It’s that time again – wedding planners from across Canada gathered to attend the 2020 WPIC Kick Off & WPIC Wedding Awards! Each year the well-thought-out theme and design are seamlessly executed by the WPIC leadership team, and guests are left inspired and energized for a busy season ahead. This year’s theme, Let Them Eat Cake, featured a cast of luxury vendors from across the Greater Toronto Area. Typically Danielle (The Wedding Planners) and Tracey (Tracey M Events) of The Wedding Planners Institute of Canada host the kick off in different stylish venues across the city, and this year we were delighted to visit The Waterside Inn in Mississauga. This charming boutique-style venue is right on the waterfront and has a lovely ballroom full of natural light. Magic Vision Photography captures the details for us.
Patricia's Cake Creations, a top wedding cake and sweets artist in Toronto generously designed multiple cakes to complement the theme, and each table featured one of Patricia’s unique creations, including a full sweet bar and stage pieces. I particularly loved the light and airy feel of the decor and floral from Peachwood Wedding and Event Design – it worked perfectly with the sun-drenched ballroom at the Waterside Inn. The stunning upgraded chairs were provided by Detailz and the luxe table linens courtesy of Chair Decor. Each place setting was finished with the sweetest little wedding cake chocolate favour from Succulent Chocolates.
I was also completely obsessed with the water wall stage design by O.M.G. Events. The water feature is perfect for any event wanting an elevated modern stage design.
During cocktails, guests were treated to a wide array of fabulous vendors and purveyors of fine goods, all while sipping sweet cocktails and enjoying delectable appetizers to the dreamy tunes of Sidecar.
The Cultural Wedding Planner provided the latest edition of the “Grand Wedding Planner” to attendees which is a collection of culturally infused weddings from across Canada.
The trendy “Better Together” photo backdrop, promoting WPIC’s tenet of community over competition was such a great and Instagram-able addition to the event. I also really enjoyed watching the 360 video booth, provided by MDRN Photobooth Co. This is such a fun take on the traditional photo booth and leaves guests with a funky video they’ll want to share across all of their social media platforms!
As any wedding specialists will tell you, food is always an incredibly memorable part of any event, and the fortunate attendees enjoyed a delicious and beautifully presented meal from the Waterside Inn. We started with a Mediterranean Vegetable Purse that had just the right amount of herb goat cheese to make my mouth water. Our main feature, the Chicken Supreme, was perfectly prepared, juicy and delicious and the Peruvian Purple Pommes Anna provided a beautiful visual on the plate. Finally the duo dessert of gluten-free chocolate lava cake and lemon curd cheesecake was a wonderful end to a filling and delectable meal. It’s clear that the Waterside Inn has earned its reputation in Mississauga as one of the finest wedding destinations for atmosphere and dining.
A huge part of the evening is dedicated to the WPIC Wedding Industry Awards, which reward hard working WPIC alumni who submit weddings that fit different categories. This award system has grown steadily over the years, with WPIC alums across Canada submitting breathtaking weddings for consideration. The judging process is impartial and winners are announced at the gala. This year’s list of winners included:
- Best Wedding Under $50K awarded to Nifette Khaled of Best Life Events
- Best Wedding over $50K awarded to Hasti Maloufi of La Vista Events
- Best Wedding over $100K awarded to Saaraa Premji Virani of Blush & Co Events
- Most Creative Styled Shoot awarded to Janis Martinello of Brocade Events
- Best Tablescape awarded to Paras Mehta of Paras Events
- Best Destination Wedding Under $50K awarded to Morgan Churla of Morgan & Vine Events
- Best Social Media for a Wedding Professional, awarded to Saaraa Premji Virani of Blush & Co Events
- Wedding Officiant of the Year, awarded to Kristina Allen of Elysian Weddings & Events
- Wedding Entertainer of the Year, awarded to Edward Dottin of
- Wedding Designer/Decorator of the Year, awarded to Paras Mehta of Paras Events
- Wedding Floral Designer of the Year, awarded to Jennifer Hing Cam of JH Floral Designs
- Onsite Wedding Coordinator of the Year, awarded to Marlene Barcelos of The Waterside Inn
- Destination Wedding Planner of the Year, awarded to Monica Caesar of Aisle Plan Your Day
- Wedding Planner of the Year, awarded to Richha Arora of Arora Wedding & Event Planning
A huge congratulations to all of the nominees and winners on continuing to elevate the wedding industry!
Once dinner concluded, guests hit the dance floor to the musical stylings of MC and DJ Liquid Entertainment, but not before two magical performances by MM Entertainment.
It takes a lot to put on an event that impresses wedding planners. I’ll be real, we see it all, we plan it all, and at the end of the day, it’s nice to have an event dedicated to us! Every year, WPIC manages to nail it and leave us all feeling refreshed and ready to show up in a meaningful way for our clients. It takes a big village to make this happen! From the gifts and giveaways, to the featured installations, food and drink and evening entertainment, WPIC and the Waterside Inn pulled out all of the stops to give us an unforgettable night, and we thank you! I can’t wait to see how they’ll top this next year!
