Real Wedding – Alysha & Matt, Geelong VIC
Real Wedding – Alysha & Matt, Geelong VIC
Real Wedding – Alysha & Matt, Geelong VIC
Real Wedding – Alysha & Matt, Geelong VIC

Real Wedding – Alysha & Matt, Geelong VIC

 

Matt and Alysha spent many hours researching venues all over Australia for the ultimate space to create the perfect celebration. Little did they realise it was right in front of them, in their home town of Geelong.

After an intimate ceremony where they shared their loved story with their guests, they headed to a waterfront location that boasts spectacular views. It was here they created many magic moments with every detail lovingly thought of.

Boasting some of our Tribe favourites in fabulous foodies ‘Truffleduck’ and ‘Momu’ who created Alysha’s effortless look, there to capture all the incredibly action was photographer Michael Renga.

In Alysha’s words…

The meeting.

Matt used to work in Geelong nightclubs as a DJ and event organiser. We met at one of the local nightclubs through friends, about six and a half years ago. He tried to impress me by telling me he was a DJ.

The one.

Within a couple of weeks, we pretty much became inseparable. We got along so well and everything was so easy. We consider ourselves best friends and I think that’s what really cemented the idea of us being ‘the one’ for each other.

The proposal.

Matt is a pretty transparent person and can’t lie or hide anything to save himself, so I was super surprised when he proposed and I had no clue he was planning to! He kept it simple and sweet, and proposed in our house.

Matt designed my engagement ring himself with our jeweller in Melbourne and had the diamond shipped over from Antwerp. I was so in shock by the moment and how beautiful the ring was, I asked Matt if he was sure! After assuring me yes he was sure and very serious, I said yes. It was actually his birthday and we had planned dinner and drinks with family and friends so we were able celebrate with everyone.

The planning.

We really struggled finding a venue that suited us. We wanted a cocktail wedding and nothing too formal and typically ‘wedding-ish’. We wanted our ceremony to be intimate and personal with our nearest and dearest, but we wanted a big party for our reception. After looking locally and then all over Australia, we had pretty much decided to elope. We weren’t super thrilled with the idea as we really wanted all our family and friends with us, but we didn’t want to settle for venues that didn’t suit us.

We’d always loved the grounds at Geelong College, particularly the Cloisters and eventually one day, we were there and thought, why don’t we get married here?! After that everything sort of fell into place pretty quickly, we’d been in the Western Beach Room at Deakin University Waterfront previously and I could see myself creating a really cool and different space for our wedding. We chose a random date that sounded good, November 26th 2016, and both the venues were available. We officially booked everything in February 2016, so it didn’t give us a lot of time to organize and plan, only 9 months!

From there, I started getting in contact with suppliers and building our tribe. We were set on the look and feel of what we wanted for our day so I didn’t struggle too much with finding amazing suppliers and products.

Style inspiration.

We wanted a chic modern feel to our day. We wanted our ceremony to be intimate and then our reception to be a big party of lots of dancing and celebrating.

I immediately knew I wanted the theme to be simple; white, with touches of green, black, marble and rose gold.  The simplicity and naturalness of our ceremony location, in the Cloisters at Geelong College, linked in perfectly to this. We didn’t need to add much to the venue, just all white furniture, white petals down the aisle, two armchairs for our white signing table. The Cloisters boast the most amazing trees, plants and greenery so we really wanted that to shine through and be complimented.  Our flowers really worked with this too, as we chose a modern mix of white and green.

For our reception venue at Deakin University Waterfront in the Western Beach Room, we kept the theme going, but added in black, marble and rose gold. With an amazing balcony that showed off the best view of Geelong’s waterfront, we made this space into our ‘party’, with lounges, bar tables and chairs, and a feature of our letter DANCE lights. Inside, our glass black dancefloor was back dropped by the most amazing leafy wall covered in fairy lights, signage with our names and fresh flowers. Marble bars, lounges, bar tables and chairs, plenty of fresh blooms and an arch specifically to frame our cake finished off the room inside.

The dress.

I actually really struggled to find a dress that was off the rack and made to order. Working in fashion, I found I was being super picky and couldn’t make a decision. After many unsuccessful appointments, I decided I would get my dress made. I found Sonia from Capellazzo Couture and after ten minutes of chatting to her, I knew she would make my dress. We worked together to design something that would accentuate my body type, with the feature being this and the back of the dress. Sonia was a dream to work with and made sure every step of the way was a lovely experience.

