A night out and a shared cocktail were the start of Jocelyn and Renner’s relationship. Some time later, another night out (this time with the girls) was the moment Jocelyn knew Renner was her person. “I remember calling to tell him about the plans for the night and how I was going to take the bus home and he said he would be there to get me. He came in his parents’ van and had clearly been comfortable at home—but he picked me up no questions asked. That was when I knew that this was a relationship where I could really depend on my partner, who made me a priority and really cares about me (it’s also the night I told him I loved him for the first time).”
During Jocelyn’s wedding dress search, she discovered what she thought she wanted to wear was not it at all. “I initially thought I would want a ballgown or A-line because that would look best on my shape—I never thought I would look good in a form-fitting gown, so I never thought to save any of those ideas…I stepped out of my comfort zone and tried out a trumpet dress and I was shocked. It was gorgeous and I knew that would be the shape I would be looking for.” When she arrived at our Toronto bridal boutique, she spotted a trumpet silhouette she had to try. “My face said it all—that this was the dress! I tried on a couple more after to make sure, but I knew I liked that shape, however as I was trying on other dresses, I tried on one that I fell in love with the fabric. So, Vanessa, being amazing, said we could just make the dress with both! Using the shape of the first with the fabric of the second. The dress came out beautiful and was a custom dress I could have never dreamed of before—it made the day (and photos) perfect.”
Get all the details of Jocelyn and Renner’s beautiful barn wedding (right in Toronto!) and love story from our sweet bride below.
wedding dress: custom Lea-Ann Belter gown via the flagship Toronto bridal boutique | photographer: Boakview Photography
How did the two of you meet?
“We technically knew of each other years before we really met, as we attended the same high school. Renner was two years older than me, so we never crossed paths but he was the older brother of a friend, so I had heard his name mentioned. Kirstie, my friend who invited us to the bar where we met, happened to join a sorority at university that planned events with a fraternity Renner was a part of. So, in May 2014, Kirstie planned a night out in Toronto at Boots N’ Bourbon (that has since been renamed).
Renner and I began talking because I had seen the bartender experimenting with new cocktail recipes, and they handed me two to try. So, I moseyed on over to Renner and struck up a conversation by offering him one of the free new cocktails I received. And the rest was history!”
How did you know your partner was “the one”?
“I knew Renner was the “one” after a night out that I had with the girls. At the time, I wasn’t sure how I’d get home (I’m dating myself with this—Uber wasn’t quite available as it is now). I remember calling to tell him about the plans for the night and how I was going to take the bus home and he said he would be there to get me. He came in his parents’ van, and had clearly been comfortable at home—but he picked me up no questions asked. That was when I knew that this was a relationship where I could really depend on my partner, who made me a priority and really cares about me (it’s also the night I told him I loved him for the first time).”
How did you two get engaged?
“Renner planned to pop the question in the fall as he knew it was my favourite season. He knew how important my cottage in Burks Falls was to be as a space to get away and relax for the summer. So, he planned to take me up to the cottage (which is a lovely 3-hour drive) but didn’t tell me where we were going. I assumed perhaps a hike but as we kept driving, I was a little confused. There was a point closer to the spot where he looked like he wasn’t feeling too great, so I had asked if we weren’t up for a hike today and he said he was feeling great (we most definitely were going on an adventure that day). When we got to the rocks (what we call the swimming spot very close to my cottage), we looked out over the rapids, and he took out a box and asked me to marry him. I was too stunned to say much so I nodded with happy tears (and after a brief moment) said yes!”
Are there any special ways you incorporated your family or family history into your wedding day?
“Renner and I both unfortunately did not have grandparents at our wedding as they have passed away, so we wanted to include them in our day and have them close. My grandmother’s name was Marguerite, which in English means Daisy so I really wanted daisies to feature prominently in my bouquet, so we added a couple different types (including my favourite flower – Gerbera). Renner’s grandmother Ruth loved roses so Renner had a rose as his boutonniere and I had a couple in my bouquet as well. An interesting tradition of featuring Scottish kilts has developed within the McCreath weddings. So, Renner’s uncle and cousin wore kilts to the wedding to represent Renner’s Scottish heritage—which made for great conversations! We also wanted to make sure our departed family was with us on the day and we added photos of them with each of us to the table on the way into the reception.”Tell us about your outfits! How did you choose your gown?
“Although I wasn’t sure when/if I was/wanted to get married, I knew pretty early that if I was to get married, it would be to Renner. So, I started looking for inspiration for what I thought I would like my dress to look like and I’m happy to say it was so much more than I planned. I initially thought I would want a ballgown or A-line because that would look best on my shape—I never thought I would look good in a form-fitting gown, so I never thought to save any of those ideas. When I went dress shopping, I was told to try on anything, you never know what would look great on you! So, I stepped out of my comfort zone and tried out a trumpet dress and I was shocked. It was gorgeous and I knew that would be the shape I would be looking for. Lea-Ann Belter was recommended to me by my mother-in-law, who had gone with my sister-in-law to look at dresses. Vanessa is truly exceptional, with great vision and suggestions so I made an appointment! And my mother-in-law was absolutely right—when I went in, we picked a couple dresses and I noticed this trumpet dress I loved the shape of and how it looked and felt on. My face said it all—that this was the dress! I tried on a couple more after to make sure, but I knew I liked that shape, however as I was trying on other dresses, I tried on one that I fell in love with the fabric. So, Vanessa, being amazing, said we could just make the dress with both! Using the shape of the first with the fabric of the second. The dress came out beautiful and as a custom dress I could have never dreamed of before—it made the day (and photos) perfect.Renner’s suit was perfectly tailored—he did add our wedding date to the inside of his jacket to always have that special date in that suit to remember the only hiccup was the ties!! I was amazed that for such a popular colour, the hue of sage I wanted was nowhere to be found—in the end, we found a small shop to rent the ties and they looked amazing! “
Why did you decide to get married where you did?
