Vine Time

About the Couple:
Bride: Elizabeth Pyshnov
Groom: Karim ElGarhy
Occupations: Elizabeth is the president of her own fragrance company and Karim owns his own automotive engineering company.
How they met: “We met in grad school. Strangely enough, we spent four years doing our Bachelors in the same university without ever crossing paths, and it was only when fate put our offices on the same floor in grad school that we finally met in the elevator getting off at the same floor.”
Fave date: On their first date, Karim took Elizabeth to a Chinese restaurant in Montreal that didn’t use MSG. Elizabeth was so surprised that Karim had remembered a conversation in which she had mentioned her love of Chinese food, unfortunately coupled with an allergy to MSG, and was touched that he had found the perfect place to treat her.
What attracted her to him: “His sweet smile, caring personality and calm presence.”
What attracted him to her: “Her stunning beauty and charismatic personality.”
Engagement story: Karim took Elizabeth on a surprise winter trip to Mt. Tremblant. In the evening they went for a walk in the snow. They stopped to admire a lake that was frozen and still and the snow had just started to fall when Karim proposed.

The Wedding Day:
Wedding date: August 2, 2008
Guests: 70
Wedding theme: Light pink and sage green—intimate and elegant.
His best moment: “Holding her hands as we said our vows in front of our family and friends.”
Advice to others: Some glitches the day of the wedding are unavoidable, but in the end, on the day of the wedding, the little details won’t matter.
Fave wedding gift: “The hand-crocheted bed cover that Kelly, the maid of honour, made for us.”
What made her day: “Being surrounded by friends and family and everyone being so happy for us. I originally wanted a small beach wedding, and had even considered eloping because I was shy about having so many people’s attention on us. The day of the wedding, though, all my shyness slipped away and having all our family and friends surround us and feeling all that love and energy in the room was really amazing.”
What made his day: “The whole day was so euphoric. It’s hard to choose any one thing!”
Honeymoon: A week in St. Martin in the French West Indies.
The day in three words: Fun, intimate and elegant.

Vendors:
Bridesmaids’ dresses: Smart Set (smartset.ca)
Ceremony and reception: Château Taillefer Lafon (chateautailleferlafon.ca)
Favours: Homemade strawberry-vanilla jam made by the mother of the Groom
Flowers: Jardin Direct, Laval
Gown: Anne Jean-Michel, Montreal
Hair fragrance: Pure & Petal (purepetal.com)
Makeup: M.A.C. Cosmetics (maccosmetics.com)
Registry: The Bay (hbc.com)
Tux: Zara (zara.com)