Real Wedding – Caity & Josh, Coldstream VIC
For Caity and Josh, who met while at the same performing arts school, ensuring their dream day was infused with personal details was a big part of their ethos. Carefully curated, elevated details, softly effortless styling and an enduring sense of their indomitable romance harmonised to create a day as beautiful to look at as it is emotion-filled.
For two performers, music obviously played a big part in setting the tone for the celebration—and with talented music masters Baker Boys Band at centre stage, this was bound to be a stellar situation. Caity and Josh reflect that one of their favourite memories of the night was watching their friends and family revelling side by side on the ever-packed dance floor in a truly one-of-a-kind moment.
We love their insight that their first look didn’t take from the excitement of that first step down the aisle but instead served to give them precious time together on the day and take away any anxiety. And with Kelly from My Scandi Style behind the lens, the images are nothing short of stunning.
Scroll on to enjoy this beautifully meaningful and visually gorgeous day.
The meeting.
We met while growing up performing together. Both students of the same performing arts school, we met briefly when we were about 12 years old; however, we didn’t become friendly for many years. At about age 18 we became closer friends as our friendship groups merged. Caity rejected Josh many times however our good mutual friend (and bridesmaid) Kristen finally convinced Caity to ‘just kiss him and see what happens’ and the rest is history. We now both teach for the same company, Caity teaching dance and Josh teaching singing.
The ‘one’.
Caity and Josh knew they had found ‘the one’ when even their most annoying qualities were endearing. From Caity’s ridiculous dance moves to Josh’s not-so-funny dad jokes, they continually make each other smile and could never tire of spending time with each other.
The proposal.
In April 2017, Josh finally mustered up the courage to ask Caity to be his girlfriend. They decided to keep it under wraps for a while, however, the joy and love they shared couldn’t stay hidden for long and their friends couldn’t be happier when they discovered the news. As their love continued to strengthen, the couple approached their five-year anniversary in April 2022. Josh had big plans to propose, but fate had other ideas. Caity contracted COVID just days before their special milestone, and unfortunately, she passed it on to Josh.
With the engagement ring stuck at the jeweller’s, Josh had no option but to wait patiently. Finally, when they were released from isolation, he wasted no time and raced to the jeweller to retrieve the ring. Undeterred by the challenges they had faced, Josh planned an impromptu sunset walk to their favourite lookout. As the golden hues of the setting sun painted the sky, he got down on one knee, and with a heart full of love, asked Caity to be his forever.
Planning process.
When planning the venue, we both knew that we wanted a statement backdrop to the whole day. We toured a range of venues from beach side to the wineries of the Yarra Valley. From the first moment we walked into Hubert Estate we knew. We locked in our date as soon as we could to ensure not missing out on our preferred weekend. Once the venue and the date was locked in we were able to start planning and booking everything else.
As a primary school teacher, Caity loves arts and crafts, so she decided early on that she wanted to do most of the visual stuff herself. Caity made a list of all the things she wanted for the day and did buckets of research on Instagram. This was a massive undertaking and not for the faint-hearted, as it was a lot of work and required a lot of time. We both think it was well worth the stress in the end because everything about our day screamed Caity and Josh, which is exactly what we wanted.
Josh also got his craft on creating the arches that stood behind the cake from scratch with Groomsman Aidan. They also attached the ‘Mr & Mrs’ LED sign, which was purchased from Etsy.
When booking vendors, we wanted to keep things local to us and use as many people recommended to us through friends and people we knew – like our local florist, hairstylist, makeup artist and celebrant. To other couples we would recommend getting in as soon as you know your date because people book up fast.
Style inspiration.
We wanted things to look natural and minimal to match the vibe of the venue, avoiding anything plastic looking and overly ‘glitzy’. Hours were spent scrolling Instagram and blogs to see what we liked and what we didn’t.