“We wanted a simple, natural look and feel to our wedding, and thought a barn wedding would be beautiful. We saw several venues, but they were sadly too difficult for our friends and family to get to. We looked around online at some options closer to the city, and Black Creek Pioneer Village popped up. As we would hear many times when we mentioned our venue, we also had not been there since we were young on a field trip and thought we would check it out. It was perfect! It had the old, barn-type look and cute small buildings on the property, and we knew instantly that we wanted to get married here. The date we wanted was available, so we knew it was fate!”Tell us about your day!
“Me and my wedding party were up much earlier than the boys, which was tough, but we got to “work” right away on our hair and makeup. The two ladies that came were amazing and we had such a great time laughing and chatting all morning as they glammed us up (and everyone looked stunning!). All the ladies with me have been in my life for a while or from a special place in time in my life from birth to my young toddler years right up to today from work (we teach together and feel like we’ve spent years together). It was so special to be with the women who helped shape my life and who I am before I took this big step with Renner.
Our day was filled with so many fun and special moments! Getting to our first look, I didn’t think about getting myself in a car in my dress, so getting stuffed into my friend’s car was fantastic! The day itself was beautiful—the sun was shining perfectly as we stood in the natural elements at Black Creek. Our first look, photos, ceremony, everything was magical because of the incredible weather on our special day.
Even some of the few hiccups made our day special—getting through them was so seamless and relaxed it added to the fun. For example, during the ceremony, our microphone was giving feedback because of our videographer’s mic, so we ditched the ceremony mic and just spoke loudly—it made us all laugh and the ceremony was that much more entertaining!
Our day really reflected us as a couple with how natural we wanted everything to feel, from the scenery to decorations to the flow of the day. We’re both fairly easy-going people (other than our individual quirks, of course), but we didn’t go to the Tik Tok versions of what a wedding should be to stress ourselves out. We just wanted a typical wedding in a beautiful place, and we had so many incredible people make that possible.”
What was the funniest moment of your day?
“Our vows were the funniest (and most loving) moment of our day. We’ve been together 9 years, so we really tailored them to each other, with so much love and humour (a lot of inside jokes). Having such a personal moment in the ceremony helped us really get to settle into the day and just have fun which was our main goal—not to make it overly stressful or complicated. We wanted to celebrate this big milestone with each other alongside our beautiful friends and family!”
What part of your wedding day was most important to you?
“If I had to pick one, it would be our first look. Getting ready with my girls, walking down the aisle with my dad and hearing my parents’ speech at my wedding were all very special moments I’ll treasure forever, but seeing my handsome husband for the first time was perfect. We don’t spend a ton of time apart and knowing that this day was all about us, I missed not being there to share the early moments together. I was very nervous about the day (we’re not ones to be the centre of attention so we were both nervous about a day all about us), but as soon as I walked up to him and he turned around to see my dress, even with photographers and videographers around us, I felt instantly calm and ready for the day. It was a magical moment.”
Where did you go on your honeymoon?
“We first booked a last-minute trip to Dominican because I (the bride) wanted to have a little trip after the wedding to enjoy our new married status poolside. As I’m off for the year (I’m a teacher and this was my 4 over 5 year so it was perfectly timed with the wedding!), we decided to do a big trip to South America! We visited Colombia and Peru, where we semi-backpacked around the two countries for three weeks seeing the beautiful landscape of Colombia and Peru. The highlight of our trip was visiting the indescribable Machu Picchu! It was an incredible first big trip as a married couple.”
Do you have any tips for couples getting married?
“First and foremost, don’t get overwhelmed by what you see on social media and feel you need to do it all. The biggest compliment we got about our day was how beautifully uncomplicated the day was. The setup was casual, which made everyone feel relaxed and able to really enjoy the day.
Make a list of everything you want to get done or have at your wedding (go slow)—you can also buy lists online—and work at it a little bit at a time. There are great timelines online as a guideline to keep you on track, but trying to do it all at once will make it feel like it’s too much. Wedding planning can be fun (with occasional stress), but if you take it in little chunks, it’s exciting and enjoyable.
Go with the flow—it’s easier said than done, of course, but at the end of the day, your end goal is to be married to your partner—everything else is just a bonus.
Make sure you do what you want to make the day special and represent you. We stuck to our vision and talked about how we would like our day to look, including guest numbers, colours, and setup, so when we received some suggestions, we knew what we could include to make sure we really felt it was really our day in the end.”
Jocelyn + Renner’s Toronto Wedding Vendors
wedding dress: custom Lea-Ann Belter gown via the flagship Toronto bridal boutique | photographer: Boakview Photography | planner: Belle’s Events | venue: Blackcreek EventSpace | florals: Avida Flora | hair + makeup: Toronto Beauty Group, Makeover by Jess | videography: SDE Weddings | officiant: Molly Johnson
