A Gorgeous Garden Party Wedding in Halton Hills, Ontario

About the couple

Bride: Melissa Dale

Groom: Eric Bortlis

How they met: “We are high school sweethearts,” explains Melissa. “We had a number of courses in common and immediately caught each other’s eye. After a couple weeks of high school flirtation, we officially started dating and the rest is history.”

Engagement story: “Eric and I were on a weekend getaway in Niagara-on-the-Lake that had been planned for months,” Melissa recalls. “We were visiting Hillebrand/Trius winery (one of our favourites!) and were invited by the staff to go up the lookout platform. When we got to the steps, they were chained off, and although this should have tipped me off, there had been some extreme weather that morning, and I figured it had been blocked off for that reason. When we reached the top, there was a table set up with champagne on ice. Eric nudged me towards the table and as I got closer, I saw there was an envelope addressed with my name. With shaking hands, I opened it up and pulled out the letter. On it, two simple words, ‘turn around’, were written. When I did, he was down on one knee.”