Kayla and Stephen were the first couple to have a full wedding at The Modern Bride. When Kayla approached us about the wedding nearly two years ago, we were over the moon that she wanted to use our special place for her and Stephen’s special day. With the help of TMB staff, Kayla, Stephen and their team transformed The Modern Bride from an elegant bridal shopping destination to an intimate wedding venue filled with the finest details sweeping guests away into a state of pure romance. We chatted with Kayla and Stephen to get the details on their big day.

We love starting each of our blogs off with this one questions, how did you two meet?

A mutual friend tried to set us up over the course of a few years. We both thought nothing of it until we exchanged a few Instagram messages on our own well after she had given up on the idea! Turns out she was definitely on to something!

What was your favourite part of the wedding planning process?

Kayla - I absolutely loved being able to work with so many of the friends I have made and just truly let them do what they do best without any stress about it! For the most part, we just gave some loose directions on colour and style to people like our florist, cake maker, and wedding planner and let them really run wild. It was so fun to be able to give people so much creativity for a change!

Why and how did you decide on such an intimate wedding?

KAYLA - I’m so thankful that we decided to get married after I had already been in the industry as a wedding photographer for so many years, because truthfully, it was never a question of whether or not we’d have an intimate wedding. I had seen so many large-scale weddings over the years where the couple do not get to spend any one-on-one time with anyone. Although it’s beautiful to have so many people celebrating you, we knew it was way more important for us to have quality time with our guests.

Cutting our guest list down to just the people who are the absolute closest to us was the only way we knew that we wouldn’t be spread thin. We could really take our time thanking and catching up with the people we care most about in the world!

Can you describe your favourite part of the wedding?

Kayla - Oh my gosh, so many! I think the main standouts for me we’re skipping out to take photographs at “sunset” even though it was raining all day and we really didn’t have a sun to set. It was just such a nice feeling to soak in some time together without anyone else around for a little while. That, and the super late night dancing with just a handful of our friends after everyone else had left the party!

Stephen - Definitely my favourite moment was looking around the room during the reception and seeing so many of our loved ones and how they were there to celebrate us on our special day. I couldn’t believe we had so many amazing people that took time out of their lives for us. It really emphasized to me how important it is to appreciate those who are important to you in your life.

Stephen, what went through your mind when you saw Kayla coming down the aisle?

Absolute excitement! I couldn’t believe it to see the love of my life walking down the aisle to meet me in front of our loved ones. With the sunset behind us coming through the windows and being able to feel the glow of happiness between when I saw her smile as she walked down the aisle is a memory I will never forget.

Kayla, what went through your mind when you were walking down the aisle?

Since we decided to do a first look and already had loads of time to soak everything in together, the actual walk down the aisle for me ended up being a really beautiful moment with my dad instead of focused solely on Stephen and I!

My brother was married about a month and a half before us, and since my dad and I were both in the wedding party, we had actually walked down the aisle together at their wedding as well. It was such an intimate full-circle moment between the two of us to sort of round out a crazy year for our family. I’ll never forget standing at the end of the aisle with him and laughing because he had absolutely no idea what he was supposed to do with my veil — he still jokes about how he was never prepped for that part!

What advice would you give couples on their big day, especially couples looking to keep the celebration intimate like yours?

I think we heard this advice a lot and it’s hard to really take to heart until you’re seeing things in hindsight, but just focus on what the two of you want and try not to bend your plans to fit what will make other people happy. We definitely made a few compromises, but looking back, we’re the most happy with the things that we stood strong with!

Photographer - Ivy and Gold Photography - http://ivyandgold.com/ - @ivyandgoldphotography
Planning and Design/Bride - Kayla Yestal - http://www.kaylayestal.com
Wedding Planner - Shaw Events - http://www.shawevents.ca/ - @shaw_events
Venue - The Modern Bride - http://www.tmodernbride.com/ - @tmodernbride
Wedding Dress Boutique - The Modern Bride - http://www.tmodernbride.com/ - @tmodernbride
Wedding Dress Designer - Tatyana Merenyuk - http://www.tatyanamerenyuk.com/ -@tatyanamerenyuk
Floral Design - Blooms and Flora - www.bloomsandflora.com - @bloomsandflora
Bride’s Shoes - Bella Belle Shoes - https://www.bellabelleshoes.com/ - @bellabelleshoes
Veil - Noon on the Moon - https://www.noononthemoon.com/ - @noononthemoon.bridal
Rings - Alexis Gallery - http://www.alexisgallery.com/ - @alexisgallery
Hair - Bridal Hair Collective - http://bridalhaircollective.com/ - @bridalhaircollective
Makeup - Sarah Smith - https://www.sarahsmithmua.com/ - @sarahsmithmua
Bridesmaid Dresses - Show Me Your Mumu - www.showmeyourmumu.com - @mumuweddings
Suit - Benseh - @benseh
Groom’s Shoes - Suit Supply - https://ca.suitsupply.com - @suitsupply
DJ - DJ M Kutz - http://djmkutz.com/ - @djmkutz
Officiant - Debbie Van Dyk of Cathy Davis & Company - https://www.cathydavisandcompany.com/debbie-van-dyk - @niagaraweddingofficiant
Bride’s Belt - Sara Gabriel - https://saragabriel.com/ - @saragabrielveils
Bride’s Earrings - The Modern Bride @tmodernbride Atelier Elise - http://www.atelierelise.com/ - @atelierelise
Invitations and Menus - Eagle Press Printers - http://www.eaglepress.ca/
Catering - Earth to Table: Bread Bar - www.breadbar.ca - @breadbar_guelph
Decor Rentals - Simply Beautiful Decor - https://www.simplybeautifuldecor.ca/ -@simplybeautifuldecor
Vow Books - La Pomme et La Pipe - https://www.etsy.com/shop/lapommeetlapipepress/ - @lapommeetlapipe
Robes - Le Rose - https://shoplerose.com/ - @lerose_online
Cake - Sweet Celebrations - www.sweetcelebrationsweddingcakes.com - @sweet_celebrations_

Real Bride: Kayla & Stephen