Micro Weddings: Vlad and Kate

Vlad Dumitrescu, a 32-year-old data scientist, met Kate Lee, a 32-year-old marketing manager, in 2016. They matched on Tinder while both living in South Korea. By 2019, they had relocated to Toronto, where Vlad grew up. He proposed during a summer staycation at Hotel X, and they rented a house in Little Portugal for a 10-person backyard wedding in May of 2024 followed by brunch at Good Fork. Here’s how it all came together.

Vlad: I’m from North York, but in 2015 I moved to Sejong, a countryside town three hours south of Seoul, to teach English. One weekend in 2016, a group of my friends took a trip to Seoul. I was newly on Tinder at the time, but during that trip, my friends had my phone and were swiping just for fun.

Related: Inside a colourful backyard ceremony with Western-inspired outfits

Kate: I was born and raised in Seoul. I was also pretty new to Tinder, and I wasn’t really looking for anything serious. I wasn’t having much luck with dating in general and was close to giving up on the apps. Then I matched with Vlad. It was pretty serendipitous—I had a tight radius of how far I was willing to go to meet people, and he wasn’t usually in my area. So it was really by chance that we were both on the app at the same time. I liked that Vlad hiked and had an octopus tattoo on his leg, which I thought was cool. I figured he was active and edgy.

Vlad: Later that night, I opened my phone and saw that I had a Tinder match, which was Kate. We started texting and I quickly realized that she was super witty.

Kate: In our initial texts, we geeked out about Game of Thrones because it was really popular at the time.

Vlad: Two weeks after we matched, Kate and I planned a hangout in Seoul. We got pizza and beer, then we went to a dance club. We spoke a lot about what to do in Seoul and the experience of living abroad. Kate had recently done a stint in New Zealand.

Kate: Right away, I felt super comfortable with Vlad. Usually I don’t drink that much, but I didn’t feel self-conscious.

Vlad: Our first date was actually the most I’ve ever seen Kate drink. It was a fun time. There was no awkwardness at all. Just positive vibes. It felt like we already knew each other.

Kate: After that, Vlad came to Seoul every weekend for our dates.

Vlad: Kate brought me to all the hidden gems and neighbourhoods you’d never know to visit, like the Gwangjang Market, for vintage clothing, and the Seoul Folk Flea Market, which has retro houseware and cameras.

Kate: I also started visiting Vlad in Sejong. I’d actually never been there before. We’d rent a car to drive around and explore the countryside together.

Vlad: Originally, I’d planned to move back to Toronto in 2017. But, after meeting Kate, I wanted to give our relationship a chance. So, six months after we met, I found a job in Seoul and we moved into a rental apartment together.

Kate: Our relationship progressed quickly. We were still in the early stages of dating, but at the same time, it felt really natural to try living together. We were having a great time.

Vlad: That year, Kate and I also visited Toronto. She got to meet my family and friends.

Kate: I had such a good time. It was a beautiful summer. After that, we started entertaining the idea of moving to Toronto for a few years.

Vlad: I was starting to feel homesick. In 2019, we decided to take the plunge and relocate.

Kate: It was a challenging time. It felt like starting from scratch because we had to find new jobs and get a new place. The cost of living in Toronto is a lot higher than it is back home. But we ended up finding a great apartment in the Annex. Vlad went back to school to study data science. Luckily, I got a marketing job within a few months.

Vlad: It was daunting, but it was also a testament to how strong our relationship was. We got through those tough moments together. After that, it felt like we could tackle anything.

Kate: We were only going to stay in Toronto for a few years, but then Covid hit. At the same time, we started talking more seriously about marriage. I’d considered Vlad my life partner for a while, but marriage was never a priority for me. As I started to consider our move back to Korea, though, I thought it would be practical for us to be legally married.

Vlad: I was a bit more sentimental about it. I’d seen some friends get engaged and married, and that lit a fire under me. By the summer of 2022, we picked out a yellow-gold band for me and a Portuguese-cut single diamond on yellow gold for Kate. I waited a whole year to propose, though. On our seventh anniversary, in June of 2023, we booked a room at Hotel X for a one-night staycation. While we were up at the rooftop pool, I got the hotel staff to decorate our room with rose petals and flowers.

Related: Inside an upbeat celebration at the Gladstone House

Kate: When I saw our room, I thought it was just a sweet thing for our anniversary. Then Vlad got down on one knee and pulled out the ring. It was a really emotional moment. We were both crying together, and I felt really happy.

Vlad: We went back and forth for a while about how to approach the wedding. Initially, Kate just wanted a civil ceremony, but I wanted something more formal.

Kate: My parents still hadn’t visited me in Canada. We thought it would be nice for them to do a trip, so we landed on having a wedding ceremony during that same week. We wanted it to be small and easy. I didn’t want my family to feel isolated because of the language barrier, but I didn’t want to have to babysit them the whole time. We decided on a simple family-only wedding with just ten guests: our parents and step-parents, my sister and Vlad’s godparents.

