Brooklands Farm Muskoka Wedding Videographer

How did you guys meet?

We were each out in Shoreditch on a cold, February evening having a few too many drinks and Caitlin’s friend went to the loo. Joseph was hopelessly looking for his coat among hundreds that were thrown on the seating, and Caitlin offered to help. We couldn’t hear each other well so we eventually left in search of snacks (Kinder eggs) and some more fun. Neither of us remembered much afterwards but miraculously ended up going on a proper date the following week.

Tell me a bit about the two of you, what do you guys do? How do you spend your time?

We both work in the creative industry so we love anything art & design related… and gigs! We were both fairly new to living in London when we met so we loved exploring new parts of the city and weekend markets / restaurants. Most of our extra money goes to travel though; visiting Caitlin’s family back in Canada or exploring new countries together. We started a company together as well, so it’s fun to collaborate on projects and we also really enjoy cooking at home.

How did the proposal go down?

Caitlin was going back to see her family for Christmas in Canada, so we planned to spend a nice night at home together on the 23rd. Joseph had asked both of Caitlin’s parents for their blessings, and then Caitlin came down with the flu the night before. Joseph considered waiting until the new year but didn’t want Caitlin’s parents to think anything was up and that she would really like telling everyone the news in person… so he went ahead as planned. When he got home from work he suggested changing into something nicer and enjoying their nut roast, but Caitlin was much more interested in presents (she’d gotten creative with the £20 budget!) so Joseph handed her a very large box. Suspecting nothing until there was another smaller box (and even smaller box) nicely wrapped inside, she proceeded to find a beautiful ring sealed in a Kinder egg alongside a kneeling boyfriend. She was shocked that he could plan something so big without her knowing and it was a really lovely Christmas surprise, proving that he was definitely going to be there in sickness and in health.

How did you choose Brooklands Farm as your wedding venue?

It’s a tricky decision when your friends and family are scattered around the globe… We thought about an English wedding, and beach weddings didn’t feel very us so we started thinking about something in between Calgary and London. Caitlin had always really enjoyed summer vacations on Lake Muskoka, and Joseph got a taste for this as well while working at a summer camp in the States where he made some amazing friends… We found a maple syrup farm with a heritage barn in Muskoka which sounded so cool to us so we just went ahead and booked it before even being able to visit. Since we’re creative, we really wanted to put our own stamp on the event so Brooklands Farm seemed like a good option where we had the venue for a couple days and sourced our own food, decoration and bar.

What sort of experience did you want your guests to have?

Since everyone was going to be travelling quite a ways (and we don’t get to some of them very often), it was important to us that the main event was a total blast and that we had a few other get togethers. We were so excited for all our collections of friends (from 8 countries) to meet and have fun together as we knew they would really get along. We had hen / stag a couple days ahead in Toronto and then a meet & greet, rehearsal dinner, wedding AND a hangover beach picnic which somehow all came together with us even being lucky weather-wise. We wanted our guests to experience a Canadian lake holiday complete with cottages, boat rides & water sports, and a barn dance which would make it worth their trip out there.

Can you describe some of the details and stylings, did your wedding have a theme?

We loved the heritage maple syrup farm aspect which we mixed with a summer camp vibe (think Moonrise Kingdom) along with a few english touches – so everything was very eclectic and antique. We got a great kind of Klezmer / jazz band to play in the garden during games and cocktail hour and some amazing furniture and prop rentals for a lounge and photobooth.

What was the best decision you made in your planning?

Visiting twice before the wedding and being there for a week beforehand was probably the best decision as it ended up being even more work than anticipated to organise everything from abroad. There were a lot of finer details that we still hadn’t worked out until last minute.

What was the hardest decision during the planning?

Picking the location was the hardest for us as we knew that no matter where the wedding was that certain friends or family would be unable to join. There was always going to be some hurt feelings or extra legwork in helping people plan their trips but we just had to keep reminding ourselves that it was our day and it was all going to work out!

What are your favourite memories of the day?

Timing-wise we felt it made sense to do ‘first look’ and photos before the ceremony which we were a bit uncomfortable with at first. In the end this was one of our favourite times as we got to share it more just between us and it felt like it took some pressure off of the ceremony. Joseph’s three nieces / nephews were involved as flower girls and ring bearer and they did such an amazing job walking down the isle which was a memorable addition. We were also so happy to see everyone mingling and making memories together / forming new friendships.

What advice would you give to couples planning a wedding?

Looking back, we wish we had made more final decisions earlier on and had more things definitively crossed off the list not to be thought of again. Also, the day goes by so quickly so we were lucky to take a few moments alone to breathe and enjoy… for this reason we were especially glad to have outstanding video and photos that captured how the day really looked and felt.