When Jennifer and Patrick went to look at Nature's Oasis Retreat knew they had found THE place. It was the perfect spot to host their rustic outdoor wedding. It completely complimented their colour palette of burnt orange, white and lot's of greenery.

COUPLE: Jennifer & Patrick

DATE: September 23, 2023

GUEST #: 105

CEREMONY & RECEPTION LOCATION: Nature's Oasis Retreat "We were given this location as an amazing option for our day by a coworker of the Jennifer's. We had multiple showings booked; however when we arrived at Natures Oasis we were in love! The owners, Nikki and Steve were fantastic from the moment we met and the venue had everything we were looking for, and more! It helped dictate our theme of rustic outdoor wedding." - P

PHOTOGRAPHER: Parallel Productions Inc. "We started watching wedding videos online to gather ideas and came across more and more of parallel productions work. After numerous views of their videos, we were hooked and decided to reach out. Branden and his team were quick in their response and were offering everything that we had imagined.

We had them shoot our engagement photos in the winter at our wedding venue and they turned out absolutely amazing. This allowed them to get a layout of the land and ideas for the wedding day as well. Working with this team was fun, easy and made for stress-free photos that reflected who we are. Our favourite part of photos were the first look as this was one of the only moments we shared over the course of the day.

It allowed us to slow down and take a few moments with each other. The second highlight was in the tunnel of trees, these photos capture us outdoors and in nature. They completely captured the rustic outdoor wedding vibes we were going for." - J&P

COLOUR PALETTE: "The theme we were going for was a rustic outdoor wedding with a relaxed vibe; as this is who we are! We chose florals with burnt orange, white and lots of greenery. The bridesmaids dresses were picked to compliment these colours and we added some deep fall colours to coordinate. We added greenery to the ceremony site, tables and place settings as well to tie it all together." - P

TELL US YOUR STORY!: "Our journey started in August of 2017, when we were “set up” by my roommate at the time. Meeting in person for the first time on September 21st we embarked on our first date! It could not have gone any better and we didn’t want the night to end! We lived about 45 minutes away from each other so we chatted on the phone each day for months and made plans to see each other as often as we could with our busy schedules.

Our first big “date” was to a Detroit Lions football game and it turned out to be an amazing day; even though I knew nothing about the game at the time. Over the next three years, we shared many adventures all over the world, including hiking the Dolomites in Italy , a birthday celebration in Austria and completing the Chilkoot trail in the Yukon. We have shared many memories together , and brought two families into one, both having teenage daughters at the time. We also adopted our first pet; a Bengal Cat who also shares our love of the outdoors!

Patrick finally popped the question on December 31, 2020 after being heckled by our family all evening that it was about time! His niece even grabbed a candy ring pop and asked her uncle Patrick to use this one if he didn’t have a ring. Little did they know he had the ring in his pocket and was ready to ask that same night! I was so excited and shocked that I forgot to answer the question, leaving Patrick to ask one more time, this time the answer was yes!" - J

CAKE: In the Mix Cakes

DECOR: A&B Event and Tent Rentals

FLORAL: Time4flowers "The flowers screamed rustic outdoor wedding! We loved them." - J

BRIDE'S ATTIRE: Sew Stylish Wedding Works

GROOM'S ATTIRE: Paul Puncher

BRIDESMAIDS ATTIRE: David’s Bridal

GROOMSMEN ATTIRE: The Mens Shoppe

DJ: AK Productions

MUSICIAN: Joe Borowsky Music

HAIR & MAKEUP: Blush

WEDDING PLANNER: Unmistakably You

CATERING: Tia’s Place

BIGGEST CHALLENGE: "Again, having over two years to plan definitely gave us time however, the world during this time was very uncertain. Finding a caterer was our biggest challenge as most were not providing quotes so far in advance due to the uncertainty in the world. We are very much planners, and to us this was definitely a challenge, trying to find somebody who would commit to us so far out. We landed on Tia catering who provided us with an amazing meal and also a great friendship at the end of the day." - J

BEST MEMORY: "I really do feel like it’s hard to just say one thing but it was very heartwarming to have our family and friends share our day and to see the happiness on their faces as we shared with them the love that we have for each other. While watching videos beforehand, we got the idea for a mashup first dance and this turned out to be a hit and set the tone for the entire reception.

I would say this was one of the greatest memories. Combining our blended family together was also something that was amazing as both of our daughters were able to share our special day and stand up with us as part of our wedding party. My daughter also walked me down the aisle. Acoustic music during our ceremony was definitely a great memory. Patrick's aunt and cousin surprising us with their acoustic version of Free Falling before the reception began also a great hit!" - J

ADVICE FROM ONE COUPLE TO ANOTHER: "Don’t stress. Whatever happens, happens and it’s all part of the memories that you will make on the day of your wedding. The expectations that you both have for the day are yours, and your guests will have no idea if something is not quite perfect. Life isn’t perfect. Just roll with it!" - J&P

See this rustic outdoor wedding article in the Fall/Winter 2024 issue of The Wedding Ring Magazine

FIND OUT MORE ABOUT PARALLEL PRODUCTIONS INC. | To speak with Parallel Productions Inc. about your wedding options, you can reach them using the form below.