Niveen and Rob struck the perfect cultural balance, incorporating their two diverse backgrounds into a beautiful, impactful wedding celebration at their Distillery District Archeo wedding.

They had an intimate home ceremony to make their marriage official in Niveen’s culture, then had a beautiful ‘Western’ wedding reception at Archeo in Toronto’s Distillery District (which I had the honour of photographing) with a jaw-dropping floral arrangement above their head table, super cool sweet table with chocolate-dipped Oreos (their favourite cookie), baklava (a nod to Niveen’s culture), and surprise entertainment in the form of belly dancers and other dancers who impressively balanced candelabras on their heads!

They also had a ‘love lock’ engraved with their initials and wedding date to secure to a love wall near their venue – one they can visit and smile at for years to come.

Niveen sported a super cute stole to keep her warm (can you believe it’s H&M?), an eye-catching headpiece, and blue velvet shoes as her ‘something blue’. Rob had a nifty and totally dapper tie clip along with a custom-tailored suit.

Check out the bottom of the post for words from the newlyweds!

What made you choose a winter wedding?

N: We were actually hoping for a summer outdoor/garden wedding. But, life happened and we ended up buying a house. My family is traditional and preferred that I move in after we are married. So we planned the wedding in 6 months because we’d rather be together than wait for the summer sun! Luckily, its a less busy time and it was possible for us to find some fantastic artists, venue, and vendors on such short notice. Other than taking photos in the cold, It was perfect! And I wouldn’t change the time even if I had the chance to. In the end I got the garden wedding I wanted, thanks to our brilliant Florist at Coriander Girl. We knew we wanted something lush and romantic and more colorful than a typical white winter wedding and she made it happen. We had all the lovely vintage touches through the fantastic Krista Jane and the awesomeness that is Archeo.

R: the first look was definitely something I was waiting for and was one of my favourite moments of the day. The speeches were also great!

N: I can’t pick one, I know it’s a cliche. But maybe catching rob tear up at the speeches, he never cries! Something about knowing that I’m not the only blubbering fool the entire time and that on the inside of that solid exterior there’s a man with a ton of feels.

R: not really, Niveen planned everything so well. She has a great eye for detail and made sure the day would turn out as well as it did. The only thing that worried me leading up to the day was the weather but other than being cold, I think we lucked out.

N: Trying to blend our two very different families. I’m of Middle Eastern heritage and Rob is Canadian, and I wouldn’t say it was so much of a challenge as much as being conscientious and respecting both aspects of each other’s culture. Oh and on a more logistical point, order your invitations way in advance and order extras…long story ha!

R: the day does really fly by. It’s over before you know it. We had a relatively small wedding with just over 100 guests and it was hard to get quality time in with each one. Make sure you take the time to go around to each table and connect. I ended up meeting a lot of the guests on Niveen’s side and I’m glad I took the time to say hi.  And try to get the tasting done early. We had to reprint some menus after the tasting because the desert sounded great but we ended up changing it after the tasting.

N: Just because its winter it doesn’t mean that it has to lack life or color! We ran in the opposite direction of silver and white, and went with gold, navy and deep pink and purple jewel tones. Another tip, no matter what your budget is, hire a day of coordinator! I didn’t want to think of a thing during that day besides having the time of my life. Last one, use your gut/instincts, I met with a few photographers, and florists, and something just clicked with who we ended up with. Everything felt natural, and honest, and I couldn’t have met greater and more talented people!

N: Take a minute to yourself and stand in a corner of the room and appreciate it. I did that once, and I wish I took more time to just take it all in because it goes by so fast!

R: once the day starts just go with the flow.  Some things will go wrong and not work out but in the end the small stuff doesn’t matter. Enjoy the day and each other and don’t forget to eat the cake. I only had the one bite and now I have to wait a whole year to try it again (we kept the cake top for our 1 year anniversary)

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Photography: Olive Photography (www.olivephotography.ca)
Flowers: (www.coriandergirl.com)
Vintage Rentals: Kj& Co. (www.kjandco.ca)
Veil: VeilsofArt  (http://www.veilsofart.com)
Cake: I do Wedding Cakes (www.idoweddingcakes.ca)
Prairie Girl Cupcakes (https://www.prairiegirlbakery.com)
Jelly Modern Donuts (www.jellymoderndoughnuts.com)
Homemade oreo cookies dipped in chocolate, coconuts or walnuts!
Dress Designer: Tara Keely by Lazaro (www.theknot.com/wedding-dress/tara-keely)
Shoes: Nine West (www.ninewest.com)
Suit: Custom – Indochino (www.indochino.com)