Harmony United Church is Michael's family church.  Michael was baptized here.  Reverend Robert LePage was very helpful in guiding Lara and Michael through the wedding process.  Organist Tim Southwell is a talented performer capable of playing a wide repertoire.  Special thanks to church secretary Mrs. Ellen Rainey for keeping them organized and making certain they had their homework done.

 

Harmony United Church is located at:

 

15 Harmony Road North,

Oshawa, Ontario

905-725-8463.

 

 

Harmony United Church is proud to be wheelchair-accessible.

 

 

 

 

A few months before the wedding, Michael was visiting Mark and Dawn at their house.  They were discussing plans for the wedding over coffee.  Dawn said, "You should have a proper wedding cake so you can save a piece to eat together on your fiftieth wedding anniversary."

 

Mark interjected with his typical sagacity, "If you don't like wedding cake now, you're not going to like it any better in fifty years."

 

With that in mind, Michael and Lara arranged for a regular cake.  The cake pictured below was a feast for both the eye and for the palate.  The bottom tier was white/lemon cake, the middle tier was chocolate, and the top tier was Bailey's Irish Cream flavour.  The decorations are real stargazer lillies and hydrangeas.  And the best part of all:  the cake was delicious!!!!

 

Exquisite Cakes By Claudia

 

(905) 725-7158

(905) 259-0596

 

 

Lara and Michael combined this with wedding favours.  The Hospital For Sick Children in Toronto, Ontario has a Wedding Recognition Program, whereby the bride and groom donate a set number of dollars per attendee in exchange for a place card and note advising the attendee that money had been donated in their name to the Hospital For Sick Children Foundation.  Lara and Michael raised $300.00 through the Wedding Recognition Program, and a further $57.00 with the giant martini glass.  In order to prompt the bride and groom to kiss during the reception, instead of bashing the silverware against the wine glasses, you had to put a one dollar coin in a giant martini glass, with the understanding that the proceeds would go to the foundation.  Mark's daughter Jackie put in what seemed like the Gross National Product of Bolivia that night.

 

 

 

Lara and Michael were able to block-book rooms at the Holiday Inn in Oshawa, ON, for our out-of-town guests.  Conveniently located right across the street from the Harmony Creek Golf Centre.  Nice, affordable accomodations for whenever or whatever reason you're in The 'Shwa.

 

1011 Bloor Street East,

Oshawa, ON  L1H 7K6

(905) 576-5101 (v) (905) 576-3296 (f)

 

 

Eat your heart out, J-Lo!  Ann-Marie is cuter, is a better actress and a better singer, and if she can't get a good script, she'll just write the damn thing herself.  And, if all that wasn't enough, she can plan weddings, too!  Ann-Marie kept the wedding on track, on time, on budget, all the time.  And, as a special favour for her good friends Lara and Michael, she even sang Marry Me by Amanda Marshall for them during their first dance as husband and wife!

 

You can reach Ann-Marie through her website at www.firstmiddlelast.com.

 

 

The Delta Toronto East provided Lara and Michael with elegant but affordable accomodations for their wedding night.  Not only that, but when Lara lost one of her pearl earrings in the hotel on the morning after, it was found and turned in the same day.  A great stay!

 

2035 Kennedy Road (at Highway #401)

Scarborough, Ontario

M1T 3G2

(416) 299-1500 (v)  (416) 299-8959

Toll-Free:  1-800-663-3386

 

 

Lara's beautiful wedding gown was created by Venus Bridal, and it came from Windsor Bridal in Toronto, ON.  The gown was perfectly sized and fitted, ready well in advance, and very reasonably priced.  Huge selection, great service.

 

Windsor Bridal

103 Orfus Road (Dufferin and Highway #401, just south of Yorkdale Shopping Centre)

Toronto, Ontario M6A 1M4

(416) 789-5855

 

 

Lara's stunning and unique tiara was hand-crafted by Todd Alan Studios, based in the foothills of the Appalachian Mountains in Ohio.  Lara would highly reccomend his work, especially if you're looking for a hand-crafted, custom-made, one-of-a-kind tiara.

 

Todd does not have a storefront; he works from home.  He can be reached through his website at http://www.toddalanstudios.com/, or by telephone at (740) 742-8421.

 

 

Penguin suits were provided by Moores.  The Suit People.  Well Priced. Well Made.  Well Dressed.  Well-- er, you know....  Tuxes looked great, were ready well in advance, and fit everybody perfectly.  Moores has locations all over the place, and we were able to pick them up from locations all over the Greater Toronto Area.  We had seven in our party; three tuxes came from the location on Stevenson Road in Oshawa, one from the Danforth Avenue location in Toronto, one from the Dufferin and Lawrence location in the west end, and two from the location at Highway #10 and Eglinton in Mississauga.  Everything was perfectly co-ordinated.  And best of all, they were able to source a tux for Connor the ring-bearer at the last minute, and it fit him perfectly!

 

Visit http://www.mooresclothing.com/ for the location nearest you.  They also have great men's clothing in general, if you're looking for a regular suit.

 

 

Hellen at Snapdragon Design provided the beautiful bouquets.  They were ready on time and the flowers were as fresh as a daisy-- er, a rose, in this case.

 

 

 

"Beautiful Music For Every Occasion", claims Sandra Fann's website, and this was no exception.  Sandra brought her harp out to Harmony United Church, and played the musical prelude prior to the ceremony, and Lara's processional music.  She even played Lara's Theme from the movie Doctor Zhivago.  Classically trained, Sandra's performance added an extra dimension to the ceremony.  Just when we thought it couldn't be any more special....

 

 

 

 

Evan Linnell of Magic Portraits did our photography.  Evan has been shooting weddings and family portraits since 1974.  Evan got great stuff despite the weather (overcast and rain), was great with the kids, didn't get in our way, and wore a suit and tie to add to his already professional appearance and demeanour.

 

 

 

 

Duncan's did a fabulous job with the bridal hair and make-up!  Looked great, everything done and ready on-time.

 

1050 Simcoe Street North,

Oshawa, Ontario

L1G 4W5

(905) 576-3700

 

 

Jim Taylor showed up on time with state of the art equipment (both hard-drives and compact-disc players, a brand-new Yamaha mixer, Shure Beta-58 wireless mics, and a more-than-adequate PA system).  He was ready to go when we were, the music during dinner was just right, and he kept the party rockin' right until the very end.  Jim worked with us well in advance to pick out the music that was just right for us.  He helped us to avoid Abba and the "lite hits of the '70's" schmaltz.  (If you thought the 1970's were cool, you're not old enough to remember them.)  DJ interaction and commentary was always in good taste.

 

Jim can be reached through his website; http://genxmedia.ca.

 

 

We decided to have our pictures taken in Lakeview Park in Oshawa, using the gazebo and historic Robinson House for back-grounds.  Unfortunately, the weather was killing us, and we didn't get a chance to take advantage of more of the beautiful visuals in Lakeview Park.

 

For more information, please visit http://www.oshawa.ca.

 

 

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