Some of you will recognize this wedding as it has already appeared in many Wedding Blogs including “Style Me Pretty Canada” as well as covered in various wedding magazines, so I wanted to wait before telling my story of this beautiful couple and amazing wedding which now happens to be perfect timing as it was their 1st wedding anniversary this past weekend!

We met Sabrina and Kuno a couple of years ago now and instantly there was a great connection between us and we all became friends having dinner at each others homes… in restaurants and even by chance getting together down in Miami!!

Kuno was the perfect “Groom to be”, whatever made Sabrina happy was fine by him, but they both took an equal part in the planning of the wedding and both attended every meeting -  to be honest I think this is seriously because they are inseparable!

Sabrina certainly had a feel of what she was looking for and the romantic vintage feel with lots of Blush, Ivory & Gold’s were coming through in our designs.  Like most Brides today, there are so many options and ideas it can be a little overwhelming so we helped Sabrina and Kuno define their vision.  Sometimes you also have to keep an open mind, like when we went to choose the linens… we were initially thinking of a lace linen and I am guessing Sabrina was thinking neutral blushes or ivory’s LOL, but when we pulled out a Gold Sequin Linen her face dropped… however, when we placed this underneath the lace linen, it was spectacular as all you saw were little shimmers of the gold coming through the lace linen – quite stunning!

Attention was taken on every detail of this wedding from the pure romance of the flowers, to the lace wedding cake, a vintage candy bar, a beautiful wish tree, place cards attached to ‘keys’, detailed stationery, victorian cupcakes & cake pops and I loved the table names which were taken from words incorporated from their wedding such as “Love”, “Happiness”, “Loyalty” you get the idea – every detail was re-created from our initial vision board below to the ‘actual’ as seen on the day!

Our Inspiration for the wedding day….

What we actually created for the wedding day…..

We added a few little extra’s to make their guest feel special such as the Whisky Bar served by a Trolley from table to table where guests could select a Whisky, Liqueur or Port – and even the bride and groom (and An English Rose) were caught completely by surprise when the best man organized for a Scottish Piper to come in through dinner to surprise them!

Residents of the Old Port of Montreal, the couple were married at the Notre Dame Basilica, in all it’s glory and then celebrated afterwards at the Hotel Nelligan, a favourite with the couple as this is where they also celebrated their engagement!

“We turned to Rachel in fall 2010 and it was the best decision my wife and I made. Rachel brings a certain element to the table that others cannot compare to.  She has the patience of a saint and is very good at executing meetings and planning for the wedding.  Her suppliers are also very good and you can tell they make up the team effort, nobody missed a beat.

 On the wedding day, she made us feel like kings and queens…no pressure on us!!  Her wedding day planning was spot on and nothing went wrong!  Only happy people..lol. Our many thanks still go out to Rachel and her team for making us the happiest bride and groom ” 

With Special “Thanks” to: Sophimage Photography, Luluthia Flowers, Creative Expressions Stationery, Luisa Galuppo Cakes, Cupcakes et Macarons, Three C Baking & Co, Sweet Expressions Montreal

Last week the Association of Montreal Professional Wedding Designers (AMPWD) were fortunate enough to do a little “wine tasting” and discuss and learn a little more about “wine pairing” all in the duty of serving our clients… of course it was a very tough meeting – but we made it through!

We were very spoilt by having Carmine Caravaggio who has been a sommelier with the Bice Group for the past 14 years or so prepare a wonderful presentation for us and helped us get through some of the myths about wine and even wine tasting.

We started the morning as I said before looking at some of the True and False where wine is concerned… yes I did think Red Wine gave more headaches than White.. but I am wrong and I am glad to say that I do trust my own palette more than a Wine Critic’s… holding the glass – always by the stem regardless of what wine you are drinking and can a Kosher Wine be served by a non-Jewish person, well this caused a lot of great conversation and after a little more investigating by the lovely Donna Siedman we’ve come to the conclusion that in years gone by it was a lot stricter… but in today’s society realistically Kosher Wine can be served by a non-Jewish person!