Looking at real weddings was the most useful thing – especially weddings that looked like they had a similar budget to us. It can be easy to get sucked in to the extreme weddings on social media and not comparing what we wanted our day to look like to them helped a lot. We read through many HelloMay wedding magazines, which gave some really good tips on the lead-up and planning of the big day, but most of our inspiration came from various Instagram pages – both people working in the industry and wedding style blogs.
The ceremony.
We wanted our ceremony to be super personal and that started with using a celebrant that we already knew. Our celebrant Kelly was actually Josh’s Year 12 Drama teacher and she took so much time to get to know us both via zoom meetings and through questionaries that we filled in. She wrote the whole ceremony around us using the guide that we wanted the whole wedding to feel like the feel good scene at the end of a family movie. The ceremony was light-hearted and very us (including various songs throughout the ceremony, which she had planned herself).
We also wrote our own vows. This was such a special touch and something that I was so glad we did. The writing was hard and took about 100 drafts but how often do you get to stand in front of all of your favourite people and tell the person you love how much you love them and all the things you promise to be for them.
The look.
Caity did a lot of browsing online to see what she liked and didn’t. She went to a variety of shops to look but ended up buying the very first dress she tried on. She strongly stands by the idea that you will know when you put it on. Trying heaps of styles (even ones you don’t think you’ll like) was really useful in finding the perfect dress.
Josh also tried on a variety of suits to see what he liked. In the end, it came down to whether to go tailor-made or off the rack. He decided that for the slightly higher price, having a suit made to fit him perfectly was worth it, and he was so happy that he did because it looked flawless.
Favourite moments.
Because it was such a perfect day, there are so many things to choose from. We did a first look at our Airbnb prior to travelling to the ceremony location. This meant that we got to ride with just the two of us from the house to the ceremony. These 30 minutes in the car with just the two of us were so special. It was the first moments of calm and quiet away from all the energy and excitement of our families and the bridal party. We sat and laughed and talked about what we were excited about and mostly just enjoyed each other’s company. There is not a lot of downtime or moments with just the two of you, so this was super special.
We were given the advice by a friend to take a moment at some point during the reception to stand at the side of the room together and watch all the people that had come to celebrate you. Doing this was one of our favourite moments. Getting to look around a room of 120 people who are just so happy for you, watching them talking, laughing, and dancing, was so special and really put into perspective just how much we love each other and all the people we choose to surround ourselves with.
Finally, all the moments on the dance floor. We had 90% of our guests with us on the dance floor the whole night. It was so magic to see our friends who had never met before dancing together, laughing with each other and just loving love.
Meaning of marriage.
Marriage for us wasn’t going to change much, we already lived together and have a beautiful house together. For us I think it is a chance to share how in love we are with each other with our nearest and dearest. It was a celebration of our passion and commitment to each other.
Marriage is an acknowledgement and commitment. An act that once you’ve found the person who embodies the above (love), symbolises to them (and the people you care about most) that this person will forever impact my life. It is not a necessity; it does not change the feelings or the day-to-day necessarily, but it demonstrates a promise, a connection and a lifelong bond.
Wedding soundtrack.
Both heavily involved with the arts, the soundtrack was super important to us and a lot of time was spent crafting it perfectly.
Pre-ceremony: I’m Gonna Be (500 Miles) by Sleeping at Last
Aisle: Love On Top by Tim Halperin (Sung on the day by friends Sean & Lucy)
Signing: Imagine by Ben Platt (acoustic) & You Make My Dreams by Time Halperin (both sung by Sean and Lucy)
Recessional: If You Feel (The Way I Do) by Reliably Bad
Reception Entry: L.O.V.E by Yung Bae (feat. EARTHGANG, Jon Batiste & Sherwyn)
First Dance: Runnin’ Home to You by Grant Gustin (guitar version)
Funny stories or near disasters.
Kristen, one of Caity’s bridesmaids accidently stepped on her veil while steaming her dress and put a rip in it. Both of them stayed very cool, calm and collected and Kristen ended up fixing it with eyelash glue – you couldn’t even tell.
Planning surprises.
