Elegant. Emotional. Enchanting. Epic. A wedding that can produce the 4 E’s and MORE, has got to go down in history – seriously!
I’ve had the pleasure of being Wilkin’s cousin for… hmmm…my whole life! Our families have always been extremely close, so growing up, he was like an older brother to me. So, you could imagine my excitement when I met Antonella for the first time and witnessed their amazing chemistry and love for one another first-hand. The whole family fell in love with her straight away and knew this girl was the one! Independent, sweet, sociable, smart…the perfect match for Wilkin! We couldn’t be happier to welcome Antonella to the Fong family!
Speaking of perfect matches, they both met on match.com, and it was definitely a story beyond success! As I tell my single friends all the time, don’t be scared to try online dating – it’s just another avenue of meeting someone! It could turn out to be as great of a match as Wilkin and Antonella – and if you watch the wedding video, that should be enough motivation for you!
CARDS AND REFLECTIONS: Can you get anymore raw and real than these two during their reflections and card readings on camera?? I swear I teared up both times when filming these two beautiful moments. It’s a wedding videographers dream to have footage to use where true emotion jumps off the screen – jumping so far that it latches onto viewers’ hearts and makes them experience the same exact feeling that is being emoted on screen. I FELT Wilkin’s love for Antonella and I FELT Antonella’s love for Wilkin…words weren’t even necessary sometimes! I totally agree with Antonella’s MOH Perna – a man shedding a tear for a woman is truly one of the most beautiful things I’ve ever seen! I have to say a big thank you to the bride and groom for just totally letting themselves go, and for just being in the moment. That’s our goal always, to have you forget that we are even there in the room, so you can truly say and do what you feel!
A CHINTALIAN AFFAIR: These two coined the phrase ‘Chintalian’ to describe the union of their two cultures as one. They have embraced each other’s cultures from the very beginning of their relationship and represented them both well at the wedding! Antonella’s bridesmaids actually surprised Wilkin with door games before the first look (he thought Antonella had decided to skip that part of the Chinese tradition, but she decided she wasn’t going to let him off that easy!). They also performed a traditional Chinese tea ceremony with the elders, which was introduced very eloquently by Wilkin’s twin sister Amanda. This is a great idea for those of you who are similarly performing ceremonial traditions at your wedding where two cultures are involved – it’s really nice for guests that are unfamiliar with what’s going on to get a back story or explanation of what it all means. That way they can appreciate it along with everyone else! The couple also surprised everyone at the wedding reception with an electrifying Lion Dance performance! Sammy Cheng Toronto Lion Dance did an amazing job – it was a perfect way to get everyone revved up for the rest of the evening! And we can’t forget the Italian aspect of the wedding….the food!!! I know this part of the reception was super important to the couple and the food got 10’s for both presentation and taste from me!
WEDDING PARTY: A massive thank you to the wedding party for making our lives so much easier by saying YES to every one of our suggestions, and providing amazing ideas as well! All of you really added the ‘fun’ element to this wedding video and showed everyone what great people Wilkin and Antonella have by their sides. I mean, look at the before and after pictures above of one of the groomsmen doing the worm – we were looking for someone to step up to the plate to do something funny for the video and he totally took one for the team…don’t worry, no groomsmen were ‘majorly’ harmed during the making of this video! The dream sequence always cracks us up as well (we think Wilkin happened to be a lucky guy in both scenes LOL!).
MUSIC: We have been waiting to use Young and Beautiful by Lana Del Rey for some time now. It’s such a beautifully raw and emotional song that would only work for the right type of wedding, and boy was Wilkin and Antonella’s the right type of wedding. We knew after shooting the footage of the day, that this song would be perfect for their highlight video. All the emotions flowing throughout the day partnered with this song means guaranteed goosebumps! It really took my breath away during the editing process, just listening to this song and watching the footage. It was certainly another match made in heaven! For the middle section of the video, we used the gorgeous and mystical song Lake Yarina by Josh Garrels. There’s an Edward Scissorhands type of feel to it which is really quite magical! A perfect instrumental piece for a wedding with a lot of brilliant audio and speeches. It was so hard for us to choose what to use because all the speeches were amazing that night!
VENUE: Both the ceremony and reception were held at The Grand Luxe Event Boutique in Toronto which was a spectacular venue with even more amazing service! The high ceilings and the gorgeous bar setup was a perfect backdrop for an elegant and classy themed wedding and decor style. If you’re going for modern sophistication and luxury, this is the place for you! The wedding coordinator, Marzia Monopoli from Pegasus Hospitality Group, and the manager were particularly helpful throughout the night, making sure that we were taken care of and notified when important events were taking place! And as I mentioned above, the food was amazing! Everyone was raving about both the quality AND the quantity…normally you only get one of those Q’s at wedding banquets! Let’s just say people were already satisfied before the main course arrived! We were very happy with our experience here and we know the couple were too!
BAR STAFF AND ENTERTAINMENT: We need to give a shoutout to the bar staff at The Grand Luxe! They did an amazing job of keeping all the guests happy…and not only through the serving of drinks! They offered entertainment, fun, and energy that we have yet to see behind any other bar at a wedding. The fire show was a massive plus and the signature drink, a ‘Chintalian’, was a hit! Absolutely delicious!
TRUMP HOTEL: What a beautiful suite to get ready in for both photos and wedding videography! The chandelier, the furniture, the in-suite bar, were all beautiful backdrops for our shots. With the wedding landing at the end of November, the cold had already settled in so we knew that photographs outside would be limited. Luckily Wilkin and Antonella’s suites alone were suited fine for nearly 85% of the photoshoot! Another one of our couples, Vivien + Michael, chose the Trump Hotel to get ready in as well – so it’s certainly a popular spot in the downtown Toronto area. Great big windows for those classy silhouhette shots too!
A huge thank you once again to my cousin Wilkin and my new cousin-in-law Antonella for choosing us to film their special day! You two are perfect both on-screen and off 🙂 Love you guys!
Until the next post,
Joanie x
ADDITIONAL VENDOR DETAILS:
Wedding Dress: Diva Bridal Boutique, Toronto (Designer – Justin Alexander)
Chinese dress: Bo Bo Fashion, Market Village, Markham
Party Dress: Lemor, Bayview Village (Designer – Sherri Hill)
Make up & Hair: Allure Hair and Makeup
Bridesmaids’ dresses: Best for Bride, Etobicoke (Designer – Mori Lee, with each bridesmaid selecting their own style)
Bride and Bridesmaids’ Morning Robes: Handmade and gifted by Bride’s mother
Favours: Martini Asti Sparkling Wine
Cake: Sweet Celebrations Wedding and Specialty Cakes
Jewellery: Bitter Sweet
Rings: Custom
Groom Suit: Strellson
Shirt: Custom, Garrison Bespoke
Cuff Links: Little silver doggies! (gift from Bride)
Groomsmens’ suits: Groomsmen wore their own suits
Flowers (bouquet/boutonnieres): Katherine Rose Floral Design
Décor: F.O.S Décor Centre (Designer – Marc Contardi)
Centerpieces: Mix of tall clarinet vases and silver candelabra rentals from F.O.S Décor Centre
Floral accents: Katherine Rose Floral Design
Officiant: Jeremy Citron, All you need is love ~ weddings
Photographer: Daria Marchenko, Phototerra Studio
Published on HenjoFilms: Wedding Videography Toronto / Toronto Wedding Videographer
