Hilton Mississauga Venue Review
by Alisha Chadee
I love being a wedding and event planner. I love it for so many reasons. The primary reason is that I enjoy helping couples plan the most important day of their lives and I love the creativity involved with designing a themed corporate party. It honestly doesn’t feel like work to me because I enjoy all aspects of the planning and execution. As with any career, there are fun perks! One of them is that the Whimlets are constantly invited by venues to visit and sample their fares. Poor us – having to visit beautiful spaces and eat yummy food. It’s a hard life, but someone has to evaluate all that the wedding world has to offer you! Don’t worry, we’ve got you covered :).
Hilton Mississauga Meadowvale – Yessss!!!
Recently I was invited by the beautiful Hilton Mississauga Meadowvale to come visit their beautiful wedding and event space.
Lobby of the Hilton Mississauga Meadowvale – courtesy of the hotel
As I sat in the lovely lobby and took a few snaps with my camera, I took in the ambiance of the room. I like evaluating lobbies. This is the first spot your guests will see at the onset of your wedding. I loved that this space was warm and friendly, with a professional yet luxurious feel.
I met with Richha, the Catering and Sales Manager, and she strove to welcome me and answer all of my questions. Richha took me on a tour of the ballrooms, meeting spaces, restaurant and even a guest suite! Check out a few photos of the lovely ceremony and reception spaces. All event space photos courtesy of the Hilton Mississauga Meadowvale.
Compass Room Reception Space – beautiful for a cocktail reception
The Greenwich Room – perfect for a reception dinner and dance.
The Greenwich Room is also very appropriate for a lovely and modern wedding ceremony
I am OBSESSED with modern ceremony spaces and the Hilton Mississauga Meadowvale delivers!
Modern and luxe. It’s difficult to find spaces in Toronto that can cater to groups of up to 900 that have this ambiance. Like I’ve mentioned before – I love modern.
It wouldn’t be a good site visit without sampling the fare offered by the culinary geniuses at theHilton Mississauga Meadowvale. Richha and I headed over to their in-house restaurant, Quest. The food was delicious and beautifully displayed. The head chef is able to customize their menu to suit even the pickiest palette and I was pleased with the extensive selection of wines.
Are you drooling yet? I wonder if I can do a second site visit..
This meatloaf was amazing! I (reluctantly) shared my leftovers with my husband. It was gone in seconds!
Richha’s three-cheese mac! Yum!
All in all, I really like the Hilton Mississauga Meadowvale for an intimate or large wedding reception for a few reasons:
- Modern couples looking for a hotel wedding experience usually think of the options available in Toronto. I was very pleased to see that we have a great modern, luxurious hotel option here in Mississauga. I love the West-end, and I’ve lived here my entire life – so the more it develops, the happier I am!
- I very much enjoyed the food. I am a foodie at heart and I believe that your guests will always appreciate a well thought out meal at your wedding. Working with experienced chefs and sommeliers guarantees that your guests will have a wonderful culinary experience. I also enjoyed the flexibility of the menus. There are sit-down and buffet options, along with a multitude of cultural variations available.
- I love modern wedding and event spaces. TheHilton Mississauga Meadowvale offers a sleek, contemporary design and is suitable for modern luxe weddings.
Hilton Mississauga Meadowvale – Quick Facts
Location: 6750 Mississauga Road, Mississauga Ontario
Capacity: 10 to 900
Size of Space: Up to 40,000 square feet
Catering: Available onsite
Bar: Available Onsite
Photo Ops: Available in Courtyard
Amenities: Many – but ample free parking is available for wedding guests.
Contact: Richha Arora
Website: Click Here
What do you think of our review? We’d love to go with you on a tour of theHilton Mississauga Meadowvale for your upcoming wedding or event. Contact us today and we can get started!
xoxo
- Published in 2015, Vendor spotlight, Venues, Wedding, Wedding Planning, Wedding TIps
Late Night Wedding Food Ideas That Rock!
by Alisha Chadee
The Whimlets love late night wedding food. There, now you know our darkest secret. We’re always eating – and we want you (and your guests) to eat all the time too! Now that we’ve cleared that up, how about we discuss our obsession with food a little further. Most of our wedding clients are foodies like ourselves. In fact, we insist that all of our clients share a passion for treating their guests to fabulous food. Your guests won’t remember your colour scheme or your floral arrangements, but they will definitely remember if the food wasn’t fab. Most of the better wedding venues in Toronto will assist you in creating menus that will dazzle your crowd, and suit you palette.
There are so many great areas to interject deliciousness into your wedding. We’ll eventually cover them all, but today we’re focusing on:
Great Late Night Wedding Food!
