Stylish Canadian weddings: A romantic ceremony at Magrath Mansion in Edmonton

“My dress was made by Jessica Halabi an Edmonton designer, and actually the first designer I ever interviewed! She took the onslaught of ideas I had and made them a more streamlined reality, from the lace, to the open back, and the feathers on the skirt. My Mary-Jane flats were also custom from Poppy Barley the leather specially sourced for me and handcrafted in León, Mexico (I wanted to be super comfortable all day). Piecing it all together was such a warm experience,” says FASHION”s Alberta Editor, Caroline Gault.

“We just bought a house last year. While the bridal party got ready at our house, Mike and his groomsmen went down the street to the neighbour’s (and my best friend’s mom’s house). We did the “reveal” in our backyard. Keeping it all close to home kept everyone super relaxed,” says Gault.

“Our photographers Zach Ayotte and Randee Armstrong from Betti Jane Photography were incredible. Both work in the fashion space as well and have such an artistic eye so it was a bit of a dream to have them shoot for us,” says Gault.

“My beautiful bridesmaids, sisters and best friends; the only wedding “rule” they had to follow was to look for a metallic dress, everything else was up to them. I wanted them to feel beautiful and totally themselves. Oh, and one of them had to wear pants,” she says.

“One of my bridesmaids lives in the McLeod Building downtown and pretty much scaled the building to open the hatch door so that we could climb on the rooftop and snap some photos. It was as much fun as it looks,” says Gault.

“So, I actually did marry the boy next door. In 2001, my family moved into a house three doors down from Mike’s. Despite our younger brothers forming a fast friendship, we only crossed paths in the neighbourhood from time to time. We didn’t formally meet until university, when he was captain of the varsity swim team at the University of Alberta and I was a rookie on the varsity basketball team. After that, we started dropping handwritten notes in each other’s mailboxes and ten years later, we’re dancing on a rooftop on our wedding day,” says Gault.

“These handsome groomsmen ordered custom suits from Indochino (the styles were up to them) and had Poppy Barley shoes made as our treat,” she says.

“When we reached the end of the aisle, my dad said to Mike, ‘Take good care of her.’ One of those moments that I’ll cherish forever,” says Gault.

“We chose to write our own vows, and it ended up being a highlight of the wedding. Never again will we have the opportunity to stand up in front our closest friends and family and tell them how much we love each other. It was an honour,” she says.

“The nods and smiles of support, encouragement and love from our wedding guests was almost palpable. It was a feeling I couldn’t have predicted, but made me pretty emotional (in all the best ways) for weeks,” says Gault.

“We were on such a high during the drive to the dinner party. It was a special moment for the two of us to talk about the magnitude of what had just happened, marking a decade passed, and the future ahead. Oh yeah, and those white calla lilies were definitely Downton Abbey-inspired,” she says.

“Our getaway car was a 1946 Ford that Mike received as a gift from his parents on his 16th birthday. It was his first car, and, at the time, a broken pile of rust. He fixed it up over the years and I’m sure he was driving it down the street the first time we locked eyes as teenagers,” she says.

“All of the speeches were hilarious – my parents gave the green light to roast us, and no one held back. NSFW,” she says.

“Our first dance was to Lauryn Hill’s “Can’t Take My Eyes Off of You,” performed by Krystle Dos Santos. I’m pretty sure we chose that song five years ago, and pretty sure I dreamt of having Krystle perform at my wedding from the moment I met her. We had a riotous dance party until 2 in the morning. It was the happiest day of my life,” she says.