Val & Josh: One Perfect Day
June 21 2008 :: Delta London Armouries, London
Photography by Eric Rockburn Photography
Story by TheWeddingRing.ca
the love story
By the time Joshua Barath proposed to Valerie Vafiades, their relationship had already spanned two continents (North America & Australia) and two and a half adventure-filled years of work,school and play. “We had some of the ups and downs that most long distance relationships do but we made it work... We had an amazing time traveling across the country together.” When Josh proposed during a weekend getaway at the Oakwood Inn, he brought out a treasure box with sand and the ring inside and got down on one knee. “There was a poem about walking on the beach and building a life together... I was on cloud nine. It was fabulous!”
Val and Josh used their memories of time spent on Australian beaches as their inspiration for most of the elements of the wedding day. This included sand, shells and the cobalt blue colour of the ocean they visited together.
"Josh and I have always brought out the best in each other. In the good times and the bad, we take care of each other.”
the wedding story
Val & Josh’s wedding day began with the ceremony at St. George Roman Catholic Parish in London, Ontario. They chose a symbolic unity sand ceremony in which each poured coloured sand into one tall vase, “The two colours join together and can’t be separated.” Then, each mother carried up vases representing the family, for Josh and Val to pour sand into together later in the ceremony. The wedding party carried bouquets (and sported boutonnières) created by Samirah Ahmed of Designs in Bloom. Val and Josh agreed, “Samirah was incredible!” Val’s bouquet had white Asiatic lilies, orange calla lilies and roses. Around the stems, Samirah had wrapped a piece of Val’s mother’s veil. “It was really special to me and absolutely beautiful.” Val wore a simple gown that she bought to match her stunning detailed, fingertip-length veil. “I wanted my veil to be the attention-grabber,” she said. “I was the bride who bought her dress to go with my veil, not the other way around!” Val wore a special opal necklace and earrings set down the aisle. “Australia has a huge opal industry, so as a wedding gift Josh designed the set for me to wear on our wedding day. It was beautiful!”
"I got what I wanted for my wedding. We cherished every moment with each other that day. Every smile, every kiss, every wink."
Josh and the boys were looking sexy in tone-on-tone pinstriped suits from Collins Formal Wear. “We love pinstriped suits. The black-on-black was a brand new style. The guys looked so sharp!” Josh added a bowler hat to complete his classic, very stylish look.
They exchanged custom designed rings at the altar. Val’s was a simple Channel band that went with her solitaire engagement ring and Josh’s, a band shaped like a cresting wave with a single diamond in the centre. As husband and wife signed the registry, Val’s best friend, Jeannette Keating, sang “Storybook Love”, a song from The Princess Bride (Val’s favourite movie).
Photographer, Eric Rockburn, covered the day’s events. Val and Josh said he worked all the fun details - hat, veil, rings - into their photos. “Eric probably didn’t know it, but he was shooting our rings on the piano I grew up playing,” said Val. “He was simply amazing.” In fact, Eric sent them a photo just before they left for their honeymoon. The couple say this was both a blessing and a curse. “The whole honeymoon, we couldn’t stop thinking about our photos and how we couldn’t wait to see them!!”
After the ceremony, the wedding party hit the streets with Eric and his gear to get some great wedding party photos. They all struck a pose at the Rotary Reading Garden (located at the Central Public Library). “My father, Jim Vafiades, is the Landscape Architect who designed the garden... I have always loved it there.”
The wedding reception was held at the Delta London Armouries, a castle-like hotel & banquet facility that’s known for hosting some of London’s most elegant weddings. “The Armouries did everything possible to make the day amazing. The wedding coordinator, Jackie Unger, made me feel like my wedding was the only wedding she was planning...”
When it came to décor and details, Val and Josh did as much as they could themselves: centerpieces, ceremony programs, favours, place cards... “For our guest book, I created a hard cover photo book online using our engagement photos. Guests could flip through the pages and sign their sentiments beside any picture they wanted.” The guests were seated at gorgeous tables decorated by Gala Galore and the bride and groom themselves. “We wanted to create a beach at each table,” explained Val. So they used orchids, bamboo and sand in glass vases to set the scene, adding signs printed with the names of beaches they’d visited in Australia. “Josh and I came up with the idea for the centrepieces long before we had decided on anything else!”
For their first dance, they chose “I Have Dreamed” by Frank Sinatra because 
they wanted something classic but not necessarily well known.
Val had her own ideas about the throw-away bouquet, “I wanted it to be made completely out of candy!” Samirah used lollipops and bubblegum in blues and oranges. “It was awesome!"
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