Stepanie Butler shares her luminescent Berkeley Fieldhouse wedding and some wonderful perspectives on her big day

Toronto bride Stephanie Butler shares some insights about her expertly planned and beautifully executed day at wedding venue Toronto Berkeley Fieldhouse.

Do you have a guiding set of images/concepts for your wedding?

The colour palette for our wedding was black and white. We wanted a sophisticated but contemporary look with vintage and romantic touches.

How far away from the wedding day did you start planning?

We got engaged in March 2012 over the St Patrick’s day weekend in New York City. I started planning about a month later because I knew I wanted a summer wedding for the following year. The reasons we picked a June wedding is because I wanted white peonies (my favourite flower and a part of my décor as well) and a month where the weather was consistently warm, not too hot or rainy.

What are you most excited about seeing in the finished form on your wedding day?

Because I started planning the wedding a year out, I was excited to see all of the finishing details such as the décor, flowers, table settings and ceremony area come together. I had a vision of how it was going to look and I was excited about seeing the execution of it.

What was the hardest decision you had to make concerning the wedding (ie the cake? the dress choice?)

Bridesmaids dresses. I ordered all my bridesmaids dresses online and I was a very stressed about the sizes not fitting, or worse, not having them show up. They arrived fine and all the girls looked amazing. On our wedding day, about 10 minutes before I was going to be put in my dress, one of my bridemaid’s zipper broke on her dress. I was really worried about her not being able to wear it. One of my other bridesmaids had made me an emergency kit which contained a mini sewing kit. In the end, we sewed her up and no one even noticed!

Do you have a signature drink? or a few choices?

Yes I do. It is called “Morning Kiss”. It is a spin-off of my favorite cocktail called the twentieth century. It is gin based drink mixed with lillet blanc, white creme de cassis, and elderflower & lemon juice. It is finished off by shaking a dash of egg whites with it. The egg whites are supposed to make the cocktail light and fluffy. We served these drinks in a stemless martini glass with an old fashioned looking black and white straw.

Do you have a colour scheme? What is your favourite decor element?

My favourite décor element was the clusters of white lanterns we hung under the tent where the ceremony took place. I had 100’s of these lanterns in all different sizes. This element made such an impact on the space and wowed people as they came in. The tent where the ceremony took place was in the back garden of the Berkeley Fieldhouse. After the reception, we opened the doors which allowed our guests to enjoy the outdoor spaces at the Berkeley Fieldhouse. After dark, we opened a cigar bar for the guests in the outdoor gazebo which was a great hit!

What made you pick this venue for your wedding?

There were so many things we liked about the Berkeley Fieldhouse. We liked the contemporary feel of the space as well as the vintage feel and charm. The concrete floors, exposed ceilings, white paneled walls, floor to ceiling windows, light open space, tree house and the back garden were just some of the many things that made us fall in love with the Berkeley.

What was it like picking your songs for the wedding?

We left it mostly to our DJ to decide on our songs. We trusted his song choices because we had seen him DJ twice before. We did pick our first dances though. Our first dance (Etta James) reminded me of my parents. They used to slow dance to it in our kitchen so that song brings back lots of great memories. I danced to “The Way You Look Tonight” by Frank Sinatra with my dad. I wanted a fun song with my dad because it would fit in more with our personalities. Plus, my dad is a great dancer.

What surprised you the most in the process of planning your wedding?

The wedding planning was not hard for me since I plan and coordinate many events through my line of work. I felt the hardest part was people management and meeting their expectations.

What advice would you give to someone getting married after having the adventure yourself?

I would tell them to go on their honeymoon right after the wedding instead of waiting a few months. Some of my friends waited and then never ended up going anywhere. I loved having my honeymoon right after because it was a nice relaxing break after the typical wedding stresses.

What do you hope the most for your wedding day?

For no rain!! I stalked the weather network for days leading up to my wedding day. I was praying for no rain because our ceremony and cocktails were going to be held outside. In the end, it rained in the morning but we had perfect weather all afternoon and evening.