Lauren + Andrew by Lovers by Ruby Jayne

We mainly wanted to be a celebration of love and the community that surrounds us.

Tell us a little about yourselves, what you do, what you love…

We’re Andrew and Lauren! We live in Melbourne, Australia, with (the love of our life) our 18-month-old cat, Mallory. We’ve been together for over ten years.

Andrew is an Engineer, specialising in product engineering and parking solutions. Lauren works for a non-profit organisation that supports Australians to seek postgraduate education opportunities abroad.

We love to travel, and we’re keen to do more of it now that we’re married and no longer have a wedding to plan (!). We love to eat at exciting restaurants, both locally in Melbourne and when we’re travelling, so much can be learned about a city by its local food and produce! When we’re not dining or travelling, you can usually find us critiquing movies or pestering the cat for cuddles.

How/where/when did you meet – and what were your first impressions?

We met at a summer street party in Brunswick when we were 21. We were at ease with each other instantly, and it was like we had been friends for years. We were so comfortable with each other that things moved very fast – in fact, one month into dating, Andrew proposed, but Lauren said it wasn’t a real proposal unless there was a ring! Over the years, Andrew would ask casually about getting married, but it wasn’t until 7 years later, when Andrew surprised Lauren with a ring and asked again, that she said yes! We got married nearly 10 years after that first proposal!

What styling and visual elements worked best for you? (could be things, the florals, particular hire products or your marquee, etc., something the stylist created or simply just the scenic beauty of your location or the existing design of your venue).

Overall, our planning process was focused on elements of a party that create joy – joy for our guests and for us. For us, after being together for 10 years (by the time we got married), the wedding was a formality for what the two of us already knew: that we had chosen each other a long time ago and wanted to continue living life together! That framed how we felt about the wedding, which we mainly wanted to be a celebration of love and the community that surrounds us.

Inspired by the extravagantly raucous Versailles parties in one of Lauren’s favourite movies, Sophia Coppola’s Marie Antoinette, we couldn’t go past the incredible French-style chateau nearby, where Lauren’s family live and where she grew up, Campbell Point House.

From there, when designing the wedding, we were not concerned with what was considered traditional, timeless, or on trend for weddings, and our only design philosophy was asking ourselves, “Would this feel fun?” Our amazing florists created colourful masterpieces in each room of the chateau, the French-themed wedding cake (a towering croquembouche) was adorned with sugar butterflies and flowers, and wedding decorations featured colourful ribbons, custom artwork and our favourite, huge cut-outs of our cat’s face that were a hit on the dancefloor.

The vibrant party mood was palpable from the second that guests started arriving, and we think that the visual elements were a huge part of that.

What did you enjoy most about the planning process, and do you have any tips for couples starting their wedding planning journey?

My favourite part of the planning process was actually the meetings with our vendors at various points in the process. Not only to hear and learn from their expertise (we will only plan one wedding in our life, but they will be part of hundreds!), but every meeting they sounded genuinely excited about our designs/plans for the day, so that we came away from each meeting feeling uplifted and inspired.

Lauren’s tips:

Trust in your vendors. I can make a thousand different pinterest boards, but I know at the end of the day, I don’t work in a creative industry. If you have poured research into your vendors and you have chosen them intentionally (like I did), trust them with your vision as well! I told all of them that I had an idea of the vibe we wanted (for photography vibe, colours, makeup looks, etc.), but I knew that they were the experts and I trusted them to deliver on the concept – and they exceeded my wildest expectations. I intentionally didn’t make requests for specific flowers or replicate an exact element from another wedding, because I wanted the vendors to have the creative freedom to do something specifically designed for just us.
Re-use and repurpose! Try to pick design elements that can be repurposed and reused throughout the day to save on costs and to get the most out of them. For example, with our flowers, our ceremony flowers were repurposed as table settings for the reception, and then after dinner, were divided into individual small bouquets that we gave to guests as wedding favours at the end of the night.

Tell us about your vendors. Were there any standout suppliers you would like to make special mention of?

All of our vendors did such a fantastic job, we were truly so happy with how everything turned out on the day. As well, it was pouring rain from the moment we woke up until just after the ceremony – and the efforts that all of them put in to ease our worries, change to a wet weather plan and make the wedding just as spectacular a day was amazing to watch. It’s hard to imagine that any part of the day was a ‘Plan B’ because it was so perfect. Lauren would like to shout out our thanks to:

Ruby Hamilton (photographer) – We looovvee Ruby. It was Ruby’s first time at the venue, but you wouldn’t know it – she curated the most beautiful photography and captured the day so perfectly. For myself and the girls who are a bit awkward about getting professional photos done, Ruby made us laugh, gave us confidence and generally made us have the best time.

Saltflower (florist) – The girls from Saltflower actually killed the brief and delivered the most stunning arrangements I have ever seen at a wedding. On the day of the wedding, and since posting some photos on Instagram, I can’t even count how many people have complimented our flowers and asked for their details. I think their work speaks for itself!

Megan Harrison (makeup/hair) – Megan made me and all of the bridesmaids feel so beautiful and really made us look like our best selves!

Zena Lythgo (celebrant) – We really credit Zena with being our party starter! The guests laughed, cried and were so wrapped up in the ceremony – we couldn’t have asked for a better way to kick things off. Zena curated the perfect intimate but joyous environment for our marriage, and we couldn’t have asked for better.

Tell us about your main outfits, what was unique, and is there a story?

