The Fermenting Cellar Wedding - Stephanie And Reilly

Real Wedding Description

The Fermenting Cellar Winter Wedding at The Distillery District

Two words that I never thought would go together as well as they do are in fact the perfect description for The Fermenting Cellar wedding of Stephanie & Reilly-James - Industrial Romantic. Distilleries are inherently not the most romantic of places, especially when compared to their counterparts, the Wineries, with their romantic couples’ getaways to vineyards where couples sample the most popular elixir of lovers. What makes The Fermenting Cellar so special and so romantic though despite the cold limestone walls and heavy rusted machinery is the rich history of The Distillery District, and the perfect blend of Victorian Industrial architecture with dramatic and chic design that is open to each couple’s own romantic interpretation. Stephanie & Reilly-James, along with the phenomenal event coordination team at The Fermenting Cellar and the Table Tales decor team, transformed the venue into a truly magical space, full of dazzling lights, sparkle, and lots of love and laughter.

Getting Ready

Both Stephanie & Reilly-James got ready at the luxurious historic King Edward Hotel that’s just a short drive from The Distillery District. Their elegant, yet chic, multi-room suites, with their unique and colourful decor, were phenomenal for capturing all the energy that their friends and family brought to the day. Stephanie put so much care into all the details for the day, including a dress form for her stunning wedding gown from Eve of Milady and adorable matching robes for all the special ladies in her life, who had so much fun get their hair all done up by Nicole Graftner and their make-up perfected by Gassia from Blush X Balm.

While the girls were popping bottles of champagne and sipping on mimosas, the boys sat back and relaxed with beers in hand until there was just enough time to get dressed. With everyone helping each other put on their ties and pin the boutonnières, the guys got dressed in no time. While Reilly-James looked so dapper in his navy blue Endochino tuxedo, the best part of his wedding outfit was the personalized note on the bottom of his shoes written by Stephanie to be read by him on their wedding day. It’s these special little details that are unique to the couple that are our absolute favourite to capture when they are getting ready for the big day.

Ceremony at The Fermenting Cellar

The ceremony of Stephanie & Reilly-James was held right at The Fermenting Cellar. When guests entered the venue, they were greeted by 32 ft. high ceilings, timber beams, and limestone walls. However, between the stunning candles and chandeliers, as well as the bright pops of purple and gold light put together by the event coordinators, the gorgeous florals from Verona Florist, and the luxurious Paris themed decor (and what’s more romantic than Paris?) from Table Tales and Stephanie & Reilly-James’ personal mementos collected over their years together, the once Victorian Industrial distillery building was elevated to a breathtaking and romantic space, perfect for our couple’s I do’s.

Officiating the ceremony was the lovely The Marrying Lady. It’s incredible to see how much energy she brings into the room, captivating the guests with her warmth and emotion. While some ceremonies can be a bit of more on the serious side, The Marrying Lady kept Stephanie & Reilly-James smiling and laughing the entire ceremony. Their ceremony was so full of life and joy, which, combined with the stunning rich gold and purple colours and luxurious lighting, is all we could have asked for in capturing such a special moment.

Portraits at the Distillery District

While the guests were enjoying the cocktail hour at The Fermenting Cellar following the ceremony, we stepped outside for portraits with Stephanie & Reilly-James and their wedding party. You wouldn’t haven’t known it was freezing by just looking at them. Stephanie & Reilly-James, in their post-ceremony high, had no trouble keeping each other warm and smiling as we explored the Distillery District together and played with the gorgeously warm winter sunset lighting. Their wedding party also seemed oblivious to the cold as we kept them cracking up for the photos with games and prompts that even had passersby doing double takes.

Reception & Party at The Fermenting Cellar

Back inside, The Fermenting Cellar was now all set up to start the reception. Have we already mentioned how gorgeously decorated the space was? We simply cannot get over how beautiful everything looked! The golden glow of the chandeliers hanging above the head table, along with the tea-light candle centrepieces, were the perfect contrast to the deep purple lights illuminating the limestone walls all around. Now add to it hanging bistro lights and a giant LOVE marquee sign, and you have the most stunning reception backdrop. Everything glowed, glimmered, and twinkled in the light while all the guests were wined and dined, and entertained with hilarious speeches, games, and dances. Stephanie & Reilly-Jame’s fun-loving personalities truly radiated throughout the whole reception, even as they cut into the mouth-watering 4-tier wedding cake by Nancy from Cake Craze Co.

And of course the fun didn’t end there. While some couples only make the occasional appearance on the dance floor, Stephanie & Reilly-James tore it up with all their family and friends all night long, bringing every ounce of energy until the very last song. Stephanie & Reilly-James, Wow, what a wedding, and we cannot thank you enough for having us be there to capture it all for you. It was ‘a little piece of heaven’. ;p