Real Wedding – Ash & Paddy, St Kilda VIC
Ash and Paddy found wedding planning a breeze.
After locking in their main suppliers, they worked with ease to bring together their dream day – a relaxed garden ceremony followed by a fun-filled affair at the local bows club, complete with great food, drinks and company.
Being wed in St Kilda, the place at which they first met and continues to hold a special place in their hearts, was a no brainer – and despite some seriously hot weather threatening to impact proceedings – to them, it could not have been more perfect.
Kat and Scout of It’s Beautiful Here were there working the camera to capture it all.
In Ash’s words…
The meeting.
Paddy and I met in St Kilda eight years ago. We had a lot of mutual friends and I always had a big crush on him from afar. We shared our first kiss at the good old Vineyard, very romantic!
The ‘one’.
I had applied for a two year working visa for the UK and booked flights and of course, started dating Paddy a month or so later. I knew he was ‘the one’ when I cut my trip short and came home to be with him.
The proposal.
We were in Darwin to spend Christmas with my family. He took me out for an all-you-can-eat seafood buffet dinner and then we went down to Mindil Beach to watch the sunset. We were just sitting next to each other on the sand and he dropped it into conversation. It was perfect. It was also the wet season so five minutes later it started to pour with rain, timing was perfect!
The process.
I’m a very organised person, so we got right down to working out what we wanted. After speaking to a few friends of mine who were recently married, I got all the big stuff out of the way nice and early (venue, photographers, celebrant, food etc). Our choice of ceremony and reception location were super easy. We met in St Kilda and loved the gardens there and knew it had to be a relaxed vibe so the bowls club was a no brainer. I spent the last few weeks in the lead up to the wedding feeling I should of felt more stressed than I did (which was not at all). I had just heard a lot of horror stories. But because we got everything done months in advance, we didn’t have too much to do in the days prior.
Style inspiration.
RELAXED, a fun party for all of our good friends, good food, good music and lots of dancing.
The dress.
My dress was the one thing that stressed me out. I could never imagine myself in a typical ‘wedding dress’ and didn’t know where to start. I had seen a few brides wearing Zimmermann so I kept my eye on their website. One day I came across the Pleated Tier dress and went to try it on, on my lunch break. I loved it and asked my bridesmaids to come to the store with me that weekend. We instantly knew it was a winner!
Favourite moments.
Paddy’s speech. It blew me and the whole room away. He was so nervous about it and to hear the whole room cheering him on, clapping and chanting his name was amazing. There were a lot of “best wedding speech ever,” comments thrown around.
And also taking the time at the end of the night to reflect on the whole day. Surprisingly you spend a lot of time apart talking to different friends and family so it was lovely to finally get a moment together and high five for the best day ever.
Meaning of marriage.
Spending the rest of your life with your best friend.
Wedding soundtrack.
Aisle: Don’t Delete The Kisses (Recorded at Strongroom Studios Spotify Session) by Wolf Alice
Signing: You Make My Dreams by Hall & Oates
Recessional: Slice of Heaven by Dave Dobbyn
Funny stories (or near disasters).
To be honest it all went pretty smoothly. The only tiny dampener was the weather. It was a 36 degree day and every part of the day was outside. I had a lot of family over from New Zealand who were not used to that kind of heat but luckily we had chosen a beautiful tree with lots of shade to hold the ceremony under.
Planning surprises.
This is going to annoy a lot of people, but honestly how easy it was. Because we did something that was true to us as a couple, it made the whole planning process fairly easy.
Words of wisdom.
Just do something that is true to you. Not what you think you should do or because other people have done it. We skipped a lot of tradition like the cake, first dance and sit down dinner. Because we just didn’t want to do it. And it made the whole day so much more relaxing for us.
Everyone said this to me, but make sure you drink lots of water, eat and wear comfortable shoes. I barely got to eat any of the delicious food we had but luckily had packed a pair of Converse to put on as my heels were SO uncomfortable!
Wedding planning was a breeze for this delightful duo, and yours can be too. Shop our planning book, Bride Business – she’ll get you on your way.
ASH & PADDY’S TRIBE
Ceremony: St Kilda Botanical Gardens
Reception: St Kilda Bowls Club
Celebrant/Officiant: Sean Whelan AKA Marry Me Sean – one of the MVP’s of the day. We could not imagine our day without him. Sean made the whole process so easy and FUN! He also MC’d and DJ’d the night and we received SO many compliments about him! The service was short (perfect in the heat and what we wanted) and light + funny!
Photography: Kat and Scout of It’s Beautiful Here – Our other MVP’s. Where to begin! We knew from the first meeting we wanted them involved. We all just clicked and the fact that they were St Kilda locals made it so much easier. They were so helpful throughout the planning process and made the day so much more special. And the end result, we LOVE all of our photos. Couldn’t have asked for better!
Florist: Pomp and Splendour – Petra and the team were a DREAM to work with! So many compliments on the day and the special touches and notes that we received when the flowers were arrived were so special!
Hair: Simone Beales
Make up: Megan Hodges – Simone and Megan made myself, my bridesmaids and mum feel so relaxed! We had a lot of fun getting ready with them!
The Dress: Zimmerman
Shoes: ASOS and Converse
Rings: Cushla Whiting and Michael Hill
Bridesmaid’s dresses: ASOS
Menswear: Jack London
Catering: Grazing Table, Plenty Pantry Dinner and The Taco Truck
Bar: St Kilda Bowls Club
Entertainment: Sean Whelan AKA DJ Hot Wheels
Hire: Bespoke Event Hire
Other: Heartbreak Booth!! Jai, Sarah and the team have created something so fun! A little something for the guests to take home at the end of the night AND a photobook filled with lovely messages and photos of your nearest and dearest!
