Toronto Life’s top Real Weddings of 2022
If 2021 signalled the return of something a little closer to normal in our everyday lives, 2022 brought on more creative ways of celebrating life-long commitments. Many couples were no longer interested in postponing their weddings. And while families could gather in large groups again, a number of them still opted for small in-person celebrations. This year, we covered a multi-day bash on a private island in Muskoka, a French-themed wedding at a coffee bar and a spontaneous balcony celebration after Covid almost ruined one couple’s special day.
Here are our top 10 Real Weddings of the year.
No. 10: Inside an intimate and spontaneous balcony celebration
Heather Burnett, a government litigator, and Igor Provod, a product designer, met on Tinder in March 2018. Shortly before their second year together, the couple moved to Budapest on a whim. The following year, they were engaged and a wedding was planned for May of 2022. But when Igor test positive for Covid three days before their wedding, they decided to tie the knot on their balcony.
No. 9: Inside a bittersweet, repeatedly postponed celebration
Marc Anthony, a financial expert at RBC, and Gina Medina, a dance instructor and choreographer, met at a party in October of 2018. They were engaged the following year and had planned a lavish wedding at Hazelton Manor for 2020—until Covid derailed their big day.
No. 8: Inside a moody all-black wedding ceremony at the Globe and Mail Centre
Kiera Caruso, a wedding planner, met Blayne Gross, an investment banker, in September of 2017, when Kiera was planning Blayne’s sister’s wedding. The two started dating shortly afterward and were engaged by October of 2020. Their elegant and moody 150-person wedding at the Globe and Mail Centre took place in April of 2022.
No. 7: Inside a multi-cultural ceremony at a Leslieville studio
Dawne Maranan, a patient safety specialist and content creator, matched with Kevin Huang, a human resources professional, on the dating app Hinge at the end of 2019. They moved in together during the lockdown and after Dawne became pregnant in the summer of 2021, they planned an intimate wedding for December.
No. 6: Inside a French-themed celebration at a King West Coffee Bar
Josh Zanin and Erin Jacobson, both PR professionals, connected while working for the same firm in 2016. They were engaged in Paris just before the onset of the pandemic and married at a King West cocktail bar in November of 2021.
No. 5: Inside a multi-day bash on a private island in Muskoka
Adil Dhalla, a community organizer at Reset, met Shilbee Kim, a passion coach who works with entrepreneurs and community leaders, at a job interview in 2013. They started dating two years later, and in January of 2020 Kim proposed. The couple had planned a ceremony at Daniels Spectrum in Regent Park, but after three postponements, they switched gears and organized a weekend on a private island two hours north of Toronto.
No. 4: Inside the five-day Hindu-Catholic celebration of high school sweethearts
Vivek Kesarwani and Ellen Bennett, self-described nerds and engineers—he’s in the software industry; she’s in transportation—met in high school in 2009. After their first dance at a semi-formal, Ellen took her sister’s advice and asked Vivek out for coffee. They’ve been together ever since. This past July, they celebrated their wedding.
No. 3: Inside a lush and ethereal ceremony at Preto Loft
Andrew Ngomba, a data analyst, matched with Natalina Strano, an associate investment advisor, on Bumble in 2017. They got engaged three years later, in October of 2020, and envisioned eloping to Italy. But as Covid dragged on, they settled on a micro-wedding in Toronto instead.
No. 2: Inside a two-day, Nigerian-Canadian ceremony
Ben Merrill, an Osgoode law student, and Joju Sowemimo, a pediatrician, met while travelling in Greece in August of 2014. The couple dated long distance for the next six years—with Ben in the States and Joju in Canada—before tying the knot in Toronto.
No. 1: Inside an intimate ceremony at the Fairmont Royal
Hamza Khan, a professor and public speaker, and Bailey Parnell, the founder and CEO of SkillsCamp Soft Skills Training, met in 2012 and worked together in Ryerson’s student affairs department. They got engaged in December of 2019 and were married two years later at the Fairmont Royal York.
