Lis Simon Bride Ashley
Our Winter Love Story
For the month of February, we have chosen our Lis Simon Bride Ashley who chose to wear our dearest Liam.
T H E L O V E S T O R Y
Four and half years ago, a friendship between two kind souls bloomed into love. These souls were named: Ashley and Matt who happened to spend their time travelling together, gotten a dog, and has built their first home together, “I couldn't have hand picked a better person to spend the rest of my life with!”.
T H E P R O P O S A L
December 23rd, 2019“My now husband and I built our first home together in 2019, it was a crazy year of big decisions and though we had lived together in the time leading up to finally moving into our own home, we were excited for the next chapter in our lives!”
December 19th was the closing date of their house and couple immediately moved in – they managed to set up a Christmas tree and perfectly settled before Christmas. Ashley and Matt lives in Newfoundland where “Tibbs Eve’” happens to be a Christmas tradition among most Newfoundlanders, “it is a fun night of partying to start the holiday season!”.
The couple traditionally hosts a party on the 23rd of December, during that night, before everyone arrives, Matt called Ashley regarding their “one last ornament to hang on their tree”. Originally, she thought it was just an ordinary ornament to celebrate their first Christmas in their new home – little did she know, it was a heart shaped ornament that read “Our First Christmas Engaged”. “It was perfect, completely unexpected & an amazing surprise. I was in complete shock and decided as each guest showed up to our party, I wouldn't say anything, I'd just let them notice my ring as a surprise. Needless to say, we had quite the party that night!”
T H E D R E S S
“My dress shopping experience was absolutely amazing!”
Ashley purchased her custom gown at The Ivory Suite, “The girls there are the best and were beyond helpful during my entire experience. They made me feel beautiful and were my true hype squad along with my bridal party and family”.
T H E W E D D I N G A N D R E C E P T I O N
December 31st, 2020 at The Delta Hotels by Marriott St John’sThe venue was in a lovely open area with floor to ceiling windows, filled with natural lights and Christmas accents. Unfortunately, due to Covid-19, their reception took a slight turn than they initially anticipated. A casual laid back cocktail style reception was the original plan, however, because of the province guidelines, it was shifted to a 5 course sit down dinner.
“We are now so happy with our decision to make that change as the vibe turned to a fancy dinner party with great food, wine, music & some of our closest friends and family”.
During the meal, speeches were made by family and friends, alongside with a surprised video prepared by her best friend – a heartfelt congratulatory messages from all their family and friends who was not able to attend the party. “We then had our first dances; I was so lucky to ring in the New Year in such a fun way with a new last name!”
Highlights from your wedding day“The entire day I am still in awe over, it was perfect in every way even during a global pandemic!”
Sparklers! The couple had a “let love sparkle” accent that was perfect for photos and became the highlight of their NYE theme. Seize the moment was the perfect quote to describe Ashley’s overall feeling – a moment to breathe and take it all in: “It goes by in a flash, it’s here and gone before you know it, so I found taking the time to just be present really special!”.
Preparations and Inspirations“Our wedding was New Year’s Eve, but I was very adamant that I didn't want too much glitz and glam”.
It was a classy black tie event theme with a NYE flair. Black table linens, ivory chairs, gold accents with ivory/greenery and floating candles were the highlight and finishing touches of the venue.
“My inspo was 100% my fellow 2020 brides, and best friends + a little bit of Pinterest here and there!”
The year 2020 for Ashley was a big year of weddings among her circle of friends. “Aside from my own wedding I was a bridesmaid in 4 others – it would have been 6 if it weren’t for Covid postponements and travel restrictions!”. Fun fact: 2/4 of her friends wore a Lis Simon dress too! How cool is that?!
HoneymoonWe had plans of travelling to Europe, or on a cruise somewhere in the sun and heat but 2020/2021 had other plans!
The couple decided to spend 1.5 weeks together going to dinners and mini staycations nearby their area. Once everything goes back to normal, as promised, they will do a “proper honeymoon and travel to a bucket list destination”.
W O R D S F R O M T H E B R I D E
My tip as a bride that planned a wedding in only a year & during a global pandemic, would be to not postpone your wedding unless you absolutely HAVE to! Making sacrifices is tough, but at the end of the day the only thing that matters is you & your groom! If you can do it, do it!
p.s: I just want to end off saying that Newfoundland is in a very fortunate spot when it comes to Covid-19 cases right now as well as during the time of our wedding, so we were lucky to have somewhat of a “normal” wedding. I know that what we were allowed, most places in the Country are unfortunately not, due to rising cases of covid and lockdowns. We followed all of our province's restrictions and guidelines for a formal event, and still managed to have such a wonderful time!
Special thanks to:
AMAZING !! I wouldn't have had such an amazing day if it weren't for each and every one of my vendors.
Bridal Boutique: The Ivory Suite
Photographer: White Willow Photography - Apryl Stead & Dave Pitts
Makeup: Allison Best Makeup Artistry
Hair: Mobile Hair by Allison - Allison Kent
Flowers: All events florals
Decorator: Fairytales Wedding and Event Decorating
… to name a few! We had many more that contributed to making our day perfect.
