reality wedding stories
Matt & Stephanie
AN ELEGANT, BALLPARK WEDDING June 25th, 2011:: St. Augustine's Church, Dundas (www.staugustinesparish.ca) & Carmen's Banquet Center, Hamilton (www.carmens.com)
Photography by Make A Memory Photography (www.makeamemory.ca) Story by TheWeddingRing.ca Stephanie Kokoski couldn't believe how quickly she fell for Mathieu Robert when they met online nearly five years ago. "I have never felt more like myself with anyone in the entire world. I couldn't imagine myself without him... I knew he was the one." And the feeling was mutual. Matt says Stephanie always puts others before herself. "She has to be one of the most kind hearted people I have met." On July 11th, 2009 Matt surprised Stephanie with a proposal and engagement party all at once, located in Matt's hometown of Ottawa. Matt knew he wanted the most important people in their lives to be part of the proposal, and not only made sure that his family was there, but had Stephanie's family make the trip from Hamilton as well. Stephanie was touched that Matt had invited her immediate family to the party. For both Matt and Stephanie, sharing their engagement with their families was one of the best parts of the day. Stephanie started planning well in advance but admits that the wedding prep was crazy. Luckily, she had an incredible support team behind her, including her sister, mother, mother-in-law, and aunt, who each played a big part in making sure that the planning process was seamless. Matt and Stephanie agree that they were also beyond fortunate to have their parents pay for the majority of their wedding. This allowed them to focus on the wedding prep and splurge on some of the extras. "Matt and I paid for our SUV limo for the bridal party [as well as] another limo for just the parents and part of the florals." Since Matt is a huge baseball fan, and Stephanie had always dreamed of a romantic and intimate wedding, they wanted to incorporate both of their favourite things in all of the little touches of the wedding day. For example, Stephanie's aunt got creative with their invitations. Assembled in what looked like a program for a baseball game, the invites were replicas of admission tickets. In order to RSVP, guests would rip off the stub and send it back to the couple. In front of 150 guests, Matt and Stephanie were married at the stunning St. Augustine's Church in Dundas on June 25th, 2011 at 2:30 pm. It was the church Stephanie had been going to since she was a little girl and held a sentimental place in her heart. The ring bearer used a baseball glove to carry the ring down the aisle, which was an instant hit