Real Weddings 2013: an intimate wedding in a Distillery District art gallery

Lawyer Ashley Richards, 35, and business software consultant Anthony Dixon, 35, first met as undergraduates at Queen’s University, but they never dated and lost touch after graduation. Nearly a decade later, Anthony heard Ashley was living in Toronto and looked her up on Facebook. This time, the romance was there. After two years together, friends of the couple speculated that Anthony would propose during a two-month vacation to South East Asia. “I didn’t want to be too predictable,” said Anthony, “so I proposed on the plane.” (Ashley accepted just as they flew over the International Date Line, and the whole plane applauded.) Bucking the tradition of no peeks before the wedding, the couple stopped for outdoor photos with Ashley’s dog Libby before heading to the Distillery District gallery where they would be married. When the American cocker spaniel left three muddy paw prints on the train of the bride’s dress, “everyone froze and looked at me,” says Ashley. “They were all waiting for my bridal freak-out.” Ashley just let the mud dry, brushed it off her dress and headed off to get married.

See the wedding album »