A Bespoke Wedding at Casa Loma with a Custom Ines Di Santo Wedding Gown
Teresa Pasqualino and Patrick Luzny first met as teenagers, when Patrick became friends with Teresa’s brother Domenico during high school. Patrick was “caught completely off-guard” when he was introduced to Teresa; and in an admittedly misguided attempt to get her attention whenever possible, he would pick on her relentlessly.
Understandably, Teresa couldn’t stand Patrick during the first few months of knowing each other, but one thing she couldn’t deny was their banter. Eventually, Patrick won her over after pursuing her for the better part of three years. Teresa was kind enough to “throw him a bone” with what she thought would be no more than a single date.
A Winter Wonderland Proposal
Despite his adolescent antics, Patrick knew from the beginning that he would marry Teresa one day, saying “she was everything he could ever hope for.” Before popping the question, he secretly met with Teresa’s parents to ask for her hand in marriage. When the day of the proposal arrived in December, he also enlisted the help of friends and family to make the occasion extra special for his fiancé-to-be.
“As for her wedding dress, Teresa knew it had to be Ines Di Santo and no one else.”
The evening started out with dinner at the restaurant where the couple had their first date. While the two shared a romantic meal together, everyone else was hard at work putting together a winter wonderland proposal at the home of Teresa’s parents. In a secluded corner of the property, they set up a cozy firepit, complete with plenty of blankets, hot chocolate, and snacks. The finishing touch was a snow machine that blanketed the scene with a light dusting of powdery snow.
As the couple returned from their night out, the families hid inside the house and shut off the lights. Patrick led Teresa down to the firepit, and struggled to maintain his composure as he explained how he couldn’t picture his life without her. Of course, the rest unfolded perfectly. The remainder of the night was spent celebrating inside with everyone who made the experience so unforgettable.
Planning a Bespoke Wedding at Casa Loma
Teresa and Patrick are blessed with a big and loving family. Since it was very important to them to have everyone involved, the first challenge of the wedding planning process was finding a venue that was large enough to fit everyone, while still feeling like an intimate and unique space. After a great deal of deliberation, the couple visited Casa Loma in Toronto and fell in love with property.
Both Teresa and Patrick have always loved hosting parties and get-togethers, and find great joy in planning out the little details. Planning a bespoke wedding at Casa Loma turned out to be just as enjoyable. They had a wonderful time choosing every detail of their wedding day, from flower arrangements to place settings. When it came time to put together wedding invitations, they designed the layout themselves, asked a friend to create the artwork, and worked with a local print shop to pick out the perfect velvety paper.
A Custom Ines Di Santo Wedding Dress
As for her wedding dress, Teresa knew it had to be Ines Di Santo and no one else. Ines had previously designed a custom dress for Teresa to wear during her engagement party, and the first time the two met, she had sketched a drawing of how she envisioned the bride-to-be would look on her wedding day. Teresa trusted Ines to have full artistic reign when it came to the wedding dress, and the results were spectacular as Ines customized her gorgeous Sen gown with a different lace.
The groom’s attire was also a bespoke creation. Patrick is very particular about a lot of things, and his wedding suit was no exception. He worked closely with ESCO, a local Italian clothier, to design a custom suit from the ground up. Everything from the fabric to the cut was meticulously hand-picked, and the finished product was one Patrick could be proud of.
The Wedding Vision and Guest Experience
With Teresa coming from a family of restauranteurs and bakers, she wanted a genuine love for food to be reflected in the wedding guest experience. As such, a lot of attention was placed on selecting a refined and varied wedding menu. It was imperative that there was something for everyone.
The couple’s wedding vision also involved each portion of their celebration having its own dedicated space. Their big day would begin with the wedding parties getting ready together at the homes of the bride and groom, before being whisked away via limo to St. Basil’s for the ceremony. The church was especially meaningful since it was located on the University of Toronto campus, which both Teresa and Patrick attended.
For the reception, cocktail hour would begin on the terrace of Casa Loma, overlooking the gardens and the city before moving into the library and conservatory for dinner. The night would end with dancing underneath the stars in the glass pavilion, located in the castle gardens.
Just prior to the wedding, Teresa and Patrick wrapped up a few final details like taking dance lessons in preparation for their introduction as a married couple. They wanted everything to be perfect.
Favorite Wedding Moments
One of the couple’s favorite wedding moments was their first dance. After a beautiful but busy day tending to their guests, the dance marked the first time the bride and groom could fully relax and enjoy a peaceful moment together as a married couple. They were also blown away by their wedding cake, made by close family at their bakery, which wonderfully captured the motif of the day.
Honoring Their Italian and Polish Heritage
The wedding was a union not only between Teresa and Patrick, but their entire families as well. It was important for the couple to capture elements from both sides, honoring their Italian and Polish heritage.
As part of the ceremony, both sets of parents took a moment to come up to the altar and bless the soon-to-be newlyweds. The reception included personal touches like Tarantella dancing, a live accordion player, a vodka toast, and food and music from both cultures.
A Canadian Honeymoon
Teresa and Patrick have dreamed of going on safari to the Okavango Delta in Botswana for years. Due to the COVID-19 pandemic, they decided to defer those plans to the following year but used the opportunity to get to know their home country of Canada even better with an epic Canadian honeymoon.
The newlyweds spent an unforgettable couple of weeks exploring Canada’s beautiful east coast, with stays from Halifax to Charlottetown. There, Teresa and Patrick indulged in their adventurous sides, riding the tidal bore and whale watching in the Bay of Fundy, driving up along the coast of Cape Breton, and eating fresh oysters under the stars on Prince Edward Island.
WEDDING TALENT
Location: Casa Loma, Toronto, ON; Planner: Leanne Menchella; Floral & Event Design: Fleurisma Events Inc.; Rentals: Detailz Couture Event Rentals, Special Event Rentals; Cake: La Rose Bakery, Milton, ON; Desserts: Truscott Bakery, Mississauga, ON; Invitations: Costa Printing, Woodbridge, ON; Wedding Dress: Ines Di Santo; Groom’s Attire: ESCO; Photography: Everlasting Moments, Toronto, ON