A bridal gown is such a beautiful, personal representation of the woman wearing it. That aspect is one of the things that we love most about creating wedding dresses! Especially at our flagship Toronto bridal boutique, where the process of finding the dress sometimes involves special details and customization.
So, when Bryn visited our boutique, we were excited to help her find just the right gown! “I knew I wanted a dress that didn’t have any lace which was especially hard to find because lace was very on trend. I also wanted to make sure I could incorporate the bow from my mum’s 1990 wedding dress, and I was pretty sure I wanted a ball gown. I’d been to about five salons and found some contenders, but at Lea-Ann Belter, the Bianca dress’s Swarovski crystals and beautiful draping took my breath away. I was especially excited when Vanessa told me I could fully customize it, and from then onwards, we worked together to create my dream dress.”
In addition to looking dapper, Harrison’s custom suit from Indochino was also special! Shared Bryn, “He picked a super cool galaxy lining, a nod to his love of Star Wars. He also wore cufflinks made from his grandfather’s RCAF dress uniform buttons.”
Their wedding day was just as personal, meaningful, and one of a kind. Their ceremony included Serbian traditions (in honor of Bryn’s Serbian heritage), Harrison made their fudge favors from scratch using his aunt’s recipe, and the card box was a planter Bryn’s mum and her friend decorated with handmade paper flowers (they also made those cute tin cans for the limo!). Plus, says Bryn, “We had games tables set up to celebrate our love of games, pictures from over the years (including a framed receipt Harrison had written his number on the first day we met), and signature cocktails (a lavender French 75 and an Espresso Martini).”
See all of those details (and more!) and hear all about Bryn and Harrison’s love story from our delightful bride below.
How did you know each other was “the one”?
“For me, meeting Harrison was love at first sight. We had been talking on Tinder (it was 2014—pre-Bumble and Hinge!) for a month and had finally met in person. When we made eye contact, I just had instant butterflies and the rest of the night, I felt so comfortable with him that I thought I had known him forever already! For Harrison it was a bit slower… Four years after we met, we went on this amazing cycling trip through Europe. We spent most of our time cycling in Italy and almost every second of every day together. It was on that trip that Harrison was certain that he didn’t want a day to go by without me in his life.”
How did you two get engaged?
“It was October 2020. I knew Harrison had bought the engagement ring because he had looped me into the buying process after discovering a beautiful vintage ring in the window of Van Rijk Jewellers on Eglinton, and then also he couldn’t contain his excitement after buying it. He did let a few weeks go by afterwards though and was therefore able to catch me by surprise with his proposal.
My friend invited me to go for a walk, and I dutifully donned my track pants and sneakers and took the subway downtown to meet her. We did a full 45-minute loop before she suggested we turn into Union Station where they apparently had a pop-up art gallery. Just as we turned the corner to walk towards the station door, “Quitting You” by Arkells started playing and Harrison stepped out from behind a pillar in a full suit holding a single rose. As all of my Bachelor fantasies came true, he asked if I would accept his rose, and after a monologue neither of us can remember, he asked me to marry him.”
Tell us about your day!
“Our day was magical and meaningful. We wanted the theme to be us and our love story, and had it packed with personal elements. We spent the morning doing our favourite activities (an 8.2K run for me to symbolize the date!) and a round of golf for Harrison, his dad, and his best man.
Our ceremony was highly personalized thanks to our wonderful officiant Mary Price, and we stood under the most beautiful floral arch from Frid Florals. When I pulled my vows out of my dress’s pocket, Harrison’s jaw dropped! We also incorporated some Serbian elements as a nod to my heritage, and it meant the world for my Baba to be there as she has progressing dementia. After we signed the registry and were about to recommence the rest of the ceremony, she suddenly broke into applause, and it was a moment I’ll never forget.
We were so lucky to have had all of our friends and family join us almost all of whom had to travel many hours to join us. We did a really epic group photo and lavender bud toss, which made for great photos! We also had lots of tearjerking speeches, a choreographed dance, and a special message from Arkells. We had games tables set up to celebrate our love of games, pictures from over the years (including a framed receipt Harrison had written his number on the first day we met), signature cocktails (a lavender French 75 and an Espresso Martini). Our favours were fudge (lavender and coffee to match the cocktails) that Harrison made from scratch using his aunt’s recipe. Our card box was a planter that my Mum and her friend Tricia decorated with their handmade paper flowers, and they also made us the cutest tin cans for the limo. There were so many of these touches that made the wedding feel just like us, and it was such a wonderful celebration of a culmination of over 8 years of our memories, a year of hard work planning, and a lot of laughter. We left the day feeling so proud of the partner we had found in each other and of the relationship we had created.”
Three words that best describe your partner:
“Our officiant actually asked us this a year before our wedding and surprised us by reciting them at our ceremony! I described Harrison as humorous, caring with a heart of gold, and a calm to my storm; and Harrison described me as having no limit to my love, being passionate and driven, and humorous as well!”
Where did you go on your honeymoon?
“We went to Portugal! We visited Madeira Island, then Lisbon, Porto, and Albufeira. There was so much to see, and each city we went to was so different; we can’t wait to back and explore more!”
What was your first dance song?
“Quitting You,” by Arkells of course!”
What was your something old, something new, something borrowed, and something blue?
“My something old was my Mum’s wedding shoe embellishments that I had had added to new shoes, and of course, her big bow!
My something new besides my shoes and custom dress, were a pair of Sarah Walsh earrings which were handmade in Ottawa.
My something borrowed was an emerald and diamond bracelet passed down from Harrison’s great grandmother.
My something blue was a ring that featured the same filigree as my Mum’s engagement ring and had a heart made out of aquamarine (Harrison’s birthstone).”
Three words that best describe your partner:
“Our officiant actually asked us this a year before our wedding and surprised us by reciting them at our ceremony! I described Harrison as humorous, caring with a heart of gold, and a calm to my storm; and Harrison described me as having no limit to my love, being passionate and driven, and humorous as well!”
Where did you go on your honeymoon?
“We went to Portugal! We visited Madeira Island, then Lisbon, Porto, and Albufeira. There was so much to see, and each city we went to was so different; we can’t wait to back and explore more!”
Bryn + Harrison’s Ontario Wedding Vendors
wedding dress: Customized Lea Ann Belter Bianca gown via the Lea-Ann Belter flagship Toronto bridal boutique | photographer: Katie Crane Photography | florals, rentals, design, coordination: Frid Events | ceremony venue: Malting Tower, Tett Centre | reception venue: Lobby, Isabel Bader Centre for the Performing Arts | earrings: Sarah Walsh | makeup: LaceFace Makeup Artistry | hair: Kira at James Brett Salon | videographer: Archive Weddings | officiant: Mary Price | cake: Warrior Cakes | DJ: Carter from Something Blue Wedding DJs | Limo: Royalty Limousine
Were you a Lea-Ann Belter bride? We’d love to see your pictures and share your story! Email Jessica@Lea-AnnBelter.com.
