Zoe + Nathan by The Berhardts - Together Journal

He felt like someone I had known my whole life, and it was just easy and fun.

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

I’m Zoe, I am a junior doctor, and Nathan is a structural engineer. Our jobs are very rewarding but keep us incredibly busy, with constant relocations for my (Zoe) placements and overseas work trips for Nath. Outside of work, we both love music, travel, hiking and seeing our friends and family. Oh, and we can’t forget about our cat, Winston, who is our world!

We have both lived overseas, myself in Japan and Nath in the UK, and value travel greatly. We always have the best time travelling together, and usually have a trip in the pipe works. We love going to music concerts, but we also love going out to our local pub/bar for dinner, a drink, and to listen to a local gig. We are very active people, whether it is going to the gym, running, hiking, bike rides or coffee walks. We have tried taking Winston out on some of these walks, but he prefers the comfort of the couch. We definitely also appreciate downtime with friends and family and getting out into the country.

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

We met on the dance floor at Yah Yah’s in Melbourne in December 2019. I am not too sure exactly how we managed to start chatting, but both being in our 30s and Yah Yah’s usually hosting much younger clientele, I think we both felt we stood out a bit. I just remember thinking Nath was the warmest and kindest person I had ever met. We organised a catch-up after that night, and it felt like meeting up with an old friend; I found this so attractive, and it made me want to spend so much time with him.

I (Nathan) was out with some friends on a Friday night and managed to push in front of the line to get into Yah Yahs. My first impression of Zoe was that she was such an honest and thoughtful person who loved to live life. From the first time we met Zoe, it was so effortless to chat, dance and have fun together.

When did you first realise that this was someone you’d like to spend the rest of your life with?

I think I (Zoe) knew almost immediately. I am a bit of a romantic and felt so incredibly comfortable with Nathan from the beginning. He felt like someone I had known my whole life, and it was just easy and fun. I have felt like this every day since.

For me (Nathan), Zoe and I had an instant connection; she had a warmth and was someone I wanted to be with. There are so many times when I realise how lucky I am to have Zoe by my side. Our first concert we arrived 4 hours before our friends and sat in the sun and had a great time together, I knew I wanted these times to continue.

Was there a proposal? Tell us a little about it…

The proposal was a complete surprise for me. We had been speaking about eloping, mostly because I didn’t think I wanted a larger wedding. However, I was not expecting a proposal. Nath had been planning it for many months!! He is very creative and decided he wanted to design a bespoke ring. He had been working with a boutique jeweller (Oval and Pear) for months without my knowing. He had planned a weekend away, funnily enough, at Mitchelton Wines (we had not considered it as a wedding location at the time). Unfortunately, the ring was not ready in time, so we had a lovely weekend away without me knowing anything that had transpired. A week later, on Christmas Eve, we were getting ready at home to travel to Nath’s family Christmas when he called me outside to grab Winston. He was on one knee, and I was completely gob-smacked! He said he got the ring the day before and could not wait any longer. It was simple and perfect, and we celebrated with a bottle of Yellow haha, the only thing we had in the fridge.

Tell us about the vision you had for the mood or style of your wedding.

I think when we thought about the style we always thought about what we could do to facilitate the most wonderful day possible for ourselves and our loved ones. So we thought a lot about the flow of the day, the food, alcohol and entertainment. When it came to pinning down a style, we can’t thank our stylist Georgey (Hosted) enough. Being busy with work, she really helped create the day we imagined. We wanted an elegant, timeless style, but also wanted pops of us throughout – just a few little things that really showed our style. We are a bit eclectic and absolutely love Wes Anderson films, so wanted to add some of those touches. Hence the vintage green colour, retro text, crystal glassware and warm hues within the flower arrangements. One of our favourite style pieces was the retro tassel lampshades, which we used as pendant lighting over the tables. These different elements went together so perfectly for us and helped create the atmosphere we dreamed of for our day.

What was one element you were happy to splurge on?

Entertainment! Nathan and I absolutely love music. We are always on the lookout for concerts, and we really bonded a lot over our similar taste in music. We wanted all our loved ones to relax and really enjoy the day with us, and wanted music to be the element that really facilitated this. It can bring so much emotion and joy, so we were more than happy to splurge on this. For the ceremony and canapes held outside, we wanted a relaxed and welcoming vibe. We had the talented Wendybird music acoustic duo. At the reception, we were fortunate enough to have my older brother play Karl S Williams. He is an incredible poet and blues/folk musician who blew us all away. My younger brother read one of Karl’s poems during the ceremony, and this, coupled with his sweet sounds, made for a remarkably special day. “I’m built this way / Throw out the oars / And pierce the veil / My love is yours.”

And of course, we had to end it with a party. We wanted everyone to let their hair down after a stressful few years with COVID-19. The incredible Good Faces 4 Radio are the most amazing Aussie pub band, playing some of our favourites and all the classics. Needless to say, the dance floor was packed!

Did anything happen on your wedding day that you laugh about in hindsight (even if it was stressful at the time)?

Nathan was late to our first look!! His family are well known for their tardiness, and it appears Nath has inherited this. Even though it took the girls hours to get ready, we were on time, and the boys were late, haha. I was surprisingly relaxed about this on the day, but Nath was feeling a bit stressed out. Our photographers were amazing, though, and really helped to maintain a calm and relaxed atmosphere despite having our first look/bridal portrait time cut in half. We were able to capture all these special moments with plenty of time and had so much fun doing it.

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

Nathan’s suit – Nath wanted to wear something different but also wanted this to be subtle. He loves the colour green and from the start wanted a green velvet suit. He went back and forth a bit, worried it would be too much. But I am so glad he decided to go ahead with it. Oscar Hunt made the perfect deep green, black tie suit jacket. It was elegant and different and suited Nath to a tee! Zoe’s dress – My mum had made her own wedding dress, and after Nath proposed, I felt like I wanted to wear something with significant sentimental value. I wasn’t too fussy on what style etc, and knew I wanted something simple. I asked my mum if she would want to attempt making my dress, and she did not hesitate. It was a lot of fun and a lovely experience to have together. It is a very special dress for me.