The year was 2016, and the setting was Toronto’s Soho House. As Erik Paige walked into a friend’s birthday party, Kyle Mottley was captivated. “I remember thinking to myself, ‘This is the hottest man I’ve ever seen’. I figured he was straight, and I was nervous, so I said nothing and focused on the evening ahead.”
Erik, who had also noticed Kyle right away, watched as he interacted with his friends throughout the evening. He was increasingly drawn in by Kyle's positive energy and moves on the dance floor. “I remember thinking to myself, ‘I want to dance with those people…and who is that guy?!’"
Eventually, Erik and Kyle were formally introduced by friends and spent the rest of the evening talking nonstop, politely shooing away anyone who tried to interrupt them. Kyle remembers being both very comfortable around Erik, and yet at the same time, quite nervous. Erik was drawn to Kyle’s deep belly laugh. “From the beginning, I never felt self-conscious around Kyle," he recalls. "I just felt secure and so easy around him.”
Erik and Kyle’s first date took place at a Toronto Blue Jays baseball game. “We’re not particularly into baseball," explains Kyle, "but it’s such a high-energy and fun thing to do if you live in Toronto.” After roaming the city streets for hours post-game, the two quickly became inseparable. It didn't hurt that they also share a passion for design, art and homes — Kyle is a home stager and Erik is a realtor. “It’s so special to be able to work in the same field,” says Erik. “We’re so often on the same wavelength.”
Within two weeks of knowing each other, Erik had introduced Kyle to his family. “After I saw how much they embraced him, I was in,” he fondly recalls. For Kyle, there was no 'aha' moment but rather a growing sense of knowing as he grew more comfortable around Erik, allowing himself to be vulnerable, relaxed and shy, all at once. "When we started to think about living together," he said, "I started to worry about what could go wrong, but my mom told me to stop overthinking. 'Sometimes, she said, you can't deny happiness.'"
By 2021, Kyle had been thinking for over a year about the perfect place to ask Erik to marry him. He decided to engage the team at Soho House to plan his proposal in the very spot the couple first met. However, Covid-19 regulations would have required the couple to wear masks the entire time. “I just couldn’t have a mask or Covid attached to this incredible moment, so the plan fell flat,” says Kyle.
Undeterred, Kyle rented a cottage in Muskoka, where he made up a false pretense of driving north to celebrate a friend’s birthday. With the help of some friends, the cottage was decorated with flowers, candles and a large custom neon sign of a question mark (the dot was a heart). Erik, who was distracted on the drive up north by the daily stresses of life, didn’t see it coming. As he entered the cottage, Kyle dropped down on one knee and all of Erik’s worries flew out the window. The newly engaged couple celebrated all weekend.
On June 3, 2023, Kyle and Erik wed at Toronto’s Graydon Hall. “June is the best month for us,” explains Erik. “There are lots of family birthdays, it’s Pride, and the weather is wonderful. Working with wedding planners ATP, the couple planned a non-traditional celebration for 140 of their closest family and friends. The black-tie optional gathering featured two parts, starting with a timeless black-and-white theme for the wedding. “We wanted to embrace the seriousness of the ceremony, which was particularly emotional as Erik’s mother, who had passed in 2014, couldn’t be there,” said Kyle. As a tribute to his mother, Erik wore her pearl and diamond brooch on his lapel.
Post-ceremony, the couple changed into dazzling blue ensembles and purposely changed the atmosphere by injecting as much colour and music as they could, representing Pride and the joy of post-pandemic life. Kyle, whose background is Jamaican and Trinidadian, wanted a Caribbean vibe, so a steel drum set the tone for the cocktail hour. Guests dined on a four-course meal that included a Burrata Salad, Bolognese Pasta, a choice of Tenderloin or Cod, and for dessert, a Chocolate Brownie Cake as well as Passion Fruit Cheesecake. “Our two desserts were purposely black and white,” explains Kyle.
Some of the couple’s most memorable moments included exchanging vows, their first dance, and the end-of-evening fireworks. On their way back to the Four Seasons Hotel, where newlyweds spent the weekend, Kyle and Erik listened to a tape made by a friend, who recorded interviews with guests throughout the celebration. “This is much better than a guest book," says Erik. "We’ll be able to listen to these treasured wishes for the rest of our lives."
