Jessica’s Wedding Journey
Planning a wedding in Toronto is a big deal—we get it. To bring our professional advice to life, we're inviting you to follow along with "Jessica's Journey."
In this special series, we'll be sharing the story of Jessica and Mark—a fictional Toronto couple who are a composite of the many amazing clients we've worked with. Their mission is to create a dream wedding for 100 guests on a $35,000 budget.
As we guide them through every decision, from the venue hunt to the final toast, we’ll be sharing our pro tips, planning tools, and honest advice that you can steal for your own wedding. Follow along as we get them to the altar!
We're Engaged! The Story of a High Park Proposal... And the First Rule of Wedding Planning.
Every wedding journey begins with a single, magical moment. For our typical Toronto couple, Jessica and Mark, that moment happened last Saturday in High Park. The proposal starts the whole adventure, but as many couples know, it’s often followed by a surprising wave of "what now?!" panic.
This is where the real journey begins. Let's join Jessica as she shares the story in her own words.
August 2
It still feels unreal to type this.
Last Saturday, Mark and I were walking through High Park, just like we’ve done a hundred times before. We grabbed iced coffees, complained about the humidity, and were trying to decide if we had the energy to walk down to the waterfront. He was being a little quiet, but I didn't think much of it.
Then, near the willow trees by Grenadier Pond, he stopped. He turned to me, his hands were shaking a little, and he launched into the most beautiful, heartfelt speech I’ve ever heard. I honestly think I blacked out from pure shock and happiness, but I remember tears, I remember him getting down on one knee, and I remember screaming "YES!" before he could even finish his sentence.
And just like that, I have a fiancé. And a very, very sparkly ring on my left hand that I cannot stop staring at.
The rest of the day was a blur of happy tears, FaceTiming our parents, posting on Instagram and drinking champagne with our closest friends. It was perfect. Magical. Everything I could have dreamed of.
And then, Sunday morning happened.
I woke up in a cloud of pure bliss, rolled over, and looked at my phone. The congratulatory texts were still pouring in. But nestled among them were the questions: “Have you set a date yet?!”, “OMG what are your colours going to be?”, “You should book a venue ASAP, they fill up so fast in the city!”
Suddenly, my Pinterest app, which had been dormant for years, started screaming at me from my home screen. A wave of something that wasn't pure joy washed over me. It was… panic. Cold, hard, "how-on-earth-do-we-do-this" panic. Mark found me an hour later, wide-eyed and frantically pinning pictures of floral arrangements that probably cost more than our rent. He took the phone out of my hand and said, "Hey. We just got engaged yesterday. Can we just… be engaged for a minute?"
Summit & Ivy Planner's Note: Jessica's "planning panic" is something we see with 99% of newly engaged couples. The pressure to make decisions immediately is immense, but it's the fastest way to feel overwhelmed. Our professional advice is always the same: enforce a strict 1-Month No-Planning Rule. Use that time to celebrate and connect. The planning will be there when you're ready, and you'll approach it from a place of calm, not chaos.
Mark was right. We had almost skipped the most important part. We almost let the pressure of planning the wedding overshadow the joy of being engaged.
So we made a pact, following what felt like the best advice in the world. For one full , we month we banned all wedding talk. No budgets. No guest lists. No venue research. No Pinterest. Instead, here’s what we did:
We told our story, over and over. Every time we re-told the proposal story to a friend or family member, we got to relive the magic.
We had a celebratory dinner, just the two of us. We went to our favourite Italian place on College Street and just enjoyed being "the fiancés."
I got a manicure. A simple thing, but it made looking at my new ring even more fun!
We just existed. We went for walks, watched movies, and let the reality and happiness of this huge life step sink in.
It allowed us to come down from the high of Engagement Day and face Planning Mode as a grounded, connected team. So, this is the start of our journey. I’m going to share every step of this wild ride—the good, the bad, and the brutally honest budget updates.
After our one-month ban was up, we knew what we had to tackle first. The thing that was honestly scarier than picking a venue or a dress.
The 'M' Word. Money.
Next time, I’ll be sharing how we tackled the big, scary, and super-awkward conversation: The Wedding Budget.
Are you newly engaged? Did you also feel that initial wave of panic? Let us know in the comments below! And if you want to follow along on Jessica and Mark's journey, don't forget to subscribe. We're all in this together!
Cheers,
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