Hilton Hotel Markham – An Elegant DIY Dream

Gorgeous sign made by a close friend of the couple – made entirely out of photos of the bride and groom!

Michelle and I recently welcomed a new Whimlet (isn’t that a great term?!) to our ranks. Her name is Rachel de Silva, and she is assisting us with coordination on wedding days. Her first wedding with us was a lovely Hindu wedding and reception at the Hilton Hotel Markham, and she did a fantastic job! I asked her to write up the wedding from her perspective and you can read more below!

A fun (and fuzzy) instamax photo of our little team

“Just so I can get the record straight, I by no means got hitched nor do I plan to take a husband anytime soon. I will however state that the Whim team was gracious enough to grant me the opportunity to assist in Ilina and Anil’s big day. Recently, I have found a thriving passion to plan events, so what better time than now to get involved during wedding season. To say the least, this couple did a fantastic job in creating a fun and engaging guest experience. There were little jars of M&M’s featuring every guest’s name with a personalized message to each. A gorgeous decor set up for both ceremony and reception from Diya Decor, a guestbook tree with hanging paper cards dangled from the branches where the guests were able to tape a Polaroid of themselves to the cards. The effort in the details undeniably showed in every step of the wedding process.

Custom Gold Framed Schedule Board

6ft Customized Guestbook Tree

Closeup of signage and chalkboard with instamax photos for the custom guestbook tree

Closeup of signage and chalkboard with instamax photos for the custom guestbook tree

Seating chart

A key component to ensuring the day ran successfully was time management. Since this wedding featured a Hindu ceremony and reception in the same day, there was a time sensitive itinerary, list of name and phone numbers of every vendor required, and a detailed map of table numbers and list of names per table. These documents became very useful throughout the duration of the wedding. The one lesson I have learned through this entire experience is preparation, sticking to the time schedule (give or take a few minutes), making sure to eat at some point and remaining calm. I also became aware of the difference between an outstanding guest experience and a mediocre one. I truly want to say thank you to the Whim team for choosing me to join them on this amazing journey. Cheers to many more weddings, some of which I hope to take the lead on.

Stunning reception decor courtesy of Diya Decor!

The first dance of the night with the bride and groom!

Beautiful centrepieces and table design by Diya Decor.

Beautiful receiving table with vintage decor and candles, dedicated to the bride and groom’s family – this table featured wedding photos of both sets of parents, grandparents and great-grandparents!

Special thanks to the Hilton Hotel Markham, Diya Decor, G&H Photography, and all of the vendors and extra hands and Celia Mackenzie, Huma Sheikh and Mahdis Lowe for all their help and efforts. Congratulations to a wonderful bride and groom, Ilina and Anil on this wonderful milestone!”

We hoped that you enjoyed Rachel’s write up on this lovely wedding. We’ll feature a full post on it in the future when the pro photos come in with a full vendor listing. We’re so excited that we have Rachel to assist us on our future weddings! We’ll feature a bio on her very soon! To find out more about how we can assist you, please contact us today!