Real Wedding - Brooke & Myles, Sorrento VIC

September 15, 2022 In Beach, Blue, Latest Posts, Luxe, Most Popular, Outdoor, Pastel, Real Weddings, Victoria, White By Ivory Tribe

Real Wedding – Brooke & Myles, Sorrento VIC

Brooke and Myles’ sun-drenched soiree is a vision of stunning style, soft romance and intoxicating energy, underpinned by the sweetest emotions of joy and elation. In Brooke’s own words, the day was literally perfect.

Beginning with a dose of the best kind of uplifting feels by our own Natalie Drum celebrant, the new Mr and Mrs exchanged their I Dos against an exquisite ocean backdrop, overshone only by the megawatt smiles on their faces.

Stylists The Nuptial Collective realised the Sorrento Riviera theme in breathtaking brilliance, with artfully understated tablescapes in hues of soft dove and lush cream with accents of cornflower blue hydrangeas artfully placed by floral wizards The Petal Project, to perfectly pop against the ocean vista surrounds. Bridesmaids in buttery lemon by Brooke’s own label, Le Mon, were the perfect contrast to the gents in their ultra-sharp Boss suits. And, of course, radiant Brooke shone in her gorgeously glam gown, designed for her by Steven Khalil.

Taking to the aisle with the sweet sounds of Tobi Tobi, in a setting dear to their pair and their loved ones – it was a wedding day to behold.

As the dance floor heated up, our beautiful bride switched into a stunning sheath by Mariana Hardwick, with draping detail harmonising both gowns to perfection. But for us, it’s the electric energy between these two newlyweds, visually transcribed by Lost in Love photography and Josue Films, that left us captivated.

Scroll on for every delightful moment of this dream day.

The meeting.

We first met briefly at the Portsea Polo a year before we started dating. He came up to me and introduced himself because we had mutual friends.

The ‘one’.

I knew he was special that day, but we obviously took some time to reconnect. He came to my house for a housewarming, and we immediately connected. I would say we both knew instantly.

The proposal.

We were in Byron for my birthday. It was raining like crazy, but he wanted to go for a swim at the beach. We walked halfway there when the rain got too heavy, so we stopped for oysters. We ended up getting an uber home because of the rain, and Myles said he would organise a car for the rest of our trip so we didn’t have to walk in the rain. He dropped me at our accommodation and, before he left, said, when I get back, let’s have a drink in the outdoor bath before dinner. So I poured myself a drink, put my bathers on and ran a bath.

About ten minutes later, I heard him come back, and I yelled out hello, but he didn’t say anything. He then put our favourite song, Your Body is a Wonderland which I thought was sweet but not abnormal, as we always listen to it together.

I heard him walking towards me, so I went to turn around and take the P out of him for being all romantic and playing our song, but as I turned around, I did a double take, as I could tell something was up. He came down the stairs, the ring box in his hand and got down on one knee. He could barely string a sentence together because he was so emotional but managed to get out, ‘will you marry me?’ and I sat there in the bath, with my hands over my face, crying, and in shock that it was happening. Of course, a couple of seconds later, I said yes.

For about an hour, we sat in the bath drinking champagne, crying, and talking about all the stories he had to tell over the past few months while organising the trip and proposal. We then Facetimed our family and friends to tell them the news. Little did I know, the surprises weren’t over. He had organised for 20 of our best friends to fly to Byron the next day to surprise me and spend the weekend together celebrating. It was the best and happiest moment of my life!

Planning process.

My wedding planner Brittany, from The Nuptial Collective, took the front seat with the planning. We spoke most days in the lead-up to the wedding, so I really trusted her and knew that she could interpret my style. As a result, the process was not very stressful for me, but I have Brittany to thank for that!

Style inspiration.

The overall brief I gave to The Nuptial Collective was “Sorrento Riviera”. We wanted to bring the beauty of our hometown of Sorrento into the styling where possible while adding in classic greenery, lush white floral, and pops of pastel blue hydrangeas throughout.

Our ceremony overlooked the ocean, which brought out the blue hues in our bouquets and through the arrangements. A garden path lined the aisle, which led to an organically arranged floral structure of greenery that stood out against the view of the blue sky meeting the sea. The limestone building of Hotel Sorrento served as the backdrop for our reception. We kept the tablescape neutral with handmade cotton rag menus and place cards, organic linen napkins, and hand-poured candles. Resin and ceramic vase ware lined the tables filled with mixed white florals with hints of blue to tie ceremony to reception. We wanted the natural beauty of our ceremony and reception locations to shine.

For planning and styling inspiration, I really liked reading Q&As just like this from other brides. I learned so much from brides telling their wedding stories and giving advice to future brides; it was a great way to put things into perspective.

