We’re excited to introduce you to the always interesting and insightful Tiffany Burling. We hope you’ll enjoy our conversation with Tiffany below.

Tiffany , looking forward to hearing all of your stories today. Can you tell us about an important lesson you learned while working at a prior job?

I have had a million jobs and for being only 39, I feel as if I have lived so many past lives!

After high school I went to post secondary for Social Work and subsequently worked as a Social Worker for several years. Even though I loved what I did I was burning out and needed to shift gears. I went back school for Fundraising Management for Not-For-Profits and transitioned from a front line social worker to an events and fundraising manager for the same agencies.

Still not in love with what I was doing every day, I took a leave of absence and got a job as a server while I figured out my next steps. In this new environment I fell in love with food and beverage and ended up developing a new career in the hospitality industry. I studied wine and became a Certified Fromager (Cheese Expert) and started a company doing wine and cheese tastings. Sounds like a dream job right! Wrong…I still wasn’t happy because I actually wanted to be an artist.

I had always wanted to do something in the arts but was too afraid of rejection to apply to art school out of high school. Now as an adult I figured I would throw my hat into the ring of exhibiting my work with galleries representing emerging artists. I quickly got over any fears I had of showing my work and also started to see ways that the emerging arts scene could improve. I decided to open an art studio which led to opening an art gallery and event space, that I eventually closed…and now running an alternative wedding company and coffee roastery. Because coffee was the obvious next step, haha.

ALL of that to say that the most important things I have learned over the years and from my many jobs is not to be afraid to change my mind and to believe in myself and the decisions I am making for my future. Time and time again I had people telling me that I needed to “pick a path and stick to it”. I still remember people’s reaction to me telling them I was going back to school for cheese. They thought it was a joke until I was charging $250 an hour to have a room full of lawyers listen to me talk about my favorite cheese to eat with chocolate. The point is that everything has brought me to this very successful passion driven life I live. I am fortunate to do what I love every day utilizing all of the skills I gained along way. None of it was a waste of time and I use elements of all of the past lives in different situations within my current business.

Tiffany , before we move on to more of these sorts of questions, can you take some time to bring our readers up to speed on you and what you do?

My name is Tiffany Burling, I am a mixed media Visual Artist and Floral Designer. Together with my husband, mother and brother I run Toronto Micro Weddings. We are a family business specializing in Intimate All-Inclusive Luxury Wedding Experiences. My background in hospitality and the arts made the transition to weddings a no brainer.

Life has become so expensive and couples are finding themselves struggling to afford being able to get married. We were talking to so many people debating if they could afford to get married and buy a house, or get married and have kids. People are also very busy working, balancing career, family and life. Planning a wedding can be overwhelming at the best of times. Toronto Micro Weddings offers an affordable, stress free alternative to the traditional wedding as well as the planning process. We want our couples to be able to invest in their marriage not in their wedding, but still see the vision they had for their big day come to life.

Our $7999 luxury all inclusive Micro Wedding Package is a one stop shop which includes:

– A half hour legal or commitment ceremony INCLUDING YOUR OFFICIANT – we will connect you in advance so that you can make sure the ceremony reflects your values and taste, this is after all the most important part and should feel personal. We can accommodate any religious or cultural requirements.
-Ceremony to be followed by a two and a half hour cocktail reception for 50 guests – You can upgrade to a larger guest size and the length of your event can be extended.
-Wedding planning including all vendor procurement/management as well as wedding itinerary creation/implementation
-Day of coordination services including all set up and tear down – you are not working on your wedding day!
-Venue (we work exclusively out of our own west end event space, TCE on Sterling located in the Junction Triangle)
-Custom Decor design/installation – we absolutely want to customize this decor as much as possible to reflect you as a couple and the vision you have
-Florals for your ceremony altar as well as bridal bouquet and boutonniere
-Digital invitations
-Guest Favours from Baby Sweet Coffee
-Guest book, card box, etc. are included and can be customized
-Basic photography package including 40 edited shots non watermarked is included – you can upgrade your photography package as well as add videography.
-Entertainment including DJ for ceremony and reception included – additional entertainment can be arranged (for example, live music during ceremony)
-Basic AV package with custom ceremony and reception lighting, wireless mic for speeches and MC duties
-Welcome Glass of Sparkling Wine for everyone, 3 passed canapes, wedding cake
-Bartenders/Service staff
Our all inclusive package includes a Sparkling wine toast, 3 different passed canape offerings that will last throughout the event (these are seasonal and chefs’ choice).
-WEDDING CAKE IS INCLUDED and we are able to accommodate all dietary needs such as sugar free, vegan, etc.

Looking for additional food? We can also add food stations, buffet or formal coursed meals to your package.

We can accommodate any requests but the idea is that even if you don’t upgrade anything you still have an unforgettable experience with all the bells and whistles included!

It is so fulfilling to be able to help couples celebrate their love! To assist them in starting the next chapter in their lives in a way that is comfortable and easy, for both their wallets and their mental health. Breaking the industry norms because wedding planning should be fun!

As mentioned above, our package includes guest favours. We used to outsource our favours to local artists, however my husband Jeff is a coffee roaster and a few years ago we decided to start our own roastery to supply coffee for custom coffee guest favours. This not only allowed us to bring back those profits that were being paid out but also allowed Jeff to incorporate another passion he had into our business. The favours were such a hit that we opened Baby Sweet Coffee as an online brand selling retail coffee bags but also guest favours to weddings that we weren’t planning. We also offer coffee at all of our weddings and it was great to be able to serve our own product. We are very excited to announce that the first Baby Sweet Coffee brick and mortar cafe will be opening early 2025 in the new Mirvish Village development at Bathurst and Bloor.

How’d you build such a strong reputation within your market?

Offering an alternative to the status quo! Our service is disrupting the wedding industry and to be honest it speaks for itself. Once people hear about us or attend one of our weddings they talk about us and tell their friends. We are creating a new category of weddings rather than trying to be the best in an existing market.

How did you put together the initial capital you needed to start your business?

It was very important for us to grow slowly in a way that we could self fund. We didn’t want to lose money to high interest loans or give away ownership of our business. In the early days we all wore many hats and worked VERY hard so we could keep expenses low. We saved…and reinvested.

Initially we would rent venues by the hour and rent all of our events equipment. Eventually we opened our own venue and invested in all of our own equipment but this all happened gradually.

Contact Info:

• Website: https://www.torontomicroweddings.com/
• Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/torontomicroweddings/
• Other: https://www.babysweetcoffee.ca/

Image Credits

Michael Gozum and Beau Pinto