Real Wedding – Lisa & Matt, Melbourne VIC
When it came to wedding planning, for Lisa and Matt it really was a breeze, despite planning all the way from Dubai.
Opting to celebrate their wedding day in Melbourne, they created an affair to remember on the sunny and lush lawns of the Royal Botanical Gardens. In a full skirted gown by Toni Maticevski, Lisa’s bridal look was stunning.
It was truly a day to remember with so many magic moments they will treasure forever, and there to capture it all was Sabine Legrand.
In Lisa’s words…
The meeting.
We met back in 2011 – when we were both working at the Victorian Institute of Sport.
‘The One’.
Our relationship was a slow build – according to Matt, I didn’t talk to him in his first three months of work! Eeep! So eventually – when we did start speaking – I realized he was a really fun guy, with a great sense of humour and a really authentic personality. I knew he was the one when he made me laugh like no one else could.
The proposal.
We had organized a quick, 4-night trip to Verbier, Switzerland in December 2015, were we stayed in a gorgeous fully-catered, all-inclusive chalet in the tiny Swiss village. On the second night – we decided to go out for dinner. I had been emailing the manager of the chalet prior to our arrival to organise dinner in a local famous restaurant in the village centre – but little did I know that Matt was also emailing him on another thread – planning a completely different experience for us both! The manager played along and made me believe my dinner plans were locked in place. So on that second night – the chalet driver drove us straight through town and stopped at the bottom of this snowy hill in the middle of nowhere. I was a bit confused, as I was convinced the restaurant I had booked was in the centre of the village. He said to us, the car cannot drive up the snow, so we will need to walk… he gave us head torches and told us to keep walking and after a while we will see the light of the restaurant and to just follow it. I was apologizing to Matt, as I was sure that the place I booked was in town and didn’t require a 20 minute walk up a snowy hill in the pitch black! After about ten minutes, Matt told me to stop at the crest of this little hill, and we could see the night lights of the Verbier village below us – and the stars above us. He then took my glove off and got down on one knee. I was beside myself! After the proposal, we kept walking another ten minutes and came to this single restaurant perched on a small hill. We went inside and there was one table made up for us with a bottle of champagne. Turns out – Matt had organized with the chalet manager to book an entire restaurant just for us. So it was just Matt and I, one waiter and one chef. It was divine. After dinner – we walked back down the mountain, whilst the waiter and chef zoomed past us on a snow-mobile!
The planning.
I started planning the wedding almost immediately! We were organising everything from Dubai – so I wanted ample time to do research and book in suppliers; especially considering that we only had 11 months until the big day! I started searching on Instagram – and the first thing I locked in was my wedding dress. For the wedding stationery – a friend recommended to me; Colour & Skulls by Morgan Jamieson. I went to her Instagram account and saw the most gorgeous water colour prints – and knew she was the one! Another Instagram search lead me to the page of Blakes Feast – and they were launching a pop-up marquee for two weeks during the month of December in the Royal Botanic Gardens, Melbourne. It was all inclusive – food and beverages, the chairs, tables, linen, bar, crockery, cutlery etc. It sounded amazing – particularly for a marquee – and with everything included, it made our lives so much easier! Once we had the venue locked in – we set up our Google Doc – and started filling in our tabs on all the ‘to-dos’ – most important tab was “budget”! We had an events planner from Blakes Feast – who then recommended some suppliers that they had worked with previously for their gardens marquee. We really trusted Blakes Feast, and were keen to get suppliers that knew the protocol for the RBG – as they have very strict regulations. They recommended to us the florist (Lulu Bird) and the DJ (Rutherford Entertainment). I then went back to Instagram and kept stalking bridal accounts until I came across Sabine Legrand photography – who didn’t have a huge amount of pics on her Instagram page, but those she had were gorgeous. She wasn’t the typical staged-bridal-photographer, her pictures were more spontaneous. She has such a good eye to catch ‘moments’. The only thing I didn’t really get off Instagram was my wedding shoes – and Matt’s suits!
Style inspiration.
I credit the theme of our wedding to Morgan Jamieson – from Colour & Skulls – who custom designed our wedding invitations. We had told her the venue of Royal Botanic Gardens, and we wanted it pretty simple and elegant – whites, greens and gold. Once we saw her stationery design for us – we pretty much planned everything else around it. She is super talented!!
The dress.
I saw some picture from the Melbourne Fashion Festival and saw photos from Toni Maticevski’s show. One dress stuck out to me – I screen shot it and sent it to my mum and sister in Melbourne. They immediately wrote back and said “that’s the one!” So the day the dress was launched in store, my sister – bless her – went straight in, grabbed the only one there and tried it on. She sent me pictures in Dubai – and I loved it! I told her to buy it then and there. I didn’t try on even one dress. I bought my wedding dress from 12,000km away without touching it or trying it on! (It was risky – but worked out perfectly, I didn’t even need to make any alterations!)
My dress was not a traditional wedding dress, it had a huge structured skirt made out of latticed material and the bodice was made out of that wetsuit-type material. I LOOOOOOOOOVED IT. It was both simple & extravagant. It was not a traditional wedding dress – and it was exactly what I wanted!
