Real Weddings 2013: a music-themed wedding on Toronto Island and Queen West

Real Weddings 2013: a music-themed wedding on Toronto Island and Queen West

Real Weddings 2013 | Alysse & Daniel

Date: September 23, 2012 | Location: Algonquin Island Association | Guests: 200


Alysse Rich and Daniel Field, both 28-year-old teachers, knew of each other for 20 years before meeting. The couple went to the same elementary and high schools in Thornhill but never met, and while Alysse was at McGill for undergrad, Daniel wound up tutoring her younger sister. They finally connected through a mutual friend in 2008, and Alysse asked Daniel out (he was “too chicken,” she says). She also took the lead on the proposal: after three years of dating, Alysse showed up at Daniel’s school in a stretch limo, led him on an elaborate scavenger hunt and proposed. “When she asked me to marry her, my students said, ‘Girls can’t do that!’ and I replied, ‘Why not?’ ” Daniel says. “I blew a bunch of preteen girls’ minds.” The couple had a traditional Jewish ceremony on Toronto Island: friends and family held the chuppah (built by Alysse’s father) and read blessings. They moved to the Great Hall on Queen West for the reception, where instead of a first dance, they shared a first song: the pair took to the stage and performed “The Comma Before the Storm,” a song Daniel wrote about grammar. “We play it at open mics, so all our friends knew the words and sang along,” says Alysse.

See the wedding album »