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Though we wouldn’t categorize it as such, Marie-Michelle and Lee wanted a simple, rustic Ontario fall wedding. It was important to the duo to create a wedding centered around their community and their deep affinity for their hometown of Windsor, Ontario. With Emma Davidson at the helm of their photography, they enlisted local vendors from the town’s farmer’s market to offer scrumptious bites and their ceremony and reception at The Windsor Club was central to their city hosting spectacular urban views. They had no desires to detract from the beauty of their town, so they opted for effortless decor and greenery with a slight rustic touch.

They certainly splurged on their dessert concepts, though. Both Marie-Michelle and Lee have raging sweet teeth and they love their goldendoodle immensely, so why not blend the two? Their Oreo cookie favors had their precious pup’s face emblazoned on one side and if that doesn’t sound saccharine enough, their dessert table was decked out to the nines with cake, cookies, caramel, and macarons.

We’ve never encountered a couple so devoted to really sharing the charm of their city. It’s really quite moving and offers the idea to really appreciate what’s local to you and to enjoy the highlights.

How did you meet?

During the summer of 2012, Lee was doing an exchange program to learn French in Chicoutimi. This city is 100% French speaking and is located 800 km (500 miles) away from where he was going to school. I was working as a summer job for this program. Although we had instant chemistry and were flirting back and forth, I wouldn’t accept Lee’s date invitations because it was against the program rules! After the program was done, so were the rules and so we met up with each other mid-way in Montreal and our relationship evolved from there.

What is your proposal story?

While we were camping (one of our favorite activities!), Lee got up super early and laid out a scavenger hunt around the campground. It included clues, a map and a pirate treasure. After two hours, 3 miles, some digging and eventually solving a letter puzzle the treasure spelled out ”veux-tu m’épouser?”; the French version of would you marry me!

Just a little anecdote to it, earlier that the same morning while Lee was working so hard on his plan our goldendoodle ran away. After chasing her around the beach, she eventually led me to Lee who was suspiciously working away on something. I knew he was up to something but I had no idea what was in store!

Tell us about your attire choices.

We are both really simple people and we wanted to look ourselves during the big day. We selected outfits that made us feel good and I even made the decision to do my own make up to be sure that I would feel like myself. 

What was the most important to the two of you while planning? Was there anything that you chose to splurge on or skip?

We tried to work as a team throughout the whole process and we really picked vendors that we felt good and had personal connections with. 

We tried to not skip anything but the late snack didn’t work out.  Rather than trying to manage it ourselves we should’ve put someone else in charge of it as it was too much to worry about on the day.

What were your favorite parts of the day?

We both agree that the dancing was the favorite part of our day. We had so much fun dancing with all our friends and family all in the same place. Our DJ played classic songs from the 90s and 2000s and was the best.  Even mashing up some of our favorite songs on the spot. 

We also both loved the ceremony and were overwhelmed by our love for each other during the whole day. We wrote our own vows separately and it was a nice surprise that each of our vows echoed one another perfectly.

Do you have any advice for couples planning their weddings now?

We had a wedding planner and that was so nice. She helped us through all the steps and was such a beautiful person to work with. 

I feel that we really tried to have a connection or a similar vibe to all the vendors we selected and that made our day and whole process so much easier. It was always a pleasure to meet with them and that made a big difference for us. 

Photography: Emma Davidson Photography | Ceremony Venue: The Windsor Club | Reception Venue: The Windsor Club | Event Planning: Little Bird Wedding & Event Co. | Floral: The Country Flower Shoppe | Stationery: D’Angelo’s Custom Design House | Videography: White Lavender Films | Wedding Cake: Sweet Revenge Bake Shop | Hair: Hairchella Windsor | Makeup: Lana Baker | Favors: Au Sugar Confections | Speciality Food: The Cheese Bar | Bridal Salon: It’s Your Day Bridal Boutique | Wedding Dress: Essence of Australia | Bride’s Shoes: Boutique 1861 | Headpiece: The Bourbon Rose Floral | Submitted via: Matchology