Real Weddings: Todd and Jessica

Inside a chic and cheerful celebration on the Ossington strip

Todd Knapp, an IT sales executive, and Jessica Knapp, the director of revenue operations for a tech company, met at a friend’s birthday party in December of 2017. Nearly four years later, they were married at Paris Paris’s new Ossington location. Here’s how their wedding came together.

Jess: Todd and I met in December of 2014 at a mutual friend’s birthday party at Reds Wine Tavern near Yonge and Eglinton. We chatted all night but we were both in relationships at the time. Three years later, at the same friend’s birthday at the Rec Room, we were both available, and it was game on. I remember Todd coming up to me, and he said “I’m single.”

Todd: We jumped into it from that moment on. Our first date was at Reposado on Ossington.

Jess: I was nervous about our first date, but all those feelings melted away when we met. It felt like years in the making. Todd can really make me laugh. He doesn’t take himself too seriously. I think that’s a fundamental part of our relationship. We’re constantly giggling and laughing with each other.

Todd: I’m drawn to Jess’s genuine nature. She’s very honest and straightforward—I don’t have to read between the lines. She’s also adventurous and loves to travel.

Jess: In September of 2019, we moved into a house in the Junction. Throughout the Covid lockdowns, I kept chiding Todd by saying things like, “Oh God, I’m so bored. When are you going to propose? I need to plan a wedding or a trip or something!” I was definitely heckling him for it.

Todd: I had known for a while that this was what I wanted to do. We enjoy doing everything together and are always talking when we’ve apart. It was easy to recognize how important Jess was in my life. Trying to get a ring during Covid was bizarre. In February of 2021, I couldn’t walk into stores. I had to meet employees in random parking lots. They handed me jeweller’s tools so I could get a closer look at the stones, and I was trying to look at a diamond rings in the driver’s seat of my car. It was unusual but hilarious, and it worked out well in the end. I chose a gold band with a non-traditional stone setting; there’s a hidden row of pavé diamonds beneath the centre stone.

Jess: I had booked a spa weekend for Todd’s birthday in March of 2021, so we went up to Elora Mill and had dinner and drinks.

Todd: At breakfast, we ordered room service and I told her to close her eyes. I had placed the ring on her plate.

Jess: I had a feeling the proposal was coming. He kept leaving to run errands and coming back hours later with nothing. I kept repeating, “Is this real life?” The ring was absolutely perfect and we couldn’t wait to call everyone we knew.

Todd: We set our wedding date for mid-September. We wanted a small, intimate wedding that was uniquely ours—not the standard big-budget affair that we’d both attended a hundred times.

Jess: I heard through a family connection that Dundas West wine bar Paris Paris was moving locations in August. The new location was right next door to the restaurant where we had our first date. Paris Paris was still undergoing renovations when we started planning, so I had to just hope everything that I was planning would come together—and it did. It had beautiful woodwork, white walls and lots of greenery. On the day of our wedding, Todd and I got ready together at home. I wore a silk dress with an organza topper and went for a dramatic frilled veil. It was all off the rack, except for minor alterations.

Todd: I wore a Hugo Boss suit that I got from Harry Rosen. We planned to head to the venue in a limo, but it showed up late. Then it wasn’t air-conditioned and eventually it broke down on the side of the road and left us stranded. The limo was smoking and spewing out all sorts of liquid on Dundas. Right around the corner there was a fire station, so two trucks came firing out of the station and blocked off that part of the road that had fluid everywhere. It was a mess. The whole wedding party was on the side of the road, and people were concerned, but also applauding, and a restaurant nearby came out with shots of tequila for us.

Jess: All of us were frantically on our phones, laughing but trying to get Ubers. That moment was easily the worst thing you can imagine happening on your wedding day but it was also one of those really fun, special moments where we all just pulled through it together. We made it to the venue and everything else was on time without a hitch.

We kept the ceremony short and sweet. I don’t like having the spotlight on me, so I was excited for it to be over. There are videos of me shaking. But we couldn’t have asked for a better moment. During the ceremony, the sun filtered into the venue, and Todd and I were glowing.

Todd: We wanted food to be a focal point. We worked with Paris Paris on five courses, and their sommelier paired those with three wines per course. Our guests really loved it.

Jess: It was a beautiful day. We couldn’t have asked for better weather. It was just so much fun to be together and have something special we were able to share amongst family and friends.

Todd: It was also so great to see our closest friends and family in one place, especially after not seeing anyone for a year and a half.

Jess: After the wedding, we did a mini-moon. We went back to Elora Mill, then travelled to Vancouver and Lake Louise in Alberta. We’re hoping for a sweet European adventure on our one-year anniversary. Our lives haven’t changed a lot: we’ve lived together for most of our relationship. We’re just super, super happy to be married now. It feels right.

Cheat Sheet

Date: 18 September 2021
Venue: Paris Paris
Officiant: Tade Credgeur, the Marrying Lady
Catering: Paris Paris
Bride’s outfit: Park and Fifth, Jane Rhyan, Amina Muaddi
Florals: May Flowers Toronto
Groom’s outfit: Hugo Boss, Eton, Prada
Hair and make-up: Hannah Bronwyn for Schulz Beauty
Photography: Tom Powell

Here’s some more photos from the day