On Center Stage: A couple gets married on the stage of the Paradise Theater

Laura O’Brien and Robbie Boyter met on Tinder in March 2017, and from their first date at Bryden’s Pub at Jane and Bloor, O’Brien knew they had something special. Her bridesmaid-to-be was staying at her house that night and, says O’Brien, “I told her she had a good feeling.”

After what O’Brien, a communications manager for a nonprofit poetry organization, calls “a lot of really good dates all over Toronto,” including a first kiss outside the Palmerston library, the two officially became a couple. in May. In 2018, Boyter, an accountant for a cannabis company, moved into the Queen West apartment that O’Brien shared with her cat Rodney, whom Boyter now affectionately refers to as her stepson.

(Want more love stories? See how theatergoers Michelle MacArthur and Simon Rice turned their wedding into a performance.)

Laura O'Brien and Robbie Boyter had been to the theater before the pandemic.

Boyter wanted to stage a romantic proposal during a European trip to the Austrian town where they filmed O’Brien’s favorite musical, “Smiles and Tears,” but the pandemic had other ideas.

During the lockdown, O’Brien says, “Robbie would religiously go for a walk at lunchtime, every day for an hour.” During those walks, Boyter began planning a proposal. “It was the perfect opportunity to find all the jewelry stores within walking distance,” she says. “And I received the ring in time for Christmas.”

The bride and groom met on Tinder in March 2017.

Every year, the couple take a Christmas Day stroll through Trinity Bellwoods, where they first said, “I love you.” “On Christmas Eve, I was transferring the ring from the stash in the apartment to my coat pocket,” says Boyter. “Laura is in the shower and she is singing ‘I Can Hear the Bells’ from ‘Hairspray.'” It was the signal she needed to propose to him the next day.

After impatiently making phone calls on Christmas morning, it was finally time to walk. “Laura had no idea,” says Boyter. “There’s a nice spot next to one of those little streetlights, and I knelt down in the snow and asked her to marry me.” After spending an hour laughing together in the park, they returned home to call their families again, with May 2022 in mind for their wedding.

Once they started planning, they knew they wanted to keep things Toronto and source West End vendors in honor of their Junction home, including flowers from Pictus Goods, a wedding cake from the Bake Shoppe, and beer from Burdock Brewery. (Even their wedding photographer, Alyson Hardwick, lived just down the street from their venue.) “From the beginning, we really wanted to have a local focus,” says O’Brien. “We both feel so connected to living here.”

Of the venues they saw, the movie theater and the Paradise Theater event space seemed like a perfect fit, especially since they had gone on a date there pre-pandemic. It was also important that his 65 guests could walk or take the TTC to the venue.

In their votes, the couple included many mentions of cats.

The ceremony took place on May 21, 2022 on stage, with a backdrop of wood and flowers that the couple built with the help of friends. Outside, the marquee stood out their names. The guests ate popcorn, of course, along with food from the hotel’s restaurant, Osteria Rialto.

“We both wrote our own vows,” says O’Brien, “which included a lot of references to cats.” After the vows and the signing of the marriage contract, the non-traditional ceremony moved directly into speeches. “We knew we wanted to hear from the people we love and the people who are part of our wedding,” says O’Brien. “We wanted to bring the emotional parts to the fore.”

They followed with their first dance on stage, where Boyter had one more surprise for O’Brien: a video message from his favorite musician, Dan Mangan, wishing the couple well. After receiving their tele-blessing, they danced to Mangan’s version of Neutral Milk Hotel’s “In the Airplane Over the Sea.” To make sure all of their guests could dance the night away, they moved the venue’s full-length bench to the side of the dance floor so people who needed seats could still be a part of the festivities.

The best part of the whole night? Being surrounded by the people you love the most. “I remember being there, right after the ceremony was over, I looked around and everyone was with us,” says O’Brien. “Everywhere I looked, I saw the happiest faces of the most beautiful people in the world, and Robbie. And I felt that we had achieved something only through love.”

THE DETAILS

Place Paradise Theater

Food Osteria Rialto, Raspberry Point Oysters

Burdock Brewery Drink, Tawse Winery

Coordinator Day Kim José, Love ‘n’ Things

Photographer Alyson Hardwick

cake The Wedding Cake Shop, cake shop

Flowers Pictus Estate

Wedding dress 1 Fashion Brand Company

Wedding dress 2 Wray NYC

Tailors Tailors 3rd Floor

Bridal veil and floral headband Etsy

BHLDN Bridesmaid Dresses

Bridal and bridesmaid hair and makeup Ziba Style Bar (hair by Cherice, makeup by Malaika)

Hairdresser for grooms and groomsmen B-Side Barbers

Calvin Klein wedding suit

Wedding Rings Etsy

Engagement Ring Anice Jewelry

JOIN THE CONVERSATION

Conversations are the opinions of our readers and are subject to the Code of conduct. The Star does not endorse these views.


Leave a Comment