Kurtz Orchard Wedding | Kyla & Alex | Tara Lilly Photography

Kyla and Alex’s Kurtz Orchard wedding was entirely outdoors with the ceremony on the lawn and dinner in an orchard under the stars. Their black-tie and floral affair started with lawn games and ended with an epic dance floor and sparklers.

A Kurtz Orchard wedding is the perfect venue for an elegant wedding while still being surrounded by nature. The fact that the weather was perfect and the ceremony, cocktail hour and dinner were all held outdoors was the icing on the cake for a perfect Niagara-on-the-Lake wedding. In Kyla’s words:

“We love wine and visiting vineyards and Kurtz Orchard provided a beautiful backdrop to get that vibe without having to travel too far from Toronto. The setting itself was very special- you don’t get to have dinner for 135 people under the stars in an orchard very often!

Kyla and Alex have a huge group of friends from all over the world, many of whom participated in the wedding, making it extra special.

“It was magical- we truly had the best day and felt surrounded by so much love. We had planned for the whole thing to be outside in the vineyards and orchards at Gracewood Estates, at Kurtz in Niagara-on-the-Lake and lucked out with a spectacular September day. It was a high risk plan that went perfectly. We’ve traveled to a number of wine regions and were looking to recreate that feeling close to Toronto, where we’re both from. We had rented out the Riverbend Inn adjacent to Kurtz and it was full of our family and friends. We started the day with an outdoor yoga class overlooking the vineyards and both had a lot of fun getting ready with our bridal party. The ceremony was officiated by Kyla’s uncle and a close friend of ours from London, Tony Cronin which made it feel really personal and reflective of us. We had a champagne toast while signing the registry. We had acoustic Beatle’s music throughout and our London friends (dubbed the Notting Hill Boys Choir for the occasion) sang us out with a rendition of “With a Little Help From my Friends.” We are both big cheese lovers and had an amazing cheese and charcuterie spread for the reception- guests were then brought from one side of the Kurtz property to the other in a vintage vineyard trolley for dinner and dancing. We had speeches and dinner under the stars in between the orchard trees which was so beautiful, followed by a serious dance party (thanks to the amazing band The Mad Hatters and our friends who agreed to DJ- Andrew Best and Craig Hill). The trolley then took everyone back to the Riverbend Inn for an after party. To keep the festivities going, we had a brunch the next morning and then had a group who stayed on to do a biking wine tour and dinner the following night.”

Planning an outdoor wedding can be difficult, and when asked, Kyla and Alex had some great advice for other couples planning a wedding.

“Planning a fully outdoor wedding in a place neither of us knew well (Niagara-on-the-Lake) from the UK presented some challenges. Luckily we had a great wedding planner and lots of help! Also, pick vendors you like! You’re putting a lot of faith in them and will be sharing some emotional moments with them too. We were so lucky with our band, wedding planner, hair and makeup team and photographer!” (Check out the full list of vendors with contact information at the bottom of the blog)

Being a part of such an emotional day, with family and friends that were all very involved felt like having a back stage pass to a rock show.
Kyla and Alex, THANK YOU, it truly was an honour!

-Steve

Special thanks to David Proc for shooting alongside me at this wedding.

Thank you to all of the vendors that made this Kurtz Orchard Wedding possible!

Planner | Danielle Shaw  | @shaw_events
Venue | Gracewood Estates | Kurtz Orchard
Officiant | Justice Michael Quigley
Stationary | Kevin Lafleche | Paper Ideas, Toronto
Caterer | Kurtz Orchard
Florist | Bloom and Co | @bloom_and_co
Dress Design | Amy Kuschel | @amykuschel
Suit | Dolce & Gabbana 
Band | The Mad Hatters 
Make-up Artist | Sandra Yang
Hair Stylist | Allison Kam
Alterations | My Bridal Alterations