Favourite moments.

There’s definitely too many to choose from! But if I had to choose one, it would be when I first saw Matt when I walked down the aisle. I honestly didn’t see anything else but him. Matt’s would be our first dance together; it was like we were just in our own little world.

Traditions.

Matt’s background is Macedonian so we included some traditional Macedonian dancing at our reception. Matt and I have always loved the addition of the Macedonian dancing to celebrate, as it doesn’t matter who you are or if you’re Macedonian or not, you can get up and join in and have fun!

The meaning of marriage.

Marriage is family. That unconditional love, through hard and bad times but also through the happy and good. We promised each other on our wedding day we would support each other no matter what and continue to be best friends.

Wedding soundtrack.

Aisle: My favourite singer is John Legend, so the song I walked down the aisle to was All of Me, however Matt found a violin acoustic version which we both fell in love with.

Reception entry: Levels by Avicii, a favourite of mine and Matt’s.

First Dance Song- Just the Way You Are by Bruno Mars. Matt also found an acoustic version of this, which we really loved. Bruno Mars and this song has always been a favorite of ours. Our first dance was a beautiful moment for us, we felt like we were in our own little world.

Father and Daughter Dance: An acoustic cover of Brown Eyed Girl by Candace Leca. The song is instead sung by the point of view of the girl so it was a special moment for my dad and I.

Funny stories/or near disasters.

Honestly, the day went really smoothly and I couldn’t say there was any disasters on the day or leading up to it. The whole day was filled with fun and laughter!

Planning surprises.

Probably how hard I found it to find a dress! Working in fashion, I know what I like and what suits my body, however I think because your wedding is such a special day, I found I was being super picky. Getting a custom dress made from Cappellazzo Couture was destined!

Words of wisdom.

Practicality wise, lists! Make a million lists of all your ideas and to do’s, no matter how small or if it’s silly. Keeping all my lists ensured I knew what still needed to be done and by when. I also made sure any ideas I randomly thought of or saw, I wrote down or saved a photo of in my phone. I’m a big fan of details and I think this can really make the difference! Also, make sure you have amazing suppliers and people in your tribe, it can make such a huge difference in you actually enjoying the lead up to your day, rather than it being stressful and hard!

On a personal level, make sure you keep in mind what this day is about. Yes, the cake is important and the dancefloor needs to be big enough and everything has to be the right colour, but at the end of the day you’re marrying the love of your life. Make sure you’re present on the day and really take it all in. And have fun!

 

 

Love a party vibe? Check out Kelly and Ben’s city celebration where the party really starts!

ALYSHA AND MATT’S TRIBE

Ceremony venue / location: Geelong College Cloisters

Reception venue / location: Deakin University Waterfront, Western Beach Room

Celebrant/Officiant: Tim Edwards from Geelong College. Tim was the most amazing addition to our day. Tim truly made not only our ceremony such an amazing experience, but also the lead up as well. He was able to make it so personal and it suited us so well. Tim made everyone laugh, cry and truly think about the commitment we were making on our day. With Tim’s help, we were able to write our vows together to reflect our relationship and commitments to each other.

Photography: Michael Renga. Michael was an amazing addition to our day and we couldn’t be happier with our wedding photos. Michael is truly passionate about what he does and it really comes through in his work. His creativity ensures your memories from your special day are truly captured. He is so easy to work with and being a family friend of ours, it was really special having him as a part of our day.

Videography: Brian Purnell. Brian has been a friend of Matt’s for a long time, they worked together in clubs and Brian was actually Matt’s photographer that shot the first range of Dead President Society. Brian again was an awesome addition to our day. We had a great time with him all day and loved having a drink and dance together later on in the night. Brian is super easy going and we loved that we were able to laugh with him and it gave us a really natural and comfortable feel to being filmed all day.

Styling: Myself with help from our beautiful suppliers. I absolutely loved styling our big day! Special mention to Bec from Truffleduck who went above and beyond to help on the day.

Florist: Moss Industry – my bouquets and reception floral’s. Danielle from Moss Industry was amazing! I was so happy with all of our flowers on the day and Danielle truly captured what we wanted.

Flowerbowl created the arrangements at ceremony. Flowerbowl’s florals were stunning and complimented our ceremony setting beautifully.