Lauren – I first saw the dress I wanted worn by Anna Sophia Robb in her wedding, and I thought it was perfection. A combination of romantic, whimsical and classic. Danielle Frankel wasn’t stocked in Australia at the time that I was dress shopping, so instead I tried a lot of other styles and designers, but nothing felt quite right. Finally, a bridal store in Brisbane hosted a DF trunk show, and I booked a ticket “just to see!” When I finally tried it on, it was the first dress that I put on that you couldn’t wipe the smile off my face. I was twirling around the shop floor in it! It was a little beyond my budget, so luckily, as it was a two-piece dress (corset + skirt), I decided to buy the DF corset and get the skirt custom-made closer to home.

Having a separate corset also gave me the opportunity to do a skirt change for the reception party, and I knew that I would want to change into something a little easier to dance in, rather than a big tulle skirt. I found a little sparkly skirt from Reformation about two weeks before the wedding, which gave me the perfect after-party vibes!

For my shoes, I knew I wanted to wear a pop of colour, but I was so focused on the dress that I hadn’t really begun to look for the shoes. But then the week after I purchased the dress, a listing popped up on Facebook marketplace of the most perfect blue Versace heels that were SO FUN, and in my size! It was meant to be. I managed to get them for half the price of retail, and they were absolutely perfect as my ‘something blue’. Funny story, in the chaos of packing the car to go to the venue on the day of the wedding, and in the pouring rain, the shoes got left behind and almost didn’t make it, but my wonderful godmother went back to get them and saved the day – thank you, Anna!!

Andrew – I knew I wanted to wear a tuxedo, but I wanted something a little extra special to set me apart from my groomsmen, who were also wearing tuxedos. I decided I liked the look of a pleated tuxedo shirt, and so we got one custom-made at P Johnson, which was such a special experience. Lauren also surprised me on the day with a gift of vintage gold tuxedo shirt buttons and cufflinks, which looked great contrasted against the black of my tuxedo.

Tell us about your wedding and engagement rings.

I absolutely adore the engagement ring that Andrew picked out. Yellow is my favourite colour, so he chose a stunning oval yellow sapphire from Cushla Whiting. The oval shape is an homage to my mum, who has always worn an oval opal ring – a gift to her from my dad.

When we were choosing our wedding rings, I really wanted to pick a ring that complemented the engagement ring, but with a bit of sparkle. We went through many ideas, but we finally found my gorgeous ring from Sarah and Sebastian, which is a cluster of pear-shaped diamonds in various sizes that wrap around the oval sapphire from my engagement band.

I love that both rings look incredible together, but are also amazing on their own, and I regularly mix and match my ring stack each day depending on my outfits or moods!

Andrew initially wanted a gold wedding band, but when we went to try them on, nothing felt right. The jeweller at Paul Bram eventually suggested he should try a rose gold band instead, and we both instantly loved it. It met the gold ‘brief’ but was a bit softer against his skin tone – I recommend anyone to try rose gold if gold jewellery doesn’t feel quite right!

What were one or two elements that were most important to you both that you were happy to spend a little more on? (food, photography, florals, the venue, your outfits?).

The one element that we were prepared to spend more on from the outset was photography. We knew from other married couples that the wedding day would pass by in a flash, but the photos are one of the few elements from the day that are forever. We wanted to choose a photographer who offered both digital and film photography, because we felt that film photos in particular have a timeless and candid quality that would always reflect the special moments of the day for decades to come. Lauren stumbled across Ruby, and she knew she was the one from the first meeting. Ruby instantly got the brief (less formal, more candid and romantic) and then on the day was such an incredible person to make the bridal party feel at ease with taking photos. The photo gallery is incredible, and we are over the moon that these incredible photos have captured how incredible the day felt.

Was there a favourite moment (or two) that you will treasure always?

With the wedding theme of “The more colour, the better,” Lauren’s bridesmaids were given the brief that they could each choose their own dresses, any style, any colour (just not black!). By complete coincidence, their choices made up a spectacular and cohesive colour palette that ended up inspiring many design elements of the wedding. I was so inspired by the different colours of the dresses that I chose the aisle music that the girls walked to as ‘She’s a Rainbow’ by the Rolling Stones – I get teary when I listen to the song now!

The other favourite moment was our first look. Originally planned as a chance to get some extra photos without cutting into time spent with guests, it ended up being a very welcome chance to come together as a couple before the wedding and giggle about how crazy the day had already been! I (Lauren) had been so nervous up until that moment. I had just realised that I accidentally left my heels and the rings at home, and it had been pouring rain for hours by that point, but seeing each other melted all of that away and made us feel ready to walk down the aisle. It was a perfect private moment to remind us that nothing else mattered but getting married to each other.

What does being married mean to you, and are there any special rituals you have that you would like to share?

Being married to us feels like the natural next step in our relationship. We’ve been together since we were 21, so we already know so much about each other, and our relationship has evolved along with us.

Looking back on that day, and the joy that is palpable in the photos and videos, it feels like such a beautiful celebration of love, which is exactly what we intended it to be. Despite the pouring rain, last minute changes and nerves, I think that’s what made it such a great day. You can plan a lot, but life doesn’t always turn out the way you expect, and weathering the storm regardless with your partner is what makes a good marriage. We think that the day being slightly different from what we had planned, but still being just as beautiful and fun, is a wonderful metaphor (and prediction) for the future of our marriage.