Wedding Vendors
Venue - One King West
Event Planner - Trevents
Officiant - Alex Rajak
Cinematographer - Kismet Creative
Stationery - Polka Dot Paper Shop
Floral & Decor - Le Papillon Events
Hair & Makeup - Paola's Beauty Bar
DJ - BB Blank
Cake - Sugar Suite Cakes
Favours - Succulent Chocolates
One King West Wedding
The One King West wedding of Kim and Milan was a glamorously royal affair - with purple and gold as their theme colours, what else could we expect?
When we initially met with Kim and Milan, it was evident that they were enjoying the wedding planning process and that they already had a vision for their big day. Spending quality time and celebrating with their family and friends was a priority. They wanted to truly soak in every moment of the day stress-free, be present, and have fun. Thanks to the careful planning of Trevor from Trevents, Kim and Milan got just that!
Kim and Milan both got ready at the One King West Hotel, with Kim of course occupying the fabulous Fifteen Hundred suite. Located on the 15th floor of the historic One King West Hotel, suite 1500 is bright, spacious, and has a giant balcony that opens up to stunning views of downtown Toronto and Lake Ontario. For us, wedding photographers, it is the ideal scenario to work in when we have room to create and plenty of light flooding in. And for our bride, Kim, it was the perfect setting to relax in before the wedding, get ready with her ladies with the help of Paola’s Beauty Bar, and spend some quality time with her bridesmaids and bridesmen, sipping champagne and finalizing all the little details.
Milan’s day started slowly with a mandatory Starbucks run. Once back in his hotel room, the day started to unfold and pick up pace as the groomsmen started to arrive and fill up the room. With so many guys getting ready in one space, it was perfectly chaotic and so much fun to capture the groomsmen hanging out and helping each other iron out their pocket squares and put on their bow ties. Despite all the hubbub, Milan still made sure to take a quiet moment to himself, open his wedding gift from Kim, and appreciate the sweet message Kim wrote for him to read right before the wedding.
Right before heading to the Grand Staircase at One King West for the first look, Milan and I snuck away to the Chairman’s Boardroom to capture some badass and luxurious portraits of him. The oak panelling and historic architectural details are a perfect backdrop to create sophisticated portraits, which perfectly complimented Kim and Milan’s sophisticated vision.
As soon as we got the thumbs up that Kim was ready, we got everyone into position for the first look. Milan patiently waited right outside of the Grand Banking Hall of One King West as Kim slowly made her way up the Grand Staircase. If either one of them was nervous before the first look, it all melted away as soon as they saw each other. They were ready to get married!
With the ceremony set to start shortly, we quickly worked to capture stunning and sophisticated couple portraits. The most challenging part, which is a challenge we would happily accept any day, was that there were just so many beautiful and unique spots for their portraits! We of course took advantage of the Grand Staircase and the gorgeous overhanging chandeliers, before heading to the vaults. A surprisingly little known fact about One king West is that it used to be a bank, and one of its most distinct and fun features is a 40-tonne vault door, which is absolutely phenomenal for creative couple portraits. Descending down the marble staircase in the middle of the One King West lobby, Kim and Milan had no idea what we were creating for their vault portrait, and what we had in mind was lots of purple, lots of gold, and lots of laughs.
As we were finishing up the couple portraits and were about to head to the wedding ceremony, it started to snow! Being a winter wedding in March, we weren’t sure if we were going to be lucky enough to get some snowfall, but we did! We raced back up to room Fifteen Hundred and opened the sweeping balcony doors to capture classic and romantic couple portraits of Kim and Milan as the snow gently fell behind them.
The ceremony, led by Alex from Wedding Heaven, was personalized to match Kim and Milan perfectly. As they read their vows, emotions ran high and tears of joy flowed freely. The love friends and family have for our couple was beautifully evident and so lovely to capture. With their first kiss as husband and wife sealing the ceremony, Kim and Milan were ready to party!
Guests were greeted into the Grand Banking Hall, the awe-inspiring wedding reception space of One King West, by the bridal party, who handed out shots of Šljivovica, a Serbian plum brandy, and sprig of thyme pins, both Serbian wedding traditions which were very important for Milan and his family to share with all the guests. Once inside the Grand Banking Hall, that was elegantly decorated by Maria of Le Papillon Events, guests were treated to a phenomenal and delicious feast as they watched the newly-weds have their first dance, close friends shared funny memories of their friendship with the couple, and family offered words of wisdom and their well-wishes.
BB Blanc Events kicked off the party and rocked the dance floor until the very end. The dance floor was jam packed all night as both our bride and groom (which doesn’t happen too often) partied and celebrated their big day with all their friends and family surrounding them. Thank you so much for such a phenomenal day, Kim and Milan! It was truly unforgettable!
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