Real Wedding – Ali & Tim, Collingwood VIC

 

What we love about Ali and Tim’s wedding planning experience is that they put their trust in the talented suppliers they chose and allowed them to lead the way, and the stunning results truly speak for themselves.

Marrying in Melbourne, Ali and Tim took one look at Rupert on Rupert and just knew it was the perfect vibe for their day, relaxed, romantic and with a party-like atmosphere.

Celebrant superstar Megan Thompson was at the helm and helped Ali and Tim craft a ceremony that was full of laughter, emotion and reflected their personalities perfectly.

Ali was a showstopper in her custom d’Italia gown and she raved about the incredible experience she had with the d’Italia team, who went above and beyond to design her dream dress.

Eager to hit the dance floor, they danced up a storm to the DJ talents of One More Song, and Ivory Tribe photography fave Fern & Stone Photography blew us away with her sensational snaps.

See their elegant, urban celebration right here.

 

The meeting.

At the pool in our early 20’s, Tim was a lifeguard, Ali was a swim teacher. We met doing pool parties together and the rest is history!

 

The ‘one’.

Ali: For me it was when we had only been dating for a few months and both of us had overseas holidays planned. I was going away for 2 months with my girlfriend and Tim was going to America for 6 months for Uni. We decided we were going to give long distance a go. The moment I booked my flight to Chicago, I knew Tim was my person.

Tim: When she arrived at the Airbnb in Chicago.

 

The proposal.

Tim: We were in peak lockdown 2020. I couldn’t organise an engagement ring in person, so I went through a recommended jeweler in Hong Kong. This was all done over phone calls and messages, mostly with Ali sitting in the same room as me – ha ha!

I had the ring delivered to my parents’ house and made an excuse to go over there to collect it. I thought I was going to be able to hold it for a while, but it was burning a hole in my pocket and my brain!

At the time, we were painting our home and after another day of slogging away painting, I suggested we have an indoor picnic. After receiving a ‘no’ to the idea about 5 times, I eventually convinced her to put some makeup on, dry her hair and dress up (whilst I went to the shops to get a cheese board and some champagne!).

The apartment was half painted, we were in the middle of a pandemic and just before we sat down, I gave a speech about how grateful I was to be with her and dropped the knee.

Ali: 18 months on and I’m still shook, I still can’t get over how oblivious I was!

 

Planning process.
We are those people that go to wedding after wedding after wedding. We had a chat about what our likes and what our dislikes are at weddings and began the planning process from there.

For us, we wanted a location where everyone could get in an Uber, one location, warm weather and to spend as much time as possible with our guests dancing the night away. We wanted the basics: good food, good alcohol and a real party.

In one of the many lockdowns we jumped on Ivory Tribe and began researching different venues and vendors. We went to three different venues with a similar vibe. Ali had been to Rupert on Rupert for a function previously and raved about it. When we went there for our first meeting, we fell in love with the venue, and we were able to envision what our big day would look like.  It ticked all of our boxes and was a really easy decision.

Everything just fell into place from there. There was some Instagram stalking and listening to some friends, recommendations and one by one each vendor was picked pretty quickly. We met most of our vendors over Zoom and instantly fell in love with them all. As each vendor was chosen, we could begin imagining our day.

We decided we wanted to get married early 2022. At the time, 2021 seemed more ‘risky’ with COVID; our biggest fear was needing to postpone our big day. The lead up to the day was slightly stressful with family and friends getting COVID-19 over the Christmas/New Year period; but luckily the restrictions changed to 7 days of isolation so all, but 8 guests couldn’t make it.

We took ourselves into a semi ‘self-isolation’ two weeks prior to the wedding and went to the beach and kept a low profile, this was a dream. Without meaning to, this meant we had a pre-wedding holiday, and we were very lucky this was an option for us.

 

Style inspiration.

We really wanted to create something that was unique and was personalised to us.

We wanted all of our guests to have fun, be bright and colourful and to not hold back on the dancefloor. Having a cocktail wedding allowed everyone to mingle and not get too comfortable in the one spot. Rupert on Rupert is the most stunning venue with all their plants, huge windows and their open space. Because of this the venue spoke for itself.

