When Kathleen and Tobin got engaged, Kathleen contacted me on her drive home. YES, that very same night. I think within ten minutes of it happening to be honest haha. When she told me it would be a PEC (Prince Edward County) wedding, I was even more excited because I’d never been! Over the following year, we planned and talked and the excited just built up. We had an amazing time at their engagement session which that same night, they found out they were expecting their third little one! Not a part of the plan, but they took it in strides and planned their wedding while knowing they’d have a very young baby when it was going to happen. This is their wedding day story. Say hello to Kathleen and Tobin and their PEC Wedding!
PEC is beautiful. Honestly if you’ve never been you really should. Kathleen and Tobin were so excited to be having a wedding so close to their family cottage and now I understand why.
I arrived at CherryVale Weddings venue to actually find the girls were pretty much all done their hair and makeup. They had loads of time to chill while I dropped my things off with them and made my way over to the guys down the road. I arrived to find Tobin in shorts and a t-shirt. Not even remotely close to being ready, but he was wrangling Kieran (they middle child) and trying to get him dressed, so he was forgiven.
The boys were wandering around the house, getting their final touches done while Tobin started getting dressed and I took a few detail shots. There was some alcohol being poured and I finally learned what an ‘’old fashion’’ drink is. Thanks for the lesson boys! I thought it was the cutest when both Kieran and Tobin got their hair done one after the other. Just a sweet father and son moment. The boys weren’t too difficult to wrangle in the end but apparently, Josh wanted me to say Please and thank you a little more, maybe I’m a little bossy ;). After the boys helped each other out with their ties, jackets and boutonnières, we did a quick couple photos in the back and then I made my way over back to the main building to find the girls.
Arriving to the main space only to find everyone gone was a first for me. I was a tad confused until I found someone who’d told me the girls were in one of the suites while Kathleen was feeding Cayden, their baby boy. I opened the door to find all the girls, adults and children alike, sitting and watching a movie on Disney +. Did I mention that Kathleen and her family LOVE Disney? Like LOVEEEEEE Disney. So I wasn’t terribly surprised to see that this was what they were doing in their downtime before the hectic-ness of the day.
While they were zoned in on BOLT, Steve (the videographer) and I took Kathleen’s details aside and got to work. There was so many beautiful touches like their invitations (which I’d never seen done like that before), their personalized fans for all their guests to use because, summer, Am I Right? But one of my favourites had to be the little maps included in their invites that had picturesque paintings of the locations within PEC. After a few quick set ups, it was time for the bridesmaids to get dressed while Kathleen stayed in the main space, waiting for her Maid of Honour and sister, Emily (my past bride as well) to come help her into her gown.
Bridal gowns are never the easiest to get in, luckily Emily was a pro and helped Kathleen in all the ways a sister would. After getting dressed, it was time for multiple reveals! With her bridesmaids, her dad to which she gifted a beautiful tie clip, her Nana and Poppa and finally Tobin’s parents. All of which had either mouth gaping open or beautiful smiles as they saw this wonderful woman finally as a bride. Kieran even requested a first look with his mom and it was the sweetest little moment when he finally saw her. It really tugged at those heart strings. After a quick photo with Cayden (little guy was so sleepy), Kathleen gifted her wedding party with beautiful Vera Wang bracelets. Funny not so funny moment was when Siobhan opened her bracelet it uh… it broke. Luckily, little miss Jenny didn’t want to wear hers so crisis averted. I mean out of almost 10 bracelets, only one broke and they were super delicate so it was a good odd in the end. Guests started to arrive and it was finally time to get these two beautiful humans FINALLY married.
It was a hot and sunny day but all of their guests showed up with a smile on and seemed very grateful when they saw the little fans waiting for them on their seats. The boys made their way down the aisle followed by Tobin and Kieran. Unfortunately, Kieran wasn’t having it and was having a wee little tantrum in his dad’s arms. Tobin just smiled the whole way through and when he got to the end of the aisle, he put Kieran down and walked down the rest of the way with the biggest grin on his face. Nothing was going to stop him from having a fantastic ceremony. Don’t worry, a friend of theirs took Kieran and cuddled him for the ceremony, he was fine, just tired.
