How did you and Cassidy meet? The way Cassidy and I first met is a little untraditional. Cassidy and her friends on nights out would have “scavenger hunts”. One of the things on that list that night was to steal a strangers hat. I happened to be that stranger. With last call being yelled, my hat was stolen from my head only for me to turn around to see Cassidy for the first time waving my hat at me and running for the doors. I caught up to her and her friend outside as they were hopping in a cab and they told me if i wanted my hat I needed to come with them. I don’t advocate getting into cars with strangers but who knew I would find the love of my life in the back seat.
What was the moment you knew they were “the one”? For me I believe it doesn’t come down to just one moment where I knew Cassidy was the one but many moments combined. Our first time having coffee together and we both drink it black. Seeing the small exchanges between Cassidy and someone serving us or a cashier at the grocery and Cassidy showing the utmost kindness just because it might brighten someones day. So for me it is little moments like this that combine into the moment I knew Cassidy was the one.
What did your first date entail? Our first official date was a pretty standard one. I took Cassidy to the Bourbon on Ottawa St. We ate nachos and drank beer. I ordered the beer and Cassidy was happily chugging it down so I said you must like this beer, to which Cassidy replied with a grin behind the pint glass. No. Cassidy was just being nice and didn’t want it to go to waste.
Tell us about your proposal. The day was April 13th 2018, Friday the 13th. I grew up very superstitious and Cassidy was the one to break that in me, so what better way to change the meaning of this superstitious day than a proposal. In Lasalle they have a “pirate bridge” in a park we frequented to walk our first dog. I stood in the middle of that bridge in the moonlight with our two dogs, waiting for Cassidy with the ring being on the collar of our first dog. (She said yes) and I may or may not have sent Cassidy to pick up a pizza that I never ordered to give me some more time to set up.
What was your favourite memory about your wedding day? I would have to say our favourite memory of our wedding was just finally being able to have our wedding. The day we got married was our third attempt. With our original day being in August 2020 and second date being September 2021 both were postponed because of the pandemic. We knew this was the final attempt and everything worked out, no mask mandate, no restrictions we finally got what had dreamed of our perfect wedding day.
Why did you choose Pelee Island Winery as your wedding venue? It was important to us that we got married close to home, we now live in Amherstburg but are both from out of town. Cassidy being from the Chatham area and her family being all over. And me being from around the GTA and all my family still being there. So with it almost like a destination wedding we wanted to showcase the area where we fell in love and built our life together. And what better place to do that then Pelee Island Winery. It was the first and only venue we saw, we had seen enough to know this was the place. The mix of the old and the new is what really drew us. The old being the beautiful main building where we had our ceremony under the pavilion and then having our guests walking back to the beautiful new modern second floor event centre taking in the beauty of the winery along the way. It was perfect.
What is the secret to a happy marriage? The secret to a happy marriage told to me by my parents is that you make each other laugh everyday. I really think the secret is work, it takes work to build your relationship and it takes work to keep it. So my secret would be to never stop working on your marriage, work to be the best person you can be for your partner. Because if you both give your best self to each other life will come easy.
Thinking of getting married at Pelee Island Winery? Email events@peleeisland.com.