a whimsical + intimate wedding at The Darling Mansion

The Darling Mansion. Every room, every hallway, every piece of decor is whimsical and eccentric, with mystery, intrigue, and adventure around every corner. No two rooms are the same. No two vibes are the same. This completely sexy and outlandish venue might not be what you would typically think of when thinking about a wedding, but then again, Ariana + Mat aren’t your typical couple.

When we first met them and shot their engagement session, one thing we couldn’t stop saying about these two was that they are the epitome of cool. Ariana is outgoing - all laughter and smiles, our heart strings would get a serious tug after every lovingly flirty look that went Mat’s way. Mat on the other hand is cool, calm, and reserved. What struck us was how natural and perfect their duality was. In Front of the camera they were absolute fire - these two would be perfect as the faces of a cologne ad! We want to smell as good as they look!

On top of that, they are two of the most warm and welcoming people that we’ve ever had the pleasure of being third wheels to on their wedding day. And with their openness, we were able to capture some absolutely amazing shots.

We’ll never forget the intimately small ceremony with only their closest friends and family, the tears, laughter and hugs during the speeches, or their willingness to get weird, hot, and be totally open to making the mundane just look so darn cool during their couples session.

Documenting their wedding was the perfect way to cap off our 2019 wedding season, and we’ll cherish the memories of Ariana + Mat’s wedding day just as much as they will!

a few words from the couple

How did you decide on your venue?

Mathew had gone to a party at The Darling Mansion a few years back, when we were first dating. He came home and told me how unique and vibrant it was, and then he remarked, "It would be a cool place to get married." Over the next few years, as we began to talk about marriage more and more, we often threw The Darling Mansion into the conversation as an ideal venue - to us, it symbolized the antithesis of a cookie-cutter wedding, and embodied all we wanted for our future wedding - eclectic vibes, intimate moods, strange and wild details. We went to visit Tanya Grossi, and after touring the venue and looking at it as the site of our future wedding, it was clear to us that there was no other option in our eyes.

What was your wedding inspiration when putting together all the details? (Theme, vibe)

Mathew and I knew we didn't want to get married in a church and then have a reception in a big hall. Both of us have souls that thrill at the weird and unusual. We wanted our distinct styles and interests to come through in all of our choices, from our clothing to our music to our food. Once we decided on The Darling Mansion as our venue, a lot of other details followed suit. We wanted our details to blend into the venue, so everything we chose had to either feel lush, vintage, or punk rock. Luckily all our vendors were wildly enthusiastic about our vision and totally delivered on what we discussed.

What was your favorite detail from the day? (i.e. bouquet, cake, vows)

One of our favorite details from the day was our grazing table spread and our cake. The word that we used when talking to our caterers was "Dionysian" - we wanted everything to feel dangerously decadent. We spread an eight-foot eucalyptus garland across the table and used our cake as a centerpiece. Our cake was dripping with dark winter fruits flecked with gold leaf, and our grazing table was overflowing with nonstop deliciousness. Our guests were in awe of how beautiful it all was, and we heard it was delicious - we barely ate all night and never really got to try it! We did eat our cake, though.

How/where did you find your dress? Why did you pick it?

Ariana: I first saw my dress on another Toronto bride in an online wedding blog, Junebug Weddings. I was instantly enamored with it. Ever since I was little, I was drawn to over-the-top sparkle and glitz. I saw that the bride bought it from local vintage store, The Cat's Meow, and wondered if I'd ever have enough luck to find a vintage wedding dress. In the meantime, I went to over a dozen wedding dress stores and had terrible luck at all of them. One afternoon, after going to over six stores without liking a single dress, I decided to call The Cat's Meow and asked if they had anything similar to that pearl-studded dress. They told me the bride had returned her dress to the store after her wedding and I told them to hang on - I was on my way. I tried it on - it was a perfect fit - and came out of the dressing room beaming, for the first time in the entire dress-shopping process. My parents knew it was the one for me, too. I felt sleek and feral and opulent in it. I knew it was the only dress that could match The Darling Mansion.

What song did you walk down the aisle to?

We walked down the aisle to “Ceremony” by New Order. It was a song that both of us had listened to a lot in our youth, and obviously it had the perfect name.

What song played for your first dance?

Mathew and I are both so picky about music that making our cocktail hour and dance hour playlists took longer than any other wedding task we had! It was really difficult for us to find a song that we both wanted to dance to. We chose Sleepwalk by Santo & Johnny - probably the most perfect instrumental song for a first dance!

Any standout moments from the day?

The entire day was full of tiny joyful moments and it's hard to pick one standout moment! We both really loved our first look - it was a lovely, intimate moment and really prepared us for what we were about to do. We also loved our quiet moment together when we were waiting for our processional music to start - we were standing at the top of the stairs, holding hands, and we were both so excited to finally get married.

Were you nervous? If so, what did you do to overcome that?

We thought we would be more nervous, because we are both so private, but we felt totally relaxed the entire time up until our wedding day! On the day of, we were pleasantly surprised that we only felt excitement. Our officiant, Juliana, is also a yoga instructor, and she offered to lead us through a meditative moment before the ceremony - we both replied, "No need!"

What does ‘marriage’ mean to you?

We always say to each other, "All we have to do is love each other." We have felt married in our souls for a long time now - and for us, that means that nothing will tear us apart. We're both all in, all the time, and both of us work hard to make our relationship the best it can possibly be. We're in it for life, baby.

What advice would you give to future couples for their wedding?

We would tell other couples who are planning their wedding to only do what they like. You don't like speeches? Don't have 'em! You think favors are kind of silly? Don't do 'em! We would also say to keep it simple - having one venue for getting ready, the ceremony, and the reception was super helpful in keeping things easy. Also, make a wedding email and download a wedding spreadsheet for all your vendor and guest info.

What vendors were standout? Who went above and beyond the call of duty?

All of our vendors were incredible people. We talked extensively with all of them to ensure that we were all on the same page. We were also so lucky to have all of our vendors respond so passionately to our vision - everyone really appreciated our unique vision and were happy to do something a little unusual. That being said, we have to give a special shout out to our photographers, Jess and Matt (that's you!) and our videographers, Bo and Sophia. They both spent our entire wedding day with us, captured our incredibly tiny and intimate ceremony, and were total joys to have alongside us on such a special day.

How did you feel at the end of the day?

At the end of the day, we felt overwhelmingly saturated with love. It was so incredible to have all of our loved ones in one house, and to have them there to support our love and commitment to one another. Everyone was so complimentary towards our wedding choices and were so forthcoming with their love for us - we have the best friends and families in the world. We went to bed feeling drunk on love, and so appreciative of everyone in our lives. Also, our feet hurt like hell from all the dancing.