REAL WEDDINGS
An Italian Riviera-Inspired Wedding at Casa Loma in Toronto
A swan-inspired, black-tie dinner party at Casa Loma that brought the romance of the Italian Riviera home to Toronto.
Wedding Planning and Design
August in Bloom
Wedding Photography
515 Photo Co.
Wedding Venue
Casa Loma
When Alex proposed by the water on Lake Como, two swans swam up as he knelt. Little else about that trip went to plan. A snowstorm over Germany turned their overnight flight back to Canada, and the couple reached Milan almost 35 hours later, only hours before the proposal. The swans were the one detail no one could have arranged, and they became the quiet thread through Lara and Alex’s wedding day.
Italy is the couple’s favourite place to travel, and Como was their first dream for the wedding. With a large family on Alex’s side and two grandmothers who could not travel abroad, they brought the destination home instead. On July 26, 2025, Lara and Alex married at St. Gregory’s Armenian Catholic Church, then welcomed 203 guests to Casa Loma, the Toronto castle they chose as the foundation for what Lara calls an “intimate vintage European dinner party.”
Planned and designed by August in Bloom, the black-tie celebration traded Casa Loma’s familiar all-white look for chocolate brown, burgundy, green, silver and black. Lara described the mood as vintage romance meets the Italian Riviera, and every choice had to pass one test: would she still love it in 20 years?
A Quiet Morning at Home
Lara kept her wedding morning small, with only her bridesmaids, her mother and her aunt at the house, and she remembers it as one of the most intimate, unhurried parts of the day. She got ready in an ivory Flora Nikrooz chemise and robe while Faces by Adam did her makeup and Bridal by Gul styled her hair. Across the room, her gown waited on a dress form by the window.
June and Opal Paper Co. letterpressed the couple’s crest, two swans intertwined with their initials, onto the invitation, and a watercolour scene of the engagement setting, with two swans on the water, filled the folding booklet and envelope liners. Lara’s gown had its own story: she said yes to one dress in New York, knew within 48 hours it was wrong, and went back to Kleinfeld Bridal for the Pnina Tornai lace gown she had tried on first. Her corded French lace cathedral veil was handmade in Toronto by Lea-Ann Belter Bridal, the boutique behind her mother’s wedding dress.
That morning, Lara’s mother gave her the diamond earrings she wore all day. The bridesmaids changed into halter gowns tied with oversized bows. Just before they left for the church, her father arrived for a first look. Lara walked down the stairs toward him, and before she reached the last step he turned around and, as she remembers it, simply melted in her arms.
Alex dressed for the ceremony in a white Per Lui tuxedo jacket with a rounded shawl lapel, Hugo Boss patent leather oxfords and a two-tone Rolex Datejust. Monogrammed French cuffs finished the look, and by the time he reached the staircase he was all smiles.
Vows at St. Gregory’s
Lara’s parents walked her into St. Gregory’s Armenian Catholic Church, her veil stretching down the carpet behind her. At the front they lifted her veil and gave her away to Alex, who was wiping away tears by the time she reached him.
The moment that stayed with Lara came at the altar, their backs to their guests. “It felt like we were on a little date together, just the two of us, and time stopped,” she says. Then they walked back up the aisle as newlyweds, to a church full of applause.
Portraits at the Castle
Right after the ceremony, Lara’s grandmother gave her a diamond pavé ring more than 30 years old, a gift from her late husband for her own wedding. A white vintage car carried the newlyweds to Casa Loma, where stone walls, gardens and chandelier-lit rooms framed their portraits.
The wedding party joined them in the late afternoon, the bridesmaids in cognac satin beside Alex’s groomsmen in black tie. The couple wanted a balance of classic, modern portraits, Alex’s favourite, and the film and vintage feel Lara loves. For the final frames in the gardens, Lara’s custom veil caught the wind, all corded French lace and cathedral length, set on a flat comb for a sleek line.
A Vintage European Dinner Party
Guests began in the gardens with an “In the Garden” cocktail hour of scalloped umbrellas, a string quartet, a live oyster bar and Lara’s signature dirty martini, made with Castelvetrano olives she sourced herself. Dinner moved into the pavilion, where swagged cream draping and crystal chandeliers hung above long harvest tables and black bentwood chairs. The checkered dance floor was a calacatta viola marble vinyl, chosen over traditional black and white so it would feel more lived in.
Neroli Floral Design made grapes the focal point, spilling green and red clusters between white callas, hydrangeas and red anthuriums, and guests ate their way through them until the tables looked bare. Swans returned on the menus, on die-cut place cards that greeted each guest with “Ciao,” and in a ceramic swan filled with Just Married matchboxes.
From Last Dance to Champagne Tower
Alex changed into a black Per Lui tuxedo with a shiny peak lapel for dinner. The couple took the floor to live saxophone, then stood together at a clear lectern for a speech, Lara laughing as Alex held the microphone. A dance with her father followed.
Neroli’s grapes stayed part of the night long after dinner, Lara holding a bunch up for Alex to taste, before the couple made their first dance a “last dance” under the pavilion chandeliers to kick off the party. Their Italian millefoglie sfoglia cake from Aidas Bakery, topped with three kinds of berries, was served in vintage silver coupes, and a surprise fire saxophone performance sent everyone to the floor. A brief rain during dinner had Lara worried, but it stopped in time for the late-night gelato cart from Nana’s Gelato, and guests ran outside the moment they saw it.
For the late night, Lara changed into her third look of the day, the Bruna mini dress by Lovers and Friends, laid out with her pearls and pink calla lilies. To close the night, the couple poured a champagne tower dressed in green and red grapes. August in Bloom put it simply: it felt exactly right for a wedding that committed fully to its vision from the first detail to the last.
WedLuxe Glitterati Members
Wedding Venue
Casa Loma
The Team
Every professional who shaped this story, listed by role.
Wedding Planning and Design
Wedding Venue
Ceremony Venue
St. Gregory's Armenian Catholic Church
Wedding Photography
Videography
Wedding Florals
Draping
Rentals
Vinyl Floor
Stationery
Wedding Cake
Gelato Cart
Wedding Gown
Pnina Tornai
Bridal Salon
Veil
Lea-Ann Belter Bridal
Groom's Tuxedos
Bridal Hair and Wedding Party Hair
Bridal Makeup
Wedding Party Makeup
DJ and Entertainment
Photo Booth
Transportation
Reception Dress
Lovers and Friends (via Revolve)