It's 2017 and Craig (my now husband) has just proposed to me. It’s Christmas… everyone is thrilled and excited. Not even an hour after being engaged everyone starts asking if we’ve set a date. At this point, we are just so excited about the beautiful moment we’ve just shared, we are clearly not even thinking about the wedding. Fast forward a month and the pressure is on! Our families and friends all want to know what we are going to do for our wedding and all of the details that go with it. How many guests? Will you invite extended family? Who will do your florals? Have you sent out save the dates or invites yet (there’s a difference? Woahhhhh!!) ? All of this was so overwhelming to say the least.

What Craig and I had really wanted was to elope! We just wanted to keep it simple. Let me paint a better picture of our situation at the time. We were living downtown Toronto, which now costs close to the same as living in NYC. We both had school debt. I was running my photography business and it was really just getting going, even though I had been at it for about 8 years. Yes it takes that long to grow a business!! Craig was leaving one job to start another and both of us had a lifestyle that consisted of being avid foodies, and traveling for adventure. Oh and did I mention we wanted to save to eventually build our dream home one day? So, fitting in a big wedding was just not in the cards for us. Even though our parents were willing to pay for a good portion of the cost , we still didn’t have 50k laying around which is typically the average price for a wedding. Sound familiar? Yes, I know for a fact there are so many millennials like us in the exact same boat.

Gone are the days when getting married and starting a family was the highest priority for 100% of the population. Don’t get me wrong. this is something that Craig and I absolutely wanted but we also valued our careers. I loved running my business and we loved to travel and spend our money on experiences. The value in those things for us was just so much higher than spending a fortune on a wedding, and again, we just didn’t have that kind of money. So what did we do?

Craig and I decided to have a small intimate morning wedding with just our immediate family. We found a boutique hotel in Niagara on the lake and got married in their garden . We had a beautiful backdrop, a 15 minute ceremony, followed by a sparkling toast, lunch, a first dance and treats. We had ordered 1 bouquet and 1 boutonniere and that was it. We went off to do some wine touring after but for the actual wedding portion it was simple, elegant and it cost us under $3000 to make it all happen. Having had our wedding this way, Craig and I had saved more money for our honeymoon which was so incredible It’s hard to put into words. The above photo was taken in Tuscany, mid honeymoon. One of the best moments of my life!.

Having been a wedding photographer for the past 8 years I can tell you that I’ve seen it all, and this is not to say I don’t appreciate big weddings because If that’s your style and you have the means to create that perfect 300 person wedding and it is on the top of your priority list, that’s so incredible and I’m so thrilled for all of those couples. Petite Nuptials was created to cater to the couples that are just like Craig and I. You want something simple. small, elegant and maybe not in a board room like city hall. Most of all you don’t want to spend a ton of money. I get it and I’m here for you, The package that I have created for my couples literally has everything you need and best of all it doesn’t involve you becoming your own wedding planner for a year!

It makes me so happy that you are interested in Petite Nuptials and that you’ve taken the time to learn my story and why I’ve created this business. If your vibe matches mine, lets meet so I can bring the wedding you truly want, to life!