ET LØFTE EVENTS

SALSA ANYONE?

I had the honour of being part of Robyn and Carlos' wedding who were wed on January 4th, 2008. A very sweet couple with a very unique vision for their day, I knew that even the coldest weather couldn't freeze this ultra hot affair.

Held at Lula Lounge -- a hip salsa club in the west end of Toronto -- the wedding perfectly captured the Latin influence.

The ceremony was held upon the main stage at Lula Lounge with nothing but a bright red curtain as the backdrop -- which put the focus directly on the couple. Directly in front of the stage sat a memory candle upon a delicately patterned silk linen -- a symbol for those who could not in person share in the couple's happiness that day. Both the bride and the groom's parents lit the candle before the ceremony began and Robyn -- in an absolutely stunning wedding gown -- was walked down the aisle by her brother. The ceremony incorporated the tradition of the chord/lasso and coins (also called the Arrhae). The chord or lasso is wrapped around the couple to insure the protection of their union and to symbolize unity and infinity. For the coins or The groom presents his bride with thirteen coins -- a symbol of his commitment to support her. The bride then carries these coins in a little bag.

After the ceremony the guests gathered in the Lula Lounge's front room where they were served hors d'oeuvres and placed their gift cards in a beautifully decorated birdcage.

In the main room, the tables were equally unique. Each table was dressed in a different style of silk, patterned linen and topped with a funky urn filled with a single floral stem. While simple in design, the different linens and unique vase added impact.

Dinner was absolutely delicious! Appetizers offered a choice between a marinated vegetable salad with slow roasted sweet peppers, red onion, zucchini, eggplant and tomatilla served with baked goat cheese, black olives and sundried tomato tapenade (whew! what a mouthful!) OR Norwegian smoked salmon on asparagus and English cucumber salad.

The main course also provided a wide variety:

Black Angus beef tenderloin in a pommery mustard glaze with honey roasted parsnips, Yukon Gold potato and green onion medallions, drizzled in a wild mushroom sauce OR
chicken breast marinated in Newcastle Brown Ale on herbed guinoa dressed with green mango, mixed sweet peppers and ancho chillies OR
vegetarian ratatouille with herbed couscous, deep fried chevre cheese, vegetables and papcone chips with mango chutney.

I myself had the Chicken breast and it was absolutely mouth-watering! And dessert was no different -- a choice of chocolate truffle cake or lemon strawberry mouse cake. The chocolate truffle cake was incredibly devine. And to my complete shock (but a pleasant one) at the end of the evening I had learned that the event manager, Mark, had created the delicious desserts himself!

But the best was yet to come. After an incredibly romantic First Dance, a beautiful and cheerful Salsa instructor appeared and gathered all the guests on the dance floor. With a little bit of humour, some exciting music and a whole lot of skill, this chickita had the guests on their feet and learning some very sexy salsa moves. The guests were clearly having a blast. Even I had to fight the desire to get on the dance floor!

Afterwords, the guests were in for yet another treat. Rather than have a traditional DJ for the dancing portion of the night, Robyn and Carlos hired a salsa band-- Caché -- to perform live. The band was extremely talented and had all the guests on the dance floor whether they knew how to salsa or not.

The cake was stunning and scrumptious and added just one more touch to an already entertaining and vivid wedding.

Despite the cold weather outside this was one hot wedding! Robyn and Carlos successfully created a uniquely entertaining evening for their guests and incorporated Carlos' roots -- introducing many to a new culture -- but in a way that made all feel welcome and right at home as though they've lived that culture all their lives.