Shaun + Yitty by Diego Nieto

I wanted to have a soft colourful palette with pops of colour.

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

We both grew up in Perth for most of our lives, Shaun spent some of his middle school years in Colorado before moving back to for high school. Yitty works as a high school science teacher and Shaun works in HR and is also studying software engineering. He’s a huge hip hop fan and loves dance. We’ve always loved to travel and lived in London for a couple of years before COVID brought us back to Australia. Shaun’s all about the snow and cold weather, Yitty loves it too but also loves the sun and the beach.

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

We met 12 years ago while we were both at uni, introduced through a mutual friend. Shaun was intrigued by Yitty as soon as he laid eyes on her and raced to beat his friend to get her number. Yitty had a half-shaved haircut at the time and Shaun used the excuse of being an amateur barber to invite Yitty to hang out, shaving the side of her head during their ‘first date’. On this ‘first date’ Shaun also thought it would be funny to pour a bag of chips over her head for no apparent reason.. Shaun found Yitty super cool and attractive but was pretty set on not getting into anything serious anytime soon.. Little did he know, all of that would go out the window. Yitty was pretty perplexed that this random guy had the audacity to pour a perfectly good bag of chips over her head but for some reason still thought that he was so cute funny and cool – fast forward to now and not much has changed!

Tell us about the vision you had for the mood and style of your wedding. (theme, key styling elements, florals, colour palettes etc.).

The vision we had was something along the lines of an intimate outdoor garden party. I wanted to have a soft colourful palette with pops of colour but besides that we didn’t have any other vision but moreso just knew we wanted our wedding to be fun and relaxed for everyone and ourselves.

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).

We knew we wanted to have an outdoor wedding with the ceremony/reception at the same place so when we went to see Assembly Yard, it was the obvious choice for our venue. Our florals had a combination of both florals, fruits, and vegetables that brought the colour into our wedding that I hoped for. We also hired arcade games, a dance floor, and the photobooth for the warehouse so the inside felt like an arcade too.

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

I was never one of those people who dreamed of a big wedding or ever really thought about it until we got engaged. Assembly Yard was a completely blank canvas which in theory was great because then we could do whatever we wanted but also meant we had to decide on every detail. Honestly, there were times that the process was pretty stressful when we reached decision fatigue but I loved that since it was a blank canvas everything about our wedding was very ‘us’. It’s really easy to get lost in the whole planning process and it all just feel like a tick box exercise so my advice would be to focus on a couple key things at a time and celebrate your wins planning a wedding is exciting and will only happen once so enjoy it!

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

We loved all of our vendors and all of them hold a special place in our hearts!
Diego was our photographer, who we immediately knew from our first meeting that we wanted him to capture out wedding – he has such a unique way of capturing candid and portrait moments plus he just gave off the best vibes. The After Hours Co., run by Sonia and Rachel, took care of both our florals and stationery for the wedding. Sonia is also one of my dearest friends—we went to high school together—which made having her involved even more special. Both she and Rachel are incredibly talented, kind and patient. I had a vision for the day, but it was pretty vague, and they somehow managed to not only bring it to life, but completely exceed our expectations. Gio was also our content creator who was also so generous, fun and was a joy to have capture our wedding too since we decided not to get a videographer.

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

Shaun always knew he wanted to have a tuxedo.

My Dress

I always knew I wanted something simple but also something a little bit different! So when I visited Natalie Rolt, after the first dress I tried on nothing else really compared. I loved the sleek, silky fabric paired with the structured bodice—it was the perfect balance between modern and timeless that best suited my style.

Shaun’s Suit

Nothing special, always knew I’d be wearing a standard black tuxedo, I was just particular with the type of lapel I wanted and the fact I wanted a white shirt with black buttons. The Jacket I ended up getting actually had a detachable lapel, so I actually wore my wedding suit to someone else’s wedding before my own without anybody realizing as I had switched the lapels. Being a semi-frugal part time student, I sourced different parts of my suit from different vendors.

Tell us about your wedding and engagement rings.

Shaun had my engagement and wedding ring made at Novita Diamonds in Perth and I made Shaun’s wedding ring at a ring-making workshop.

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?).

From the start, we knew the two most important things for our wedding were the photographer and the food/drinks. We wanted someone who could capture the day perfectly, allowing us to be present with the people we love most, while also making sure our guests were well fed and happily hydrated.

When it came to food, there was no question—Mi Scusi had to be part of our day. They’re a Perth-based Italian share plate caterer, and their food is truly next level. It was an easy choice, and to this day I still dream about their duck fat potatoes.

For photography, we had Diego—and honestly, he was just the biggest vibe. He blended in so effortlessly, made everyone feel at ease and captured the most beautiful, candid moments. Having people we trusted and genuinely loved being around made all the difference.

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

Just seeing everyone we love in one space was our favourite moment. We had a lot of family and friends who were able to come over from overseas to help us celebrate which we were so grateful for. It feels rare to be able to celebrate big for anything these days, so it was nice that we could bring everyone together for our wedding.