Muskoka Lakeside Wedding: Dirty Dancing Vibes & 90s Dance Party!
No one puts Baby in a corner! ... and the same goes for this next fabulous lakeside getaway style wedding day. We are completely head over heels, dirty dancing style in love with this whole day! Not only are we crushing on the bride's gorgeous dress, but honestly this whole day looks like it was such a blast. The post office must have lost our invite.
Keep scrolling to hear from Dayle, the beautiful bride, and find out about all the ins and outs of planning this ah-mazing wedding. Oh and as always, be sure to check out the full gallery to get a closer look thanks to the talents of Shannon Robbins Photography. Psst, Dayle highly recommends checking out the 90's dance party. 😘
From the Bride:
As someone who works in the wedding industry (for one of Wedding Chicks preferred vendors in fact!) I have drooled over different wedding galleries for years and years. It feels surreal to finally be submitting my own wedding photos. But I have a unique story to tell, and of course, I am biased in loving my own wedding day, so I wanted to share them with my favourite wedding platform.
The Back Story:
When Taylor and I (Dayle) got engaged in December 2018, we had already been planning our wedding for years together in our minds. This is what happens when you spend an entire decade growing older together. We went from young 20-year-old's in love who travelled the world together, to two professional adults who have settled down in their home city of Toronto. Taylor, a teacher, and myself, a long-standing Media & Marketing Manager for Australian bridal labels, and now I own a bridal shop of my own.
How We Chose Muskoka For Our Location:
We are the couple with the cottage. For years we have hosted our friends to our cottage in Muskoka and because of this each of our friends associates this gorgeous pocket of our Canadian backcountry with memories of Taylor and I. It would have felt off to host our wedding anywhere but up north, in a cottage "party" setting. We went with Cleveland's House Resort on Lake Rosseau because it was 150 years old and had those Dirty Dancing movie vibes. We could also invite our guests to stay for the whole weekend with us.
The DRESS:
This one is BIG! I work for Luna Willow Bridal. I also stock their gowns in my bridal shop, Oh Happy Brides. When it came time to say yes to a dress, I already knew what I wanted. I drew a design, and they brought it to life for me. I remember when I first tried it on alone in my bridal shop, I did it without looking in the mirror. When I turned around and finally saw it finished, on me, I gasped and my hand went up to cover my mouth. My eyes filled with tears because I couldn't believe how perfect it turned out. It was just, me. And because Luna Willow names their gowns after places, they called it Muskoka because of where we got married!
Best part of our day:
Honestly, having been together so long, we had committed our hearts to each other ages ago. But it did feel good to finally say yes in front of everyone we love and walk down that aisle. BUT the best part of our wedding (and our guests probably agree) was the raging dance party we hosted. There were some things we cut out of the budget, like a cake and a professional invitation suite, so that we could hire a 90's cover band that we LOVE. In previous years we had spent many sweaty nights dancing and belting out all of our favourite songs by Alanis Morisette, Spice Girls, Shania Twain, whoever it was that sings the Friends theme song (lol), and we KNEW our guests were going to love it. Most people don't cherish the sweaty dance photos part of their wedding album, but we certainly do! Our photographers said they truly had never seen anything like it.
Notable Vendors:
I honestly have to praise my photographer, Shannon Robbins Photography, and also my florist, Tanya List Floral Designs. Shannon and her husband captured every single moment I remember experiencing and thinking 'I hope I never forget this'. When I look through my album I can relive the real moments from the entire day, and with a wedding photographer that is exactly what you want! With my florist Tanya List, she blew my mind with our wedding arch!! I told her to go big and to incorporate flora and fauna from the two places we've lived, Canada and Australia, and she did just that. She even hand-painted the pink palm leaves herself!
Advice for brides:
My most authentic piece of advice is to just enjoy the process. Your day comes and goes in the blink of an eye! Everything will work out just fine and at the end of it all, no matter what goes wrong, you'll have had one of the best days of your life!
Budget Breakdown
Venue: $15,000
Catering & Bar: $15,000
Photographer: $4,500
Florist: $5,600
Band: $2,500
Wedding Dress: $3,000
Bridesmaid Dresses: $280 each
Grooms Outfit: $1,000
Rentals: $2,700
Ring Box: $100
Signage: $250
Invitations: $200
- Bridesmaid Dresses: Goddess By Nature
- Dress & Apparel: Luna Willow Bridal
- Flowers: Tanya List Floral Design
- Photographers: Shannon Robbins Photography
- Rentals: Muskoka Party Rentals
- Venues: Cleveland's House Resort