Real Weddings: Tim and Christine
This reception took place inside a giant inflatable bubble
Tim Wootton, the CEO and founder of tech start-up Rover, met Christine Michalejko, an advertising producer, in 2015 at a birthday party for a mutual friend at the Queen West restaurant Come and Get It. They bumped into each other outside the bathroom and ended up striking up a lively debate about who lived in the better neighbourhood (he was in a King West condo at the time and she lived in Bloorcourt). The next day, they watched a Leafs game together. Christine knew she liked him then, since she’s not a hockey fan.
They got engaged three years later, in fall 2018, on a culinary tour of the Basque Country in Spain: Tim got down on one knee on a promenade in Biarritz. They wanted to host the festivities in Collingwood, where they’d spent many ski weekends at Tim’s cabin. They originally booked a local ski club that was in the midst of a renovation, but, four months prior to their wedding date, they received word that the construction wasn’t going to be done in time.
During their last-minute search for alternate venues, Christine and Tim fell in love with a giant inflatable bubble they spotted on Instagram. They ordered their own structure from a manufacturer in Hong Kong and rented a beautiful vacation property in Collingwood—with a renovated 1876 farmhouse, indoor pool and 100 acres of fields and trails—where they could set it up. They kept the bubble a surprise from all their guests, only revealing it to everyone once cocktail hour was wrapping up. It rained that night, so the glistening water on the bubble refracted off the lanterns inside—and also led to a late-night slip-and-slide party.
Cheat Sheet
Date: October 26, 2019
Photographer: Frances Beatty Photography
Bride’s dress: Lea-Ann Belter
Groom’s outfit: Suit Supply
Makeup: Makeup By Lee
Hair: The Parlour by Stephanie
Venue: The Farmer’s House
Caterer: The Flying Chestnut Kitchen
Flowers: Ashley Elaine Florals
Bubble: The Love Bubble, supplied and owned by Christine and Tim
Bourbon: Hartfield & Co
Music: DJ Make You Dance
Invites and stationary: Tayler-Lee Resar-Teese
Guests: 95
Christine slept at the property the night before the wedding with her bridesmaids, while Tim stayed at his cabin nearby. She enlisted a fellow producer pal to be their day-of coordinator, but still had to resist the urge to check on the bubble:
Tim spent the morning doing some last-minute touches on the bubble. It weighs a tonne, and took three people nearly two hours to set up. Then Tim and his groomsmen got ready in the Farmer’s House party room:
They had a first look amid the fall foliage:
And, before the ceremony, they took a shot of a bourbon they made together in Kentucky for their engagement shoot. “We basically went down and got drunk with the guy who ran the distillery,” says Tim:
They hired a humanist officiant and kept the ceremony under 20 minutes:
Tim’s mom crafted the wooden arbour. The ceremony took place on a hill, with scenic views of the valley and woodland below:
Christine and Tim both wanted vintage-inspired looks. Christine got her gown from local designer Lea-Ann Belter and added a few custom tweaks, like a key-hole cutout in the back:
Cocktail hour took place inside the party room at the Farmer’s House. They had two signature cocktails, one of which used the couple’s Kentucky-made bourbon:
When it was time for dinner, they led their guests into the yard and through some trees, to where the bubble was set up:
Hearing their guests’ reactions to the scene was one of their favourite parts of the evening:
Inside, they wanted to create a rustic bohemian vibe, and added antique furniture, gold accents and lots of greenery and grasses. The bubble, of course, was the main piece of statement decor, and they hung orbs hand-made by Christine’s mother and aunts out of antique barrel rings:
For dinner, they served dishes that reflected the cuisines of places they had travelled together. They enlisted the Flying Chestnut Kitchen to serve up a six-course tapas menu with a mix of Middle Eastern, Indian, Italian, Mexican and Ethiopian dishes:
Here’s what it looked like when everyone sat down to dinner:
They did their first dance to an acoustic version of “I’m Gonna Be” by Sleeping at Last:
Christine surprised Tim by bringing in a saxophone player to get the party started:
And party they did:
Here are some more photos from the day:
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. The next day, they watched a Leafs game together. Christine knew she liked him then, since she's not a hockey fan.
They got engaged three years later, in fall 2018, on a culinary tour of the Basque Country in Spain: Tim got down on one knee on a promenade in Biarritz. They wanted to host the festivities in Collingwood, where they'd spent many ski weekends at Tim’s cabin. They originally booked a local ski club that was in the midst of a renovation, but, four months prior to their wedding date, they received word that the construction wasn't going to be done in time.
During their last-minute search for alternate venues, Christine and Tim fell in love with a giant inflatable bubble they spotted on Instagram. They ordered their own structure from a manufacturer in Hong Kong and rented a beautiful vacation property in Collingwood—with a renovated 1876 farmhouse, indoor pool and 100 acres of fields and trails—where they could set it up. They kept the bubble a surprise from all their guests, only revealing it to everyone once cocktail hour was wrapping up. It rained that night, so the glistening water on the bubble refracted off the lanterns inside—and also led to a late-night slip-and-slide party.
Cheat Sheet
Date: October 26, 2019
Photographer: Frances Beatty Photography
Bride's dress: Lea-Ann Belter
Groom's outfit: Suit Supply
Makeup: Makeup By Lee
Hair: The Parlour by Stephanie
Venue: The Farmer's House
Caterer: The Flying Chestnut Kitchen
Flowers: Ashley Elaine Florals
Bubble: The Love Bubble, supplied and owned by Christine and Tim
Bourbon: Hartfield & Co
Music: DJ Make You Dance
Invites and stationary: Tayler-Lee Resar-Teese
Guests: 95
Christine slept at the property the night before the wedding with her bridesmaids, while Tim stayed at his cabin nearby. She enlisted a fellow producer pal to be their day-of coordinator, but still had to resist the urge to check on the bubble:
Tim spent the morning doing some last-minute touches on the bubble. It weighs a tonne, and took three people nearly two hours to set up. Then Tim and his groomsmen got ready in the Farmer's House party room:
They had a first look amid the fall foliage:
And, before the ceremony, they took a shot of a bourbon they made together in Kentucky for their engagement shoot. “We basically went down and got drunk with the guy who ran the distillery,” says Tim:
They hired a humanist officiant and kept the ceremony under 20 minutes:
Tim's mom crafted the wooden arbour. The ceremony took place on a hill, with scenic views of the valley and woodland below:
Christine and Tim both wanted vintage-inspired looks. Christine got her gown from local designer Lea-Ann Belter and added a few custom tweaks, like a key-hole cutout in the back:
Cocktail hour took place inside the party room at the Farmer's House. They had two signature cocktails, one of which used the couple's Kentucky-made bourbon:
When it was time for dinner, they led their guests into the yard and through some trees, to where the bubble was set up:
Hearing their guests' reactions to the scene was one of their favourite parts of the evening:
Inside, they wanted to create a rustic bohemian vibe, and added antique furniture, gold accents and lots of greenery and grasses. The bubble, of course, was the main piece of statement decor, and they hung orbs hand-made by Christine's mother and aunts out of antique barrel rings:
For dinner, they served dishes that reflected the cuisines of places they had travelled together. They enlisted the Flying Chestnut Kitchen to serve up a six-course tapas menu with a mix of Middle Eastern, Indian, Italian, Mexican and Ethiopian dishes:
Here's what it looked like when everyone sat down to dinner:
They did their first dance to an acoustic version of “I'm Gonna Be" by Sleeping at Last:
Christine surprised Tim by bringing in a saxophone player to get the party started:
And party they did:
Here are some more photos from the day:
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