Tricia & Hieu by Blossom Daisy Creative

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

Hieu and I are both doctors, we met at a hospital three years ago. Despite sharing a common profession, we could not be more different and are polar opposites when it comes to almost everything – from food preferences, interests, personal style.

For example, Hieu is very patient and persistent, whereas I’m more restless and would often embark on multiple projects, never to complete them (still working on this!). Hieu is great at fixing things, rides a motorbike and would happily scoff down burgers and fries, whereas I am more creatively inclined and would rather dine on sushi and cocktails!

Despite our many differences, we do share some common loves and interests – such as our cat Bell, a love for adventure, and as it turns out.. wedding planning! We knew from the start we did not want a traditional wedding, which gave us the freedom to fill the day with so much of what we loved and our personalities. It made planning our big day so much fun and we were so excited to share it with all our friends and family.

6 months on, we are both working odd hours and in various different locations, and as such, we still have not moved in together! However, despite having no fixed address, we always make sure we spend time together during our days off and support each other in any way we can. Our lives are chaotic to say the least – but we wouldn’t have it any other way! 

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…

We did not really have a clear style or theme when we started planning. Once we found our venue, everything started to click into place. We started looking for a venue as early as 18 months before our big day. We had visited three other venues, but the moment we walked into Rupert on Rupert, we knew it was the one for us. There was a sense of great comfort, a sense of feeling completely at home. To elaborate – I grew up in East Malaysia in town called Sandakan surrounded by greenery, whereas Hieu grew up in Footscray – a concrete jungle. Rupert on Rupert was the perfect urban jungle; the perfect blend of both our worlds. Mali, the owner and venue manager could not be more welcoming and accommodating and made our experience planning a wedding effortless. We are so proud to be part of the Rupert on Rupert family.

The planning was one of the most fun and rewarding processes for us. We wanted a really personalised experience for our guests so in lieu of written placecards, we had Jordi from Doodleism illustrate each of our guests ahead of time and printed these out. These were about 9 months in the making and one of our favourite elements of the day. It was very fun to see our guests posing with their illustrated headshots. We also sent our guests the files to use as social media profile pictures after the wedding. From this, other ideas followed suit, and we ended up with a rather abstract theme for our wedding – it was all about personalisation. For example, our wedding invites which were an illustration of our journey as a couple from our first date, our adventures together, and the proposal, with a health sprinkle of our cat Bell throughout. These were done by Xinnie from X spots the mark and letterpressed beatifully with holographic foil by Hungry Workshop, and then placed in a holographic envelope with custom lettering by The Letterettes. We had The Letterettes on the day personalising wedding favours for our guests, and we had Jeff The Peff live sketch on the day as a wedding gift to ourselves!

One of our favourite vendors would have to be Georgia Powell, our florist. We hit it off from the first meeting, and settled within a vision within the first 10 mins! We came up with the idea of an abstract, architectural installation – a sweeping ribbon of flowers that would start from the entrance, sweeping through the dining area, looping over the beams before ending at the bar canopy. This ribbon of flowers would be dynamic, with some areas hanging low, some areas hanging high with thick and thin pieces to reflect the movement of a ribbon in the air. Georgia is truly a master of her craft and colour – we are ever so grateful to Georgia for creating such a special piece for us. 

Tell us about your main outfits:

Bride I really wanted a feminine yet edgy ensemble, and found the perfect outfit with Sant Elia in Sydney. My outfit consisted of a floral lace corset top, high waisted wide legged pants, detachable puff sleeves, and a sheer overskirt in lieu of a veil. The sheer overskirt was one of my favourite pieces of the day – so much drama! What I loved about this outfit was the fact that it was made up entirely of separates that can be used again and again, in fact, for our reception in Malaysia 2 weeks later I wore the floral lace corset top with floral lace shorts. The only accessory that was planned were my earrings, which were a splurge from Simone Rocha. The rest came together at the very last minute using things I had already owned – a white blazer from Zara, my everyday bag with interchangable straps from Find Kapoor (I switched out my leather strap for a pearl strap to match the occasion), and my sunglasses from Gentle Monster. A shout out to Shellie from the Anti Bride for her expert advice on my accessory choices! Groom I love to add some colour into my every day dress and one of the rules I try to abide by (often much to Tricia’s dismay) is to never have matching tops and bottoms. So for my suit, I went for mismatched tops and bottoms – a forest green striped jacket, and navy high waisted belt-less trousers with side adjusters. A handpainted tie Edward Kwan brought the whole ensemble together as we were able to customise the designs and colours to the flowers in our venue. I wore brown single buckled shoes. 

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

One of the most rewarding parts of the whole day was seeing the look on everybody’s faces when they realised that the placecards were made out of their own caricatures. Everyone had a great time comparing themselves to their caricatures and it brought a smile to our face seeing all our friends and family have fun taking pictures with their mini me’s. Getting ready together was also one of our most memorable experiences and the best decision we had made on the day (grabbing gelato post ceremony at Spring Street Grocer was a close second). There is absolutely no one else I’d rather share a 3am wakeup with. It really set the tone for the rest of the day – that we were in this together, through thick and thin, sleep or no sleep! Another one of our favourite moments were our sunset portraits with Cass. It was nice to have an excuse to have some alone time and by then we were so comfortable with Cass and her lens that it felt so unobtrusive and very natural. Some of my favourite shots were taken during this moment! Unfortunately, we were having so much fun that by the time we got back, most of the cake had disappeared and Hieu missed out on trying out our lemon, earl grey and lavender wedding cake (we had two flavours). He still talks about it to this day. 

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

1. Putting a wedding together is one of the biggest hurdles you will face as a couple, but it’s so much easier (and more fun!) when you have the right partner – especially one who isn’t afraid to break the rules!

2. If you can’t agree on one wedding cake flavour, buy two.

3. No matter where you are, who you’re with or what you’re doing; always make time for each other. 

Photography: Blossom Daisy Creative | Ceremony location: Victorian Marriage Registry | Reception location: Rupert on Rupert | Bride’s gown: Sant Elia | Groom’s outfit: The Bespoke Corner | Groom’s tie: Edward Kwan | Rings: Parker Diamonds | Sunglasses: Gentle Monster | Handbag/ Purse: Finding Kapoor |Earrings: Simone Rocha | Makeup and Hair: MakeupbyJane | Fragrance: Fort and Manle – Faith Sultan Mehmed | Entertainment: Tobi Tobi and Jordan Weizman | Hire: Seating chart by Heartbreak Booth and Velvet napkins by Table Art Event Hire | Flora: The Arrangement with Georgia Powell | Cake: Butter Baking | Live Lettering of wedding favours: The Letterettes | Place Cards: Doodleism | Live Sketches: Jeff the Peff | Invitation Design: X Marks the Spot | Invitation Printing: Hungry Workshop