Debbie’s thank you speech which we didn’t find, and a quick fluff of Debbie’s dress, off we were to la Vignoble de Chelsea to start their ceremony.

Now the day before the wedding, Debbie texted me to tell  me that their tent had been blown away by the wind and the wind damaged the ceremony arch essentially destroying it. So I was pleasantly surprised when I arrived to see a beautiful wood arch decorated with flowers at the end of the aisle. Their florist came through and ended up bringing an arch in for them to use and with the sun shining, we didn’t even end up needing the tent! Guests slowly trickled into the ceremony space as they were greeted by the beautiful voice and guitar from the wonderful Breakfast in bed duo, Michelle and Massil. I got a text from Debbie not long before the ceremony was supposed to start, thy had forgotten her veil at home. It wasn’t all that far away but things were starting to get delayed so unfortunately she made the decision to forgo the veil but honestly, everything turned out so beautifully regardless.

The ceremony started with Pierre-Paul walking down the steps and aisle with his mom and dad followed by his best man and groomsmen, his two brothers. The girls quickly followed and so did Debbie’s mom with their son, Noah as their ring bearer. The rings were kept in a box in his little knapsack which was the cutest thing ever. He was supposed to come down in a little blue car that said ‘’Daddy, here comes mommy’’ but in the excitement of the moment, Francine forgot to put Noah in it so down the aisle she walked. And then came down for our beautiful bride, Debbie, to walk down with her dad in her arm to go greet Pierre-Paul and finally become husband and wife.

The sun was in and out behind the few clouds in the sky but the wind, the wind was a feisty one. Blowing Debbie’s hair all over the place as she tried to keep it in place. So during a quick little lul at the start of the ceremony, I quickly ran over and pinned her bangs down so she didn’t have to fuss with them so much. Their personal vows were beautifully written and spoken. They talked about how they met, their journey together, their son and of course, how perfect they were for one another. My favourite, and it’s a recurring theme throughout the evening, was how Pierre-Paul spoke of Debbie’s big heart. It seems like we’re all in agreement, Debbie is an angel who cares deeply for all. There was lots of tears, and lots of laughter to be had by everyone in attendance. After taking the rings from Noah’s backpack, which everyone had a little laugh at, they were pronounced husband and wife and shared a big old kiss as they should. Their friend and officiant announced that they were done the ceremony only to realize, things have to be legal! And so they quickly walked over to the table to sign the official documents to you know, make sure everything was legal and what not. AND THEN, they kissed again and made their exit in a beautiful flurry of dried flowers being thrown as confetti.

We spent the next little bit mingling about with guests while doing family formals. It was an insanely sunny day, yet chilly which was a nice change from the 25 degree days we’d been having. To keep things easy we did a good portion of photos right by the cocktail area so everyone could keep chatting and drinking. We then quickly went off with the wedding party into the wineries fields for some more portraits. Our goal for Debbie and Piere-Paul’s portraits was actually not to stay at la Vignoble de Chelsea but to head over to Morrison Quarry. Debbie organized it all and so we decided it was time to head over and see what kind of magic we could create.

Now, you wouldn’t think a quarry is a good spot for photos but this place is great. Honestly, the ceremony had started late so we were short on time and didn’t get to explore as much as I would have liked BUT, we made due with what little time we had and hit up some spots Debbie had scoped out. We even got a nice gentleman who was camping nearby to come help us out with her dress. Kindness can be found everywhere. The light at the rocks was bright and beautiful and so we spent a good amount of our time there before looking at the time and deciding it was time to head back to la Vignoble de Chelsea for the reception.

The reception space was beautifully decorated with cheesecloth table runners and eucalyptus vines running along the center of the tables. There was various little bud jars with floral stems spread throughout and of course the instructions for their kissing game in little frames. Their guest book was a fun polaroid station where guests would take photos, stick them into the album and write a cute little message to our couple. And my favourite, the cake and cupcakes. The cake was a simple two tier white cake but it was decorated with fresh florals that the light hit just right. And the cupcakes, without even trying, they were Harry potter themed and Debbie didn’t notice until I pointed out that they were the house colours haha.

After a few minutes of delay due to the michoui not being ready, they finally made their grand entrance as official husband and wife. Debbie and Pierre-Paul did things a little in reverse, they actually started the evening by doing their thank you speech. They went in detail to those they thanked from thir parents, their wedding party, their vendors, and anyone in between that gave them a hand throughout the long process of wedding planning. The evening went by so smoothly and everyone had a wonderful time. The food was delicious and the music was awesome thanks to Johnny from Capital Events and Entertainment. After dinner we were treated to a fun look into how Debbie and Pierre-Paul think with the good ole’ shoe game. They got the majority of them right but I mean, it’s all opinion based… right?!? They even had an awesome surprise for us after the game, a magician!

A family member of theirs is a magician and had a little performance for us from a fun card game and the good old escape from metal chains which had us all laughing. I mean, it doesn’t take much to make me laugh but this guy, he was legit and so funny in his performance. Debbie was having an awesome time up there. The speeches were also very beautiful and filled with tears, especially when it came for Debbie’s maid of honour, Kathlyn to talk and then her mom Francine. Dany, Pierre-Paul’s best man also had a great speech and I loved how he reminisced about their time together, especially when he mentioned larping. I had to laugh out loud because not many people know about larping but us nerds definitely do.

I snuck our beautiful couple out to the wineries fields again for a couple more portraits of my signature night shot before ending the evening on the dance floor. They had their first dance outside on the balcony under twinkle lights, surrounded by their guests and sparklers with a big LOVE sign as they swayed together. You could just tell how happy they were in that moment. It was a long time coming and it was so worth it. Debbie then danced with her dad as they chatted away and laughed throughout their song. Debbie held on tight and gave him a big hug. A smile came across her face that was so serene. Almost to say, thank you dad and to show how grateful she was to have him in her life. I was technically done at this point but I stayed a little longer just to capture so dance photos because people were already all over the dance floor hopping around and dancing up a storm. Covid wasn’t bothering anyone and they were taking full advantage of it. I can only imagine how wild things got after I left because people were having a great time out there.

And that was that. A beautiful day that had it’s challenges but ended up perfect non the less. Debbie and Pierre-Paul, you are such beautiful souls and I truly am honoured to have been able to be a part of this day with you. Your kindness and love is truly a spectacular thing and I hope you never lose that sparkle because you’re both so special. I wish you all the best, xox.

Vendors
Hair and makeup: Shannon Doyle Beauty
Wedding dress: White Satin Bridal
Bridesmaids dresses: Azazie
Groom and groomsmen’s attire: Jimmy Suits
Flowers: Flore & Sens Atelier Floral
Cake: Meringue et Confettis
Cupcakes: Sweet B’s
Decor Rentals: Rustic Engagements
Venue: Vignoble de Chelsea
DJ : Capital Events and Entertainment
Live Music: Breakfast in Bed