So ladies and gents a few tips to help with wine selection for your weddings!

1. We all know you can average about half a bottle of wine per person during dinner, but you may want to consider if you are having a day or night wedding or if your wedding will be outside or inside as this may impact the quantity and also whether you should have more white or more red.
2. If you are on a more ‘intimate budget’ you may wish to look at wines from say South Africa, Chili, Argentina, New Zealand, Portugal and Spain
3. “Organic” is the new buzz word – but if you are wishing to have a truly organic wedding then you must ensure your wine is “Certified” organic… otherwise it just may not be!
4. When pouring Champagne for your Toast, then half to three quarters of a glass should be poured and “Franciacourta/Cremant” is a great new alternative to Champagne.
5. Wine pairing with each course is wonderful… but remember that the wine should always be poured before the course is served!
6. If you are looking to pair a wine with your Wedding Cake, then remember the darker the cake… the darker the wine so for example if you are having a Chocolate Wedding Cake then you might wish to have a dessert wine made from red grapes such as Port, but if you are having a more traditional butter cream cake then perhaps a demi-sec champagne or sparking wine would be better suited!

When you are planning your wine and looking at pairing there are a number of ways to do this.  You may wish to pair you wine by location, so for example for a pasta dish you may wish to select a wine from Tuscany… say you are having Paella, then a nice Rioja would go well… French cheeses, French wine – you get the idea and this can be an easier guide to follow!  I always do this for dinner parties at my home…..

However you can also offer a contrast which is a little harder to do by looking to enhance a flavor or a texture that is not in the food, so again for example this could be a little Pino Grigio with Calamari or Stilton and Port to give you an idea.

So when looking at serving your wines here is a guideline of sequencing!

Sparking before Still

White Wine before Red Wine

Light Wine before Heavy Wine

Dry Wine before Sweet Wine

Young Red before Mature Red

Simple Wine before Complex Wine

And last but not least a few tips on the ‘Glass’ – the best glasses are clear, smooth & plain… I know we all think these fancy glasses look pretty, but they just don’t do justice for the wine.  We also did a little experimenting on a Glass glass versus a Crystal glass and it was like night and day, subsequently I shall be throwing out any regular glasses I have and replacing them with Reidel immediately!  The outcome of our experiment, the thinner the glass, the better the taste!

A big thank you to Carmine for all his knowledge shared above and ”CHEEERS” !!

So while I am sunning myself in Vegas I wanted to bring you a little Caribbean sunshine into your day with Amanda and John’s beautiful tropical wedding celebration which took place at Canvas Gallery in Lachine.  Amanda and John were actually married the year previous on the white beaches of Cuba and then took time to plan their wedding celebration back home!  Now as you read this you might think Amanda looks familiar.. well she is also the owner of Flora International Flowers on the West Island and we have been working with Amanda for a number of years providing gorgeous wedding flowers to some of our clients!

Now I cannot say there was a definitive colour to the day, but more an abundance of colour with lots of oranges, greens & pinks.  As I am sure you can imagine the flowers were stunning with a huge birds of paradise arrangement beside the table of honor and around the room and instead of centre pieces on the tables we had numerous single orchids hanging from the ceiling at various level spotlighting the tables.  The ceiling was also covered in gorgeous white lanterns.

Amanda went for a bright orange Wedding Cake adorned again in flowers with a purple accent and the food was of course Caribbean Catering with plenty of Mojito’s flowing!  The table plan was on display in colourful frames against the brick wall and table numbers were a little ‘thank you’ to all the vendors!  Amanda and John chose customized wine for their wedding favours and of course what would a wedding be without a tropical Candy Bar!

While the parents arrived in a vintage Rolls Royce we had something a little different for the Bride and Groom who arrived at the venue in an open top Viper with the bride wearing a very stunning Latin outfit all ready for their entrance – a Cuban dance which the guests had no idea about – it was incredible and afterwards Amanda changed into her beach white wedding dress!

Photo booth was a huge hit… unfortunately the pictures are far too interesting to show you… well maybe 1 or 2.

