Real Wedding, Brodie & Andrew - West Melbourne VIC

March 4, 2019 In Black and White, Burgundy, Most Popular, Real Weddings By Natalie Drum

Real Wedding, Brodie & Andrew – West Melbourne VIC

Brodie and Andrew knew exactly how they wanted when they celebrated their wedding day and a warehouse space in West Melbourne was the perfect backdrop for their happily ever after to begin.

Wanting to capture the contrast between a gritty industrial space and the whimsy of beautiful flowers and foliage, their guests were wowed from the moment they walked in.

From start to finish the vibe of this day was palpable and when the dance floor kicked off, it wasn’t empty for the rest of the night.

There wasn’t anyone more perfect to shoot this celebration than Gold & Grit and we think you will agree this one is a celebration to remember.

In their words..

The meeting.

Andrew was a teacher prior to becoming an air traffic controller and in my second year of teaching rounds I was placed at my old high school where he had since started working. During a school assembly I was wandering about while students were settling down and I noticed that he was fiddling with a camera. I marched up to him and struck up a conversation about the camera and what he was doing etc. I believe I asked him if he actually knew what he was doing or not! For the record, I know nothing about cameras or photography. He poorly attempted to explain and roped a student into chatting with me for the most part – he was either playing hard to get or wasn’t very interested. I proceeded to stalk him on Facebook later than afternoon and try a different tact.

The ‘one’.

People talk about ‘falling’ in love and it being a process of sorts, with Andrew it was almost instantaneous. I don’t believe in soul mates, but I knew very early on that Andrew was my person. When we first exchanged ‘I love you’s’, he was walking me to my car after having spent the day together. I was leaning against the door of my old Daewoo and he said ‘I think I’m falling in love with you’. It was also nice because he isn’t normally the romantic type but there was something very special about it.

The proposal.

We had designed my ring together at Rings of Melbourne, so I knew that it was definitely in the works but I wasn’t sure when it would actually happen. Andrew isn’t great at withholding surprises so when he said that he had made us a reservation at my favourite Italian restaurant, Cecconi’s, I knew that it was going to happen! While I was getting ready to go he came in to the bedroom and popped the question in typical awkward Andrew style!

The process.

I’m a very organised and thorough person so I was quick to develop a spreadsheet to track our spending and ensure that we had all costs covered etc. I found this really helpful as it can be challenging to keep track of multiple vendors and smaller expenses. And as a testament to just how organised (or perhaps overzealous?) I am, we actually booked the venue before we became engaged. I loved Gather and Tailor from the moment I saw it and knew that I didn’t want to wait to have our wedding there!

To be honest, I took care of the bulk of the planning and organising because I really enjoyed the process, however, I also regularly checked in with Andrew and my sister to get their thoughts on certain looks or things that I had in mind. We ended up working with an Event Manager, Jen from Peonies and Ponies (she was amazing!), a few weeks out from the wedding mainly to help us out on the day. I was adamant that I wanted to enjoy the final few weeks leading up to the wedding and didn’t want to be stressed or too busy. She helped tie up loose ends with vendors and was great on the day to ensure that the venue set up was exactly what I was after in terms of candles, decorative pieces etc. If your budget allows this little indulgence, I highly recommend it!

Style inspiration.

We wanted something that reflected our own style but also something that would be enjoyable for our guests. From the beginning I wanted to capture a contrast between the gritty industrial space and the whimsy of beautiful flowers and foliage. We live in St Kilda and really enjoy the opposing tales that a suburb like this can tell; our wedding day was no different. It was part of what drew us to our photographer, Stina. Gold and Grit. She epitomised our style from her name to her work!

The gown.

I had begun trawling various insta accounts and websites long before the wedding and One Day Bridal had just released a new range which I instantly fell in love with. On the day of my appointment I knew that they were exactly the vibe I was going for and my Byron gown was actually the very first dress that I tried on. The girls there were absolutely amazing and ensured that I tried on a variety of other styles, but the Byron was perfect. Glam enough, but sleek and sophisticated and was so good to accessorise with epic earrings and a bold lip which was really important to me because I still wanted my own style to shine through.

Favourite moments.

After our first dance our band (Little Buster Brown) switched over to ‘Shout’ by the Isley Brothers (remember that scene from Wedding Crashers?!) and our guests literally ran onto the dance floor and it just set the tone for the rest of the night, the dance floor wasn’t empty until it was time to leave! I’ve been to weddings before where the dance floor was a bit on the quiet side, so I was thrilled that people were all about having a good time and letting their hair down, or their ties/shoes off, or in the case of one of our friends he took off his moonboot and danced the night away on a broken foot!

Meaning of marriage.

Unabated commitment. The decision to link yourself with another person because of all that they are to you and all that they do in shaping you for the better. It has never been my belief that people have to get married in order to love each other, but I choose to marry Andrew because of what that decision represents – togetherness above all else and an opportunity forge ahead in our own individual lives with the knowledge that there is a person who represents a constant amongst all the chaos.

Wedding soundtrack.

Aisle: Hoppipolla by Sigur Ros (instrumental)

Signing: Angels by the XX

Procession: Here Comes the Sun by The Beatles

Entry: Signed, Sealed and Delivered by Stevie Wonder

First Dance: Dream a Little Dream by Ella Fitzgerald

Funny stories (or near disasters).

It was actually all smooth sailing for the most part! Although Andrew and his groomsmen did have to rely on YouTube the morning of the wedding to guide them through tying their bow ties!

Planning surprises.

Not really, I think organisation is key. Like any situation in life, if you’re on top of it from the start then it makes the entire process more enjoyable. There was never a period where I was tearing my hair out trying to fit things into a timeframe, it was all spaced out. I even made sure I factored in my facials a year out from the wedding!

Words of wisdom.

Go your own way. People will give you their two cents worth even when you don’t ask for it (sometimes you’ll get some pure gold, but most of the time it’s just a bit frustrating). Don’t be afraid to speak up and ask questions of your vendors, they’re there to help and also appreciate the clarity. Form a strong dialogue from the start and they’ll feel like your best friends on the day which just makes the whole thing even more fun!