Tonya Papanikoloff met her now-husband Simon Chantry on a blind date in 2017 after hearing about each other through mutual friends for three years. myself. ” says Papanilov, founder of a medicinal mushroom company. rainbow. “He was living in Barbados at the time, and when he told me about his work, which was all in the crypto field, it was like speaking in another language, but he was very down to earth. There was this beautiful ease that pervaded our entire relationship.” Six years later, under the new moon on the summer solstice of 2023, the two met in the same Canadian town where Simon proposed. We had a wedding on the island. Their friends served as vendors for the couple’s “fairy extravaganza,” which included a six-foot-tall “forest” cake, a mushroom centerpiece, and a performance by the groom. Tonya tells us all about it below.
Dear ITG
Drummond, our mutual best friend, had been telling Simon and I about each other for three years, and we had a relationship with each other. Drum used to say, “You guys are thinking the same thing.” You have great imagination and kindness. ” My ears always rang when I heard his name. I never pursued that, but I thought he sounded great. Then in 2017, I went through a big breakup. We had a few months before we decided to meet up, and we ended up meeting at a wine bar in Toronto. archive.
It’s funny, I remember thinking on the way to the bar that I don’t even know who Simon is. I texted Drum and he said, “Walk towards the guy with the beautiful curly hair.” He said to Simon, “That’s a beautiful woman with curly hair.” Once I got there, sure enough, I knew who to approach.After the bar I took him to a friend’s place harrison taylor’s Art exhibition. he and his wife Amanda LaneTwo of our best friends will be officiating our wedding. There were so many wonderful little bonds like this at our wedding, but before that…
I was really surprised when Simon proposed. There is an island in Ontario called Prince Edward County, and we have spent many special times together there. It’s where we confessed our love for each other in 2018 and where we got engaged. This proposal came as a complete surprise as we thought we were celebrating Simon’s birthday in March 2021. We were walking along the pier when he accidentally hit me in the face with his elbow, and tears were streaming down my face. He seemed nervous and got down on one knee and asked. One of his eyes wouldn’t stop tearing, but he was so happy. It was also a new moon, but he didn’t realize it at the time. Heavenly events like this are important to me.then we decided to get married bright house On the island.
To be honest, we didn’t really start planning until quite some time after we got engaged.started Pinterest board Inspired, the first board was called “Fairy Fête”. There were pictures of fairies, mushrooms, moss, and angels, and it was very divine. At one point I remember thinking, “Maybe I should wear fairy wings for my wedding?” How much fun would that be?’ This board is pretty far out, but we got somewhere in that realm and still called it “Fairy Fête.”
Everyone said our wedding was “just us” and the most unusual wedding they had ever attended. Sure, it was a wedding and there were some traditional aspects, but we really wanted to make it our own and celebrate everyone who played a big role in our love story. I tried. Harry and Amanda were at the altar with us. They led everyone into meditation and began the ceremony by addressing the planets that were aligned that day. And we commemorated her seat by having Drum sit on the leopard couch and sit down the aisle. Introducing the best man and us. All of our vendors were also our friends. The music was by Roxy Moon and there was also a performance by my dear friend Pandora’s band Baby Baby. Simon also performed. That was a big surprise.
Creating the flower and mushroom arrangements and overall decor was a super fun process with one of my dearest friends, Lauren Wilson. Timberlost. We found a beautiful vintage Moroccan rug that we used for our ceremony. Mela In Toronto. I was especially excited about the mushroom arrangement. It’s very beautiful and matches well with the fairy theme. Even the 6-foot “forest cake,” which was actually a strawberry shortcake, was topped with real mushrooms, fresh flowers, and several trees and plant shrubs. Natalie Colak I made it and not only did it look amazing, but it was also one of the most delicious cakes I’ve ever eaten. And there’s actually a product called Rainbow. forest juice. It’s maple syrup with mushrooms in it, so I gave everyone a bottle as a gift. Simon and I’s nickname for each other is “Sweets”. Now everyone calls us “The Sweets,” so we named our syrup Sweets Juice, a play on forest juice.
The origin of delicious food is emma’s eatery Written by Emma Moore. I have worked with her before and she makes you feel like you are eating a nutritious meal made for a small group. The menu had salmon, steak, baby potatoes, and grilled vegetables. Everything was gluten-free, dairy-free, cooked in olive oil, and had a really delicious home-cooked feel.
My dress was a custom combination of two gowns. Newhiteand I had a celestial star veil from ofrenda—That was the dress I wanted when I got married.I was wearing a silk hairband. Aura Yellstar earrings jennifer bearand pearls Zhang Lu. Simon is a really big guy, height he’s like 6’4”. And since he has such a unique style, he designed beautiful woolen jackets and collared shirts himself. He was wearing a bolo tie with my face on it, which was hilarious.
For my beauty look, I wanted a very natural and dewy look with just a touch of shine and shimmer. Romy Zach I did both the makeup and hair and it came out perfectly. She used a lot of Saie products. slip tint, glowy super gel, glow scalp blushand glossy bounce lip oil in kissachieve the look.
I wore it because I always wear sandalwood oil, but it’s no secret when it comes to my signature scent. This was such an obscure thing that everyone imitated when I was younger, so at some point I decided to stop telling people.
I didn’t do much “preparation” for the wedding. I had two appointments with her for microneedling treatments and a Pure Glow facial. pure + simple and forma treatment tight clinic, but what I really wanted to focus on was more of a glowing body in terms of my own energy. I already practice a lot of Kundalini yoga, but Simon and I did his 5 class rejuvenation workshop. We are both very busy entrepreneurs and want to take the next stage of our relationship as consciously as possible and take time to digest what this means for our relationship and the vows we have made to each other. I thought. , and to put an end to the old programming of the past.
All in all, it was the most beautiful day. As we read our vows to each other, our guests’ eyes widened as the sun began to shine, the wind died down, and the birds began to chirp. All these beautiful little things happened the moment we said our vows. It was as if time stood still in this moment as we said these profound words to each other. It left a very strong impression on me.
—As told by Dice Vedra
Photographer Briyan Batista Bettencourt; Courtesy of Tonya Papanilov
