Shawn + Calum | a stylish extravaganza at the Broadview hotel

When scotland meets Barbados

When Shawn and Calum shared the details of their wedding and all the personal touches they had planned, it was clear they planned to mesh the cultures from their two backgrounds, Barbados and Scotland, seamlessly. It was so beautiful to witness guests from opposite sides of the Pacific coming together to share their music and dance moves.

The venue | the Broadview hotel

We’d been wanting to visit this venue for a while, so we stopped by a few weeks earlier for drinks on the rooftop bar. It was chilly that night, but we sat under the heat lamps and looked out over Queen West so we could get an idea of the space we’d be working with. With the exception of some elevator trouble, the hotel is a dream. The staff were friendly and helpful; the rooftop dining room is beautifully lit by the enormous skylight in the ceiling; and Lincoln Hall is a brick-walled reception hall with a sizeable dance floor.

The Planner | Trevents

As always, it was an absolute joy to work with our favourite wedding planner with a face for TV, the incomparable Trevor Frankfort. When I met up with Calum and Shawn a few weeks before the wedding to discuss the final details, Trevor joined us as well. It’s actually remarkable the recall he has for each wedding he’s working on—and I suspect it’s quite a few at any given time.

The thing we love about working with Trevor is that no matter how many moving parts there are to a wedding day (like this one!), he never looks flustered.

The performers

Steel drums, Ceili accordian, Scottish dancing, a string quartet, and a drag performer—the grooms’ respective cultures and interests came together so flawlessly, creating an international celebration of love. I think my favourite was the surprise musical interlude composed by Shawn for Calum and played during his wedding vows by the string quartet. This wedding is truly one to remember.

Congratulations Calum and Shawn!

wedding Vendors

Venue: The Broadview Hotel
Planner: Trevents
DJ: DJ Phillippe
Photos: Liz Beddall Weddings
Decor: Thyme Studio
Live music: Wellington Music, Steel Melody TO
Drag: Vitality Black
Clothing designer: DISÉIYE
Hair: Steph George
Makeup: Viktor Peters