It was a beautiful colourful wedding, relaxed and lots of fun!  Congratulations again….

“We just wanted to say a big, big thank you to you!!  Your organization, cool head and much patience was fundamental in making our wedding day perfect and exactly what we had hoped for.  Your ease with the guest and the way you moved seamlessly through each phase, did not go unnoticed and with out you Rachel, we never would have pulled off our special day. We thank you from the bottom of our hearts for everything you did for us.”

With thanks to: Mike the Photographer Canvas Gallery, Flora International Flowers, Uptown Express Entertainment, Sweet Expressions Candy Bar, Best Bite Catering, Chic Rentals & Liz Hatcher Cakes

Rachel and I met a couple of years ago and not only do we share the same name, come from the same country, live in the same neighborhood here in Montreal we both work in the wedding business – so it was inevitable when Nick proposed we would collaborate on the planning of her wedding, and it was so much fun to help out and for Christian and I to also be guests a for a change!!

Rachel and Nick wanted in intimate wedding in early Spring with the option for an outdoor ceremony which is exactly what they got when selecting to have their wedding at the Restaurant St Ambroisie in Atwater, with it’s warehouse history right on the canal it was perfect and so was the weather!  The ceremony took place in the gardens and the sun shone, and luckily Rachel and her MoH Nancy had cute little sun umbrella’s to shade them, which then became very interesting toys for Rachel’s twin nephews!

Rachel’s bouquet was all ‘Roses’ and for the centerpieces we had a mix of single flowers in vintage bottles with candles, Rachel also selected a cute suit case for her card box with vintage signing and the same vintage signing for her table of honor.

The evening started with Rachel & Nick’s first dance through to spontaneous singing throughout dinner (we later learnt there was a pro in the house) to a crazy after party of dancing and celebrating… Rachel & Nick opted not to have a wedding cake, but in true Quebec style ended the evening with Smoked Meat Sandwiches and Poutine to introduce to her British family who came especially for the wedding!

To those of you who were paying attention I made reference to Rachel’s twin nephews… now I can also say many congratulations to Rachel & Nick who are also the proud parents of ‘identical’ twin boys!  Guess it runs in the family…..

“Rachel, I wouldn’t have been as calm without you, we really appreciate your expertise to make our day perfect – we hope you had as much fun as we did!!!”

With special thanks to: Restaurant St Ambroisie, Chris Morrison Photography, Flora International Flowers

Yes it finally happened!!  A couple of weeks ago Montreal launched their first ever South Asian Indian Wedding Show at Plaza Volare and what a great show it was.

Previously when we have worked with our Indian clients we have had to travelled to Toronto to find some of the bigger décor companies and specialty services – but no more, there was an array of great vendors offering everything from décor / mundap rentals, beautiful sari’s & clothing, jewelry, henna, florals, food (I was in heaven), production companies, musicians, entertainment (I will come back to this), hair & make-up services and more!

One item we loved were the jeweled bridal “bouquets”… now this is a trend that I first blogged about after coming back from the UK Wedding show in February 2012 and subsequently have seen on the Internet… and now we have them here in Montreal!

The fashion show as you can imagine was just a glow of colours, quite spectacular if you could get near to the runway and just beautiful – now some of the models appearing were even 2013 Brides and Grooms – what a great idea and how fun for them!  Now back to the entertainment and we have to give a big shout out to Ina of Bollywood Blast who we love and first met back in 2010 when we hired her for a Mehndi Party for one of our clients, not only did she put on a spectacular show, but she also offers Bollywood Dance Lessons!

Now what would be a Butler & Rose blog if we didn’t talk about the food… you may not know but Christian in his past life actually lived in India for two years in a place called Hyderabad and as such loves Indian food and dares any restaurant in Canada to test him with his level of spice & how hot a curry he can eat.  Myself coming from London and Britain’s national dish now being Chicken Tikka Masala (no not Fish n Chips) also loves a good curry, but I tend to stick to something a little milder!   So we were very happy when we got to taste lots of Indian food at the show and again we have to let you know that we previously worked with Pushap Restaurant for one of our weddings in 2011 who did an amazing job (located in Pierrefonds), but we also remember our ‘first love’ Sahib Restaurant in Kirkland our nearest ‘Curry House’ which we had to drive 30 minutes from St-Lazare to enjoy back in the day!

