Cory and Rowena's big day

Welcome!

Hello friends and family! It's the week of the wedding!

If you're looking for information about the event, look no further! Please see below for all the details regarding Friday night's welcome party and Saturday's event.

To get added to the wedding whatsapp group first create an account and then send an email to whatsapp@coryandro.com. Also, the current front-runner for the wedding hashtag (if you're into that sort of thing) is #getlukky.

Looking forward to seeing everyone soon!

- Cory and Rowena

Friday Night Welcome

What: Come join us for a few celebratory drinks at a local Niagara brewery
When: Friday, July 1 at 9:00 pm
Where: Oast House Brewers
2017 Niagara Stone Rd, Niagara-on-the-Lake, ON L0S 1J0, Canada
Phone: +1 905-262-8463
Attire: Casual (Canadiana encouraged)
Transportation: Transportation is not provided. Please plan responsibly.
Parking: Overflow parking is available at the church across the street
Other info: We are doing our rehearsal dinner at the same venue. The brewery will have a patio open to the public at this time and guests should feel free to come early and enjoy food and drink before the official party starts (though we've been told it might get crowded). We’ll open the doors whenever we finish eating but by 9 at the latest.

Saturday Ceremony and Reception

What

Celebrate our marriage at a vineyard in classic Niagara style

When

Saturday, July 2, at 4:15 pm

Where

Ravine Vineyard
1366 York Rd, St. Davids, ON L0S 1P0, Canada
Phone: +1 289-868-9627

Attire

Cocktail. Be warned: it is a vineyard, there is grass, and your stilettos may sink deep into it.

Transportation

There will be three bus pick up options for guests:

White Oaks: 3:30pm
Hilton Garden Inn: 3:45pm
Fort George (Downtown Niagara-on-the-Lake): 3:45pm

Buses will be returning to the hotels and downtown Niagara-on-the-Lake throughout the night.

Parking

Parking is available on-site at Ravine

Niagara-on-the-Lake

Getting There and Away

Niagara-on-the-Lake is located about 30 minutes NW of Niagara Falls, near the border between the US and Canada.

For those coming from Canada, it is a 1.5 hour drive South from Toronto's Pearson International Airport and a 1 hour drive East from Hamilton's John C. Munro International Airport.

Those coming from the US might find it cheaper to drive to Buffalo or fly to Buffalo Niagara International Airport. The domestic flights to Buffalo are typically more cost-effective than flying internationally to Toronto. However, be sure to bring your passports and factor in additional travel time for the border crossing. There is a Buffalo Airport Shuttle which offers transfers from the airport to Niagara-on-the-Lake.

For those of you driving, we will try to facilitate carpooling with other guests.

Bus service is also available to Niagara-on-the-Lake, though is not frequent and does require connecting through Niagara Falls.

Where to Stay

Below is a brief list of recommendations on places to stay in Niagara-on-the-Lake. It is Canada Day weekend - a big deal! - so we do recommend reserving your accommodation early. Cory and Ro will be staying in the town of Niagara-on-the-Lake, which is a great option if you can find a rental or B&B, though unfortunately it doesn't have a lot of big hotels.

We will provide one shuttle from Hilton Garden Inn and a second shuttle from the town of Niagara-on-the-Lake to the venue.

Hilton Garden Inn	The Hilton Garden Inn is conveniently located just off the highway and very close to the wedding venue. It is about a 20 minute drive to downtown Niagara-on-the-Lake. We have a block of discounted rooms reserved there - use the code `LZW16` to get the group discount.
White Oaks Resort	The White Oaks is very close to - and similar to - the Hilton Garden Inn. We were unable to get a group rate so just make a normal booking through their website.
Hotels/Bed and Breakfasts in Town	There are a large number of smaller hotels and B&B's in and around downtown Niagara-on-the-Lake. We recommend just jumping on trip advisor, bedandbreakfast.com or your favorite travel website and choosing a place.
Vacation rentals	Both VRBO and airbnb have a number of vacation rentals in the area. This is also a highly recommended and often more affordable option for those who don't mind something a bit more self-service. You can use the following links to start your searches: VRBO, airbnb.

Things to Do

There's no shortage of things to do in Niagara! Some ideas are listed below.

Wine Tasting

If you have a designated driver, nothing beats a leisurely afternoon visiting a few of Niagara's beautiful vineyards and tasting the wine. If no one wants to drive, you can also rent a bike or join a tour. Follow the Niagara Wine Route.

Trius has a fabulous high-end dining area. Inniskillin is renowned for their ice wine. For those of you who enjoy more full-bodied wines, Rowena is a fan of the Henry of Pelham Baco Noir Reserve. Southbrook is Canada’s first biodynamic winery and well known for excellent meals.

Niagara Falls

A walk around the falls at sunset or at night can be gorgeous. You can also take a ferry through them, though prepare to get wet!

Around Niagara Falls is a thriving industry of haunted houses, a Butterfly Conservatory, Botanical Gardens, and even Niagara Falls Casino.

Golf

Plenty of scenic golf options around town, many of them using the same grounds for vines as for courses.

Spa

Two of the nicest hotels in town host relaxing spas: Secret Garden Spa at Prince of Wales and 100 Fountain Spa at Pillar and Post.

