Monica + Dean by Jimmy Raper Wedding Photographer - Together Journal

Tell us a little about yourselves, what you do, what you love, what is unique about you and your relationship:

Dean and I met in high school, he was the cute surfy kid who I had a crush on for most of my teenage years. We didn’t start dating until we finished high school and our relationship definitely flourished from a friendship. We’ve been together for almost 10 years now!

We are each other’s best friends and we make each other laugh every day. I would say there is a lot of banter involved in our day to day communication. Dean is a Site Manager for a construction company and I work in PR. During our mid 20’s we backpacked through Europe, and besides our wedding day, those were the best days of our lives.

Tell us about your special day, was there a specific theme or style? Tell us a little about the setting, the styling and some of your favourite details:

When we first started planning our day, I knew I wanted a space that felt industrial but with a fun/quirky vibe. After three venue and date changes due to covid, where we ended up literally couldn’t have been more perfect. The Studio in Rosebery was the perfect blank canvas with high ceilings, concrete floors and white walls. We kept it really simple here, with two hanging baby’s breath clouds as our backdrop.

Our reception was at Chin Chin in Surry Hills. We love the city and Chin Chin is one of our favourite restaurants so there was no doubt that the food would be delish! I knew they had a venue space downstairs but it wasn’t until we took a closer look that we decided it was a winner. The room has this funky, industrial feel but with hints of fluro pink lights and pink furniture. It was just the perfect combination of everything.

We went bright and bold with colours and flowers. Some of my favourite details would have to be my bouquet, made by my talented sister, from orange/red roses shaped almost like a love heart. I loved the floating baby’s breath clouds and the fortune cookies that we placed on each plate for something fun for our guests when they sat down.

Seeing everyone so happy and excited in the one space was almost surreal because it was a mission to get to that point. We will never forget the energy and love we felt that day, it was perfect, it was so us, and it was so much fun!

Tell us about your main outfits:

Mon: I wasn’t 100% sure what style of dress I wanted at the beginning, but when I looked at my most saved dresses it was clear that I wanted something strapless and simple. I went into Babushka Ballerina and explained what kind of style and fabric I wanted and we ended up tweaking an existing dress in the fabric I loved, into something that was perfect for me. I chose a baby blue nail polish as my ‘something blue’ and wore my late grandmother’s pearl earrings which were very special to me.

Dean: I wanted a black textured jacket, not velvet or suede. Turns out Italian Moleskin is my thing. Went simple black chinos, a white shirt and a black tie and boots for the rest of my outfit.

What were some of the most memorable/unique moments from the day:

Dean: It was all memorable but if I had to handpick one, it would be first seeing Mon walk down the aisle. Then the sweaty dance floor we didn’t think we’d be able to have.

Mon: Having our siblings as our entire bridal party made the day extra special. Walking down the aisle and feeling completely overwhelmed with all the smiling faces and not knowing where to look until I find Dean’s face, teary-eyed with my favourite smile. The standing ovation from our guests which proceeded into a mini dance break to Kylie Minogue’s ‘love at first sight’ when we entered the reception really set the tone for the rest of the evening.

Any advice for other couples planning to spend the rest of their lives together:

Our advice would be to laugh – laugh at yourselves at each other, laugh together.