Congratulations to all involved, and looking forward to next years show!!

Last Friday evening we were lucky enough to be on the guest list for the Alain Simon Event which was hosted at a great loft space in Atwater!  The whole idea came when Alain wanted to create something magical and show the true power of love in collaboration with his colleagues from the wedding industry!  He did this by gathering all the closest and dearest people to inspire with fresh ideas and design experiments in addition to introducing some of Montreal’s finest talents which will be showcased through Elegant Wedding Magazine - so watch this space.

The ambiance was set with a beautiful draped lounge area created by Luxe Rentals and hosted by Alain’s wife Nina who shared her favourite Veuve Clicquot cocktail and wonderful canapes created by Agnes Dei, this was a great opportunity to meet new friends (Coco the dog) and chat with people we love in the industry…. When the time was right Alain appeared with a little presentation on how the flow of the evening would unveil  which started with a little ‘celebrity’ feel with a photo shoot of every one on the Black Carpet!

Two by two were were taken into the studio of La V Photo which has been transformed into something quite incredible and unrecognizable!  A black runway covered in Red Rose Petals greeted us with an amazing backdrop of Silver Birch trees decorated with of course a floral extravaganza – however that was not all, above us hung a very pretty trapeze artist serving more champagne and surrounded in a floral sky after which we were escorted to our seats!

The show began and for the next 90 minutes we were mesmerised by dancers to amazing new Wedding Dresses designed by Mila Rivkin especially for the show… We saw cute short wedding dresses, red wedding dresses and my favourite an “Eliza Doolittle” dress with a billowing hat!  The models were stunning and styled by our great friend Sofia from Modelo Spa and throughout the show everyone was completely spoilt again with more bottles of Veuve Clicquot and sitting amongst beautiful floral arrangements courtesy of Alain.

Vera and Gleb of La V and their team were there at every moment to capture every detail of the event from pre-event photo shoots to videography while the team at Eventex created the ambiance with lighting, staging, draping and I am sure so much more!

After the show, cup cakes greeted us from Cho’cola who are neighbours of ours in Monkland Village and for some strange reason I didn’t get a chance to have one but I am sure the Butler tasted on my behalf!

Congratulations to you all for creating an amazing event, we know the enormous amount of work and time invested in this and for showcasing Montreal’s great talent - we will be excited to see the finished product.

Sorry Vera, I certainly cannot compete… but I did take a few snapshots on my iphone to share below – Enjoy & Happy Easter!!

We love “White” Toronto and have been sending many brides to their store for the past few years, so were sooo excited to learn that not only were they coming to Montreal, but they were opening their boutique store in the heart of Old Montreal, just a few blocks from our office!

Brides can now stay local to shop for some stunning designer dresses from Monique L’huillier to Oscar de la Renta, Caroline Herrera to Nicole Millar and more!  But if you are just looking for a few accent pieces, then they offer some gorgeous head pieces, shoes (love shoes), bags, jewellry and more.

Visits to the store are by appointment and you will be welcomed by the team in a traditional ‘Old Montreal loft style’ setting to relax and enjoy your whole wedding dress experience.

A couple of weeks ago Andrea the owner opened her doors for a little ‘soiree’ to present the new store and we were very happy to be there and swoon over the gorgeous dresses!

Congratulations Andrea, we wish you all the best, and thanks Chelsea (Blushing Bride Studio) for the great pictures of Maddy, Daniela and I!!

I met Amy and Franco just 6 weeks before the big day to take care of all the final details of their beautiful wedding they had so carefully been planning.  Some-times it can be more challenging when you come in just a few weeks before the big day, but Amy and Franco had selected some of the top Montreal wedding vendors who we already had great relationships with which was wonderful.