We also used Cartel Flowers for our petals and signing table flower box. Cartel Flowers added a beautiful touch to our ceremony, with their amazing fresh petals down the aisle and gorgeous rose box at our signing table.

Hair and Make Up: Momu Hair and Makeup. Alana from Momu is so gorgeous and made the getting ready aspect of the day so fun and easy. I was so happy with my hair and makeup and had so many compliments on the day.

The Dress: Cappellazzo Couture. Sonia from Cappellazzo Couture designed and made my custom wedding dress and I couldn’t have been happier. I wanted something that was classic but had a sexy and fun feel to it. Sonia really captured this. We chose vintage French lace and made a feature of the back of the dress. Having my dress designed specifically for me and to fit me properly was a huge priority for me, which is something I think a lot of brides skip past.

Veil / head wear: Cappellazzo Couture veil

Jewellery/Accessories: Diamond earrings from Ellissi Jewellery

Shoes: Aquazzura

Matt bought me my shoes when we visited Florence, Italy in August just before our wedding.

Rings: Ellissi Jewellery. Ian from Ellissi Jewellery is an amazing jeweler in Melbourne. He made my engagement ring so we went back to him for our wedding bands. I ended up getting 2 bands that matched in with my engagement ring. Matt wanted something a little different for his wedding band, and ended up designing it with Ian. They come up with a white gold smooth rounded band with rose gold on the inside. You can just see a touch of rose gold when he’s wearing it and it looks amazing! The date of our wedding was also engraved into the inside of the band.

Bridesmaids dresses: Zimmermann jumpsuits from Collections for Women

Grooms suit: Calibre

Grooms Shoes: Calibre

Groomsmen suits: The grromsmens suits were from Calibre and their shirts and shoes from Eddy Elias

Bow ties / ties: Calibre

Catering: Truffleduck. Truffleduck are truly the best in the business! We cannot thank them enough. They really make your day so easy and stress free for you. They take care of anything you need or want before you even have to think about it. The team is so professional and nothing is too hard or not doable. Bec and Sarah are so good at their jobs and made sure everything was perfect for our day.

Favors: We opted in not having favors and instead made donations to the charities that hold a special place in our hearts; Australia Dementia Research Foundation, The Heart Foundation and MND Research Institute of Australia.

Cake: Alice Broadway Cake Designs. After giving Alice our mood board of inspiration, she designed the most amazing cake! Her creativity in our marble, black and rose gold design was so gorgeous and really added to the style and feel of our day. Oh and it tasted amazing too!

Stationery / Signage: Sketch and Etch Creative. Tash from Sketch and Etch was amazing! We were looking for something really different for our wedding invitations and signage for our wedding. After finding the acrylic look I wanted, I contacted Tash and she was able to bring my ideas to life. The invites and wedding signage were clear acrylic with white etched writing. Sketch and Etch were a dream to work with.

Entertainment: A friend of ours flew down from Sydney to DJ for us, J Heasy. James ensured everyone, young and old, were up and dancing all night. Our dance floor was never empty!

Transport: The bridal car was our Holden 1972 HQ Premier that my dad and I restored together when I was younger. My bridal party were in a friend’s HQ as well. Matt and his groomsmen were in Matt’s and his parent’s Porches. The cars we chose had a really personal touch and special meaning for our day.

Honeymoon: Europe. We went on a ‘pre-wedding honeymoon’ to Europe in August before our wedding, however we have another planned trip to Europe for our proper honeymoon!

Furniture Hire for Ceremony: Memphis Hire. Memphis was fantastic. Kelly was great to deal with, and the set up on the day looked so amazing!

Furniture Hire for Reception: Harry the Hirer. Harry the Hirer were great! Their products really suited our theme and feel to the night. We wanted a really modern feel of a party and we were able to put together a really cool collection of pieces that made sure our venue not only looked amazing, but was practical too.

Styling Hire at Reception: Leafy Design Co, for our cake arch and our amazing leafy wall. The leafy wall was the backdrop to our dance floor and was really the feature of the whole room. We had so many compliments on this and it was a stand out piece.

Light Up DANCE Letters: Dress My Wedding. Tash and her husband were so easy to work with. The Dance letters really added to the feel of our night and looked so amazing as a feature to the view on the balcony. Tash was so beautiful to work with, very easy and stress free!




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