Zahra and Don: I Just Wanna Stop.

Zahra and Don were set to wed in the summer of 2011. Plans were running smoothly; the formidable wedding wheel was fully engaged. But three weeks before the day of, the couple did the unthinkable deed, the deed that so few couples ever have the courage to do: They called it off—cancelled their wedding! They needed time to think, time to work on their relationship. So they postponed the wedding till June of the following year. They strengthened their ties, and the couple continued as promised along the path to marriage—this time stronger, happier, and decidedly deeper in love. It takes a smart couple to realize that if you want to keep loving someone, you may just have to stop.

Photography: T.H. Jackson Huang
Planner: Melissa Haggerty, Spectacular Spectacular
Florals and Decor: Lidia Taconelli of Fiori Floral and Event Design
Hair and Makeup: Al Fortier, A-List Beauty
Stationery: Christine Flynn, Love The Design
Cake: Bobbette & Belle
Venue: Royal Conservatory of Music

Zahra loved the design of her original invitations; so much that she and planner Melissa Haggerty decided to reuse them by crossing out the original date and writing in the new one underneath. The guests were thoroughly amused!

Planner Melissa Haggerty and photographer Jackson Huang stopped traffic with the help of four policemen on bicycle, seconds before a 2000 person protest overwhelmed Bloor Street.

As a child, Don spent many hours in The Conservatory studying music. Planner Melissa Haggerty thought it apt that Don play Zahra down the aisle. So he bought a piano to practice and told none but Zahra, who, after walking down the aisle, sat down at the piano and played the final note.

Zahra and Don took a page from the “You are My Sunshine” Style File in Wedluxe which staged a colour scheme of yellow, black and white. Planner Melissa Haggerty arranged the chairs to mimic piano key formation to echo Don’s musical tribute to Zahra. Lidia Taconelli of Fiori filled the room with enormous yellow garden roses that shined boldly against the crispness of black and white.