Shopping

There is a long tradition of Americans flocking to Canada for discount shopping and Canadians flocking to America for the same. In addition to a variety of outlet malls on both sides of the border, Niagara-on-the-Lake town also features a very quaint downtown with lots of unique shops.

Theater

The Shaw theater festival will be taking place in NOTL this weekend, producing the works of Bernard Shaw and Shavian playwrights. Theaters are located in NOTL town.

Buffalo Wings

Probably not worth a dedicated trip, but Buffalo NY is the hometown of buffalo wings. So if you’re driving through anyways, might be a chance to pay homage.

Botanical Gardens

Some people like flowers. If you’re one of them, go here. There’s even a butterfly conservatory.

Eat

Great meals can be found at Garrison House, Treadwell, and Backhouse. Kitchen 72 inside the Two Sisters Vineyard serves delicious Italian food inside of an impressive estate.

Drink

Silversmith Brewing is an excellent local artisanal brewery offering offbeat new drinks.

Some informal later-night options include The Olde Angel Inn, Sandtrap, and the Irish Harp.

Celebrate Canada Day!

On Friday night, July 1st, from the Southern banks of Lake Ontario on the north side of NOTL town, you will be able to see the fireworks light up across Toronto, Hamilton, and Niagara.

Celebrate America Day!

God knows what those Americans do. Have a BBQ?

Paperless

This is a paperless wedding. That means all of our save the dates, invitations, and thank-you notes are being delivered digitally. These small choices have helped us to enjoy a more eco-friendly wedding and save the trees. Thank you for your support and understanding!

(In order to make up for the lack of paper invitations, Cory spent more time than he’d care to admit making this website.)

Organic

Organic food means no persistent pesticides or synthetic fertilizers, which might have dangerous consequences on human health; no GMOs with unknown consequences for us and for our ecosystem; and better treatment of animals, including no synthetic growth or breeding hormones. It is a cause that Cory’s parents are extremely passionate about and something we were excited to bring to our wedding.

All of the vines at Ravine Vineyard are organically certified. Ingredients for all food are locally sourced and organically inspired. Bonus: they bake their own bread, raise their own pigs, and grow their own certified organic vegetables!

Gifts

Cory and Ro are blessed enough with each other and all of their wonderful family and friends. In lieu of gifts, we'd love for you all to make a donation to one of the great causes below.

La Strada

La Strada works to eliminate gender-based discrimination and violence in Eastern Europe; to prevent trafficking of women and children; and to promote human rights, gender equality and children's rights. This includes an emphasis on improving state policy and research; advocacy and education campaigns; social assistance to victims of violence; and operating Ukraine’s only hotline for the prevention and protection of women and children’s rights.

TO DONATE: La Strada Ukraine currently does not have a good international donations platform. In order to minimize excessive international wire transfer fees, guests who wish to donate to La Strada can give cash (CAD or USD) or cheques (Canadian or American) addressed to Rowena in the gift box available at the wedding. Please write 'La Strada' clearly on the memo line of the cheque or in the card. We'll ensure the money is safely and directly delivered to La Strada.

Spark Microgrants

Spark MicroGrants is a small NGO pioneering a new method of community development. Spark supports rural poor communities to design, implement and manage their own social impact projects. They provide micro-grants of between $2,000-$10,000 to enable project implementation, such as of a school, electricity line or farm. No interest or repayment of the funds granted is requested. To date Spark has partnered with over 100 communities in Rwanda, Uganda, and Burundi who have developed local project plans and are in the process of implementing them.

African Conservation Foundation

The African Conservation Foundation is working towards the protection and conservation of Africa's endangered wildlife and their habitats. Founded in 1999, ACF fills a unique niche by creating an Africa-wide network for information exchange and capacity building of conservation efforts in the region.

Climate Reality Project

The Climate Reality Project is an organization founded by Al Gore whose mission is to catalyze a global solution to the climate crisis by making urgent action a necessity across every level of society.

If you still feel moved to give a gift, please keep in mind that we live on the other side of the world (almost exactly), which means a virtual or monetary gift is much easier than a physical gift.

Our Story

People have referred to Cory and Rowena as "the greatest couple in the history of time". They have also called them "a power couple the likes of which the world has never before seen". Okay, the people that said those things are Cory and Ro and they may be a little biased.

Despite their self-proclaimed greatness, Cory and Ro have a pretty typical story. They met working together. Cory was blown away by Rowena's passion and thirst for adventure. Ro thought Cory was alright looking and a pretty good programmer. It did take years, but somehow he managed to woo her into considering him as a partner, and the rest has been history.

The Proposal

Cory bought a ring in India and, without a better plan, decided he would carry it around in his pocket until the right moment presented itself. That lasted about three days. The first weekend after Cory returned, we decided to go for a hike up Chapman’s Peak, a mountain south of Cape Town. The wind was intense, the trail was closed, and all the vegetation had just burnt down in a forest fire, but we climbed up anyways. At the top, with Hout Bay beach unfolding behind us, Constantia to the North, the Atlantic Ocean to our left and the Indian Ocean to our right, Cory popped the question and we agreed to spend the rest of our lives together. Good timing too, because minutes later the clouds rolled in and eclipsed everything.

Save the Dates

We had a lot of fun with our save the dates. We made six different versions and randomly sent them out to friends and family. Click on any of the images below to see the full version.