By Michelle Higgins, Bronwen Jervis, Sharon Monuk and Amanda Panacci | Photography by Catherine Farquharson
Date: May 26, 2012 | Location: Piper’s Heath Golf Club, Milton | Guests: 158 | Budget: $40,000
Thomas Gerrard and Nadine Jahangir met in 2009 at a mutual friend’s cottage in Parry Sound. They hit it off immediately, but Thomas, a 34-year-old engineer, lived in Ottawa, while Nadine, a 30-year-old communications professional, was based in Toronto. After a year of daily long-distance phone dates and weekend road trips, Thomas moved to Toronto and the couple started dating in person. He decided to propose two years later over dinner at home, but just as he was about to pull out the ring, the meal was interrupted by Nadine’s brother Omer, who’d just broken up with his girlfriend. “My romantic dinner for two turned into dinner for three. It was a long night,” Thomas admits. He couldn’t wait for the next perfect moment, so he proposed later that night while Nadine was folding clothes. They chose Piper’s Heath Golf Club in Milton as the venue, holding the ceremony outside and moving to the reception hall for dinner. They were married in a traditional Muslim ceremony, but the imam chose Quran passages that dovetailed with Bible verses for Thomas’s Mennonite family. “It was refreshing to have our two faiths come together so beautifully,” says Nadine.
193434 “The officiant was cracking jokes the entire time. People were laughing through the ceremony, and that’s how we wanted it to be” —<em>Nadine</em> (Image: Catherine Farquharson) Real Weddings 2013 | Nadine & Thomas Real Weddings 2013 | Nadine & Thomas https://torontolife.com/wp-content/uploads/2013/02/real-weddings-2013-nadine-and-thomas-intro-96x96.jpg https://torontolife.com/wp-content/uploads/2013/02/real-weddings-2013-nadine-and-thomas-intro.jpg https://torontolife.com/wp-content/uploads/2013/02/real-weddings-2013-nadine-and-thomas-intro.jpg 656 416 [] https://torontolife.com/style/real-weddings-2013-nadine-and-thomas/slide/real-weddings-2013-nadine-and-thomas-intro/ real-weddings-2013-nadine-and-thomas-intro 0 0
(Image: Catherine Farquharson)
193424 (Image: Catherine Farquharson) Real Weddings 2013 | Nadine & Thomas Real Weddings 2013 | Nadine & Thomas https://torontolife.com/wp-content/uploads/2013/02/real-weddings-2013-nadine-and-thomas-01-96x96.jpg https://torontolife.com/wp-content/uploads/2013/02/real-weddings-2013-nadine-and-thomas-01.jpg https://torontolife.com/wp-content/uploads/2013/02/real-weddings-2013-nadine-and-thomas-01.jpg 624 416 [] https://torontolife.com/style/real-weddings-2013-nadine-and-thomas/slide/real-weddings-2013-nadine-and-thomas-01/ real-weddings-2013-nadine-and-thomas-01 0 0
(Image: Catherine Farquharson)
193425 Thomas’s nieces, Grace and Alice, were the flower girls, donning shalwar kameezes that matched the colour scheme (Image: Catherine Farquharson) Real Weddings 2013 | Nadine & Thomas Real Weddings 2013 | Nadine & Thomas https://torontolife.com/wp-content/uploads/2013/02/real-weddings-2013-nadine-and-thomas-02-96x96.jpg https://torontolife.com/wp-content/uploads/2013/02/real-weddings-2013-nadine-and-thomas-02.jpg https://torontolife.com/wp-content/uploads/2013/02/real-weddings-2013-nadine-and-thomas-02.jpg 624 416 [] https://torontolife.com/style/real-weddings-2013-nadine-and-thomas/slide/real-weddings-2013-nadine-and-thomas-02/ real-weddings-2013-nadine-and-thomas-02 0 0
(Image: Catherine Farquharson)
193426 At the traditional Bengali turmeric ceremony before the wedding, family and friends blessed the bride and groom by daubing turmeric paste on their foreheads (Image: Catherine Farquharson) Real Weddings 2013 | Nadine & Thomas Real Weddings 2013 | Nadine & Thomas https://torontolife.com/wp-content/uploads/2013/02/real-weddings-2013-nadine-and-thomas-03-96x96.jpg https://torontolife.com/wp-content/uploads/2013/02/real-weddings-2013-nadine-and-thomas-03.jpg https://torontolife.com/wp-content/uploads/2013/02/real-weddings-2013-nadine-and-thomas-03.jpg 624 416 [] https://torontolife.com/style/real-weddings-2013-nadine-and-thomas/slide/real-weddings-2013-nadine-and-thomas-03/ real-weddings-2013-nadine-and-thomas-03 0 0
(Image: Catherine Farquharson)
193427 (Image: Catherine Farquharson) Real Weddings 2013 | Nadine & Thomas Real Weddings 2013 | Nadine & Thomas https://torontolife.com/wp-content/uploads/2013/02/real-weddings-2013-nadine-and-thomas-04-96x96.jpg https://torontolife.com/wp-content/uploads/2013/02/real-weddings-2013-nadine-and-thomas-04.jpg https://torontolife.com/wp-content/uploads/2013/02/real-weddings-2013-nadine-and-thomas-04.jpg 624 416 [] https://torontolife.com/style/real-weddings-2013-nadine-and-thomas/slide/real-weddings-2013-nadine-and-thomas-04/ real-weddings-2013-nadine-and-thomas-04 0 0
