The meeting.

Yasmine: I met Camillo at work. I had just changed jobs from being a kindergarten teacher for most of my career and was looking for an in-between job until I worked out my next move and started working at RMIT in IT, which is where Cam was working at the time. We had a couple of conversations, bit of flirting on Google hangouts, and a few left Post-It notes. We really hit things off after some welcome back drinks were organised for me, I had just come back from Japan and our mutual work friend Anita and I were pod buddies and I was mucking around with her saying, “where’s my welcome back drinks at?” She turned around and put it on Cam, who had happened to be randomly the person standing behind her at the time, and asked, “Yeah Cam where are Yas’ welcome back drinks?”. He was smooth and just worked with it and was all cool “I got this all organised and covered,” and that night was the beginning of when it all started.

The one.

Yasmine: At the the time, I felt there were so many moments where I was like “yep, Cam is the one”. Reflecting on it now and having to choose, I actually think it was on our first date. Cam knew that I liked stationery and crafts, and when he came to pick me up, he had hand-made a white flower out of card stock and even added a stem. It was very sweet and it was a moment of he really listens to me. He was so nervous giving it to me and said he almost wasn’t going to give it as he was a bit embarrassed. I am so glad that he did, it was definitely something ‘the one’ would do for me.

Camillo: There are a few moments that come to mind, but thinking about this question prompts a conversation to mind that Yas and I had. I think one of the most prominent moments that made me think that Yas was ‘the one’ was when we were having a conversation about “what if I was in the garage working on the car, would you come and help me, hold the torch, pass me the tools, get grease on your hands?” Her response was “absolutely”. I knew at that point that if she was willing to get grease under her fingernails and help me with something like that, that I had found ‘the one’.

The proposal.

The proposal was so amazing; it was so Cam. He’s a bit of an IT nerd. He organised a scavenger hunt, he had written letters that were handed to me by my sisters. I had to go to to the locations and crack the clues in order to go to the next locations, he incorporated significant places and people that were apart of our journey as a couple. He included my family and two of our close friends in the hunt also. The clues I had to crack were in the forms of hangman, word searches, binary codes and riddles. It was so well thought out and creative. The final piece I had to crack led me to his location, which is where he proposed, the remainder of my family was also there. I loved how he knew to incorporate the most important people in my life – my family – and I love that he took such time to select the stationery to write his letters that went with the clues, as he knows I love stationery and ensured to pick something I would like. He knew all the right things to write in his letters, it was such a wonderful proposal.

The planning.

Our planning process started eighteen months before our big day. Yes, we were quite organized. Once we had chosen the venue, the next step was working out the theme and the sources we would require. We researched most of our sources online and made definite decisions on who we were choosing after meeting with our sources individually. Each step that was required for the wedding was done by the both of us we worked together to get each task completed. We made all decisions together and completed all DIY tasks together. As the wedding was so well planned (and I suppose, a tad too organised), we were a week ahead of schedule and were able to take a nice relaxing trip to Bali before the wedding.

Style inspiration.

We both really love nature, so we incorporated into our theme/styling natural elements, such as wood veneer invitations, all our stationery was made from wood veneer. Our favours / place cards that we gave our guests were succulent plants in little wooden pots, and our florals incorporated wild flowers. All signage had wooden elements, and our backdrop for the reception had beautiful floral and wooden decals featuring our family name. Campbell Point House were able to incorporate the sense of style and elegance we wanted our wedding to be, with also with some fun aspects such as a fairy floss cart and Jenga for our guests to sign as a guest book.

The dress.

My dress was made to measure, designed and created by Mariana Hardwick. It was the second store I went to in Melbourne and I absolutely loved it. I thought I better still go out and check other stores, I even did a trip to Sydney with my sisters to check out some international designers that I loved. However, I still could not get over how much I loved the dress from Mariana Hardwick, so back I went. The overall experience was amazing, Linda was our first consultant and such a beautiful and sweet person who made the entire experience so enjoyable. She was always honest with her opinions and it felt like she was part of this experience with me. Linda was there throughout my entire experience with Mariana Hardwick. The dress makers, in particular Franca, were also fantastic. In six dress fittings my dress was complete, we had a couple of style differences in the 5th dress fitting, which was a little nerve racking, however Franca assured me that it will be perfect and completed just as I wanted it – and it really was. I was so pleased with the final product.

Favourite moments.

Our favourite part of the day was the ceremony.

Yasmine: I enjoyed the getting ready time with my family, I also enjoyed the time with Cam (our photographer) and Matt (our videographer). I loved our ceremony. I was so excited to see Camillo. We had written most of the wording in the ceremony and we felt so blessed to be able to share how we felt with one another with all our family and friends.

Camillo: My favourite moment of the day was when I saw Yas walk out of the door out to the aisle. I felt an indescribable feeling which I have never felt before. I also enjoyed getting ready in the morning, with all the guys, we had a few really good laughs and it was a really pleasant way to start the day.