Tobin was then followed by the beautiful bridesmaids, ring bearer and flower girls. Jenny was also very tired and not having it but luckily Madelyn did great work for the both of them. So much so that she threw all her petals before she even made it to the aisle which had us all laughing and she danced her way down. Guests rose as Kathleen exited the building, arm in arm with her Nanny. Tobin’s face lit up and never dropped through out the entire ceremony.
Their ceremony was filled with so many beautiful touches. From the string duo that played music throughout, the memory table for their missed relatives to two of my favourite moments. Of course like all ceremonies, it was filled with smiles, tears and laughter. But it’s the personal touches that always stick to my memory. First was the beautiful moment of silence they had before the ceremony fully started for Kathleen’s mom. She unfortunately passed away in 2019 not long before Emily’s own wedding and the sisters truly felt that loss to such a deep extent. I knew she would still be a special part of Kathleen’s day in every way possible. Pam, I never got to meet you but your daughters are amazing, beautiful, full of love and joy and I’d like to think it’s because of you. They speak so highly of you and I believe any one who had met you would have felt what they felt, love.
After their own personal vows, Kathleen and Tobin recited vows to their children, together. Madelyn made her way to the front to listen to her mom and dad while Kieran sat in Sarah’s lap and Cayden in his stroller. It was beautiful to see them make vows to their children, to their family because ultimately this marriage was for all of them. After a signing of the registry, these two sealed the deal with a kiss! Okay, I say kiss but I think in the heat of the moment and the nerves, Kathleen gave Tobin a tiny tiny peck on the lips and so quickly at that! I was like uhhhh guys?!? Luckily the guests cheered them on and they did a quick re-do and this time is was a a trueeeee kiss. They gathered Madelyn and Kieran and made their way down the aisle where they shared one more kiss before heading off.
Kathleen and Tobin had requested a group shot of everyone at the wedding which can be difficult and not always doable at wedding venues. However, Cherryvale had a balcony over looking the grass that worked out perfectly to see everyone’s faces. We went through family photos which ended up being a breeze and even snuck in wedding party photos with all the kids which is a rarity. And then we hopped in the limo and made our way to Pebble beach at the request of our happy couple.
Due to delays, which is super normal at weddings, and the drive down to the beach ended up taking longer then expected, we didn’t have much time there. But I understood why Kathleen and Tobin wanted to go. This entire beach was actually rocks and small sea shells. Like tiny little white shells all along rocks in the water which you could walk on. We found a beautiful tree over hanging by the water and successfully went through our shot list. The wedding party did a great job and once they were done, they went to enjoy a drink by the limo while I focused the short 10minutes I had with our bride and groom to try my best to capture the moment and the area. I’d say it was a success and it was a special place for them so I’m grateful I was able to get some photos of them there.
CherryVale is a newer venue, first year into weddings and family owned but man, do they ever have things going for them. They have a permanent tent on the property that’s huge with a space for cooking at the very back. The tent is beautiful draped the entire way through with white tulle and they even have Edison bulbs strewn across with greenery throughout to add a little romantic ambiance. We arrived to find the guests enjoying everything that was offered to them, from the Cotton Candy machine, to the awesome white bouncy castle and the fantastic lawn games. They had everything to make a magical day even more magical. Unlike a typical wedding, this wasn’t necessarily a sit down dinner with a formal timeline, oh no. The guests were able to mingle, grab drinks, and sit wherever they wanted while DELICIOUS canapés were passed around.
Guests were quickly asked to take a seat for the grand entrance as we made our way in. Everyone had their own song to dance to but my favourite was definitely the kids. They walked hand in hand and danced to the Monsters Inc. theme song and it was soooo freaking cute. They were followed by Kathleen and Tobin who made their entrance into their first dance. Now Kathleen had a cesarean for Cayden’s birthday and she couldn’t do crazy sudden movements so I thought their first dance would be a slow dance, but I was kind of wrong. They danced to Missing Piece by Vance Joy and they had a great time with it! Yes they ‘’slow danced’’ but they also spun and spread their arms apart while singing to the lyrics. To top it off, they were joined by Madelyn and Kieran to finish things off.
