Ilana & Adam "It was so genuine, loving, and everyone felt part of our moment. Our objective was to make our wedding 'simply elegant' - I believe we accomplished that and more."

Wedding Date: May 17, 2021
Photography: Trevor Brucki Photography
Ceremony & Reception: The Fairmont, Winnipeg, Man.
Flowers: Rick Mayhew & Beyond Flowers
Event Planner: Rhonda Youell (Mother-of-the-Bride) & Eric Schoen (Fairmont Hotel Event Coordinator)

How They Met
Adam and Ilana met through a mutual friend years ago, but were headed in different directions (Adam was leaving for Switzerland for six months and Ilana was starting her career). Almost three years later, Ilana transferred to a consulting practice in Chicago, while Adam started his Masters at Columbia University in New York.

Adam sent a mass email to his friends and family  informing them of his new contact information, encouraging them to contact him if they were ever in the New York area. Even though Adam and Ilana hadn’t kept in touch, she was still on his distribution list. Coincidentally, that same week, Ilana was starting work in NY (which was to last 6 months), and given she didn’t know anyone, she decided to respond to his email in hopes of making her first friend in New York. Four days after she contacted him, they spent the day together in Central Park and have been together ever since.  

The Proposal - In Ilana's words
“For as long as I can remember, Adam has always been taking pictures of me, much to my disapproval. On a Saturday morning in May, as he typically does, Adam woke up earlier than me and went to Starbucks to read the paper and to bring me home a coffee in time for me to start the day. That morning was a bit different though; along with the coffee, he also brought me a bouquet of roses – I didn’t think anything of it.  

“Adam encouraged me to drink my coffee outside on our deck because it was a beautiful day. As soon as I sat down, he told me he had made something for me. That’s when he presented me with a hard cover book entitled, 'One Love' by Adam Schneiderman.  

“I looked through the chapters of this book, the first one entitled, ‘The Past’; the second, ‘The Present’, which included a section entitled, ‘The many faces of the woman I love’; and the third, ‘The Future.’ The book was full of pages of photos that he’d taken over the years – photos he’d been strategically collecting for purposes of making the book.  

“’The Future’ chapter was two pages – on the first page, he wrote about how much he cared about me and about the ways I had forever changed his life. At the bottom of that page, he wrote, ‘We’ve had such a great past and present ... what do you propose we do next?’  

“The page that followed, which was the last page of the book, was a photo of Adam in a dark suit and tie on his knee with a ring in his hand. At that moment, I looked up to see him on his knee at 8:30 a.m. on our deck with my ring in his hand.”  

The Wedding Day
They wanted a white wedding – their flowers were white hydrangeas and their linens were champagne and white. “Our wedding day was perfect,” she says. “The most unique part of our wedding was our ceremony – we asked our closest friends and family to honour us by reciting a blessing over us as bride and groom.”  

Most Memorable Moment
There were three moments: 1. Seeing the bouquet of long stem white roses and card the morning of the wedding from Adam (in the bridal suite) 2. Seeing each other for the first time 3. Saying I do in front of our closest family and friends.  

Wedding Attire
Ilana wore a beautiful Barbara Allen romantic white gown of raw silk. “It was the most beautiful dress I’d ever seen. The raw silk was so soft and the style was perfect,” she recalls.  

Her maids wore Vera Wang. All three bridesmaids chose their own design in the same midnight blue.

The groom and his groomsmen wore black tuxes. The groom wore an Ivory white tie with a white shirt and cufflinks, while his groomsmen wore black ties with white shirts.  

Advice to Future Brides and Grooms
“The wedding is only a day. It’s making a life together that really matters,” Ilana says. “Enjoy every moment and don’t forget to take a step back and take it all in."