To fit our inspo, we chatted to our florist Val about having bright florals. She absolutely nailed the brief, and it just really just enabled the whole venue to be full of colour. We also decided we didn’t want a cake, instead we opted to have an ice-cream cart as our dessert. We are true ice-cream lovers and this was absolutely perfect for us and one of the parts that our guests keep talking about.

To be honest, we didn’t look too much into styling and inspo as we just stuck to what we love the most. There were times we were a bit nervous as not much thought had gone into this, but everything just worked so well (hallelujah!). We put all of our trust in our vendors, and we wouldn’t change a thing.

 

The ceremony.

Firstly, our celebrant Megan was absolutely incredible. She totally got our vibe from our first Zoom call. Putting our trust in Megan was so easy and we were guided by her. Although we had seen so many ceremonies, organising our own was so different.

We wanted a relatively short ceremony with no readings. We wanted personal, funny, and wanted our guests to be entertained throughout the entire ceremony.

We decided to do a first-look prior to our ceremony at Treasury and Fitzroy Gardens. This was so special to us. It allowed us to share this moment privately and allowed us not to leave our reception for photos.

Both of Ali’s parents walked Ali down the aisle. This was so special and a moment we will treasure forever.

Standing underneath the arbour in front of all of our loved ones was so special. The ceremony was one of the biggest highlights of the day. We both wanted to write our own vows. We are both average writers, however this was so special to us as it was so personal. The entire guest list was crying at Tim’s vows! If you’re considering writing your own vows, please do it, couldn’t recommend anything higher.

Megan also suggested an option for us to sign our paperwork on the bar after the ceremony. We loved this idea and agreed instantly. It was more ‘us’ and felt less formal than signing at the ceremony.

In our true ice-cream loving way, our flower petals were placed in ice-cream cones. Walking back down the aisle with everyone cheering and petals being thrown was a true cloud nine moment.

Another highlight was directly after the ceremony we were given glasses of bubbles and our bridal party had a moment together to celebrate and have a cheers before all the other guests came to join in.

 

The outfits.

Groom: Friends recommended Ferrari Formalwear in Mitcham. It was the first place we tried suits on and was a really straight forward process!

Bride: I had the traditional day of going shopping with my mum and my bridal party. It was so much fun but none of the dresses gave me that ’I love this’ feeling. It was so good going to different stores and trying on all different styles, it gave me an idea of what I was wanting in a dress.

A girlfriend recommended going to d’Italia to see a dressmaker. I made the phone call and had an appointment on the same day. This was such a surreal experience because within the hour there was a sketch of my dream dress, I had chosen fabric and paid a deposit. I was by myself with mum and the girls at work!

I met my dressmaker 4 months out from the wedding and we went over my vision for the dress. Tania was incredible. She understood exactly what I wanted and I saw her every 2-3 weeks until the big day. I put all my trust in Tania, and I was speechless when I tried on the finished product.

I absolutely adored the entire process: unlimited fittings, custom dress, fitted to my body, I could take as many photos as I liked and we could make changes to the dress as we went. Having a dress that no one had worn before was also something that attracted me to the dress making process.

 

Favourite moment.

Ali: I can’t pick one! The ceremony, first look and bridal party entrance.

Tim: Walking back down the aisle with that ‘just married’ feeling.

 

Meaning of marriage.

Tim: The signifying bond with the person I love most in the world. It is committing myself to someone else in all aspects of my life.

Ali: I get to keep Tim forever. I commit to our lives together. We are a team. When we are together, we can do it all.

 

Wedding soundtrack.

Aisle: Riptide (Acoustic cover) – Vance Joy and Gregory Alley

Just married: Move on up – Curtis Mayfield
Reception entry/First dance song: Got to be real – Cheryl Lynn

 

Funny stories (or near disasters).

For a minute there we thought there wouldn’t be a wedding with everyone getting COVID!

 

Planning surprises.