Ahhh, late night wedding food. The cocktail hour is over. The dinner is over. The drinks are flowing. Everyone’s dancing up a storm. Everyone is having a blast – but starting to get a little hungry. Don’t let your guests head to MickeyDees after your fab fete – that would be a tragedy! Instead, check out some sumptuous snacks, like a french fry station! Treat your guests to a gourmet french fry station – or a poutine station! Create fun flavour combinations by offering DIY sauce and condiment stations. This will be a big hit with adults and children!
Forget Mickey Dees! Treat your guests to a gourmet french fry station – complete with dips and sauces! Totally vegetarian, too! Found on Intimate Weddings.
French fries aren’t your thing? How about a late night pizza station? Drunken revellers around the world clamour for pizza after a night of partying!
Meat lovers, cheese vegetarian, the options are endless! Found on crafty pie.com
Pizza and fries too simple? How about hard and soft shell tacos! We love the idea of guest participation and self-serve taco stations are a great way to suit everyone’s palette.
Hard and soft shell tacos with serve-yourself options like meats, beans, rice, sauces and more! Found on balancedhealthylife.com.
Mmm all of this great food inspiration is making us hungry! Still, let’s press on. Next up, let’s look at mini burgers! Mini burgers are a great idea because they’re small, so your little guests can enjoy them, too! Get vegetarian, chicken, beef or pulled pork! Set your station up with a variety of sauces and sides and your guests will sing your praises forever! Don’t forget the pickles!
Mmm mini burgers are always a fan favourite at weddings and corporate events! Found on nouba.com
Most of what we’ve covered above have been savoury snacks, but variety is the spice of life! Soft pretzels can be served savoury or sweet, and your guests will love having the choice!
A sweet and salty snack station featuring soft pretzels are guaranteed to be a hit with your guests! Found on Tablespoon.com
Now that we’ve made ourselves thoroughly hungry with all of this carby-goodness, we hope that you are inspired! Fill your guests up with yummy late night wedding food and send them home with warm, happy memories. They’ll praise you for years to come and your wedding will be the envy of all!
We have tons of ideas like these and we’d love to share them with you! Contact us today to get started!
Until next time,
xoxo
The Whimlets
- Published in Uncategorized
Creative Guestbook Ideas for the Fun Bride
By Alisha Chadee
You’ve picked your wedding colour scheme, you’ve picked your wedding theme and your planning is coming along nicely. Wonderful! Time for the final details, like your wedding guestbook. Here’s an excellent opportunity to showcase your theme in a creative way! There are tons of ways to showcase your creativity and leaving the boring old guestbook in the past. Where it belongs. Forever. Without further ado…
Creative Guestbook Ideas
The Whimlets have planned and coordinated a ton of weddings over the years, and we’ve always advocated for as much creativity as possible. One of our favourite areas to incorporate this is in the guestbook and receiving line items. Guests enjoy the fun extras and out of box ideas that show you care about their experience. For example, one of our couples featured a guestbook tree. The guestbook tree featured an Fujufilm Instax camera with slips of paper for guests to fasten their instant photos and leave a message. The messages were then tied onto the tree and created the leaves. The Diya Decor tree was visually stunning, standing at 6ft tall, and had all of the guests raving.
Closeup of the Guestbook Tree and hanging ‘leaves.’
The beautiful Diya Decor creation at #Anilina2015
I’ve always loved simplicity – it’s the ultimate sophistication, right? In that spirit, I love the idea of artwork that guest can sign. These pieces are then hung in the bride and groom’s home after the wedding. Check out this artwork created from the thumbprints of the bride and groom, fashioned into a heart. Guests signed around it and the bride and groom displayed it in their home. I really like the underlying message of two becoming one.
Artwork that guests can sign are a fun alternative to the traditional guestbook. We love this thumbprint design. Photo by Jonathan Young Weddings
What do you and your fiancé like to do? What are your hobbies? For example, couples who enjoy travel may consider using a globe and have guests sign it. This would be a neat piece to display in an office or in a family room. Like I said before, I love creative guestbook ideas that double as art!
Fun globe guestbook idea for smaller weddings – great nod to a globetrotting couple’s shared interests in travelling. Found via Elizabeth Anne Weddings.
As an alternative to this idea, rather than using a globe, use a map and frame it afterwards!
Frame a personalized map and have guests sign it. After the wedding, hang it up in the family room! Found via HereAndThereShop on Easy.
Are you a wine lover? Yeah, so am I! Start collecting those corks and have guests sign and add them to a shadow box! The shadow box can be personalized to include your wedding monogram and brand!
Wine lovers unite! Have your guests sign corks and add them to a shadow box! Display it after the wedding! Found Emmalinebride.com!
