Modern monochrome Ontario wedding

With a vision of a simple, modern, understated celebration concluding with a really good party with their closest family and friends, it would appear looking at these beautiful images by KAYLA YESTAL that Stefanie & Jeff achieved exactly that and more. Their venue of ALTON MILL ARTS CENTRE offered them an intimate setting with natural materials such as stone, concrete and wood to aid in the organic styling. With amazing grounds, art galleries in which to hold cocktail hour and a waterfall courtyard complete with a fire pit, little was required in the way of decor and their guests could wander between the different areas.

TELL US ABOUT YOUR PROPOSAL: Jeff proposed in the bathroom of our home. While not the most glamourous of settings, it really could not have been more true to our relationship – uncomplicated.

A bit of backstory: Jeff had just finished renovating our only full bathroom. That afternoon, he hid the engagement ring in the medicine cabinet, knowing I would come home from work and immediately go upstairs to see the finished product. What he did not expect, was that I would indeed go upstairs, open the medicine right on cue… and then promptly close it and begin to leave the room, completely unaware of the ring. Needless to say, I eventually figured it out, said yes, and the rest is history.

TELL US ABOUT FINDING YOUR WEDDING DRESS: It was only a year between when we got engaged and married, so finding a dress was an early priority. I spent months going to countless bridal boutiques, never once feeling the “this is the one” moment. Frustrating at times, but not all for nothing, because I got to spend lots of quality time with my mom. I finally returned to my friend’s local bridal shop (and, ironically, the very first place I had gone) for another look. By this time, my mom knew exactly what I was looking for, immediately pulled the amazing Tatyana Merenyuk dress from the rack and I fell in love.

ANY DIY ELEMENTS? The venue itself was DIY in the sense that there were no packaged wedding offerings. We planned everything from furniture rentals to the special event permit and everything in-between. Hard work, yes, but was really fun to have put together such an awesome day from the ground up. Jeff builds furniture in his spare time, so all the wood décor elements were to his credit. This included the card box, all of the asymmetrical table number holders and, most importantly, the bar. Together, we also did the seating chart and all the printed signage.

DESCRIBE YOUR WEDDING FLOWERS: In keeping with the simple styling of the day, florals were the biggest decor element, but were also perhaps the easiest to plan. We trusted our florist completely and she ran with our vision of understated and modern florals in whites and greens. Flowers included ranunculus, anemones, peonies, sweet pea, tulips, ornithogalum along with hypericum berries, smilax and various eucalyptus foliages. Bouquets had a loose organic style, and were finished off with hand-dyed, small batch silk ribbons by Stella Wolfe in greys and black. Myself and bridesmaids also had hairpieces (each slightly different) of various greenery to tie things together in a way that wasn’t too “matchy”.

Two large urns in concrete containers set the tone at the church during the ceremony, which were then brought to the venue afterwards. Upstairs during cocktail hour, clear glass bud vases in different shapes and sizes along with loose greenery riffed on the overall theme. Downstairs, low, rectangular centerpieces in matte black containers allowed for good conversation across dinner tables. Sprigs of eucalyptus were also at each place setting as a modern alternative to rosemary or olive. The piece de resistance, was the amazing accent wall of greenery on the stone wall behind our head table, creating a focal point for the reception and an amazing backdrop for photos

FAVOURITE DETAIL OF THE DAY: All of them, but some highlights would be: 1/ The First Look. Our wedding day was over in what felt like an instant, and looking back, I am so glad we slowed down for a moment to capture the feeling of seeing each other for the first time on our big day.

2/ The polaroid guest book. The candid shots are priceless.

3/ The “his and her” theme that was carried throughout the reception. From cocktails, to entrée choices, dessert and macaron flavours, each were a nod to our respective favourite things!

4/ Shout out also to our amazing wedding day-of wedding co-ordinator (and friend) who worked some serious magic to pull off all the details of the day across three different towns.

WHAT ADVICE WOULD YOU GIVE OUT TO A COUPLE PLANNING THEIR WEDDING? Don’t over think it – find inspiration from your own home. Find local vendors wherever possible, and ones that you down right enjoy spending time with. Many of our vendors have since become friends! Don’t lose sight of what’s important to you, because it’s very easy to get carried away.

MOST MEMORABLE MOMENT? Having done a First Look, we had the luxury of being able to do the ceremony in a non-traditional way (a bit of a theme – we also didn’t have a wedding cake, or do a bouquet toss, etc.!). The bridesmaids and groomsmen entered the church first in pairs. Jeff and I entered last, arm in arm. Walking up to the front of the church together as one, was very special.

ANY OTHER DETAILS THAT HELP TELL THE STORY OF YOUR DAY? I was very close to my maternal grandparents, and wanted to find some creative ways to incorporate them into our wedding day. We were fortunate to have our ceremony at the church where they were married, almost 50 years ago. My mom and I also found some of their wedding pictures, which our photographer used as part of the bridal detail shots. The sapphire ring I wore was not only a my “something old, something borrowed AND something blue” but was also worn by my grandmother.

IS THERE ANYTHING YOU WOULD CHANGE OR DO DIFFERENTLY? Nothing, except maybe finding a way to have our dog be part of the celebrations!