Effortlessly chic: a warehouse wedding in Melbourne
With their respective families travelling from interstate, Kim and Cameron wanted to host a uniquely Melbourne wedding to showcase the best of the city they found love in.
To them, this looked like a warehouse-chic, jungle-in-the-city style ceremony and a reception space with exposed beams and aged brick – both rich in character and yet distinctly contemporary.
Like the sublime storyteller she is, photographer Georgia Verrells helped capture and elevate the inner-city narrative by taking relaxed, authentic portraits of the pair at iconic locations as part of an intimate first look.
Style was not simply found in the background of the celebration, though. It was in the fashion, too.
Inspired by a pair of flared, high-waisted, hazelnut trousers he found at a thrift store years earlier, Cam went to the experts at InStitchu for a custom suiting experience that took the inspiration of the much-loved piece and created a new ensemble, complete with a double-breasted jacket, fit for a groom. Kim chose an elegantly ethereal gown by Saint Bridal from our stylish friends at The Bridal Curator.
Read on for more inspiration and planning lessons from the newlyweds, plus the always beautiful work of Georgia Verrells.
The meeting.
We met on Hinge in April 2022. Our first date was at Empress of China (where else could it possibly have been!) on Easter Sunday.
‘The one’.
We locked in a second date for the following Friday but when the day finally came around, Cam spontaneously decided to invite me to a three-day bush doof as our second date.
The proposal.
We were in the middle of planning our backyard renovation and Cam used this as cover to say we were going to Forest Glade Gardens in Mount Macedon to look for ‘inspiration’. We packed a picnic but halfway there Cam realised he’d forgotten a rug. We went on an hour-long diversion to hunt down a blanket which is when I started to catch on. We had our picnic under a gorgeous Japanese maple with the sun beaming through the leaves, it was perfect. Then he popped the question!
Planning process.
All of our family is from interstate, so we wanted to host a very ‘Melbourne’ wedding to showcase the things we love about the city we chose and found each other in. The moment we walked into Glasshaus Inside we knew it was where we wanted to have our ceremony. The warehouse chic vibe with stunning greenery and natural light ticked every box.
For the reception, our number one priority was great food and drink. It’s so easy to get caught up in the smaller details that nobody remembers anyway but great food is never forgotten. We went to a bottomless brunch at Half Acre and found that we could have incredible food and drink while not compromising on atmosphere and intimacy.
We used a combination of Pinterest, Instagram and reading about Real Weddings on Ivory Tribe to find ideas. A good friend was getting married shortly after me, so I found it super helpful to bounce ideas off her and we’d put our heads together and share information we’d found.
The ceremony.
Even though there were 70 people in the room, it felt like an elopement. It felt like a small bubble of people we love. The informality of Glasshaus Inside made it feel real and grounded, and I think our guests felt that way too.
The outfits.
Before we got engaged I always thought I wanted a simple cream silk slip dress but the dress shopping experience was really revealing to me. I tried on so many options but kept coming back to a stunning gown with ribbons and a deconstructed corset I had seen on TikTok. I found the dress at The Bridal Curator in Prahran and the moment I stepped into it I knew it was the one.
Cam had some thrifted vintage, flared, high-waisted, hazelnut trousers he found a couple of years ago and knew he wanted to wear a similar style for the wedding. We shopped around and went with InStitchu because they had the closest fabric to the vintage pants and he had them recreate these with a matching double breasted suit jacket.
Favourite moment.
Everyone knows the big moments, but I’d like to call out the in-between bits that are less obvious but really went a long way to making the day feel like something we had planned. We did family photos after the first look (before the ceremony). We had arranged for Terror Twilight to deliver sandwiches to Fitzroy Gardens and after the photos we stood around, chatted with our family who we don’t see often and ate some damn tasty sangas. All of that combined with the fact that everyone was dressed to the nines made it more than the sum of its parts. Another great in-between moment was that we got one of our friends to hire an outrageous purple jeep as our wedding car. We took ten minutes to have a photoshoot with the Jeep out the back of Glasshaus after the ceremony. It was extremely silly and extremely fun.
Meaning of marriage.
Marriage has meant a lot of different things to different people throughout history. Marriage to us is one of the truest expressions of what it is to be human. Being able to commit to someone, work constructively through life’s destructive moments, and rise above self-indulgence all speak to what people can be, to what we all want to be: good. Also, contrary to nay-sayers, a good marriage forces both people to affirm their independence and freedom everyday, waking up and choosing to show up for the person they love.
Wedding soundtrack.
The Maid of Honour walked down the aisle to Love is Blind by Paris Hilton for something silly – the millennials cracked up and the boomers were … confused. Bellissimo!
I walked to Try a Little Tenderness by Otis Redding but waited a minute for dramatic suspense.
We chose not to do a reception entry.
Our first dance song was Silver Soul by Beach House because we played it on repeat the week we fell in love.
This went straight into Groovejet (If This Ain’t Love) by Spiller and Sophie Ellis-Bextor. We decided to not have a DJ. Cam hired sound equipment and spent hours making the perfect mix, so we didn’t have to worry about songs going on for too long, Spotify crashing, or anything like that. Last song of the night was I Write Sins Not Tragedies by Panic At The Disco.
Words of wisdom.
Consider the things that are truly important to you. You will get caught up in the details, but at least you’ll be able to get some perspective from that anchor point.
KIM & CAMERON’S SUPPLIERS:
Ceremony: Glasshaus Inside
Reception: Half Acre
Photographer: Georgia Verrells
Dress: Saint Bridal purchased from The Bridal Curator
Suits: InStitchu
Hair and makeup: Andrea Takagi
Cake: Miss Trixie Drinks Tea
Celebrant: Our Friend Stanley
