La Maquette

Vows at Midnight

A Toronto couple threw caution to the wind and planned a midnight ceremony in Toronto’s Sculpture Garden.

Signing the registry

It was a dilemma Nataly Spudic and fiance Michael De Monte turned into a roaring success when they learned her favourite restaurant was booked on the date they wished to marry.

Nataly and Michael met in 2000 and began planning their wedding seven years later. Wanting to play on the number seven, they were delighted to learn the coming July 7th would be 07/07/07. What they didn’t count on when requesting to book La Maquette, was the tremendous popularity of the date for weddings due to it being considered a lucky number.

Discovering the seventh was already long booked, Nataly explored alternative options and learned the day prior was still available. Reworking her dream to fit her circumstances, she found she could still be married on the seventh, if she waited until midnight.

Planning backwards, Nataly embraced the idea of an end-of-day ceremony; aiming to create the same atmosphere as the emotional build up to New Year’s Eve. “It was a problem we turned into a big plus,” she says, remembering how she quickly fell in love with the rearranged day.

Moving the ceremony allowed Nataly to include more guests for the after-dinner festivities. As the second wave of guests arrived for ten o’clock, the party was infused with a fresh energy that lasted until three when the dancing wrapped up. From ten, time passed quickly and Nataly said it was only a few minutes to midnight when she and Michael moved outdoors to stand near the waterfall in the garden. Her niece and nephew guided guests with glowing lanterns from the restaurant terrance to surround the couple. The unconventional timing allowed Nataly to play with other aspects of the ceremony too. Rather than walking down the isle, she loved the idea of her guests moving in and creating a circle of support and warmth.

An intimate, candlelit ceremony

This was enhanced by her use of candles, an idea which grew from the late-night setting. Each guest was given one, unlit, to carry into the garden. The ceremony began with some beautiful words about the symbolism of lighting candles, which was followed by immediate family lighting their own candles and turning to light those held by neighbours, who then turned to light others’ candles. From Nataly and Michael’s perspective, it was a flame that rolled back, lighting faces and engulfing them in warm light.

The close of the ceremony brought an unexpected cheer from the sidewalk outside the garden where passersby had gathered, no doubt captivated by the beauty and romance of the scene before them.

Photography by Trevor Haldenby

Vows at Midnight

Dining at its most romantic