Every wedding has a story, and every fashion editor’s wedding has a style focus.

Earlier this summer, I got married to the love of my life at Toronto’s Estates of Sunnybrook.

Unlike many brides, I didn’t fantasize about my wedding dress for years. The last time I remember seriously looking through a bridal magazine was at the tender age of 12. I recall flipping through the pages and telling my Mom about the photos I liked the most.

Many years went by, and my fashion sense has changed immensely. So when my man proposed, I thought to myself: “I wonder what I should wear?” The excitement had a sudden meteoric rise.

A wedding in fashion: the bride

I was concerned after an exceptionally unpleasant experience with the local designer Sarah Houston, who I used to strongly support but whose service ended up being a major disappointment to me (they have since also shut down their store in Yorkville; and after my experience, I ceased all communications with them). I didn’t know what to wear on my wedding day and that is not a feeling any bride wants to experience, especially when you work in the fashion media industry and everyone is asking about your dress.

In the end, I ended up wearing a stunning and incredibly glamourous piece by my all-time favourite designer: Valentino Garavani. It was a dress that was a gift from my family, from one of Valentino’s collections before he retired, and was in every way a perfect piece to complement my style: elegant, feminine and very classic.

I needed urgent alterations and that is when my dear friend Farley Chatto came to the rescue. Farley is one of the top designers in Canada and I couldn’t have been more lucky to have him help me.

A wedding in fashion: the accessories

In terms of my accessories, about a month and half before the wedding, I was chatting with my friends at Young and Tae, when they mentioned their new exciting program where clients could completely customize and create their own pairs of shoes. David and Jenny who own the boutique offered to make me a pair too! I opted for a satin look, with pointy toes and a medium heel. I fell in love with them when they arrived and was pleasantly surprised to discover that they were very comfortable too. On June 6, I danced the night away in my shoes until 2 a.m.

A few weeks before the wedding, I headed to Holt Renfrew, this time not to select items for a photoshoot but to choose a piece of jewelry that I wanted to treasure forever. My Mom and one of my bridesmaids came with me, and we had a fabulous day. I purchased a statement necklace by Oscar de la Renta. It was and still is by far one of my all-time favourite pieces of jewelry. I paired it with a bracelet and stud earrings by Swarovski.

My husband bought his tux last year and decided to opt for Maison Martin Margiela. He was so handsome and his outfit perfectly complemented my dress!

My stunning bridesmaids were dressed by Henkaa, and this couldn’t have been a better choice. Henkaa is amazing: a single dress can be styled completely differently in dozens of ways, to complement the figure of each bridesmaid and to reflect her personal style.

A wedding in fashion: the bride and the bridesmaids

We also had an absolutely amazing support team. The make-up artist was FAJO’s long-time contributor Amy Pigeon. She is one of the most talented make-up artists I have ever met, so when it came to choosing who to work with for my wedding, she had no competition.

Our hairstylist was Chelsea Collinson who essentially created little art pieces on our heads. I still have no idea how she managed to make all of our hair look so pretty.

A wedding in fashion: the photos, the music and the cake

All photos were taken by FAJO’s Robin Gartner and her boyfriend Josh Fee. They have been wedding photographers for a long time and I really liked the idea of having them shoot the wedding together. Looking at the photos now makes me re-live the whole day, and I couldn’t have asked for a better team to document it for us. They were fun, captured the right moments in a beautiful way, and remained superbly calm the whole night. It’s an incredible mix of qualities that very few wedding photographers have.

Meanwhile, everyone knows that I love to dance, so we decided to go with DJ Greedo. It’s true, when you hire professionals they just take care of everything and let you and the guests enjoy the evening without a care in the world. Robert Gri “read” the crowd in all the right ways, alternating between tracks accordingly. He was also very well-dressed, and a perfect addition to our wedding support team!

And, on a sweet note, our cake was by Cake Someone Happy. Judi Laprade, who is also an anatomy professor at the University of Toronto, runs this business as a hobby. Considering how pretty and delicious her cakes are, I think she should consider it as a full-time business. Judi was fun, made us mini-cakes a few weeks beforehand so we could choose our favourite flavours, and delivered a cake masterpiece the day of the wedding.

My husband and I were glowing with joy, and our family and friends still comment about how happy we look in all photos. It was a truly magical day that we will cherish for the rest of our lives.

The happy couple.