After ten years together, Laura and Justin have been to their fair share of weddings together and have seen first-hand how stressed out couples can get on their big day. Determined to not let that happen, they chose to keep their own wedding day intimate. With a guest list of 35 for their ceremony and a slightly larger reception for 60, the newlyweds got to have all the things they really wanted for their wedding - a pretty venue, delicious fresh food, and their awesome photographers Jess & Matt from Daring Wanderer Photography - and still managed to keep the whole day completely stress-free. Now that's what we call win-win!

Laura & Justin

Wedding Date: October 12, 2014

Number of Guests: 35 (for ceremony & lunch), 60 for reception

Wedding Ceremony Location: The Little Inn, Bayfield, Ontario

Wedding Reception Location: Bayfield Town Hall

Why did you have an intimate wedding?

We wanted to have a small wedding to keep the planning and wedding day stress-free and easy. We stayed true to ourselves and focused our attention on surrounding ourselves with only the most important people to us. The thought of having more decisions to make on top of our every day life decisions didn't sit well with us. Out of the ten years Justin and I have been together, we have seen and been in our share of weddings. I have seen how stressed couples get and we did not want that. I can honestly say I was not stressed even for a second on our wedding day! We knew that if we kept it small, we could have the things that we really wanted, like delicious and fresh food, an awesome photographer and a pretty venue that took care of most things for us.

Was it difficult to pare down the guest list?

We decided to have our ceremony in the gardens at The Little Inn. To keep things simple we invited only family and significant others to the ceremony and the lunch that followed.

Did you have any "issues" with the guest list from friends and family? If so, how did you address them?

Since we kept the ceremony and lunch to family and significant others, we decided to invite some friends to the reception. This made all of us happy.

What were the highlights of the ceremony?

I loved the moment before I walked down the stairs to Justin. We made eye contact and gave each other a little wave and smile. That moment made me feel relaxed and excited to marry Justin. We both enjoyed our little intimate photo session; it was nice to spend time together at the beach and around the boats before we went into party mode. We have a lot of memories around Bayfield and are really glad we have the photos to remind us of our special place.

What were the highlights of the reception?

We really didn't want us or any of my family members to have to worry about cleaning things up during the reception. So, the food truck solved that problem. Providing yummy local food was also important to us and our food truck guy was really passionate about that.

What was the best thing about having an intimate wedding?

I guess for me I just never understood most wedding traditions. We did not have a first dance, a bouquet toss, garter toss or cake cutting. We wanted our night to be about the people, food, and drinks. Justin and I talked about doing speeches but never really decided whether we would do them or not. I remember asking him at the reception if he wanted to say anything and we both looked at each other and said "nah."

What advice do you have for couples who are considering an intimate wedding?

Some advice we have for couples planning their intimate wedding is to not stress over details. If you notice you're lingering over decisions such as "should we invite this person?" or "should we have white or beige table clothes?", just make the decision and be done with it. Believe me, when the decision is made, you will feel so much better! Remember that there are bigger problems in the world. For me, worrying about whether or not I should have fancy centrepieces fell under the not so important category. Another piece of advice I'd give is to limit your time on Pinterest. Too many ideas can bog down your planning and can make you second guess some of your decisions.

Vendors:

Wedding Dress: Frocks Calgary // Joanna August Dress

Food Truck: Mathew McIntyre - Truly Local Food Truck

My Uncle Neil's Beer: Black Donnellys Craft Beer | Microbrewery | Ontario Craft Beer