Shakespeare in Love

About the Couple:
Bride: Michelle Giroux
Groom: Graham Abbey
Occupations: They are both actors.
How they met: “We met while working at The Stratford Festival of Canada.”
What attracted her to him: “He looked handsome in a canoe.”
What attracted him to her: “She looked beautiful in a corset (on the Stratford stage!)”
Engagement story: “Graham surprised me with the most memorable present ever: a Christmas vacation to Ireland—a country I had always wanted to visit. On Christmas Eve day we travelled to the Wicklow Mountains—a mountain range renowned for its majestic beauty. The film Braveheart was shot there. On the mountain’s peak at three o’clock in the afternoon with not a soul in sight, Graham proposed to me on bended knee with an engagement ring he had secretly been carrying through Europe in a pair of rolled up socks.”
Words they live by: “We will never lose sight of what it means to have a friendship that inspires, strengthens and renews our love each day.”

The Wedding Day:
Wedding date: August 3, 2008.
Guests: 85
Wedding theme: A country wedding.
Her best moment: “The moment I called him my husband for the first time.”
His best moment: “You may now kiss the bride.”
Advice to others: “There is so much planning involved and there are so many details to look after, but eventually you just have to let go and throw things to the wind.”
Wedding song: “We asked two of our dearest friends to sing Eva Cassidy’s rendition of ‘Songbird’ by Fleetwood Mac. The lyrics are filled with the most beautiful life promises.” 
Fave wedding gift: “We received a wedding present from Richard Monnett, our dear friend and mentor who recently passed away. We will cherish it always. We were most moved by the love and support of our family through every stage of planning and celebrating our life together. The wedding would not have happened without them. Our family has been the greatest gift of all.”
Most unexpected moment: “Our wedding cake melted in the car.”
What made his day: “For the first time in my life, I had all the people I cared about in the same room.”
Honeymoon: South Beach, Miami.
The day in three words: Everything we imagined.

Vendors:
Ceremony & reception: Langdon Hall Country House & Spa (langdonhall.ca)
Flowers: The Flower Market, Toronto
Gown: Monique Lhuillier (moniquelhuillier.com)
Groom’s attire: The Scottish Company (scottishcompany.com)
Music: Shugga, Toronto
Hair and makeup: Lorna Henderson, Toronto
Registry: William Ashley (williamashley.com), Williams-Sonoma (williams-sonoma.com)

See more of Michelle and Graham’s wedding story in our Spring & Summer 2009 issue.