(Image: Catherine Farquharson)
193428 The pair gave out jars of honey as party favours, with Johnny Cash lyrics printed on the labels (Image: Catherine Farquharson) Real Weddings 2013 | Nadine & Thomas Real Weddings 2013 | Nadine & Thomas https://torontolife.com/wp-content/uploads/2013/02/real-weddings-2013-nadine-and-thomas-05-96x96.jpg https://torontolife.com/wp-content/uploads/2013/02/real-weddings-2013-nadine-and-thomas-05.jpg https://torontolife.com/wp-content/uploads/2013/02/real-weddings-2013-nadine-and-thomas-05.jpg 416 624 [] https://torontolife.com/style/real-weddings-2013-nadine-and-thomas/slide/real-weddings-2013-nadine-and-thomas-05/ real-weddings-2013-nadine-and-thomas-05 0 0
(Image: Catherine Farquharson)
193432 They placed their wedding bands in a book of love poems bookmarked to Leonard Cohen’s “Dance Me to the End of Love” (Image: Catherine Farquharson) Real Weddings 2013 | Nadine & Thomas Real Weddings 2013 | Nadine & Thomas https://torontolife.com/wp-content/uploads/2013/02/real-weddings-2013-nadine-and-thomas-09-96x96.jpg https://torontolife.com/wp-content/uploads/2013/02/real-weddings-2013-nadine-and-thomas-09.jpg https://torontolife.com/wp-content/uploads/2013/02/real-weddings-2013-nadine-and-thomas-09.jpg 416 624 [] https://torontolife.com/style/real-weddings-2013-nadine-and-thomas/slide/real-weddings-2013-nadine-and-thomas-09/ real-weddings-2013-nadine-and-thomas-09 0 0
(Image: Catherine Farquharson)
193431 The couple skipped the garter toss in favour of a South Asian ritual: the groom’s name is hidden in the bride’s henna (for him to find on the wedding night) (Image: Catherine Farquharson) Real Weddings 2013 | Nadine & Thomas Real Weddings 2013 | Nadine & Thomas https://torontolife.com/wp-content/uploads/2013/02/real-weddings-2013-nadine-and-thomas-08-96x96.jpg https://torontolife.com/wp-content/uploads/2013/02/real-weddings-2013-nadine-and-thomas-08.jpg https://torontolife.com/wp-content/uploads/2013/02/real-weddings-2013-nadine-and-thomas-08.jpg 416 624 [] https://torontolife.com/style/real-weddings-2013-nadine-and-thomas/slide/real-weddings-2013-nadine-and-thomas-08/ real-weddings-2013-nadine-and-thomas-08 0 0
(Image: Catherine Farquharson)
193430 (Image: Catherine Farquharson) Real Weddings 2013 | Nadine & Thomas Real Weddings 2013 | Nadine & Thomas https://torontolife.com/wp-content/uploads/2013/02/real-weddings-2013-nadine-and-thomas-07-96x96.jpg https://torontolife.com/wp-content/uploads/2013/02/real-weddings-2013-nadine-and-thomas-07.jpg https://torontolife.com/wp-content/uploads/2013/02/real-weddings-2013-nadine-and-thomas-07.jpg 416 624 [] https://torontolife.com/style/real-weddings-2013-nadine-and-thomas/slide/real-weddings-2013-nadine-and-thomas-07/ real-weddings-2013-nadine-and-thomas-07 0 0
(Image: Catherine Farquharson)
193429 Guests at the turmeric ceremony feasted on butter chicken, paneer, naan and biryani. It was catered by Avani, but guests also brought potluck dishes (Image: Catherine Farquharson) Real Weddings 2013 | Nadine & Thomas Real Weddings 2013 | Nadine & Thomas https://torontolife.com/wp-content/uploads/2013/02/real-weddings-2013-nadine-and-thomas-06-96x96.jpg https://torontolife.com/wp-content/uploads/2013/02/real-weddings-2013-nadine-and-thomas-06.jpg https://torontolife.com/wp-content/uploads/2013/02/real-weddings-2013-nadine-and-thomas-06.jpg 624 416 [] https://torontolife.com/style/real-weddings-2013-nadine-and-thomas/slide/real-weddings-2013-nadine-and-thomas-06/ real-weddings-2013-nadine-and-thomas-06 0 0
(Image: Catherine Farquharson)
193433 <p><strong>PHOTOGRAPHER</strong><br /><br />
Catherine Farquharson</p><br />
<p><strong>BRIDE’S DRESS</strong><br /><br />
Jamayz</p><br />
<p><strong>GROOM’S ATTIRE</strong><br /><br />
Mexx</p><br />
<p><strong>VENUE AND CATERER</strong><br /><br />
Piper’s Heath Golf Club in Milton</p><br />
<p><strong>CAKE</strong><br /><br />
Dufflet</p><br />
<p><strong>FLOWERS</strong><br /><br />
April Showers</p><br />
<p><strong>MUSIC</strong><br /><br />
Impact Entertainment</p> (Image: Catherine Farquharson) Real Weddings 2013 | Nadine & Thomas Real Weddings 2013 | Nadine & Thomas https://torontolife.com/wp-content/uploads/2013/02/real-weddings-2013-nadine-and-thomas-10-96x96.jpg https://torontolife.com/wp-content/uploads/2013/02/real-weddings-2013-nadine-and-thomas-10.jpg https://torontolife.com/wp-content/uploads/2013/02/real-weddings-2013-nadine-and-thomas-10.jpg 416 624 [] https://torontolife.com/style/real-weddings-2013-nadine-and-thomas/slide/real-weddings-2013-nadine-and-thomas-10/ real-weddings-2013-nadine-and-thomas-10 0 0
(Image: Catherine Farquharson)