5 Duke of Cornwall Dr. Markham ON [email protected]

Katherine Lalancette and Philippe Vézina have an epic love story that began close to two decades ago when they were teenagers and met a party. “I remember thinking he was cute, and he apparently thought the same thing,” says Katherine. “We later crossed paths at CEGEP—the two years of schooling in Quebec between high-school and university—and at a few social gatherings over the years. But every time we ran into each other, we were both always in relationships.”

That all changed when they attended a mutual friend’s birthday party in 2017 when they happened to both be single. As Katherine shares, on that fateful night, the sparks flew and she felt like she was 16 all over again. “We fell in love very quickly.”

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Katherine and Phil’s intimate lakeside wedding felt like a family vacation at the beach. They invited just 24 guests to join them on the day. Photo: Alex Dozois

The couple’s intense, fast-tracked romance had them travelling to Paris and Berlin three months after their first date; adopting a rescue kitten they named Neukölln after the Berlin neighbourhood they stayed in on their trip; and moving in together shortly after. They relocated from Montreal to Toronto after less than a year of dating when Katherine was offered her dream job at The Kit. “The move brought us even closer together,” says Katherine. “We spent our weekends exploring the city and going on road trips all over Ontario. It was a really special time, just the two of us in a 450-square-foot apartment in a new city with our cat with the weird German name!”

When the pandemic hit, Katherine and Phil returned home to Montreal to be closer to their families. In October 2021, Phil proposed to Katherine during a holiday in Palm Springs in a moment that was wonderfully relaxed and intimate. “It was the first day of our trip, and we’d spent it reading by the the hotel pool and sipping mezcal margaritas,” says Katherine. “After a little nap in our room—I just love a vacation nap—I woke up to Phil holding a ring box. We went to dinner to celebrate and capped off the evening with a midnight dip in the hotel hot tub.”

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Katherine’s childhood friend, Véronique, officiated the ceremony. Photo: Alex Dozois

For their June wedding, Katherine and Phil wanted a day small in scale, easy in feeling and full of love. They invited 24 guests to join them for their lakeside cottage wedding, which felt a bit like a family beach vacation. They found a beautiful Airbnb in Brome County in Quebec’s Eastern Townships, the same area where Katherine’s great-great-grandparents were married. The bride’s parents walked her down the aisle, preceded by Phil’s four nephews, the adorable ring bearers. The couple’s wedding ceremony was officiated by Katherine’s close childhood friend Véronique. Standing as witnesses were two more close friends of the couple, Fanny and Julien, who also happen to be married to each other. 

“We wrote our own vows and choked up reading them,” says Katherine. “Afterwards, everyone tossed confetti—I found some biodegradable dots from a local vendor on Etsy—and sipped champagne in vintage coupes. We felt surrounded by so much love. It was the most incredible feeling ever.”

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“My great-great-grandparents got married in Brome County, so I thought it’d be kind of neat if we got married there, too,” says Katherine. “Our venue had the most picturesque location, overlooking Lake Brome.” Photo: Alex Dozois

In a day filled with sentimental touches, Katherine’s wedding dress was the most meaningful choice of all. The vintage gown was first worn by her great-great-grandmother Hannah when she married Katherine’s great-great-grandfather George in 1911. As a child, Katherine always marvelled at the beauty of the gauzy Edwardian gown, which hung on her grandmother’s bedroom wall.

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Katherine with a photograph of her great-great-grandparents. For her ceremony, Katherine wore her great-great-grandmother Hannah’s 111-year-old wedding dress. Photo: Alex Dozois

“I was always fascinated by the dress and its scalloped hemline and dainty, hand-embroidered flowers,” explains Katherine. “My grandmother let me try it on once when I was around 12 or 13, and I felt like Rose from Titanic.”

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Katherine’s vintage dress was in the very best of condition and needed just a few minor alterations. Photo: Alex Dozois

From the moment she was engaged, Katherine knew she would wear Hannah’s dress. She found a seamstress, Eugenia, who specialized in vintage garments to do some ever-so-slight alterations to the wedding dress. “Eugenia could not believe what amazing condition this over 100-year-old dress was in,” says Katherine. “It needed a little work at the waistband, which was a very teensy 16 inches—apparently the norm in those corseted times.” Eugenia expanded the waist with some vintage lace (which belonged to her own great-grandmother), and the dress tweak ended up being totally undetectable.

