WedLuxe Magazine Summer/Fall 2015 Toronto & Eastern Canada | Page 143

photography by: WA N D E R I N G E Y E P H OTO G R A P H Y LAUREN WILL and S E A S O N A L D E TA I L S A N D A R I C H A U T U M N A L C O LO U R PA L E T T E E VO K E T H E R O M A N C E O F FA L L L auren menkes and will dempster were introduced by mutual friends while attending a toronto international film festival party. The two had an instant connection and spent the entire night chatting. “We both knew from the start that we had something special between us,” says Lauren. The couple were engaged in San Cassiano, a ski resort village in Italy. Will used to spend his winters working in the village for a luxury travel company and Lauren was visiting him on holiday at the time. The pair had just woken up when Will surprised Lauren with a proposal on a beautiful sunny morning. “We spent the rest of the day celebrating and taking in the views of the magical Italian town,” Lauren recalls. Lauren and Will were married on October 18th, 2014 at the royal ontario museum (rom) in Toronto. Martina Stritesky of white bow events was hired to provide full-service planning and design assistance for the autumn celebration. The couple looked to Martina to orchestrate a wedding that felt intimate yet grand and reflected the fall season. “The vision was a luxurious and cozy, fall setting,” the couple shares. “We wanted to bring guests into a historic space but make it extremely personal at the same time with all of the details.” On the morning of the wedding, Lauren got ready a short stroll away from the museum at the four seasons hotel toronto. She wore a beautiful, vintage-inspired beaded gown designed by Jenny Packham, purchased from white toronto. She accessorized her dress with diamond drop earrings and a diamond bracelet belonging to her mother that served as her “something borrowed.” Her pear-shaped diamond engagement ring with an Art Deco feel was created by a family jeweller. Lauren and Will’s traditional Jewish ceremony and formal reception was hosted in Bronfman Hall at the rom. www.wedl u xe.com 143