I loveeeee Jenga! It’s such a fun game for groups or even a low-key date night. My husband and I play all the time and it turns into a battle royale! I digress.. Have your guests sign Jenga pieces on one side and add a piece of advice on the other! You’ll have fun playing afterwards and the game might even become a keepsake for your future children!
Break out the Jenga! Guests will love leaving advice and you’ll love playing on date night! Via OhLovelyDay.com
Creative guestbook ideas are all around us – just think about the activities that you enjoy as a couple and the ideas will flow! How did you like the suggestions that I’ve given you? Leave me a comment and let me know! If you are looking for help with putting together your dream wedding, contact us today!
- Published in 2015, Trends, Wedding, Wedding Planning, Wedding TIps
Wedding Vendors in Toronto – How do I Pick?!
Thomas Zitnansky Photography portfolio sample
By Rachel de Silva
One of the most common occurrences I hear when it comes to wedding planning is how overwhelmed the couple becomes with what feels like a never-ending list of tasks to take care of before the big day. If you are either a couple who has a lengthy period or short gap between the engagement and the wedding day, never fear, all things are possible to those who believe—and work for it. One of the most important aspects of any event or wedding is the list of vendors you will choose from. With that being said…
Wedding Vendors – How Can I Tell the Good from the Bad?
From picking a venue that fits your needs, to a photographer that will capture your better side or even how many tiers you want your cake to be, deciding on the right wedding vendors can make a world of difference. The right wedding vendor is one who is the right fit, delivers as promised, and will not stress you out along the way. There are simple ways to tell if a vendor is the real deal or a potential nightmare, and we’ve outlined them below.
Nick Janzen Photography
Do your research
This is critical. It is completely understandable that meeting your budget needs can be a challenge. Knowing where to stretch your pocket and where it isn’t needed will all depend on you and your special someone. A foolproof method of making sure you’ve gone with the right wedding vendors is giving yourself ample time to do research. Read a potential prospects reviews, fortunately any negative feedback comes from the truest source—other couples who utilized vendor’s services and were disappointed with what they had to offer. Ask other couples or newlyweds who they chose for their big day. The beauty of getting married is that everyone understands how challenging the process can be and was to brag about their awesome experiences with great vendors. Most wedding vendors will tell you that most business comes from word of mouth!
The right wedding venue takes time to find – start early and visit the best in your area!
Travel to different venues; although many of these vendor’s websites have an impressive portfolio of photos, nothing other than visiting these locations will assist in making your final decision. Create a personalized list of potentials and be thorough and critical of what you enjoyed and what didn’t work. If you don’t like it now, you probably won’t like it on the wedding day! Take pictures; when it comes to making your choices, these photos will be a great way of remembering what you’re working with. Taste every food option you decide to provide to your guests. If you didn’t absolutely love what was being offered, it is a good inclination that your guests won’t enjoy it either. This may ruin their experience, after all food is a universal passion.
Alisha & Michelle coordinating a styled shoot. Photography by Thomas Zitnansky Photography.
Additionally, the option to choose either a full, month-of or day-of wedding coordinator can either be viewed as an added expense or guidance and assistance for planning your big day. Not only do we have a specific list of vendors that are tried, tested and true but we understand how to stick to your budget.
Photo credits to Nirvanie Srikishun Photography. John Paul II Polish Cultural Centre.
We’d love to help you pick fab vendors that work with your budget, style, theme and personality! Contact us today and we can get started! We’d love to meet with you! We’ll treat you to your favourite warm bevvie ;)!
- Published in 2015, Vendors, Wedding TIps
Divine Beauty By Sathi – Vendor Spotlight
Today on the blog we wanted to introduce you to a talented makeup artist in the Toronto and GTA region. We’ve worked with her on photoshoots and our brides love her stunning work. We love versatility, and Sathi has it. She has that rare ability that goes beyond applying makeup. She is wonderful at reading her clients and enhancing their best features. It doesn’t hurt that she’s a knockout and such a sweetheart, too! Every one of Sathi’s brides glow in their wedding photos and it’s no wonder that her wedding season is fully booked each year.
Get to know Divine Beauty by Sathi and read her questionnaire below. Be sure to check her out on Facebook, and Instagram, too!
Divine Beauty by Sathi
- How did you become a wedding makeup artist? What initially piqued your interest? I have always loved make-up! Even as a child, my Mom said I would take her lipstick and put it on. I started out doing my friends and family members make-up for their birthdays, proms and other special events. I was always their go-to girl for getting “dolled up”. I then decided that I wanted to experiment more with products and different colours when I saw my first make-up tutorial on YouTube. After that, I was hooked and bought my first eye shadow palette. I started practising on my self and others and finally decided to get certified in this new world of make-up. After receiving my Make-up Artistry certification from the Canadian Aesthetics Academy, I began doing Bridal/Wedding Make-up Professionally.