We expected the planning process to be stressful and hard. We had incredible vendors who made the whole day come together seamlessly. They all communicated with each other, and we just had to be there on time! The team we had were truly amazing.

 

Words of wisdom.

It’s so easy to get caught up in the whole planning process, just remember it’s about you. Stick to your guns and do what is right for you. Your day will be perfect and embrace the day!

 

Final words.

If you’re considering doing a first look – do it! Besides having our moment together privately and the benefit of getting our photos prior to the ceremony; it felt like we got to maximise our time in the day together and with our guests at the reception.

 

 

Need help with planning your wedding? We’ve created a wedding planning book that will help you do exactly that! Check out ‘Wedding Plans’ here.

 

ALI AND TIM’S SUPPLIERS

Ceremony and reception venue: Rupert on Rupert, Collingwood, VIC

We looked at two other venues with a similar vibe to Rupert on Rupert. But as soon as we walked into Rupert we just looked at each other and said YES! The venue was exactly what we were looking for, the staff were so relaxed and accommodating; we couldn’t recommend the venue more.
The bonus of Rupert on Rupert was that all of our guests could get in an Uber and was only a short drive away. We also love that we can go back to our wedding venue for a drink or meal whenever we like.

Celebrant/Officiant: Megan Thompson

Hands down the ceremony was our favourite part of the day. We were looking for a celebrant who was relaxed, could deliver a modern ceremony but also keep the crowd interested. Megan went above and beyond all expectations. She made a little speech about each member of our bridal party and made it so personal; the whole room was either laughing or crying! Megan also offered the option for us to sign on the bar after the ceremony, this was perfect for us and exactly what we wanted.
We have had so many friends ask for her details!

Photography: Jess from Fern and Stone Photography

There are no words. We have received our album and haven’t stopped looking. Jess is the real deal. It took us by surprise how much time you spend with your photographer, and we would have our day again to spend the day with Jess; she is incredible. She captured our relationship and wedding so well. We were never instructed to pose and the entire day just felt so easy and smooth sailing. Couldn’t recommend Jess higher. We truly adore the entire album she sent us.

Florist: Valeria Kretchet – Vals Vases

Our friend, but true Florist queen. Our brief was colour and we sent a couple of photos for inspo. Val went above and beyond and we have never seen anything more beautiful. The arbour and bouquets were next level!

Hair: Ash from Cropped Hair and Beauty

Make Up: Isabella Quinn

Ali saw Issy for her hens and also for the wedding. She is incredible. No inspo pics were ever shown to Issy, she just totally understood the vibe we were going for. The bridesmaids and mother’s loved their make up, no touch ups needed the entire day/night!

The Dress: d’Italia Couture and Tania Stokes

I tried on multiple dresses and really went into the whole process with an open mind, no dresses had that ‘i love this’ feeling. A friend recommended d’Italia, an appointment was made and the rest is history. The staff were incredible and combined the parts of dresses I loved to create my wedding dress. Within an hour we had a sketch and fabric was purchased. I was then ‘matched’ with Tania and the dress making process started 4 months out from the wedding. Having unlimited fittings, the ability to take photos and having the dress totally customised to my body was a dream. Knowing that I was the only person to have worn my dress was also something that was special to me.

Shoes: Bride: NakedVice Groom:  Ferrari Formalwear

Rings: Ryder Diamonds

Tim went through Katie for the engagement ring and loved the process. We couldn’t wait to go through the wedding band process with Katie. The entire process was so seamless and Katie was brilliant.

Bridesmaid’s dresses: SIR the label

Suits and bowties/ties: Ferrari Formalwear

Catering and bar: Rupert on Rupert

Stationery / Signage: A family member did our invitations for us

Entertainment: One More Song Entertainment

Transport: Uber

Ice cream cart: Bianco Late

We are true ice-creams addicts and couldn’t think of anything more perfect than having this as our dessert. We chose to have the ice-cream cart instead of a cake. We really wanted to create a summer wedding party vibe. It was so seamless and so popular with everyone!

Honeymoon: Cabarita Beach