Modern Manhattan style at The Trust, Melbourne CBD
When planning their day, Lucy and Marc made an effort to avoid an over-consumption of current trend content and instead let their personal taste guide the way.
Their instincts came together in a modern Manhattan aesthetic centred on a backdrop of grand architecture and softened by a palette of latte-hued roses and blue hydrangeas that echoed the tone of the bridesmaid dresses.
On the search for an alternative to classic black suits, the pair consulted the experts at InStitchu, who created a custom design in an equally sophisticated shade of rich chocolate.
Lucy’s own outfit was a top and skirt combination that fused the work of two designers and delivered on her desire to feel ‘bridal but cool, princess-like but edgy’.
Scroll on for insights about how they curated a style that felt contemporary yet cohesive, as brilliantly captured by Art of Grace Studios.
The meeting.
We met at high school. We were friends for a while beforehand but only romantically connected around the middle of Year 12 – by the end we were inseparable and have been together ever since.
‘The one’.
We had that feeling pretty quick to be honest! We were young but we didn’t ever want to spend time apart. From the moment we met, Lucy had been planning the wedding. We can be ourselves and we bring the best out in each other. We lift each other up and are by each other’s side through anything and everything.
The proposal.
For months leading up to it, I always said to Marc, ‘I don’t want anything extravagant, just do it wherever, it doesn’t bother me, even just at home on the couch, I really don’t mind’. And, well, Marc took that very literally. One night we were heading to my parents’ house to celebrate my Dad’s birthday and I was at home about to hop in the shower and Marc walked in the front door in his work hi vis and said ‘can you come outside quickly and help me put something in the car for your Dad to borrow’ and so I threw on the closest outfit I had (leopard print PJ pants a dirty white t-shirt) and walked outside and he was down on one knee in the backyard’. I don’t think he even got the question out before I tackled him to the ground and cried. It ended up being great timing as I got to see my whole family that night, Dad had the champagne waiting, and we had already organised a big group pub outing the next evening, so we got to celebrate with our favourite people straight away.
Wedding planning advice and style inspiration.
We really wanted something different, something that The Trust doesn’t see every day. We didn’t feel drawn to the white and green, the single-stem roses, etc. We always knew we wanted blue hydrangeas and latte colored roses and a modern Manhattan style so it was a matter of working out how to bring that together. Luckily, my Mum, Sarah, has a very good eye for these things and came to us one day and said, ‘how about we source 120 different crystal vases throughout the year and have five or so on each table all filled with different bunches of flowers?’. We fell in love with the idea instantly. From there we had to figure out the Hydrangeas as we were not letting go of these! We then decided on two different stories – with the hydrangeas incorporated into the ceremony and then the moody Manhattan style in the reception to surprise people. It all came together perfectly.
We loved browsing Ivory Tribe to get real-life inspiration, tips on things to consider and advice on what to focus on. However, we tried not to view too many current weddings or ‘trending’ videos, as we didn’t want to end up doing things simply because they felt current; we wanted to do things that we imagined when we thought of our day – things that we truly love.
We also had a live photobooth at the reception, which was a great idea by our photographer, Art of Grace Studios. We repurposed the ceremony flowers for this, and it looked amazing! We got the images printed and posted them along with a thank-you note to every guest the week after the wedding. Another fun thing we did was each individual bunch of flowers inside the crystal vases was wrapped and given to guests on their departure, it was a hit! We had people requesting specific bunches; it was great.
The ceremony.
Our ceremony was short, romantic and just ‘us’ – we didn’t take our eyes off each other.
The outfits.
I tried on multiple gowns, and none really felt like me. I was about to lock in a gown from a different designer when my Mum suggested one more try on day. It was then that we headed to Bluebell Bridal where the service and the staff were outstanding. They made us feel comfortable and were so open to all our ideas, so we quickly knew it was the place for us. I wanted to feel bridal but cool, princess-like but modern and edgy. My Mum came up with the idea to merge two designs and the staff at Bluebell were incredible at making this happen and so supportive of the idea. I also always imagined having two gowns as I am known for always wearing shorts so the thought of changing into a playsuit felt very ‘me’, however I fell in love with the design we came up with so much that I decided not to. Because of this though, I wanted to make sure the front of the dress floated along the ground and the train wasn’t long so it was wearable all night long.