- Tell us about your very first wedding gig? My first wedding party was about 5 years ago, which consisted of 5 bridesmaids and of course the Bride. What an experience it was! It was so rewarding to see the reactions of my clients after I had done their make-up. Their smiles and shocked expressions at how beautiful they looked and felt made me want to delve deeper into this industry and make it my career.
- If you weren’t a makeup artist, what would you be?I would definitely be in the people business. My corporate 9-5 job is within the Staffing and Recruiting world and this is also very rewarding. Either I am helping someone find their next career adventure, or getting them ready for their most special day, helping people in any aspect of their lives is what I love to do!
- When you aren’t making brides look their best, what can we find you doing? You can definitely find me spending time with my husband and caring for my daughter. They are my motivation and number one supporters.
- What’s your absolute favourite thing about being a wedding makeup artist?The satisfaction of my clients is what I love most. Knowing that they have someone in their corner who is professional and dedicated to them on their big day, is important to me. I truly love creating and enhancing my canvas to bring out my clients inner beauty. Their confidence and happiness after I am done working, is what keeps me going!
- What’s something you don’t think many people know about doing what you do?Make-up artistry is truly an art and takes a lot of practise, dedication and hard work. You must constantly upgrade your skills and learn new techniques to stay current. Make-up is always changing, just like fashion.
- What are some of your other passions (or hobbies)?I love photography. I mostly love to capture my daughter and all of her different smiles and facial expressions. I am still learning and maybe one day I will jump into this craft as well.
Pretty pink on this traditional bride
Loving the glow on this sleek, modern bride!
Beautiful exotic eyeshadow – perfectly blended!
Thanks for reading Divine Beauty by Sathi’s spotlight! Makeup is an area where there are a ton of vendors and its hard to tell who is great and who isn’t. Contact us today and we’ll help you craft the wedding team of your dreams!
- Published in 2015, Vendor spotlight, Vendors, Wedding TIps
A Modern Romance at Liberty Grand in Toronto
Liberty Grand is a beautiful spot. Seriously gorgeous.
We never get tired of weddings at Liberty Grand in Toronto. It’s such an elegant spot, with great modern features set against a historic building. Naturally when one of our August 2015 couples contacted us and said their venue was Liberty Grand, we were seriously stoked.
Meet Valerie & Jon. Adorable, right?
Valerie & Jon’s Liberty Grand wedding, shot by Memory Video Productions
Valerie & Jon’s Liberty Grand wedding, shot by Memory Video Productions
Apart from their obvious cuteness, these two were such a delight to work with – so laid back and genuinely excited about getting married and showing their guests a great time. Michelle and I were more than happy to get involved and help them with their finishing touches. This wedding had a lot of fun features to keep guests entertained all day and night!
Valerie & Jon hired a very talented group of vendors to help pull their wedding together, and based on their review of us, it’s safe to say that they are happy with the end-result :). Check out a few more of their photos, and a full vendor listing below. Thanks again to the fabulous Memory Photo and Video based out of Woodbridge. You guys rock! Guests walked away with hand-rolled cigar favours, individually wrapped. Michael McDonnell and a team of two arrived on site after dinner to provide caricature sketches for guests to take home.
This cake was a huge hit with us and all of the guest. This delightful confectionary creation was created by the Wedding Cake Shoppe in Toronto :).
This crowd had a blast from start to end. There was a ton of audience participation and everyone clamoured to be involved!
Is this a bridal party or a magazine spread? Valerie & Jon’s beautiful bridal party!
This is the beautiful bride with two of her bridesmaids and the most adorable little flower girl in the world. This shot was taken in the courtyard of Liberty Grand
Rose gold and blush head table. Isn’t the backdrop stunning? Wedding Wows Toronto provided the beautiful decor.
The Key Players
Wedding Planners: Whim Event Coordination & Design
Photography & Videography: Memory Photo & Video Productions
Venue: Liberty Grand Entertainment Complex
Decor, Floral & Rentals: Wedding Wows Toronto
Transportation: Lucid Limos
Cake: The Wedding Cake Shoppe
Ceremony Music: Duo D’amour
Hair & Makeup: Brush Boutique
Entertainment: Michael McDonnell Caricature
Favours: Frank Correnti Cigars
Are you dreaming of your big day? OMG we are too! Contact us today and we’ll show you how we can make it happen together!
- Published in 2015, Real Wedding, Wedding, Wedding Planning