The meaning of marriage.

– We are Facebook official and can hashtag #mrandmrs #DS on Instagram for every photo (we wonder how long we can keep that going for).
– During my wedding speech I (Cam), said “Yasmine, ‘you’re my wife'”. When watching back the video of our speeches, I realised how Sri Lankan I sounded saying that line. I will now forever have Yasmine and her sisters saying “Theres no life, without wife” – it’s best to try and say that in Sri Lankan accent.
– It means we have a partner in life.
– It means we have found the person we can be our innate selves with, the person that brings love to our heart, laughter to our soul and peace to our mind.

Wedding soundtrack.

Aisle: My Love by Sia (slightly edited by us)

Signing of the registry:  Firestone (Fireworks Version) by Kygo

Recessional: Lost In Ya Love by Chris Brown

Reception entry: Sexual Healing (Kygo Remix) by Marvin Gaye

Cake cutting: Here For You by Kygo

First dance: Earned It by The Weekend

Funny stories (or near disasters).

One of our groomsmen, decided whilst getting ready to just randomly start talking about something that was happening in his life, everyone stopped what they were doing to stop and listen. He basically continued for the next 25-30 minutes preceding to tell us a story that we are now suspecting to be ridiculous. The end of the story was the punch line of the longest joke we had ever heard in our life. It was pretty funny.

Planning surprises.

We think it would be the above and beyond effort put in by all our suppliers. It was great having such accommodating suppliers.

Words of wisdom.

Begin planning well in advance in order for you to have most things completed early. This will give you an opportunity if you are able to take a small mini getaway the week before the wedding to completely unwind and relax. It also helps bring you both into a space of connection and love, which is important as weddings can be stressful for both partners.

Location: Campbell Point House 

Celebrant/Officiant: Linda Hamill 

Photography: Cam Grove – We loved Cam before we had actually met him. For us, what made Cam stand out (other than his breathtaking photographs) before we had met him, was his “about” section on his website, for me (Yasmine) I felt an emotional connection with what he had written and had a bit of chuckle at his humour and couldn’t wait to meet him. When we met Cam, we left the meeting saying we have found our photographer and cancelled the remainder of our appointments with the other photographers. We’re so glad that we did, Cam was brilliant on the day, he has got such a calming nature and put us at complete ease and we were able to be ourselves. Our bridal party and parents also loved Cam. Cam is a must have for any wedding.

Videography: C2 Films – From the first initial contact with C2 it was a great experience. Erin the Studio Manager was fantastic, her communication was always professional, welcoming and warm. We then met Matt who was our videographer on the day. Matt was great, his laid back, gentle and funny approach is what made us feel relaxed, he was very light hearted and knew the right things to say to help you stay in good spirits for the entire day. We then finished off our experience with Stacey the Post Production Manager, once again amazing communication with us and dedicated to her task, our short clip was completed and absolutely breathtaking, within four days after the wedding, we were still on our honeymoon when we received the clip and it was beautiful to watch whilst on our honeymoon.

Styling: Bride – ykdesignstudio

Florist: Ambrosia Floral Designs – Leanne from Ambrosia Floral Designs, she did an amazing job with the floral. She was thrown with a few changes to the venue, which had not been advised by the venue until the weekend of the wedding (which affected our initial styling ideas with the floral). She assured us that she would be able to handle it all and everything will be beautiful, whether that stressed her and the team out, we would not have known, she was fantastic.

Hair and makeup: Best Brides Hair and Makeup and Rhiannon’s Natural Beauty – Rhiannon was absolutely fantastic, not only did she do a beautiful job with our makeup, she stayed to the very end of us getting ready, she assisted me with the little things that needed to be done on the day, which was not apart of her role being makeup artist, she was amazing and relieving stress of having to do some of these DIY tasks and assisted us with doing them.

The Dress: Mariana Hardwick 

Veil / head wear: Mariana Hardwick

Accessories and shoes: Jeanette Maree Bridal and Evening Accessories 

Rings: Bride – Paul Bram Groom – Hardy Brothers Jewellers 

Bridesmaid’s dresses: Black Tie Boutique

Men’s suits: InStitchu

Groom’s Shoes: Aquila

Bow ties / ties: OTAA 

Catering: Campbell Point House

On the day coordination: Chic by Cara

Favours: ykdesignstudio

Cake: Cakes of Distinction 

Stationery / Signage: Wooden Invitation Pack, Small Wooden Signs, Name Cards and Menus all by ykdesignstudio. Large A1 signage by Lauren Skorsis Graphic Design & Illustration.

Entertainment: DJ Omar Casas

Fairy floss cart: Events by Alysia

Honeymoon: Italy: Rome, Tuscany and Amalfi Coast