Customized Hannah Gown in a Toronto Hunt Club Wedding | Monika + Rob

As a kid and through her teen years, Monika and her mom passed the windows of our flagship Toronto bridal shop, picking their favorite dresses as they went.

From Window Dreams to Wedding Day

Years later, once the surprise and delight of Rob’s sweet proposal settled into a manageable fizz, Monika realized she’d finally come to our shop to see all the timeless gowns herself!

The experience was even better than she’d imagined: “Vanessa made the whole experience so perfect! She was able to ensure that all the aspects of what I wanted were captured in the dress.” During her appointment, Monika fell in love with Hannah, one of our ball gown wedding dresses. Made of luminous Mikado, Hannah’s silhouette is accented by a satin band that wraps around her curved strapless neckline. Working with Vanessa,Monika made Hannah her own by changing the drop waist to a natural waist, adding a delicate same-fabric bow, skirt gathers, and covered buttons that trailed all the way to the end of a dramatically full train.

Read more about Monika and Rob’s wonderful wedding at the Toronto Hunt Club, how they got engaged, and planning advice from our sweet bride below.

When did you realize Rob was your person?

I realized very quickly because I immediately felt like I could be my 100% authentic self from day-one. It was easy and so much fun. I knew I wanted to spend my life with him!

Could you share your engagement story?

My main thing for the engagement was that I wanted to be surprised and he delivered! He had sprinkled some comments in that made me think it was going to happen later in the year. When he proposed much earlier he caught me by complete surprise! He did it in our condo, which was the first placed we lived together, and it was so perfect, special, and totally us!

Tell us about finding your gown! What made you choose Lea-Ann Belter?

I chose Lea-Ann belter because I grew up in the east end and would always drive my the store with my mom. As a kid and into my teen years we would always pass by and look in the windows to choose our favourite dress! After I got engaged I knew I wanted to finally go in and see it myself. Vanessa made the whole experience so perfect! She was able to ensure that all of the aspects of what I wanted were captured in the dress.

What feeling or atmosphere did you want to create?

I wanted guests to feel like it was a thoughtfully planned day but relaxed. We wanted to focus on spending time with our guests and enjoying the whole day as a newly married couple!

How did you personalize your day?

One of my favourite things we did for our wedding was our guest book. Rob thought of the idea, where we created a book with a photo of one of us (or both of us) with each of our guests. They would then sign on the page with their photo with us. It was a great way to add a personalized touch including adding in some great throwbacks! All of the guests loved it.

Any advice for couples currently planning their wedding?

Enjoy the process and plan as much a head of time! Ultimately the day will go by so fast and I’m so glad I was able to truly enjoy and not worry about the planning on the day of!

Monika + Rob's Toronto Wedding Vendors

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More Hannah Brides

If you’d like to see how more real brides made Hannah thier own, Emily paired hers with a custom veil embroidered with a crane and Anna added our sheer net Birdie jacket during her ceremony, and then, during her reception, added our Velvet neck scarf. Claire added a custom off-the-shoulder cuff to her Hannah, and Jacqueline walked down the aisle with dramatic tails trailing behind her.