WATER'S EDGE WATER'S EDGE - Holly Matrimony Weddings

hurst KOA owner Paul Cook, married Jeremy
Kiehl this past September, the reception
took place at the campground’s barn. “The
week before the wedding, the moms and
aunts lined all the beams with twinkle
lights,” Carney recalls. “The night before,
they gathered a ton of wildflowers. They put
mason-jar centrepieces everywhere.”
Despite on and off rain all day, a leaky barn
and “lots of logistical issues,” a grand time
was had by all.
Carney notes a pro can help with the
aftermath of a wedding, too. “They should
never see garbage on the floor and centerpieces
all over the place, or have drunk
guests doing tear-down,” she says. “They
might have had a wonderful night but their
memory is of how hard the clean-up was.”
For wedding design and décor, you might
want to hire a pro, too – especially if you
want top-of-the-line work such as that
offered by Mode Function Event Design of
Gravenhurst. Fully-equipped with a climatecontrolled
flower department, this business
offers flower arrangements as pricey as
$1,000 for a centrepiece, drapery, chair and
table rentals, custom-built wedding furniture,
life-size ice sculptures of key people,
gazebos, live interactive displays and probably
anything else you or they could think of.
And it all goes together.
The key is capturing the right mood and
feeling, says Jeffery Crawford, of Mode
Function. “Each piece has to relate to the
others for a cohesive look – not necessarily
match, but complement. Sometimes matching
is not great, because you can lose depth
and definition.”
For instance, a Muskoka wedding needn’t
be Muskoka-themed. “Sometimes working
in a metropolitan feel works well,” says
Tina Hamer ensured guests held
sparklers to light the path at Craig and
Andrea Hanley’s wedding.
Photograph: Renaissance Studios Photography
Crawford. “We did one at The Rosseau
where we draped every single wall in the
ballroom sheer white to give us the blank
canvas, then used crystal, flush pink roses,
and gold-embroidered overlay on the tables.
It was a pretty wedding.”
For another wedding at the same venue,
says Crawford, “the client gave us a loose
vision of a wintery Muskoka feeling with
warm elements. She let us run wild with it.”
The result was a mix of custom harveststyle
tables mixed with traditional round
tables in a pattern, and two different styles
of centrepiece – one featuring a lampshade
crafted of moss on a birch column rising
over a giant flower arrangement.
“What’s kind of new and trendy right
now is using the rustic elements of Muskoka,
but kind of sanctifying it with pretty
chandeliers, and using other elements to
soften the rustic elements of a barn or old
boathouse . . . using lighter colours, using
drapery,” says Allison. “It’s using the rustic
backdrop, but making it really chic and soft
and elegant.”
There are some tips for working with
wedding pros: Book way in advance. Some
have already filled up many 2013 dates.
Check for compatibility. “There’s a wellknown
designer in Toronto who told one
bride her ideas were terrible,” Carney warns.
“Make sure they’re open to your ideas.”
Factor custom-made anything into your
budget in a big way. “As soon as you start
adding custom, it requires a great deal of
labour,” Crawford cautions. Seven hundred
hours went into one of his weddings at The
Rosseau before set-up was even begun, he
says.
There are little known facts the experts
can share. As an example, for brides who are
doing winter weddings, keep in mind that
flower petals are very delicate.
“Anything below zero, and they’ll freeze
in three seconds,” warns Crawford, noting
that his arrangements are delivered to the
wedding carefully wrapped. “We caution
brides doing photos outside not to take the
bouquet with them,” he says. “When you
bring them back inside, they instantly turn
to mush.”
So – to hire a pro or not? Really, it’s partly
whether you want to let someone else
stress over the organization, and partly how
adept you are at planning and organizing
yourself. “It’s very hard to hand off control,
but you can’t clone yourself,” Carney says.
“There have been brides whose husband
hires me because he knows she’ll have the
itinerary under her napkin.”
The goal is to have the bride and groom
enjoying their big day. For many, a wedding
planner and decorator can help make
that happen.
150
• Wi-Fi and Electronic Projection
Equipment on site
Specializing in Dark Fruit Cake
Weddings, Anniversaries, Special Events
AND
Muskoka Chelsea, Seasonal Lemon Loaf
& Specialty Cookies
Martha Gillan | 705.646.9976
www.muskokachristmascake.com
Weddings on Lake Muskoka
Outside or Tent Weddings
Accommodations for
your Guests
705.764.1281 KARIN RAPSCH
pier100cottages.com
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