Real Weddings: Ghislaine and Michaela

Ghislaine Landry and Michaela Hoskins met when they were 16 while playing rugby together on Ontario’s junior provincial team. After Ghislaine left to join the national league, they kept in touch for a while. Seven years later, they reunited at a memorial for a teammate who had passed away. They hadn’t seen each other in nearly two years, but both felt a spark.

At the time, they were living in different cities. (They still do: Ghislaine trains with the national rugby team in Victoria, and Michaela is a firefighter in Toronto.) But, after many long-distance phone chats, they decided to give dating a try. After another seven years, they came across a gorgeous 19th-century chapel in Prince Edward County, and decided they wanted to get married there. “We figured if we were picking venues now, it meant we were basically engaged,” says Ghislaine.

Sadly, the chapel closed down before the wedding. Someone fell through the floorboards and it was deemed unsafe. Instead, the couple hosted the ceremony at a stone farmhouse with a greenhouse, barn and sturdier floors.

Cheat Sheet:

Photography: Tara McMullen Date: September 6, 2018 Venue: Compass Rose Suites Brides’ outfits: Aritzia (Ghislaine); Blush Boutique (Michaela) Hair and makeup: Village 272 Salon; Kalon by Kristin Caterer: Bloomfield Public House Flowers: Sandy Spearing Officiant: Mara Young Rentals: Refined Country Rentals Guests: 45

The couple planned the wedding themselves. They spent the Friday before the ceremony setting up the property and on the big day, they got ready in the farmhouse with their families. Here’s Ghislaine with her dad:

And here’s Michaela with her niece, Lilly. She was the flower girl:

Michaela changed her mind about the shoes she bought and made the last-minute decision to go barefoot:

Ghislaine found her white blazer at Aritzia, and Michaela purchased her lacy skirt-and-top combo at a boutique in Victoria (she said it reminded her of the Jane Austen movies she grew up watching):

Ghislaine was so flustered and excited that she forgot her bouquet:

The parents of a mutual friend grow plants for nurseries and provided all the flowers. They also built the triangular arbour. “Triangles are symbolic, since they’re one of the strongest shapes,” says Michaela:

They borrowed a yellow pickup truck from a friend to use as a makeshift photo booth. Even Ghislaine’s octogenarian grandmother hopped on it:

The wine came from local wineries Rosehall Run and Lighthall Vineyards:

They served a family-style feast—including tuna tataki, half-smoked chickens, Southern-fried perch and Israeli couscous—from local restaurant Bloomfield Public House. “We ate leftovers for five days,” says Ghislaine:

They wanted to keep the guest list small, so invites were reserved for family and a few close friends: