Micro Weddings: Anna and Alex

Anna Copeland, a 34-year-old sustainability coordinator, and Alex Harrison, a 43-year-old woodworker, first met in the summer of 2021. Their lives had been intertwined long before: their mothers had been close friends for decades, but it wasn’t until fate—and a bit of matchmaking—brought them together that their love story began. Sparks flew on their first date, and within six months, they moved in together. In 2023, during a romantic stroll through Elora—on their shared April 14 birthday—Alex proposed. That same year, they found their dream home, a mid-century gem that became both their first house together and the perfect venue for their August 2024 wedding. Here’s how their house-hunting and wedding-planning came together.

Anna: Our moms have been close friends for 60 years, and their friend group has these annual catch-ups. In 2021, they decided to play matchmaker since Alex and I were both single. My mom told Alex’s mom, “I think Anna’s going to come,” and Alex’s mom was like, “Then I’ll invite Alex too.” Alex showed up—I didn’t. To be fair, I had no idea about the setup. But Alex knew.

Alex: I thought Anna would be there, so I figured, Why not? I knew all these women from over the years, so either way, it would be a fun day. Meeting Anna would have been a bonus. When she didn’t show, I ended up chatting with her mom and asked if she’d pass along my number. She said, “Just message her on Instagram.” So I did. I wrote, “I heard you were supposed to be there today—was chatting with your mom and thought I’d reach out.”

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Anna: My mom played matchmaker. She told me, “I think you’ll like Alex—he brought his two dogs.” She knows I’m an animal person and saw how much Alex adored his boys. She knew that was something that I would love about him.

Alex: It was very natural from the very beginning. Right away we discovered we shared similar tastes in music, humour and style. Every conversation was like, “Yep, yep, yep.” It all just worked.

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Anna: During one of our chats, he said, “This is a random question, but when is your birthday?” I figured he was scrolling through my Instagram, but when I said, “April 14—why?” he said, “Mine too!” Turns out our moms didn’t even know.

For our first date, in the late summer of 2021, we went for a walk with our dogs. Alex drove up to Bradford from Wellington County, where he lived. It was very comfortable right off the bat.

Alex: I know it sounds clichéd, but the minute I left that afternoon, I thought, “This is it. I just know.” It felt like the start of something real.

Anna: Our moms said we were old souls when describing us to each other. Alex is my best friend. I get excited to call him to share the good parts of my day and to talk about anything. He just makes my life better.

Alex: Humour is a big thing for us—when something funny happens and she isn’t there, I can’t wait to tell her. She’s always on my mind. Anna inspires me to be a better person.

Anna: Six months after our first date, Alex and I got an apartment together in Wellington County. Everything moved quickly because when you know, you know. Why waste time?

Alex: We started house-hunting in early 2023.

Anna: Even finding our house was kismet. Alex’s grandma lived in a retirement community in Elora, and one day, she mentioned that her new neighbour was selling her home in the area.

Alex: We walked by it at first. The property was beautiful, but we weren’t sure. At first we thought it was too small.We didn’t go in until a good friend of mine who had become a real estate agent said, “Why haven’t you checked this house out? It has everything you want—including a spiral staircase.” So we finally went to see it, and I remember looking at Anna, and we both had this knowing “oh shit” moment.

Anna: The house was built in 1957, and the woman selling it was the original owner. It had great bones and a real mid-century feel—we just needed to bring it back to life and make it ours.

Alex: That night at dinner, we told my grandmother we were putting in an offer. She let her neighbour know to watch for it, and that’s how we got the house.

Anna: We also wrote a letter saying we knew she was neighbours with Alex’s grandmother, that we loved her home and could truly see our future there. We submitted the offer with the letter the next day, and soon enough, it was ours. We felt so lucky when she chose us.

Alex: The day we bought the house, my grandmother took a fall and was hospitalized. She passed away three days later, at 97. She lived a beautiful life. It adds another layer of meaning to this house—the last thing she did was help us get it.

Anna: We had been talking about marriage openly, and it was what we both wanted. So in January of 2023, we started casually looking at rings, just seeing what was out there.

Alex: One day, we stopped in to a jewellery shop in Elora—just browsing, nothing serious. A very kind woman working there asked if we were looking for a ring.

Anna: I had given too much thought to it. My style is more vintage, not traditional, and I wasn’t after a big rock. I even joked about thrifting one. I wanted something antique, with some colour.

Alex: Then we saw it—a green sapphire in a pear-shaped setting, surrounded by a diamond halo.

Anna: It was the only one with colour, and green happens to be my favourite. I put it on, we looked at each other, and it just felt right. But I said, “Let’s keep looking and see if anything else catches my eye.” I tried to forget about it so I wouldn’t get too attached.

Alex: I started thinking, Okay, when would I do this? Our shared birthday felt like the perfect day. I didn’t want Anna to suspect anything, so I threw her off—I told her the ring was gone, that someone else had bought it.

Anna: I tried not to show I was disappointed, but it was the only ring I really liked. I just told myself, It’s fine—we’ll find something else.

