When we met Vivien and Mike, we instantly felt like we had known them for years! We were just chatting away like old friends and didn’t realize how much time had flown by until we looked down at our watches! They were just incredibly friendly and easy to talk to. Mike is actually a cousin of Chris (we did a wedding video just a couple of months ago for Chris and his new wife Adrienne), so I guess that was another reason we felt familiar with each other on another level! It was also a crazy feeling to bump into the same wedding guests at Mike and Viven’s wedding that were at Chris and Adrienne’s wedding – it was a weird sort of deja vu moment but we felt at home because of it!
SURPRISE PERFORMANCE: So, I love the movie ‘The Wedding Singer’ and my heart always melts when Adam Sandler sings Grow Old With You to Drew Barrymore on the plane and captures her heart (oh RomComs!). I must say though, Mike really took over the title of Mr. ‘Awwwww!’ when he performed City and Colour’s The Girl as a surprise for Vivien after their thank you speech. It was the most cute, endearing, heartfelt performance we have ever witnessed! There was not a dry eye in the house! It’s funny because Vivien kept telling us in the morning that she’s not an emotional person…but as you can see from the wedding video, the emotions of a wedding can catch you off guard and makes for great wedding cinematography! Great job Mike, other hubbies-to-be better take notes!
MUSIC AND TEAM NIAGARA: So speaking of being emotional, Vivien’s bridesmaids definitely took the title here! They dubbed themselves ‘Team Niagara’ on the day because the tears just kept coming and coming and coming! Even when tears weren’t expected, they managed to fall LOL! And how fitting was it, when we chose the song Every Teardrop is a Waterfall by Coldplay that it coincidentally matched with the Team Niagara reference! We actually didn’t plan that at all and realized as we were editing that it worked perfectly in that sense. It was a union that was meant to be! We LOVE this song by the way – it’s just so upbeat and epic at the same time.
VENUE: Vivien and Mike held their wedding at Arcadian Loft right in the heart of downtown Toronto. If you’re looking for modern style, clean lines, structure, and floor to ceiling windows, this definitely is the place for you! We were super impressed with the views and changing backdrops as the sun traveled at different points of the day and loved the wedding videography opportunities that this created. The food was also AMAZING!!! One of the best meals we’ve had! The in-house catering is Oliver & Bonacini, so you knew that the food would be a highlight for sure! One thing to note is that the dance floor is to the side of all the guest tables (sort of separated in its own section). At this wedding though, a space was created in front of the head table for things like entrances, first dances, games, performances etc. so having the dance floor to the side didn’t end up being a problem.
KISSING GAME: As you all know, the long old tradition of clanging the glasses to get the bride and groom to kiss can get a bit irritating after a while! So a lot of couples create kissing games to get guests to earn kisses from the bride and groom (you can’t get them that easy these days! We had a game at our wedding too!). We think the kissing game that they came up with was great because it requires no props or prep! They just asked people to come up and sing a few verses of a love song. As long as you have the guts to brave singing in front of all of your guests, you will succeed in getting the couple to kiss. There were a lot of volunteers actually at this wedding, so this game was an absolute hit! We heard some Boys to Men, Spice Girls, Britney Spears, Tiffany, and even Barney! It was a great night of songs and fun for the crowd.
DOOR GAMES: We have seen a lot of door games throughout our shoots, and although we see some of the same tasks repeated, the couples always surprise us with something new! The bridesmaids for Vivien didn’t disappoint! One of the games they played, that we loved, was the recreation of poses from famous pictures. They would show them a group pose from Swan Lake, for example, and they would have to recreate that pose to the satisfaction of the girls. And we must say that the boys did a VERY good job LOL! Another game that was new to us was the beer gargling game for Mike. He had to gargle beer while saying ‘I Love you Vivien Wong’ in 5 different languages. Just lovely. I’m glad he had a makeshift bib or else his suit would’ve been in trouble! GOOD JOB GIRLS!
WEDDING COORDINATOR: Wendy from Beyond Events did a fabulous job of coordinating behind the scenes. Everything ran smoothly and seamlessly! Services include designing, planning, and coordinating – so hit her up if you’re looking for help in planning your next event!
MAKEUP AND HAIR: Maggie Ng did an amazing job on the girls! They all looked natural and beautiful, not overdone! Maggie was also on hand all day and through to the reception to help the girls with touch-ups (remember I said they called themselves Team Niagara? LOL!).
DJ: Matthew Chung from DreamLux Studios was amazing! He was playing and mixing tunes that just made us want to dance all night. Again, I had the problem of trying to keep my camera still while bopping to the beats. His choice of music and remixes were amazing to listen to and we certainly would recommend his services for people loving 90’s hip and rnb and top 40.
CAKE: Wasn’t the cake beautiful?? You must check out Jacqueline Yau’s portfolio of baked goods on her website Bakin Bits Bakery. Her custom cakes are super impressive and you can see that all the details are handcrafted with love! If you’re looking for uniquely designed cakes, this is the girl for you!
PHOTOGRAPHY: For amazing photos of Vivien and Mike’s wedding, check out Moka & Li Photography’s M & V set on Facebook
All the best to the newlyweds Vivien and Mike – it was an amazing 15 hours spent filming a beautiful couple with amazing family and friends!
Until the next post,
Joanie x
ADDITIONAL VENDOR DETAILS:
Photographer: Moka & Li Photography
Wedding dress: Casablanca Bridal – and all alterations done at Avenue 22 Bridal
Evening dresses: Traditional Chinese Kwa – Darizi Bridal, Lace Cheongsam – custom made by Yanagi Couture, Evening Gown – Escada
Shoes: Traditional embroidered shoes – Koon Nam Wah Hong Kong, Stuart Weitzman, Salvatore Ferragamo
Bridesmaids’ dresses: Bill Levkoff – Avenue 22 Bridal
Favours: DIY Candy Bar; custom stamp for candy bags from myrubberstamp via Etsy
Jewellery: Engagement Ring & Wedding Bands – The Jewel Case Ltd
Groom suit: Custom made by JJ’s Tailor (Hong Kong)
Groomsmens’ suits: Custom made by JJ’s Tailor (Hong Kong)
Flowers (bouquet/boutonnieres): Laurel Munro Floral Design
Centerpieces: Laurel Munro Floral Design
Wedding Invitations & Programs: Empress Paper Crafts
Published on HenjoFilms: Wedding Videography Toronto / Toronto Wedding Videographer