STEF AND JEFF’S ALTON MILL WEDDING IN CALEDON WAS ONE FOR THE RECORD BOOKS –
This day was absolutely everything that I love about weddings rolled into one beautiful package. Not only did Stef have the kind of effortless style that made each aspect of their day cohesive and chic, but she also worked in so many sentimental details that made the day so unique and special to her and her now husband Jeff.
Stefanie and Jeff spent their day between three small towns. Although that may seem like a lot of unnecessary travel and a total headache, this was actually my favourite part of their wedding. Stef spent the morning getting ready in her and Jeff’s home in Guelph along with her closest friends, while Jeff and his groomsmen prepped for the day at his childhood home alongside their dog Harvey before jetting off to their ceremony space in Fergus.
Despite being a very untraditional couple, Stef created her own kind of tradition by deciding to host their ceremony at the same church that her maternal grandparents were married almost fifty years before them. Not only did she tie this into her ceremony, but she also wore a beautiful sapphire ring of her grandmothers that acted as her something old, borrowed, and blue, and found some of their own wedding photographs that I used alongside all of their stationery details on the morning of the wedding as a way to include them in the celebrations.
BY FAR ONE OF MY FAVOURITE PARTS OF THEIR WEDDING WAS WHEN THEY ENTERED THEIR CEREMONY TOGETHER
From the bride…
“One of my favourite parts of the day was our 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.
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.”
THE ALTON MILL WAS THE PERFECT BACKDROP FOR THEIR RECEPTION
From the bride…
The vision for our wedding was simple, modern, understated, and above all, just a really good party with our closest family and friends.
As for the venue, we knew our guest list would be under 100, so were looking for an intimate setting with a lot of natural materials like stone, concrete, and wood. We didn’t want to “over-decorate,” wanting instead to let the venue do most of the talking. We found this and more with the Alton Mill which had amazing grounds, art galleries for cocktail hour, a waterfall courtyard complete with fire pit, and museum for the bar area.
The venue itself was DIY in the sense that the Alton Mill doesn’t have 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, “Welcome to the Party” sign, asymmetrical table number holders and, most importantly, the AMAZING bar. Together, we also did the seating chart and all the printed signage.
Overall, it was tied together so beautifully with our floral design! We trusted our florist (Robyn of Blooms and Flora) completely and she ran with our vision of understated and modern florals in whites and greens. 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. We couldn’t have asked for a more amazing backdrop for photos!
View more of their wedding day on Magnolia Rouge!
Special thank you to all of the vendors involved in making their wedding day dreams come true!
Wedding Coordinator | Jess of The Modern Bride | Floral Design | Blooms and Flora | Dress | Tatyana Merenyuk | Bridal Boutique | The Modern Bride | Reception Venue | The Alton Mill Arts Centre | First Look Venue | Goldie Mill Park | Ceremony Venue | Melville United Church | Makeup Artist | Meghan Barbour | Hair | Mandy Savoy | Bridesmaid Dresses | Keepsake the Label | Bridesmaid Dress Shop | Saks Fifth Avenue | Bridal Shoes | Louise Et Cie | Shoe Boutique | IF Footwear Boutique | Groomsmen Suits | Moore’s Custom Suits | Engagement Ring and Wedding Bands | Jacob Mercari | Bride’s Earrings | Kate Spade NY | Stationery | Minted | Caterer | Foodies Anonymous | Wedding Favours | The Dessert Room | Decor Rentals | Jodi Leigh Designs | DJ | Mike Fiori | Transportation | Brentwood Livery | Handmade Wood Elements | Jeff Ferraro | Extra special thank you to Alana for second shooting!