Vlad: We didn’t opt for a small wedding specifically to save money. But because we wanted to keep it small anyway, it was more of a budget-friendly DIY affair. We liked the idea of a backyard wedding, so we figured we’d rent a whole house on Airbnb. That way, we could stay together with Kate’s parents for the week while also using it as a place to get married. We chose a house in Little Portugal.

Kate: Vlad and I started a Pinterest board to gather ideas for decor. The vision was vintage and rustic.

Vlad: I knew I wanted a baby blue jacket. We scoured thrift stores in every corner of Toronto, but I couldn’t find what we wanted. So I ended up on Poshmark, where I bought a baby blue jacket from a vintage collector for $200. The jacket was from the ’70s, and it was a bit too big, but I got it altered for $70. I wore it with a pair of nice suit pants that I already had in my closet.

Kate: I also found my dress on Poshmark. I didn’t want a traditional wedding dress that was long and sweeping. So I chose a simple dress with a square-cut neckline and a lace pattern all over it. It cost $300, and it was a bit too big, so I also got it altered. That cost $80. Then I bought my veil from Amazon for $20.

Vlad: For photography, we hired a friend of a friend. She had reasonable rates—$900 for four hours— and was able to take film photos for a vintage look.

Kate: The week of our wedding was actually really busy. We were showing my parents all around the Toronto area. Two days before the ceremony, we drove to Niagara Falls. While we were there, we passed by a Michaels store, and in a spur-of-the-moment decision, we bought a bunch of artificial flowers for the wedding.

Vlad: We knew it was going to be a headache to work with a florist for such a small-scale event, but the artificial flowers we found were perfect. We spent $300 and cleared out their shelves.

Kate: I made a bouquet and a floral crown, then we decorated the backyard with the rest.

Vlad: I put most of them around a tree in the backyard that we planned to use as our altar.

Kate: Vlad and I decided to stay at our place the night before the wedding so we could get a good night’s sleep and get ready at our own apartment. When we returned to the Airbnb in Little Portugal the morning of the wedding, the wind had blown a bunch of flower petals from a nearby tree onto the ground. It felt like the universe was blessing us.

Vlad: I made the last-minute decision to put our wedding on Instagram Live so that all of our friends could attend virtually. People started chatting and sending us messages, which was nice. I also picked an orange flower out of the garden that morning and put it in my jacket pocket as a corsage. It looked great with the baby blue.

Kate: The weather was sunny and there were flower petals flying around everywhere. I felt really excited but also kind of nervous, because I didn’t know how the day was going to go.

Vlad: I was pretty stressed—there was a lot going on. I was trying to wrangle all my family members into arriving on time. Our families hadn’t met before. But, in the end, everyone was in great spirits.

Kate: Before the ceremony, we took photos around the house and backyard. Our families had a bit of a cocktail hour.

Vlad: Our officiant was great. She did a good job of holding everyone’s attention. I did get a little emotional when I said, “I do.” It felt like another shift in our relationship. We were entering a new chapter together.

Kate: I got a little emotional and teary too. Vlad has always been my person, but I was declaring that he’s my person forever. It was official. Then, right after the ceremony, it started raining, which apparently is a good omen.

Vlad: After the ceremony, we went to a brunch spot in Little Portugal called Good Fork, which does Lebanese and Middle Eastern breakfast food. We pre-ordered some family style platters, and everyone had their own mains. Plus there were endless mimosas. After brunch, we went back to the house for more champagne and cake—a pistachio raspberry from Butter Baker. The cake cost $100. My family trickled out around 5 p.m., and we spent the evening with Kate’s family at the house.

Kate: I felt such huge relief at the end of the day, like a weight was lifted off my shoulders.

Vlad: I felt the same way. It was over, and everything had been exactly the way we wanted.

Kate: Right after the wedding, we took a weekend trip to a cottage on the Bruce Peninsula. It was a nice little break and a gift to ourselves. It doesn’t feel much different to be married. I think I have more patience with Vlad. I can get pretty cranky, but now I understand that he’s my husband, so I don’t get as frustrated with him as I used to.

Vlad: I’m more patient too, especially when it comes to any disagreements. It’s like, Wait a minute, we’re officially a team now. We have a responsibility to each other.

Kate: Since getting married, we’re looking more seriously at our road map and thinking about our future. We’re planning to have a bit of a hybrid living situation where we go back and forth between Korea and Toronto.

Vlad: We’d like to start a family and have kids, and it’s important for us that they grow up around some Korean culture. But, at the same time, Toronto will always be one of our homes. It’s a very special place for us.

Grand total: $4,530

Date: May 3, 2024 Photography: $900, Kelsi Gayda of Toujours Wedding Photography Ceremony venue: $1,140 for two nights in an Airbnb house rental in Little Portugal Officiant: $300, Anne Houston Decor: $300 for fake flowers from Michaels Cake: $100 from Butter Baker Champagne: $50 for two bottles from the LCBO Bride’s dress: $300 from Poshmark Dress alterations: $80 Bride’s veil: $20 from Amazon Bride’s shoes: $70 from a Korean department store Groom’s jacket: $200 from Poshmark Jacket alterations: $70 Brunch reception: $1,000 at Good Fork