Wedding Vendors
Venue: Archeo - Distillery District
Getting Ready Location - Hers: One King West
Officiant: Ron Shantz of Enduring Promises
Wedding Dress: Melissa Sweet from David’s Bridal
Flowers: Ashton Creative
Suit: Caruso Fine Tailoring
Video: Gillian Pownall
DJ: Allan Pynn from DJ Flow Back Productions
Distillery District Archeo Wedding
The wedding of Keri and Jeremy at Archeo in the Distillery District was one of the sweetest, most emotional, and fun weddings we’ve been lucky enough to capture. You guys already know how much we love criers at weddings, and while at most weddings we hope for maybe the bride or the parents of the couple to cry a little (big bonus if the groom gives us a tear or two), we could have never expected the outpour of emotion that we witnessed at Keri & Jeremy’s Archeo wedding. They were both crying, their parents were crying, and even the bridesmaids and groomsmen were crying – and when they weren’t wiping away tears, they were either breaking into dance or cracking jokes and laughing hysterically. Diego and I had absolutely the best time capturing this beautiful Archeo wedding at the Distillery District and we simply cannot get over how much fun we had. Hope you enjoy reliving it with us!
Bride Getting Ready at One King West
Keri and her ladies all got ready together at the One King West Hotel, and it was such a treat to be back there after capturing Kim and Milan’s wedding at One King West earlier in the year. But on this morning, Keri and and her bridesmaids helped each other do their makeup and finalize their bridesmaids looks, with jokes and drinks flowing freely, and with Diego even going on an emergency LCBO run to get more bottles of bubbly for the girls. It was the perfect way to start a wedding day - a bride with a bubbly personality and an amazing group of girls to keep her laughing all morning.
Once Keri slipped into her elegant Melissa Sweet wedding dress from David’s Bridal, and her blue-soled heels were strapped in (no idea how Keri managed not to spill her drink while the girls were helping her), it was time to head out to the Distillery District for the Archeo Courtyard ceremony.
Groom Getting Ready
Jeremy’s wedding morning started with a giant feast at his parents’ backyard. As each groomsmen arrived, more food piled up, and with that, beers, of course. And that’s pretty much how most of the morning was - chill backyard conversations, drool worthy brunch spread, and more beers - at least until it was time to get dressed, which they did in record time! And what are groomsmen to do when they have an extra hour to kill? Go to the bar, of course! The guys went straight to the Mill Street Brew Pub in the Distillery District for a couple of pints to calm the nervous before the big moment.
Ceremony at the Archeo Courtyard
The Archeo courtyard was adorned all around with beautiful hanging flowers in preparation for Keri and Jeremy’s ceremony. It’s really the perfect touch for a romantic ceremony as the flowers contrast so beautifully against the warm and earthy tones of the historic brick buildings, especially pastel coloured flowers like in Heather and Salar’s Archeo wedding.
The Archeo courtyard, while very spacious, felt intimate and romantic even as the last guests arrived and filled the space. And shortly after the last guests took their seats, Keri arrived for the ceremony. It was clear she was doing her best to hold back all the excitement and tears as she made her way into the Distillery District and towards Archeo, where everyone was awaiting her entrance. So it was no wonder that as soon as Keri started walking down the aisle of the Archeo courtyard with her dad, and she saw Jeremy standing there at the front and all the guests’ eyes looking up at her, her eyes welled up with tears as all the emotion and excitement of the day came flooding in.
The whole ceremony was so joyous and sweet as the bridesmaids and groomsmen took turns speaking and sharing kind words with the bride and groom, with the guests having to wipe away tears every few minutes, while the rest of the time Keri’s infectious laugh kept the guests giggling in their seats. The energy of the ceremony was just so fun that we couldn’t wait for the reception to start and see all this love and excitement on the dance floor.
Couple Portraits in the Distillery District
Right after the ceremony we had a few quick minutes for couple portraits at the Distillery District, which is always so much fun for us. The Distillery District is an endless playground for wedding photographers - it has so many unique features, historic buildings, and bold colours, so while we’ve already done wedding portraits there multiple times, including Tanya and Alex’s The Loft wedding and Stephanie and Reilly-James’ The Fermenting Cellar wedding, the results are always completely different at each wedding and unique to the couple and the vibe of their wedding. We also love that our couples need to do minimal walking at the Distillery District between each shoot location, which is perfect when you need to get the bride and groom to the reception on time, all while keeping them smiling and laughing for their portraits. But to be honest, this was never a concern with Keri and Jeremy as they were so in love and over the moon to be finally married that they naturally fell into each other’s arms, giggling and snuggling with each other as we explored the Distillery District together and posed them for the couple portraits.
Reception at Archeo in the Distillery District
We adore the Archeo vibe - it’s industrial and it’s moody, yet at the same time, it’s elegant and romantic. The soft lighting from the candles, mixed in with the delicate arrangements from Ashton Creative, really set the mood for the evening and were the perfect backdrop for the speeches, which of course resulted in so many more tears. With the speeches and dinner wrapped up, the sun setting, and it being almost time for the party to kick off, we stole Keri and Jeremy for a final couple portrait back at the Archeo courtyard, which was by now beautifully lit with all the bistro lights hanging up above. Back inside, the guests were itching to party, so without further delay, DJ Allan Pynn from DJ Flow Back Productions turned up the music and had all the guests out of their seats and dancing late into the night. It’s always so amazing to see all the guests’ tables empty and the dance floor crowded, with the bride and groom in the middle of the dance floor with their family and friends surrounding them, celebrating the love and happiness of the day with every ounce of their energy. Keri and Jeremy, thank you so much for all the love, kindness, and trust you showed us leading up to and on your wedding day. You made our hearts full and we’ll never forget this day.
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wo 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.
The charming Distillery District wedding of Tanya and Alex was a perfect combination of contemporary, vintage, rustic, and chic, a true reflection of this hip district found in the east-end of downtown Toronto. We always love shooting in the Distillery Distric, as the heritage buildings, combined with the modern art and sculptures that can be found all around the pedstrian-only streets and paths, make the perfect back-drop for wedding photography.
Officially Archeo at Distillery District is the venue that I shot most of my weddings, and let me tell something, every time I come back, there’s a different feeling. And this time with Rachel and Ajay wasn’t different. And I hope to keep coming back more and more.