Amanda & Joshua:
Class & Candlelight
December 13, 2008 :: The Great Hall, Toronto
Photography by barebonephoto
Story by TheWeddingRing.ca
Amanda Courtney Mulhern met her future husband Joshua Edward Wilson in her third year of 
university at Western – though she didn’t know at the time that he would be her husband. It wasn’t until they spent a year apart that the couple realized this was the real thing. Amanda admitted, “I was always comparing them to Josh and it never felt right with anyone else… He makes me laugh, he knows me better than I know myself… he is my best friend.”
Josh proposed to Amanda at the Royal York Hotel on November 26, 2007. Amanda thought they were going to visit Josh’s out-of-town uncle, but when they arrived at the Royal York and Josh asked Amanda to check his coat pocket for his wallet, the truth came out.
”I didn’t think anything of it so I checked his pocket and right away felt the box.” After accepting Josh’s proposal, the excited couple met their friends and family (who had all been let in on the surprise ahead of time) at a local restaurant to celebrate. Just over a year later, they returned to that restaurant for the rehearsal dinner.
Originally, Amanda wanted a fall wedding, but she wanted her brother to be a part of her day even more. So Amanda and Josh settled on December 13, 2008 for their wedding date, knowing her brother would be back home from Australia.
After the date was set, the idea of a winter wedding grew on Amanda. “It was different and we fell in love with our location, which we felt was better suited for a winter wedding.”
The special day took place at The Great Hall in Toronto, chosen for its character and for the fact that it could accommodate their ceremony, cocktail hour and reception all in one location. “We really wanted our guests to have a memorable experience… we wanted to be proud of our wedding day.”
The invitations and postcard replies, made by a friend of Amanda and Josh, were ivory and chocolate brown with a hint of green – their theme colours.
The wedding party was made up of ten people – a mixture of University and childhood friends, siblings and future siblings-in-law.
Amanda had her gown custom designed just for her by Adele Wechsler. It looked absolutely beautiful on her, an ivory mermaid-style dress, detailed with handmade flowers which were accented with freshwater pearls and crystals. Adele also made the matching the veil and flower for Amanda’s hair.
The bridesmaids wore strapless chocolate brown cocktail length dresses with ivory pashminas to help keep them warm during the outdoor photos.
Josh wore a brownish black suit and the groomsmen wore black, all with ivory shirts and chocolate brown ties.
Amanda’s bouquet, created by Pink Twig, was an large, gorgeous collection of roses, hydrangeas, peonies and orchids with ivory ribbon wrapped around the stems. At the ceremony, two standing vases filled with twigs were wired with orchids, and the same for the reception centrepieces, in a combination of hydrangeas, roses, green berries, amaryllis and small sticks with orchids.
Following the ceremony, the wedding party stepped outside, despite the cold December 
temperatures, for photos with Emma Smallbone of barebonephoto. Amanda found Emma on TheWeddingRing.ca and says she was exactly what they were looking for. “I wanted our pictures to tell a story, I didn’t want any staged candid photos or all posed pictures,” says Amanda. “Emma makes it look effortless but she is beyond talented. She made us laugh and really have a fun time. I cannot even pick one favourite thing about our photos. I could look at them for hours…”
Emma took the wedding party to various Toronto locations. “Some of my favourite photos are taken in the window of a small gallery on Queen Street. Emma just asked the guy if we could sit in his window and he said yes.” They also stopped into The Drake Hotel to warm up and catch a few more great shots. Emma told The Ring, “Amanda was stunning and the groom looked like he’d just stepped out of GQ. It was a great shoot!”
By the time they headed back to The Great Hall, they found their 140 guests keeping warm in the conversation room with pomegranate and blueberry martinis and coconut shrimp, chicken skewers, smoked salmon lollipops and mini Caesar salads in phyllo pastry, catered by Jewell Catering from Mississauga.
Amanda and Josh say they set out for a wedding that was classy, like something you would see in a magazine. Since The Great Hall has yellowy gold walls, the couple used a lot of candles, to accentuate the ambiance. Simple, subtle and romantic.
For dinner, guests could choose between beef tenderloin in a brandy sauce, chicken stuffed
with goat cheese and spinach with a cream sauce and a vegetarian option of butternut squash agnolotti in a blush sauce. Their wedding cake – a four tiered ivory cake brushed with gold lustre dust – was served for 
dessert with berries and mango sauce.
At the end of the night, after the party was over, guests got to take home favours of pear and earl grey tea truffles from Laura Secord – on top of memories of a classy and unforgettable affair, which Amanda and Josh both agree “turned out perfectly.” ■
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