Alex: In fact, I had gone back the next day and bought it myself. I kept it hidden for months, waiting for the right moment. Our birthday arrived, and we kept it simple—a romantic dinner at our favourite restaurant in Elora, the Friendly Society. Afterward, we went for a walk, and I had a plan. Across the river from the old mill, there’s this half-ruined brick building with a manicured garden where they sometimes hold outdoor weddings. I thought, If I could just casually suggest a stroll here, it would be perfect.

Anna: As soon as we stepped into the ceremony area, I knew. I thought, Oh, is this happening?

Alex: It was exactly how it was meant to be. I said what I needed to say, and it was amazing.

Anna: It was perfect—just the two of us, simple and beautiful. And of course I said yes! We bought the house a month after we were engaged, so wedding planning was put on the back burner. It wasn’t until early winter that we started thinking about it seriously.

Alex: We knew a few things right off the bat: it wasn’t going to be a traditional wedding, and we wanted it small. That opened up unconventional venue options, like a restaurant. We love the Wellington County area, so we started exploring.

Anna: We did a few restaurant interviews, but none felt right. Then one night, after a meeting, I said to Alex, “I think I want it at our house.” And he just said, “Yes!" He’d actually wanted it here the whole time, but I was hesitant. It felt like a lot to take on, being the hosts. We spent the few months leading up to the wedding getting the backyard ready and planting flowers—it was basically empty when we started, so we learned how to garden and figured it out as we went.

Alex: Anna had the vision early on, planting flowers in the spring with a clear idea of what would bloom by the time of the wedding. It was amazing to watch the garden grow day by day, and seeing it all come together was beautiful.

Anna: I knew from the beginning that I wanted a vintage or second-hand dress—something sustainable and low-waste. I found a ’70s gown on Etsy for $100, in my exact size, and bought it on a whim. When it arrived, it fit perfectly. For my second dress, I chose a linen Reformation dress. I loved both of my outfits—one vintage, one from a sustainable brand—which felt so true to me and my values.

Alex: We kept it intimate, about 40 guests, and set up a tent just in case. It rained the day before, but on the day of, the weather turned out perfect.

Anna: Alex is an incredibly talented woodworker. He made a retro sign with our names and our wedding arch, which he strung with lights. He’s amazing at bringing a vision to life, and having those personal touches made the day feel even more special.

Alex: One thing we really wanted was great food and a fun time for our guests. We had a pinball machine, cornhole and mini-putt—the kids were loving it.

Anna: We found our officiant, Maryanne, online. We wanted a ceremony that was quick yet personal, and she completely nailed it. After just a couple of phone calls, she captured our vibe perfectly—incorporating elements like our love for vintage shopping and even quoting a Van Morrison song.

Anna: For food, we went with Pizza Italia, a food truck we’d had before at another event. For cocktail hour, Marycuterie set up the most beautiful tiered grazing table decorated with flowers—it looked like a piece of art. Guests kept saying, “We don’t want to eat it—it’s too beautiful!” And for dessert, we ordered 60 specialty doughnuts from Debrodniks. Everything was from small, local businesses, which made it even more special.

Alex: We did a lot of our wedding decor ourselves. I had a bunch of old vinyl records I didn’t need, so instead of a guest book, we had guests sign them with paint markers.

Anna: We set up a record player with a sign that said, “For the record, please sign the guest book.” I designed labels with little details—our pets’ names and meaningful songs to us—and we had guests sign the records so we could frame them afterward instead of having a traditional guest book. For centrepieces, we repurposed more of Alex’s records, placing flowers I purchased from Michael’s in the middle, along with vases we already had and little disco balls. Now, they’re all around our home as beautiful memories. For party favours, we had custom seed paper printed with our names and wedding date on it, so guests could plant their own wildflowers.

Alex: Two days later, we left for our honeymoon in Scotland.

Anna: We rented a car and spent two weeks driving around, staying in different places along the way. I only booked accommodations—no itinerary, no set plans. It’s not like me to leave things open-ended, but it was perfect. That spontaneity led us to the most incredible routes and made for an amazing honeymoon.

Since the wedding, we’ve continued renovating our home. We’re a really good team: when I have a broad vision, Alex refines it, thinking of specifics I wouldn’t even consider. I’ve been posting our renovation journey on Instagram—it’s been truly beautiful to see the home unfold into the house of our dreams.

Cheat Sheet

Grand total: $9,000 Photography: Brendan Joel, $3,000 Chair, tent, lights and tableware rental: Burke’s Rentals, $1,700 Officiant: Maryanne Paul, $200 Flowers (real and faux): A local greenhouse and Michael’s, $300 Decor: DIY and Michael’s, $100 Party favours: Etsy, $70 Bride’s ceremony dress: Etsy, $100 Bride’s second dress: Reformation, $200 Bride’s veil: Etsy, $80 Bride’s shoes: Etsy, $100 Groom’s tux rental: Moore’s, $200 Pizza truck: Pizza Italia, $1,500 Doughnuts: Debrodniks, $200 Charcuterie: Marycuterie, $800 Alcohol: LCBO, $350