Real Wedding – Meg & Pip, Southbank VIC
Real Wedding – Meg & Pip, Southbank VIC
Real Wedding – Meg & Pip, Southbank VIC
Real Wedding – Meg & Pip, Southbank VIC

Real Wedding – Meg & Pip, Southbank VIC

 

A little bit of rain was never going to dampen the spirits of gorgeous Meg and Pip, married in the CBD of Melbourne.

They wanted to keep their plans easy and relaxed, so chose to host their ceremony and reception at the same place so guests could flow seamlessly from one celebration to the next.

Almost having to walk down the aisle sans bouquet after it was left at the hotel, Meg’s father saved the day by running back to get them, before they said their I do’s in front of their loved ones.

Captured by Mavis Jean Photography, this cosy celebration will have you ready to create your very own winter wonderland.

 

IN MEG’S WORDS…

 

The meeting.
Pip and I met through his cousin Jess who I studied design with at RMIT university. However, we didn’t actually meet until after I had left uni, which is crazy because for three years we studied in buildings right next to each other.

The proposal.

Pip gave me the surprise of my life when he transformed our little apartment into the scene of our first date (which was a park) on our 6 year anniversary. He put down astro-turf, made lamp posts and scattered autumn leaves all over the ground. It was the sweetest.

Style inspiration.

We knew we wanted our wedding to be simple and focused on the gathering of our family and friends. We didn’t want guests to have to move between two locations so we tried to find a venue where we could have both the ceremony and dinner in the same place. Quite a few of our guests would need to travel interstate to get to the wedding so we decided the city would work best so that they could fly in and fly out without having to negotiate travel to somewhere regional.

The dress.

When it came to dresses I wanted to try and find a red carpet style gown that that just happened to be in white. I definitely wanted something modern and simple. I had a good look around sites like Net-A-Porter to see if there was something online I might like. I did see things I really liked but ultimately it felt too risky to buy something without having had the chance to try it on or see the fabric. The Bridal Atelier was the first place I went to try on dresses with my sister and my mum. Amy who looked after me was so lovely. Going into the store there were two Houghton NYC gowns that I had seen on their Instagram which I really loved. I tried a few gowns on and the Duncan gown by Houghton was the last one I tried on. Their sample was crazy tight on me but I had to remember that my own gown would be made to my measurements. So there was quite a lot of trust involved!

Favourite moment.

Immediately after the ceremony. Feeling so happy and seeing Pip so happy and being able to say hello to all our guests.

Traditions.

We cut a cake and had a first dance but that’s probably about it. Both my parents walked me down the aisle which was nice. In retrospect I think it was probably a pretty non-traditional wedding.

Meaning of marriage.

Marriage for us means teamwork and trust. And never feeling alone, even when you are.

Wedding soundtrack.

Processional: You & Me by Penny and the Quarters

Signing song: Albatross by Fleetwood Mac

Recessional: Into the Mystic by Van Morrison

First Dance: Al Green’s Let’s Stay Together sung by Cisco Tavares of our band Fax Machine

Funny stories (or near disasters).

It rained all afternoon and after making our way from the hotel to the venue (on foot with a slew of umbrellas) we realized we had left our bouquets behind. Dad went back to get them! Thanks Dad! My sister also completely forgot that she was doing a reading until Jo called her up, but she said it was probably for the best because she didn’t have time to be nervous.

Planning surprises.

The last 5% is so much harder than you think it will be. Tying up the little loose ends in the days leading up to wedding took so much more time and energy than I had anticipated.

Words of wisdom.

Have the wedding you want to have. Don’t feel you need to do anything you’re not comfortable with just because it’s traditional or you think it’s expected. Also, shorter evening weddings and Sundays or weekdays are great if you’re looking for more budget friendly options. We saved significantly by booking a Sunday.
Other advice I read that was really helpful to me:

-Don’t try on dresses that are outside of your price range

-Invest in your marriage during the planning process, rather than your wedding (after all it’s just one day).

 

MEG AND PIP’S TRIBE

Venue: Fatto Bar & Cantina, part of Hamer Hall, Southbank. Our ceremony took place in the Cantina in front of a large window that overlooked Melbourne’s skyline and the Yarra River. And then we had dinner outside in their undercover Terrace before returning inside for dancing and dessert. Chrissy from Fatto helped us to plan everything and was a joy to work with and the team on the night went to great lengths to make our guests feel welcome and also to look after Pip and I.

Celebrant: The lovely Jo Betz. She made all our ceremony dreams come true! She was incredibly supportive and bought so much warmth to our day.

Photography: The talented Alice & Greg from Mavis Jean photography. Their style is to be as unobtrusive as possible and to capture all the little moments which we loved. They suggested we have a few photos outside in the rain with our wedding party which didn’t seem like the best idea at the time but of course we should have trusted them! Those photos are some of our faves.

Styling: Pip and I pre-planned the styling ourselves and then went through our plans with our day-of-coordinator a week before the wedding. Our day-of-coordinator was Sharon Pillay from the Wedding Day PA. She was great!

Florist: Kate from Mary Mary Studio was so sweet and kind to work with. She did such a great job on all the florals.

Hair and Make Up: Janice Wu, she was such a calm and fun presence to have around while we were getting ready. She was the perfect hair and makeup artist!

The Dress: The Duncan gown by Houghton NYC. Which I bought from The Bridal Atelier in Armadale.

Veil: The Cooper Veil from One Day Bridal

Jewellery: I bought agate earrings for my sister and I online from St Raine. And I also wore some gold bracelets I bought from Seed Heritage.

Shoes: Tony Bianco

Rings: Pip’s dad Mike made his ring! Which was very special. We bought my wedding band from Michael Hill.

Bridesmaids dresses: Carla Zampatti

Groom and groomsmen attire: Politix

Catering: Fatto Bar & Cantina

Favours: We didn’t give any favours at our wedding, instead we used the money to serve champagne to our guests on arrival.

Cake: My mum Lou made the cake, a delicious 5 layer white chocolate mud cake with fresh raspberries. And our florist Kate supplied the floral cake topper. My dad Phil made the cake stand in one of his wood working classes!

Stationery / Signage: I designed all our signage and stationery, Pip helped to construct the signage.

Entertainment: Fax Machine, lead by Cisco Taveres played an acoustic set immediately after the ceremony and then got the dancefloor going after dinner. They played the perfect mix of old soul, mo-town classics and a few RnB hits to boot. Cisco has the most incredible voice!

Honeymoon: A 3 night stay in Hobart in a beautiful Air Bnb in Battery Point.




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