Amy and Franco selected to have photographs taken at Murray Hill Park before their ceremony, a trend I am seeing more and more with couples in order to take time for their pictures and not to be rushed and squeezed in between the Ceremony & the Reception – it is also wonderful when the couple are able to join in some of the cocktail hour and sample the food and drinks with their guests.

The wedding ceremony took place at St Andrews & St Paul’s in the heart of the Golden Mile Square and the church was decorated in huge stunning floral arrangements!  Amy arrived in a vintage Rolls Royce, her dress was figure hugging with a stunning flowing lace covering and as with any fresh fall day, Amy sensibly chose to wear a white fury wrap - her bridesmaids arrived wearing an array of short black dresses and the MoH was wearing a long black dress to show a little difference!

Guests arrived at Le Westin Hotel in Old Montreal to the sound of beautiful classical musicians and a feast of hors d’oeuvres!  The talk of the cocktail hour was a floral board designed with the couples initials which the guests could not get enough of… we should have created a photo booth there!!

When the guests entered the room, they were taken aback with the decor of the room, we had created soft Ivory, Golds and Blush glowing with candlelight against the backdrop of the skyline of Montreal.  The table of honor was a very large rectangle table with seating all around, if you have the space I love this set up!  The guest tables had high floral arrangements on gold centre pieces, however for the table of honor we had similar, but low arrangements.

The night was just as it should have been, a beautiful Montreal back-drop, great food, romantic decor, a very pretty cake and they danced the night away to the sounds of The Showman Band.  But wait there was still more… at midnight a sumptuous sweet table made everyone’s eyes open wide.

“Thank you, Rachel for your help in planning an amazing wedding last night! Everything was perfect, and Franco and I are very happy. It was a pleasure working with you, and we’ll see you when we return. Thank you again for everything you did to help create a special weekend for us!!”

Congratulation to Amy & Franco as we heard they also just became parents!!

With special thanks to: Kate Fellerath Photography, NDG Florist, San Marco Bakery, Nite Life Limousine, Le Westin Hotel, The Showman Band, Cadenza Strings & Elie Bedran Video

We recently came across an incredible new venue just half a block from our office in Vieux-Montreal called the “Chateau Vieux-Montreal” – this must be the best kept secret in Montreal and has just blown our minds away with the incredible venue space, accommodation and just pure design and decor…. so of course we had to visit and did just that on Monday.

So as someone who loves history I have to give you a bit of a background on this stunning building… The Greek Orthodox Church Syrian St. Nicolas was built in 1910-1912 after being bought in February 1909.   Previously it was a boarding house consisting of a three-story stone house which was demolished when work began on building the new church in 1910.  There was a nearby fire in 1931 which damaged some of the church and by 1949 the Syrian congregation left Old Montreal to settle in Villeray. The building was then used as a social-cultural center for the Belgian community until the late 1990s.

So today, the building is now opening as a high end luxury experience offering 5 deluxe bedrooms in the main building and an apartment (the old priests house) will be ready in the next couple of weeks to accommodate 12 more guests – so a total of 22 guests.

When you enter the castle through the incredible front doors you are immediately hit by a stunning staircase with original iron work which just goes up and up and draws you eyes to the dome in the centre of the building.  There are also two bedrooms either side of the main entrance which share a walk in wardrobe and bathroom.

As you come upstairs you are just hit by the extraordinary space (jaw – dropping) with huge high domed ceiling which we are hoping still has the original artwork from the days when it was a church, there are huge chandeliers hanging over what can only be described as a banquet table which looks like it could have been used by “King Arthur and the Knights of the Round Table” followed by an amazing lounge area and stunning fireplace.

There is also a small fully equipped kitchen for all your catering requirements and just behind is a little staircase which takes you up to the master bedroom which overlooks the banquet area.  Up another set of stair’s you will find the most amazing bathroom with a Victorian Claw Foot bath… matching sinks which I cannot describe and a double walk in shower that you will all be dreaming of.  Adjacent to the bathroom is a walk in closet the size of my bedroom with another little staircase taking you up to another bedroom.