 

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The gauzy vintage dress, covered in intricate hand-embroidered flowers. Photo: Alex Dozois

Katherine contrasted her vintage gown with more modern touches, slipping on chic ruched mules, an airy handmade veil from Loversland, freshwater pearl earrings from Biko and a bevy of rings, including some vintage ones her mom used to wear and a new addition from Mejuri she picked up while selecting Phil’s wedding band. Her relaxed beauty look (read all the particulars here) matched the day’s laidback, vintage feel, consisting of loose waves and soft, ’60s-inspired makeup.

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“Decor-wise, we played into the cottage’s vintage, rustic charm, mixing family heirlooms and thrift-shop treasures,” says Katherine. “There were casually rumpled white linen runners, sprigs of wildflowers in soft, pale tones. On the floral note, our florist, Mary, might be the coolest person I’ve ever met!” Photo: Alex Dozois

On the decor front, Katherine highlights the wildflower arrangements—created by the couple’s florist, Mary—as a standout detail. Mary fully realized Katherine and Phil’s breezy vision, using sustainably sourced blooms that looked like they’d been casually gathered on a country stroll. “She lined the aisle with old metal buckets teeming with baby’s breath, placed wildflower garlands over the fireplace and, as a surprise to us, created a gorgeous installation to hang on the patio posts where we had our ceremony. Mary puts so much heart into everything she does. She made our wedding more beautiful than we could ever have imagined.”

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Katherine changed into a second dress—a Jane Birkin-inspired crochet dress by Reformation—for evening dinner and dancing. Photo: Alex Dozois

In keeping with the summer vacation theme, the couple’s wedding menu featured lobster rolls served with kettle chips and butter lettuce salad. Strawberry shortcake followed, as did a first dance, then a change into swimsuits for a newlywed dip. “Afterwards, everyone changed into comfy clothes—I even got a white sweatsuit for the occasion—and we gathered to watch the sunset on the lake. We stayed out talking, singing and nibbling on charcuterie boards until the wee hours.”

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Katherine and Phil take the plunge for a lake swim on their big day. Photo: Alex Dozois

As a second act to their perfect day, Katherine and Phil hosted another party two weeks later at a favourite Montreal restaurant. They invited 50 friends to join them and celebrated with great food, live music, trivia games and karaoke.

Highlight Reel

Select standouts from Katherine and Phil’s big day

The second dress

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Photo: Alex Dozois

Since she didn’t want to risk damaging her great-great-grandmother’s wedding gown, Katherine changed into a chic ’60s-inspired crochet dress by Reformation for her reception. “I’ve always had a soft spot for Jane Birkin’s style, particularly her penchant for crochet,” says Katherine. “I had a fantasy of unearthing the perfect vintage dress, but my thrift-store scouring proved fruitless. I just happened to find the ideal dress online from Reformation—backless, with long sleeves and just the right amount of skin showing. It was super comfortable for dancing, and I scattered tiny, dried blooms in my hair to fully lean into the flower child vibes.”

The cake

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Photo: Alex Dozois

“I’m still dreaming about our cake,” says Katherine with a smile. “Montreal bakery Bernice created a decadent take on a strawberry shortcake: layers of dense vanilla sponge slathered with divinely thick mascarpone cream and sprinkled with fresh field strawberries. They only make it in the summer, so I plan on ordering a mini version for our first anniversary.”

The superstition

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Photo: Alex Dozois

“Before our wedding, I read a Southern tradition that states if you bury a bottle of bourbon upside down a month before your wedding day you will have good weather,” says Katherine, with a laugh. “We had our hearts set on getting married outside, so I thought it was worth a shot. We buried it in my parents’ backyard, and it worked! The forecast predicted rain up until the very last second, but when the time arrived, we had nothing but blue skies and sunshine.”

Katherine and Phillipe’s wedding directory

Wedding dresses: Vintage and Reformation
Dress alterations: Alterations Villeray
Veil: Loversland
Shoes: L’Intervalle
Earrings: Biko
Rings: Mejuri, Myel and Bluboho
Groom’s suit: Tiger of Sweden
Groom’s wedding band: Mejuri
Flowers: RoseMary
Cake: Bernice
Photographer: Alex Dozios

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