Real Wedding – Anna & Nick, Mildura VIC
Anna and Nick’s wedding day celebrated who they are as a couple. From the get-go, they had their planning down pat and developed a wedding day wish list that encompassed everything they loved, such as sparkling shiraz, good food and great music. The result? A truly spectacular event that was uniquely them.
Hosted at their family’s Brickworks Factory in Mildura, their day was abundant in sentimental, DIY touches. With a little help from their nearest and dearest, as well as an all-star tribe, this perfect pair brought their elegant, industrial wedding to life.
Tribe talent, Steph, from Long Way Home Photography was behind the lens to capture all the fun.
In Anna’s words…
The meeting.
Nick and I met at college in 2008 after we both moved from different country towns to study at university in Melbourne.
The ‘one’.
I don’t recall an exact moment but have known for a while that Nick was ‘the one’.
The proposal.
We were visiting my family who lives on a vineyard near Mildura. Nick proposed while we were walking through the grapevines, which were beautiful autumn colours. We spent the day drinking champagne and celebrating with my family on the banks of the river.
The planning.
Before we made any decisions, we spent some time together writing a list of our ‘favourite things’ which encompassed all the things we love and imagined our day to include – good food, sparkling shiraz, a band, a venue with significance to us, no end time etc. We frequently referred back to this and found it a great grounding to what we wanted in our day. We were lucky enough to work with Anika Walker as our stylist/wedding coordinator who was fabulous!
The lead up also involved many trips to Mildura and an incredible amount of support from our family and friends. We each had our sisters travel from London for the wedding, as well as many close friends from overseas which made the wedding week extra special and exciting!
Style inspiration.
We were thrilled when my Dad and Uncle agreed for us to use the family Brickworks factory as the venue – a place with special family history and industrial beauty. We absolutely loved its charm and beauty, so were keen to use things already existing and bring in items that were special to our family properties. That formed much of the styling process. We used bricks to create the bar, old drums as bar tables, my Dad made furniture and borders out of pallets and lots of friends and family spent time picking wheat (from Nick’s farm), olive, citrus, asparagus and grapevines to add special touches to floral arrangements.
The dress.
It took a while to figure out exactly what I was looking for. I was determined to have something simple, comfortable, elegant and not extravagant in price. I finally found the ‘Billie’ dress by Made with Love at Bluebell Bridal in Melbourne. I then worked with Jessica Lauren Designs in Yarrawonga to create the lace veil as she lived closer to our home in southern NSW.
Favourite moments.
Oh, I can’t pick just one; walking out of the church with Nick, married and surrounded by our nearest and dearest and dancing the night away, staying until the end of the night. Nick and I were last to leave the Brickworks with some friends and our bridal party. I remember turning off the lights together and feeling so full of love and happiness for the magical day we had shared.
The meaning of marriage.
Continuing to love each other and live life together.
Wedding soundtrack.
Aisle: Canon in D (entrance) and A Million Dreams from The Greatest Showman (recessional).
The signing of the registry: Nick’s youngest sister Leticia sung How Long Will I Love You by Ellie Goulding which was absolutely beautiful and super special.
Entry: Go Bang by PNAU
First dance: Here Comes the Sun by The Beatles
Funny stories (or near disasters).
We had organised self-tie bow ties for the groomsmen however when getting dressed on the day the boys had difficulty figuring these out! This meant they had a bit of a rush to the Church where they managed to luckily round up some temporary bow ties from friends! A friend then kindly stepped in to re-do all the bow ties after the ceremony.
Planning surprises.
How quickly the big event rolls around! The week leading up to the wedding seemed to fly!
Words of wisdom.
Do a ‘favourite things’ list! Relax and delegate what you can to ensure you can enjoy the day. Make it as long as possible – it goes so fast! We had a Friday night dinner, Saturday wedding then Sunday recovery, which was epic but made for a fabulous ‘wedding festival’.
Starting the search for fabulous florals and need some inspiration? Here’s a collection of best bouquets you must check out.
ANNA & NICK’S TRIBE
Ceremony venue / location: Sacred Heart Catholic Church, Mildura.
Reception venue / location: Mildura Brickworks.
Celebrant/Officiant: Fr Michael McKinnon.
Photography: Long Way Home. Steph was phenomenal and captured our day so perfectly. I cannot speak highly enough of this lovely soul and talented photographer!
Videography: N/A
Styling: Anika Walker of Your Look. Anika was an absolute dream to work with. From coffee dates to emails and site visits – she was a gem and played a huge part in ensuring we could pull off the reception in the old brick factory!
Florist: Kathy Page (Page’s Produce), and Blume by Colin Straub. Kathy did the most incredible arrangements for the tables and we were blown away with what she created. Colin was wonderful in creating several of floral pieces including an installation over the brick kiln entry for our day.
Hair: Maria Frasca.
Make Up: Beautique Mildura.
The Dress(es): ‘Billie’ dress by Made With Love Bridal from Bluebell Bridal Melbourne.
Veil: Jessica Lauren (Yarrawonga).
Earrings: Pearls from family friends (ceremony) and AB Ellie ‘Harlow’ earrings (reception).
Shoes: Wittner (ceremony) and Ted Baker (reception).
Rings: Arnold Goldsmith and Jewellers. Nicholas’ family had previous used Peter Arnold in Melbourne. He is an incredible craftsman who had a vision of what we would love just by meeting us. He designed and created beautiful custom pieces that we adore.
Bridesmaid’s dresses: Zimmerman, Reiss and The Iconic. I really wanted mismatched dresses with varied tones and fabrics. The girls helped each other pick them out and they looked so fabulous when all together!
Groomsmen’s suits: All the groomsmen owned black tie suits so this was an easy area. The shirts, buttonholes and cuff links were from T.M Lewin. All the boys wore black RM Williams boots.
Bow ties / ties: T.M Lewin.
Catering & Bar: Two Chefs Catering Mildura. Glenn and Haydn were super relaxed and easy to work with. They happily met our requests the food was amazing!
Grazing table: Cheeses from King Island Dairy, smoked trout from Butt’s Albury and local fresh and dried produce from family and friends.
Cake / Cake topper: The Petite Pantry. We had so much fun testing out all the flavours before the wedding. Lucy then created three stunning cakes for us.
Stationery / Signage: Designed by our fabulous friend Laura Hutchison (LJH Digital). Stationary printed by Chris at Park Douglas Printing (another family member!). Large signage by Laser Signs & Print Mildura.
Entertainment: Mildura Entertainment Group – ‘Revive’ band and Acoustic Duo for Canapés. These guys were incredible! We had a fantastic time dancing well into the night.
Transport: N/A
Décor/Hire: Anika Walker of Your Look ; Party by Design, Mildura; Simmons Linen Hire Melbourne; Mildura Party Hire; The Powder Room Toilets; Shape Events.
Honeymoon: Perth and Margaret River, WA
