Tell us a little about yourselves, what you do, what you love, what is unique about you and your relationship … We’re both wedding photographers ourselves, and absolutely love weddings and their significance to the couples and their families. It’s such a beautiful world to be part of, and a privilege to photograph such important moments in people’s lives, so the significance of our own wedding was huge to us.
We met each other on the first day of uni, we sat opposite each other in an intro to photography class and we both knew instantly that there was something there. Our wedding day was exactly 10 years later which was really special.
We’ve worked as photographers alongside each other the whole time we’ve known each other, in the wedding industry together and also carving our own unique paths as photographers as well. Being a creative couple is so much fun, we love how in sync we are, and how much we prioritise creative work in our lives.
Our favourite things in life (apart from each other of course) is our fur-baby Oscar, coffee, Star Wars, Harry Potter, coffee, travelling, photography, our families and friends, AFL, having way too many indoor plants (Joel is also what’s known as a ‘plant dad’) , a bit more travel and a bit more coffee.
We’re big travellers, we really value adventure and exploration of the world, our favourite place in the world is Switzerland, which is where we got engaged.
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…
Our wedding day was an opportunity to create which not only reflected who we are but celebrated it. We decided to do the planning ourselves and felt like we had a really clear vision of what we wanted to achieve from early on.
We absolutely loved The George Ballroom, and it was the only reception venue we even looked at. It was classy, unique, and exactly the right amount cool mixed with old-world charm, the perfect vibe to end the night on. The Ballroom itself is stunning on its own, but add a crazy amount of bold flowers and a hot pink neon sign, and the space really became something else.
It was important to us to have the ceremony in a different location, one that had a relaxed and open-air atmosphere where people could enjoy the ceremony as an event in itself, and have time to really catch up and chat with people before heading off to the reception.
Glasshaus Outside was completely perfect. Having the ceremony in a nursery was weirdly perfect for us, given how many plants we have in our house! And the unassuming location in a side street off the cool hustle of Swan Street was a great vibe. The space itself was a visual dream, with the canopy of greenery and beautiful little spots for photos. We felt really lucky to have been able to lock in these two venues, and from there the planning of the day was very smooth.
We didn’t really decide on a specific theme, rather a vibe. We wanted it to be classy and cool, we wanted the venues to be places we genuinely love, in parts of Melbourne we also love and connect with. Each element of the day from the flowers, to the stationary to the cocktails, was something that we personally chose, which is how we ended up with a wedding that really reflected our personalities. But of course…..being visual people, we wanted the day to look incredible, and we did put a lot of effort into the overall look of the day.
We also wanted to create a really enjoyable day for our guests, we wanted then to be able to relax and enjoy the day with great music, great food and drinks, and then an awesome dancefloor to end the night.
We have so many favourite details about the day! It was a really hot day so we had icy-poles come out after the ceremony which was such a refreshing sugar hit! We also decided to have cocktails on arrival for our guests as they entered the George Ballroom, to really start the reception with a bang. Joel and I also swapped out the traditional champagne to espresso martinis when we cut the cake, because….coffee!! Also, the cake was incredible, it looked SO GOOD and tasted even better. So basically we loved the food and drinks!!
The neon sign was a huge highlight as well (get it?), it was a great way to bring a bit of fun (and slight nerdiness) into the reception with a neon Star Wars quote. Joel also had a card for me at the start of the day which said ‘I Dumble-Adore You’, he knows me well!
One of the very best things though was to be able to have our dog Oscar at the ceremony, that was such a special thing because to us, our wedding was a celebration of our relationship and our life, and Oscar is a big part of that.
Tell us about your main outfits:
I’m a huge lover of organic shapes in nature, so when I saw the most amazing embroidered floral lace at Luci Di Bella I was sold! I loved the fabric before I even knew what the dress would look like, and the made-to-measure process was perfect for me. We were able to create a gown which was unique, suited my personality perfectly and it fitted like a glove. It was a really wonderful process where I felt completely at ease, and also so happy to have been able to customise elements of the dress so it reflected me perfectly.
With an embroidered fabric, I wanted to keep my jewellery fine, so I wore earrings and hairpins by A.B. Ellie, which were beautiful handmade flowers and petals with freshwater pearls.
The two-tone outfit was something Joel really loved, it was suitable for a formal summer wedding without being a full traditional suit. The light coloured jacket with black trousers was the perfect balance of formal and relaxed, and the jacket colour paired really well with the bridesmaids champagne dresses.
What were some of the most memorable/unique moments from the day?
The most memorable moment for both of us is seeing each other for the first time at the ceremony, it’s the moment everything has been leading to, and nothing really compares to the emotion of that moment.
Our entrance into our reception was such a memorable moment but in a completely different way. Our guests had already been in the ballroom for half an hour having cocktails, and my amazing sister was our MC and she gave us the best introduction, and the music kicked in and we entered the reception. The energy in the room was incredible, and it was the first time we were seeing the ballroom all styled and it looked incredible! That entrance was such a highlight!
Any advice for other couples planning to spend the rest of their lives together?
Prioritise the elements of your day that are really important to you. For us, we really prioritised the scheduling of the day so we could get the best flow. We really wanted to spend quality time with our guests after the ceremony, we wanted to time our photos for the best time of the day, and we also didn’t want to feel like we were rushed at all.
We had two hours at Glasshaus from 3:30 – 5:30pm, and we really valued that time after the ceremony where we just chatted to our guests, ate icy-poles and had a beer and champagne, then by the time we entered our reception we had already been able to see most of our guests and we were really relaxed.
Book your suppliers early! We were lucky enough to be able to book the suppliers we really wanted because we allowed plenty of time. It really made the process so smooth knowing our key suppliers were booked, and we could focus on other details.
And remember to enjoy every little moment, it really does go too quickly
Ceremony location: Glasshaus | Reception location: The George Ballroom | Videographer: Little Cinema | Photographer: Ali Bailey | Celebrant: Summa Routledge from 2Celebrants | Ceremony Musician: Rory McKenna | Reception DJ : Ben Downing, provided by Rutherford Entertainment | Neon Sign & Welcome Sign: Sketch & Etch | Gold Floral towers: Table Top Tower | Invitations & table stationary: Designed & printed by Bride | Flora: Glasshaus Design | Catering + Beverages: Damm Fine Food | Cake: Miss Ladybird Cakes | Bonbonnierre Macarons: La Belle Miette | Bride’s Gown: Luci Di Bella | Groom’s Outfit: M J Bale & Politix | Ring/s: Cushla Whiting Jewellery | Shoes: Nine West | Earrings and Hairpins from A. B. Ellie | Makeup & Hair: Studio 2 Hair & Makeup | Fragrance: Diptyque Paris, L’Ombre Dans l’e au | Bridesmaids Dresses: Bec & Bridge | Groomsmen Outfit’s: M J Bale