OK so now for another amazing discovery, I know it just goes on and on…… in the basement you will find an indoor pool and hot tub surrounded by the old stone walls which I was told was the original baths for baptism – can you imagine that!!  There is a large open area with another bedroom and a gorgeous shower built into the stone walls and a mini kitchen.

As you can see I am totally in love with this new space, it will be absolutely perfect for intimate weddings and celebrations, but I was told they even hosted a cocktail style party there recently for 200 guests!!  And as you are renting the space all for yourself and a few very lucky guests, when the doors close behind you – it’s all yours to party all night long.

Thank you Montreal, for this stunning new “Castle”!

On Monday the ladies and gentleman of the Association of Montreal Professional Wedding Designers were invited to an afternoon at the much loved Ritz Carlton in Montreal to view the hotels new banquet facilities, bedrooms/suites and to check out the new Rooftop Pool & Terrace – but of course the real treat was to be very spoilt by the lovely ladies of the Ritz Selina & Aurelie with an afternoon of “High Tea”.  Before I go into all the details of our afternoon tea… let’s talk about the new Ritz Carlton!

The Oval Ballroom is just stunning, full of opulence and decor that you would expect from the Ritz, the ceiling decor is just beautiful which is the centrepiece to the original chandelier dating back to the 1920′s.  The room like its name is oval shaped and can accommodate up to 250 guests for a wedding, it has a permanent stage ideal for a Band & DJ.  There is a lot of light to the room and has french doors which open to the beautiful gardens and terrace area which guests can use part of during the evening.  Depending on the size of your wedding there are both round and oval tables.

For cocktails guests are treated to the Blue Room, or as I think of it as the “Wedgwood Room” or depending on the size they can also use the balcony area to the Oval Room.  The great news is that the Ritz has two rooms for weddings and events and on the 2nd floor overlooking the gardens is the Gold and Grey rooms which are slightly more traditional in look, and can hold up to 210 guests for your wedding or event.  For smaller weddings, they also have the Ritz & Carlton rooms which can hold up to 80 guests.

The Ritz offers 98 luxury guest rooms and 31 suites and the great news is that the Wedding Couple are given a complimentary room with a ‘special’ honeymoon turn-down and late checkout!

Ladies and Gents out there planning your weddings, just imagine you could have your wedding at the Ritz starting from $157.00 + for a 4-course menu and with a full Kosher Kitchen, their Kosher Wedding packages start at just $198.00 + for a 4-course menu.  But of course as you would expect, you can also customise your wedding desires with the team and chef, to add your personal touches.

OK - so now onto the “Afternoon Tea” which took place in front of a roaring fireplace… an abundance of warm scones and cranberry scones with jam & cream just melted in our mouths, we have an arrangement of sandwiches, with no crusts of course – cucumber, smoked salmon and a lovely foie gras on gingerbread which was very special.  If that wasn’t enough there was a plateful of little pastries from milles feuilles (Chris’s favourite) to choux a la creme and more.

So if you are wondering what the etiqutte is when having “Afternoon Tea” let me give you a few tips…. the order of eating should be to start with your sandwiches, scones in the middle and finish with the pastries.  My favourite… the Cranberry Scones really can only be eaten in one way – they should be ‘cut’ in half… smothered in Jam and then dolloped with cream to finish them off!  Oh my goodness this takes me back to the days when I worked at the Park Lane Hotel in London’s Piccadilly and every Wednesday afternoon our Banqueting Manager would order us full afternoon tea with hot scones, clotted cream and jam all served with their best china and silver teapots… the good old days – talk about keeping your staff happy!!

Now if this doesn’t make you want to rush out to the Ritz for afternoon tea, then maybe the enticement of their Sunday Brunches might work… fully child friendly they also inlcude an entertainment room for the children with arts and crafts while parents can enjoy the sumptuous brunch starting at $68.00 +  Gentleman, imagine “Mothers Day Brunch”… how special would that be.