Favourite moment.
Walking down the aisle. It was such a special moment – having my dad walk me down, and then first catching sight of my fiancé. It is the moment all my nerves dissolved and the moment I found to be most precious.
Meaning of marriage.
Having someone to walk alongside through life
Wedding soundtrack.
Processional – Here Comes the Sun, The Beatles
Reception Entry – Jubel, Klingande
First Dance – Sky full of Stars, Coldplay
Farewell song – Ocean, John Butler Trio
Funny stories (near disasters).
Only one! We had our wedding rehearsal the day before at the Royal Botanic Gardens with our bridal party, parents and celebrant. My bridesmaids ended up getting lost in the gardens – and were not able to locate the ceremony site (it’s a big garden!). Their phones went dead and we ended up having to do most of the rehearsal without them, until they turned up an hour later as if they had run through the trenches – huffing, puffing and frazzled! (I was also a bit frazzled!) But I was told that a terrible rehearsal means a perfect wedding – which turned out true in our case!
Planning surprises.
How much easier it was than I expected! I was really gearing up for a mammoth, unmanageable task – and I was fully prepared for mini-meltdowns. I had heard so many stories but truth be told – it was actually ok! I’m not sure if we were really organized, or I had just expected the absolute worse – but it was not nearly as bad as I thought. All the suppliers are wedding-ready; so they know the drill!
Words of wisdom
Start planning as early as you can
Spreadsheets are your best friend
Practice your first kiss before you get to the altar!
If you’re wearing lipstick – have a bridesmaid carry wet wipes, so your groom can wipe his lips – not only after the ceremony, but also after all the photos
Enjoy the food and drink at your tasting – because you won’t each much (or at all) on the big day!
Take your groom away for a few minutes every now and again during the reception– to just stop and soak it all in
LISA AND MATT’S TRIBE
Ceremony venue: Taxodium Lawn, Royal Botanic Gardens, Melbourne
Reception venue: Blakes Feast Marquee – on the Dog Flat Lawn, Royal Botanic Gardens Melbourne – stunning pop-up marquee, that was so unique and special.
Celebrant/Officiant: Denzil Whitfield – we loved Denzil’s relaxed approach to our day. We wanted it succinct, relaxed and warm – and that is exactly how he delivered.
Photography: Sabine Legrand Photography – Sabine is a true master of her craft! I stumbled upon her Instagram account by chance and I was so impressed with her ability to capture and play with light. On the day – Sabine knew exactly what she wanted to capture and gave super clear directions, so we didn’t waste time trying to decide on locations. She also did a lot of work scoping out the Gardens for key locations prior to the big day, so could lead us to all the amazing locations. All our guests loved Sabine too – she wasn’t intrusive and managed to catch all the key moments. Also made us both feel super comfortable. She also sent us 40 pictures the next morning as a taster of her work!
Videography: The White Tree – these guys were awesome to work with you! So easy-going and again, they were really good at capturing us being natural. So easy to get along with and also made us feel so relaxed.
Florist: Lulu Bird – Lucie from Lulu Bird was a dream to work with. I gave her a super vague brief – I have no idea about flowers – so I showed her a picture of my dress and told her the colours I wanted (white & green) and based on those things – she came up with the most gorgeous arrangement of flowers! Far better than anything I could have imagined.
Hair and Make Up: Studio 2 Makeup – these two sisters (Emma & Renee) are so talented; I was so happy with my hair and make-up. All my bridesmaids were really happy with their looks too. They are super flexible – and if there is something you don’t like, they can change it easily.
The Dress: Toni Maticevski – LOVED it
Shoes: Aquazzurra
Rings: purposely made from CARA, Dubai
Bridesmaids dresses: Bianca Spender
Groom and groomsmen suits: Eddy Elias, Geelong
Catering: Blakes Feast – these guys were FLAWLESS. Once we booked in with them – everything was SO easy to work with. We were allocated an events planner (Amy Deluca) and she honestly made our lives so easy. She made every effort to accommodate all our requests – and was always on hand to answer our questions. The food that they served at the wedding was divine! We had a banquet style – and they continued to top up the dishes, as the food started to empty. People kept commenting on the quality and quantity of food & alcohol and the exceptional service. I could not fault a thing about Blakes Feast – from the beginning to the end – always so professional, accommodating, reliable and friendly!
Favors: Sweet Mickie – delicious guest favours that added a little sense of humour to our table
Stationery / Signage: Colour & Skulls, Morgan Jamieson – Morgan is unbelievably talented. We didn’t really give her a brief – and she came back with the most beautiful invitations, that totally set the scene for our wedding day. We planned everything around her design. Morgan was always so quick to respond and if we ever wanted anything changed it was never an issue.
Entertainment: Rutherford Entertainment – these guys were great to work with. We had a DJ and then a sax player for two hours during the night. The music was on point and the sax player added so much fun!
Honeymoon: New Zealand; Waiheke Island, Hawke’s Bay and Queenstown
