SARA + BENJAMIN // PEACH + PINK TONE ORCHARD WEDDING
The only thing prettier than a Niagara wedding is a Niagara wedding during peach season.
Cake: Sweet Celebrations
We wanted to share our own thoughts on this wedding, but photographer Brittany of Brittany Williams Photography couldn’t have shared the details of the day better:
“Bringing a little Italian/Californian flare to Canada for a bride and groom who were made for PEACH-other.
Sara, the bride, is a local lifestyle blogger from Toronto, Canada. Her husband Ben, an Engineer, got engaged in September of 2017 in Porto, Portugal. With a nod to their proposal spot, they knew right away they wanted a vineyard wedding. They quickly landed on Kurtz Orchards in Niagara-on-the-Lake, Canada. Kurtz Orchards, a peach orchard, surrounded by sprawling vineyards, was the flawless backdrop to plan their peachy perfect themed big day. They instantly connected with the venue and it gave them a feeling of family and home.
The bride, Sara, loves themed parties and is constantly the planning and party-thrower of her group of friends. With their wedding being smack dab in the middle of Niagara's famous peach-festival weekend, the opportunity was too good to pass up. They worked closely to help design their invitation suite that would set the tone for the whole wedding with greenery and peach details throughout. Just an hour outside of Toronto, they swept guests away to a “destination” wedding experience at Kurtz Orchards, an unforgettable, scenic and natural outdoor venue spot. Visions of lush peach and pink-toned flowers like ranunculus, café au lait, dahlias, and garden roses done by Emily from Threads & Blooms, who worked tirelessly to source the blooms and the bride's favourite, pampas grass (that she even died pink) accented the live-edge tables, large wine barrels, gold lanterns and lots of twinkling Edison lights for a picture-perfect peach orchard wedding. The results left them absolutely "peachless". Marrying in Niagara-on-the-Lake they wanted to showcase that true natural beauty off to their guests. It was all about bringing the natural colours, local-grown mentality, and cuisine to the table.
There were a lot of DIY elements and the bride opted to do all the styling and planning herself. With the help of her brother who the morning of the wedding strung the gold and glass hanging tealight holders behind the head table, to the day-of coordinator setting up each table where the bride and groom designed and made their own table numbers, and menus. They enlisted the help of a close friend to hand paint all their signage which they loved incorporation the natural wood elements into their overall vision. After planning their own wedding it actually sparked them to start their own wedding and event planning business, they just loved it so much and were both so involved in every detail, whether big or small.
Sara surprised her parents by walking down the aisle with her father to an instrumental version of their wedding song “If” by Bread from 37 years ago and it was at that moment that time stood still. Sara cried during her first dances with Ben and with her father as they whispered things that would make her laugh. You could really feel the raw emotions. Sara was so happy how perfectly everything came together and these dances were something she had always dreamt about.
The 3-tier buttercream wedding cake by Sweet Celebrations sat on top of a wine barrel with beautiful cascading blooms by Emily. Guests were able to enjoy either lemon raspberry or red-velvet cake for dessert. The cake knife was engraved with Sara's parents, aunt and uncle, and both her brother and sister’s wedding dates. She wore her grandmother’s gold ring with a beautiful turquoise stone, tears filled both her and her mother’s eyes. Her grandmother suffered a stroke just a year before the wedding and sadly was not well enough to attend. Staring down at the ring and sharing the story of her something old, something borrowed, something blue with guests made the day that much more special.
In keeping with the peach orchard theme and the couple's love for cooking, there were personal touches like the homemade peach hot sauce favours appropriately labeled “Made for Peach-Other”- made by Ben’s chef brother. Guests are still talking about these, and it was so nice to have it made by family, an important theme for the day. The food and signature cocktails were some of their favourite parts of the night, looking around and seeing everyone enjoy it so much. Gathering together around food and drinks really brings a lot of happiness to Sara and Ben, it was nice to bring that aspect incorporated in their big day. Sneaking off just the two of them for a few minutes, twirling in the orchard at sunset for some photos was such a special moment. Some say that the bride had everything planned down to even a picture-perfect sunset over the orchard. Looking back on the sunset setting on the beautiful clear-roofed tent with the sides open, the linens gently blowing in the wind, and guests all outside basking in the beauty is an image that will be ingrained in their memories forever. Live-fry poutine (the couple's favourite fast food), and peach fritters were served to guests for late-night eats. A s’mores station by 3 firepits where the bride's father-in-law and brother-in-law played acoustic guitars for guests was the perfect way to wind down the night and cap-off the most perfect day exactly how it was envisioned.”
Vendor Credits:
Photography: Brittany Williams Photography | Planning + Styling: Sara Stafford | Coordination: Joy by Janice | Venue: Kurtz Orchards | Florist: Threads and Blooms | Hair: Pretty + Co | Makeup: Pretty Me Makeup | Dessert: Sweet Celebrations | Candles: Yummi Candles | Gown: Essence of Australia from Promises and Lace | Accessories: Nadri and Ron White Shoes | Ring Box: The Mrs Box | Stationery: Pretty in Print | Bridesmaids Dresses: Dessy from Saratina Bridal