The ceremony.

It was what I was looking forward to the most. There is something so powerful about declaring your love in front of all your closest people. In our opinion, it was the perfect combination of heartfelt emotion and laughter, for which we thank our incredible celebrant Natalie Drum. We wanted our guests to really get to know our relationship in a different way, and we wanted everyone who was there to walk away feeling full of love and happiness.

The outfit.

I knew I wanted a dress that I would look back on in ten years and still love. I was initially only going to have one gown, and I knew I wanted it to be plain satin material with a full skirt. I sent my incredible friend and designer Steven Khalil some references, and at my first appointment, he had mocked up a design in calico – I instantly fell in love with it. I am usually quite indecisive, so I was worried designing a gown from scratch would be a long process, but it was much easier than I thought. I loved the delicate pleating of the bodice and how it draped across my shoulders, and I loved the way the beautiful Mikado fabric made the skirt fall so effortlessly. My Steven Khalil gown felt like the perfect combination of classic and modern, exactly what I wanted.

The skirt was a lot fuller than I originally thought it would be, but I loved it so much, so decided it was best if I had a second ‘party’ gown for the evening and booked an appointment with Marianna Hardwick. I wanted this dress to be a bit more fun and sexier, and Marianna Hardwick’s team executed this so perfectly. We used a luxurious soft silk with beautiful drapes across my body to speak to my first gown but still be a hero on its own.

I am still absolutely in love with both of my gowns and am so thankful to the talented people that brought them to life.

My bridesmaids wore custom Le Mon dresses that I designed, and Myles and his groomsman wore head-to-toe Hugo Boss.

Favourite moments.

The feeling I had walking down the aisle toward Myles will forever be imprinted in me. Saying our vows and saying I do.

Our speeches from our loved ones were also incredible.

Dancing all night long.

I honestly can’t choose one moment; the day was literally perfect.

Meaning of marriage.

Everything. My parents are divorced, so people would think that would make me not believe in marriage, but it’s the opposite. There is something so powerful about finding your life partner and knowing that person will always have your back, no matter what. I felt the commitment and unity of marriage would only bring us closer and add happiness and abundance to our already very happy lives. I also want our future family to all share the same last name, as this is something that I don’t have.

Wedding soundtrack.

Aisle: Your Body is a Wonderland by John Mayer (this is our song, the one he put on when he proposed) – played live by Tobi Tobi

Signing: Days Like This by Van Morrison

Reception entry: Cold Heart by Elton John & Dua Lipa

First dance: Electricity by Dua Lipa

Funny stories or near disasters.

The morning of, as I was getting my make-up done, it started to rain. Our entire wedding was outside with no wet weather backup plan. So, this was very stressful and could have been a huge disaster. Luckily the rain only stayed around for five minutes!

Planning surprises.

How expensive everything is. I had heard so many people say it, but when you’re in the middle of it, it is mind-blowing.

Also, I was surprised by how hard it was to decide on the guest list and then complete the seating chart! It took me weeks!

Words of wisdom.

Make sure you keep reminding yourself that your wedding is for you! In the middle of planning, you can get very caught up with trying to please others, your guests, family etc. As long as it’s the day the two of you want, that’s the main thing.

For any brides, don’t sweat the small things; things I thought I would care about on the day didn’t even cross my mind. I was having too much fun and too in the moment to care if a knife or fork wasn’t perfectly matched.

My biggest advice for any brides to be: at each point throughout the day, take a breath to really think deeply about what you’re doing and remind yourself how special that moment is, no matter how big or small it may be. In the car on the way to the ceremony, as you are about to eat your meal, listening to your speeches, taking off your gown etc. At many points throughout the day, I took a second to take a breath and to remind myself that I would never do any of these things again. It is so easy to get caught up in the adrenaline of the day but reminding myself to focus and appreciate each small moment ensured I was present throughout the day, and it was one of the best things I did.

Love Brooke and Myles’ modern romance vibes and epic style? Chantelle and Tanner’s dream day is another breathtakingly beautiful occasion we can’t help but be blown away by, here on the blog.

BROOKE & MYLES’ VENDORS

Ceremony location: The Helipad, Sorrento

Reception venue: Hotel Sorrento

Celebrant: Natalie Drum

Photography: Lost In Love

Videography: Josue Films

Styling & décor: The Nuptial Collective

Florist: The Petal Project

Hair: Georgia Freedman, Rokk Ebony

Make-up: Chantelle Baker and Cassandra Lusi

The dresses: Steven Khalil & Mariana Hardwick

Veil: Steven Khalil