They followed up their little family dance with the Father daughter dance. Steve’s smile while he danced with his daughter was for the books. They too had a special surprise for us though when the song switched and they were joined by Madelyn and Kieran once again but this time with inflatable instruments to rock out together! Another fun moments for the books. Guests were having a great time with drinks and canapés and although Kathleen was set to take a break to go pump, the sun was setting fast so we took our shot and went for those to die for sunset photos. And thank god we did because the light dropped fast.
We wandered around Cherryvale’s beautiful property, chasing the sun as it dipped below the trees. And were able to get these beautiful images.
Our Bride and Groom FINALLY had a moment to themselves as they snuck away to the main building at Cherryvale while their guests were served the dinner stations. Amazing sea food, Indian cuisine and finally, Shawarma type station. Oh and let’s not forget the candy bar which I obviously took a bag full hehe. Everything was seriously so ridiculously delicious, I couldn’t even tell you what my favourite was… OH YES I CAN. The mini burgers, oh.my.god. I can’t even begin to explain how amazing they were. I had 4 and I don’t even know what was in them. I need them in my life in the future.
Kathleen and Tobin made it back in time to finally get some food into their tummies and right in time to get speeches going. First up was Kathleen’s three sisters, Emile, Siobhan and Ciara. They all spoke so highly of their sister and her relationship with Tobin but my favourite little moment was when Emily mentioned how they used to go Tubing, like on the back of a boat and she said ‘’when we went Tobing’’ bahaha. She even gave me a wink and stuck her tongue out after she said it which I got on camera! They were followed up by Joey, Tobin’s best man who got a lot of laughs out of the crowd and had a shining moment of his own, or should I say his daughter did. I genuinely don’t remember what he said (I have a lot to remember day of, forgive me) but Jenny ran up to him from the other end of the room and the timing with what he said couldn’t have been more perfect.
Speeches ended with Kathleen and Tobin. Their speech was long, like 2 or 3 pages long but it was truly heartfelt and they thanked everyone they could by name, even us vendors which doesn’t happen often so it was seriously so nice to hear. You could see they genuinely meant every word they said from the smallest of thanks, to the biggest like when Kathleen thanked her mom Pam for raising her to be the woman she is today. Her words left those in the room who knew Pam in tears. When they finished, they proceeded with a special dance for Pam and invited everyone on the dance floor to dance for her as she would have wanted.
Steve (the Videographer) and I quickly grabbed our bride and groom and snuck them out for night photos before calling it a night. Some of the wedding party and guests joined us to play with sparklers (and potentially burn some grass) and then we finished things off with capturing the couple with their beautiful venue as best we could. And just like that, this amazingly perfect day was done.
I couldn’t leave without a pit stop at the ICE CREAM bar though. And when I say ice cream, I mean Sunday bar where you had a ton of different toppings. I may have gotten lots of bananas, strawberries, chocolate chips, whipped cream and rainbow sprinkles. Seriously though, Kathleen and Tobin’s wedding was amazing. My brain is full of wonderful memories, my heart is full of joy and my smile gets bigger whenever I think about it or look at their photos.
Kathleen and Tobin, THANK YOU a million times over for having me be your photographer. Your love for PEC made me fall in love with it as well and I can only hope to come back to this beautiful part of our province in the near future. You little family is perfect and I can’t wait to see you again in the future. And to Cherryvale, I wish you an AMAZING future as a wedding venue and hope to visit your fabulous establishment again and see it grow. Xo
Vendors:
Venue and Décor: Cherryvale Weddings
Food and Drinks: The County Canteen and POP Culinary
DJ: Jason Ferguson – Definitive Entertainment Productions
Wedding Planner and Florals: Jessica at SaJess Events
Cello Player: Amber Walton-Amar hello@ambercello.com
Videography: Steve at Life’s Reel
Officiant: Brittany Shannon
Limo Service: Limestone Limousine
Cake and Deserts: Batter Up Bakery
Hair : Julep Salon & Social Club
Makeup: Caty Fallah Makeup by Caty
Wedding Dress: La Maison Bridal Boutique
Bridesmaids Dresses: David’s Bridal
Groom and Groomsmen attire: Moores
