Christine and Andrew pulled their wedding off inside a French tavern in Hamilton with sixty one guests and a whole lot of heart. A day this personal only reads as easy when someone is quietly holding every thread at once, and here that someone was Mel Wood of W Events & Decor. Christine has spent years working in the wedding industry herself, so she handed the vision to a team she already trusted and let Mel translate her taste straight into a room. What follows is calla lilies the size of your forearm, a vinyl only DJ, a 1972 getaway car with real family history, and a cake so big that guests were still slicing into it with the staff at the end of the night.
Location: Hamilton, Ontario, Canada
Style: Intimate, Personal, French
Time of planning: 8 months
Number of guests: 61
Setting: Restaurant
Season: Summer
Christine and Andrew grew up in neighbouring cities and never crossed paths as kids. Andrew spent about a decade living abroad, and it was only once he moved back home that a mutual friend finally put the two of them in the same room. Their first date landed roughly a month later, and that was pretty much that. Since then they have become a family of four, with daughter Stella arriving in 2022 and son Conrad born in the fall of 2025, which is why having Stella right there in the room on the wedding day mattered so much.
Bride's Morning & Fashion
The bridal morning started quietly and privately. Christine and Andrew read each other their own vows before breakfast at Langdon Hall. The dress was the CINQ Claire Gown, and Christine fell for the gauntlet sleeves before she fell for the rest of the gown. She walked in to Lana Del Rey’s Radio, and there is a nice bit of full circle to that, because the same label later built Lana’s own custom wedding gown.
On her feet were Maison Margiela Tabis that she bought in Paris, standing in as her something blue. The split toe Tabi is a proper fashion person move, quiet and a little bit subversive tucked under all that fabric, and it tells you exactly how Christine thinks about getting dressed.
Her hair was styled by Iside Dallan at Apple Salon in Guelph, and her makeup was by Hilary Grimm. Her earrings were diamond drops from Hearts on Fire, a gift from her parents and her something new. The bouquet, by Jodi Leigh Designs, was the emotional centre of the whole look: one oversized calla lily, carried as an homage to Christine’s mother and her maternal Nonna, who each walked down the aisle holding a single white calla lily of their own. The calla has that clean old Hollywood line to it, the kind Katharine Hepburn used to carry, and Christine wanted hers big and unmissable.
Groom’s Fashion
Andrew’s suit was a custom build from Atelier Munro, and the personal touches are where it gets good. The jacket, bowtie and pocket square were embroidered, and his cufflinks came from Japan, where he lived during his years abroad, so a piece of that whole chapter of his life travelled down the aisle with him. His shoes were Cole Haan, his boutonniere was a calla lily to rhyme with the bouquet, and the watch on his wrist was a wedding gift from Christine.
Ceremony
The ceremony happened right inside Le Tambour Tavern, with guests gathered close, some seated and some standing, so the whole thing stayed tight and warm instead of formal and distant. It was guided by celebrant Beth Charles, and it moved between traditional and modern with a light hand. Every music cue was curated and timestamped by Christine herself, which tells you how much thought went into the pacing of it.
Stella carried the rings in on a pillow that Christine’s parents had used at their own wedding, quietly standing in as the something borrowed. When the room got to the moment of who gives away this bride, Stella proudly answered we do right alongside the bride’s parents.
The readings kept that going. One reading in particular left barely a dry eye in the place, and Andrew’s uncle Lionel, ninety three years old and in from out of town with Jean, his wife of seventy years, said the grace. That is the kind of detail you cannot rent. It only exists because these two built the guest list around the people who have actually shown them what a long marriage looks like up close.
Moments Together
After the ceremony, the pair slipped out in Andrew’s father’s 1972 El Camino, streamers trailing off the back, which is a far more interesting getaway car than the usual polished classic and carries a lot more meaning too. From there the day loosened into a proper cocktail hour, with four signature drinks built by the staff at Le Tambour Tavern and named Amour, Etoiles, Soleil and Lune, after the French line about loving you more than the sun, the moon and all the stars.
The couple also stole time for a photo wander through downtown Hamilton with their photographer, Theresa Ouimet, who has been quietly documenting this family as it has grown. They walked the yellow line down a quiet main street with a drink in hand and no schedule to answer to. As favours, guests went home with salted butter and a baguette, which is about as Parisian as a party favour gets and completely on theme for a day that started with a French tavern.
Reception
Here is the origin story the whole night was built on. Long before the venue said yes, Christine was in Paris, got a little turned around, and stumbled onto a Le Tambour on some side street. She took it as a sign, and a few weeks later the Hamilton Le Tambour Tavern agreed to host them. The food they had eaten in small French bistros was the top priority for the whole wedding, and this room delivered exactly that, exposed brick and a painted mural and a kitchen you can feel from your seat.
Green ran through everything, since it happens to be a favourite colour of both the bride and the groom, and it slotted into the venue so naturally that even the restaurant’s existing menus turned out to be the perfect shade. The florals and decor came from Jodi Leigh Designs and W Events & Decor, working across one long communal table lit by candles, with calla lilies threaded down the middle and black ribbon tied at every place setting. Everyone ate facing each other, which is the entire point of a dinner party wedding.
Music was handled by Record Collective, a vinyl only DJ, and it ended up being one of the favourite parts of the whole evening. Their first dance was Apocalypse by Cigarettes After Sex. The cake was exactly as promised, oversized and over the top, a low broad round buried under fresh raspberries.
The most memorable moment of the day, by Christine and Andrew’s own account, was dancing with Stella to More Than a Woman, the song they sang to her in the hospital the day she arrived. They closed the night the way they opened the whole idea, sharing heaping slices of that cake with the Le Tambour staff, everyone off the clock and in it together.
One more touch worth clocking: every guest found a handwritten letter waiting for them when they arrived, thanking them for being there. Sixty one letters, written by hand, before a single toast was raised. That is the tone of the entire day in one small gesture.
Advice from the couple:
• Keep it intimate and true to who you are as a couple.
• Personal and unique touches make things memorable.
• Food >>>>>>>>
PLANNING & DESIGN W Events & Decor | PHOTOGRAPHER Theresa Ouimet | VENUE Le Tambour Tavern | FLORALS & DECOR Jodi Leigh Designs | MUAH Iside Dallan / Apple Salon, Hilary Grimm | DRESS CINQ | SHOES Maison Margiela | EARRINGS Hearts on Fire | GROOM’S SUIT Atelier Munro | GROOM’S SHOES Cole Haan | OFFICIANT Beth Charles | DJ Record Collective