For the boys’ suits, we looked at The Trust and drew inspiration from there. To us, black felt too heavy and like it would clash with the stunning timber and marble of the building – it also it felt very typical. That’s when we thought, why not dark brown? We hadn’t seen much of it so really had to use our imagination. We then headed into Instichu and they pulled out the most perfect shade – we knew it was meant to be. Looking at photos now we are SO glad we did it, the guests complimented them all night as well.
Favourite moment.
Marc was a DJ back in the day, so for about 30 minutes towards the end of the night, he hopped on the decks, and it absolutely brought the party to life. All the friends we have known since high school were saying how nostalgic it was.
Meaning of marriage.
Marriage to us is becoming one. It’s about creating our life, something we can work hard at, and in years to come look back and say, ‘we did that’.
The soundtrack.
Aisle: Truly Madly Deeply by Sidney
Reception entry: A remix of Yellow Brick Road (Marc used to play this when he was a DJ for Lucy before they were together as he knew it was her fav song).
First dance: Forever & Ever & Always – Ryan Mack
Funny stories/near disasters.
There were no real dramas! The only thing that was a bit tricky was that – given my mum Sarah was Mother of the Bride and also the florist – we had a plan to bring all the flowers in on Thursday night to set them up so she could be with me on the morning of the wedding, however things had to change and instead she was required there from 2pm – 4pm the day of the wedding to do set up yet somehow she was still the perfect mother of the bride while hand delivering and setting up all the flowers before the ceremony! A little bit stressful, but it ended up perfect.
Planning surprises.
The struggle to find latte color roses that time of year! And the perfect blue Hydrangea. Luckily, Mum knows her plants and got hydrangeas when they were still blooming and nurtured them at home for weeks leading up to ensure they were perfect. The latte roses I used for my bouquet ended up being Ecuadorian roses! The only ones we could find that were the perfect color.
Words of wisdom.
Don’t fall into trends and don’t do what you think you have to do – do what feels most like yourselves and everything will fall into place.
LUCY & MARC’S SUPPLIERS:
Ceremony & reception venue: The Trust
Celebrant/Officiant: The Jolley Celebrant
Photography: Art of Grace Studios
Videography: Bridal BTS
Styling, Bar, Catering: Nudo
I want to make a HUGE shout out to Tia from Nudo Group – every crazy idea, she was responded with, ‘YES let’s do it’ or ‘yes, I love it’. Without her, I don’t think I would have felt as supported and also like I could really just ask anything.
Florist plus vase and lamp sourcing: Sarah Burt (Mother of the Bride)
Hair & make-up: Laura Dunstan
The dresses: Bluebell Bridal – It was a two piece which we actually got from two different designers. The top was by Prea James and the skirt was by Popovski . (The skirt was originally an over skirt with a split that was to be worn over an under skirt however we removed the split and lined the Lottie skirt to make it one.)
Shoes: Dior
Rings: Engagement Ring from Cullen Jewellery, Wedding bands custom made at DB Jewellery
Bridesmaid’s dresses: AJE
Flower Girl dresses: AJE kids – These were just perfect! The fact that they had hydrangeas and we were using them also in the ceremony just made it amazing.
Suits: InStitchu
Ties: Hugo Boss
Favours: Limoncello from Ambra Spirits (dedicated to Marcs late Nonno)
Cake: Mad About Cakes
Dessert: Roaming cannoli from Cannoleria
Stationery / Signage: Designed William Ballard printed by Smada Print & Design
Entertainment: DJ – Tommy Oh, Singer – Emmanuela Costaras, Violinist – Florence Cappler Shillington
Transport: Star Chauffeured Cars
Honeymoon: Singapore, Koh Samui & Phuket