Don’t forget to plan for who is setting up and packing up all of your things. We were lucky enough to organise a great bunch of friends to bump in and set up for us. This took so much stress away and meant that we could focus on us on the morning of.
It also shocked us how many people thought they could give us their opinion on what our day should look like. Whilst we know that most of this advice came from a good place, at times it was really overwhelming the amount of opinions that were being thrown at us. It was really important to us to remember at the end of the day, we were paying for it, and it was our day, so the only opinion that really mattered was ours.
Words of wisdom.
Doing a first look doesn’t ruin the moment of walking down the aisle. In fact, it took heaps of the stress away. There was still so much raw emotion during the ceremony (both of us shedding a few tears), but having the chance to talk to each other before took away a lot of our anxiety and meant we got to spend more of our special day together. It also meant we got our photos done earlier, so we didn’t miss as much of our wedding having to do photos. We got to attend our cocktail hour and mingle with our guests, which at so many weddings doesn’t get to happen because the couple are off doing their photos.
Give the bridal party specific jobs. We had everything from hydration police, bouquet babysitters, and a clean-up crew to dance floor captains. We let our bridal party members know exactly what we needed them to do ahead of time so that we weren’t worrying about all the small details throughout the day (there are so many examples on Instagram and TikTok).
Similar to above – having a wedding binder which had every possible piece of information about the day meant that we didn’t have people asking us questions on the day. Making this binder throughout the planning process also meant that nothing was forgotten or missed. Caity included everything from make-up looks, hair examples, how to set up the seating chart, what the tables should look like, every song that needed to be played, every vendor’s contact details, who was in charge of bringing what, where things were to be stored and everything in-between. The binder was about 35 pages long, but it meant there was no room for error or anyone to be unsure about anything.
For another visually stunning day at the gorgeous Hubert Estate, we love Emily and Luke’s breathtakingly styled celebration.
JOSH & CAITY’S VENDORS
Ceremony venue: The Amphitheatre at Hubert Estate – The space allowed for us to seat 40 of our nearest and dearest in a semi-circle shape without other guests standing behind. We had friends performing live music throughout the ceremony, which the venue very easily facilitated. The amphitheatre provided a stunning green backdrop alongside our floral plinths. A wet and hot weather alternative had been provided, which would have moved us into the actual art gallery, and this took a massive stress off our shoulders as we were not stressed about the weather.
Reception venue: Harriett at Hubert Estate – The venue was relatively new when we originally booked it back in 2022 and had not hosted many weddings. We visited the cellar door on a wine-tasting day and instantly fell in love with the architecture and the vibe. The venue was so easy to work with in the lead-up to the big day, prompt at answering questions and felt like they had our best interests and vision in mind the whole process. Ally and Olivia (and the rest of our day of crew) were beyond anything we could have asked for. They made every request, big or small, seem like it was no big deal and got things done in an instant. They made sure we were both well-fed and always had a drink in hand.
Celebrant: Kelly McConville (Kelebrant) – We were lucky enough to know Kelly before our wedding as she was Josh’s high school drama and English teacher at Mordialloc College. We knew that she would be perfect for our event because of her energy and warm personality. Kelly personalised our ceremony perfectly to us using our pre-ceremony questionnaires and the things she had learnt about us during our many online meetings.
Photography: My Scandi Style – We found Kelly at the ‘Melbourne Wedding & Bride Summer Wedding Expo 2023’. We instantly loved her work, and the fact she was Yarra Valley based was a huge win for us because we felt her vibe would match ours. Kelly was delightful to work with, especially on the day. We were both feeling a bit nervous about being in front of the camera, but she made it super relaxed and talked us through every shot. She made sure we got through everything without feeling rushed, and the photos we received are breathtaking – everyone has asked for copies.
Videography: C2 Films – Instagram was our best friend when finding a videographer. We scrolled through thousands of companies’ videos until we found C2, and we could see ourselves in the footage they had posted. Much like Kelly, Frederico made us feel so comfortable, and the pair of them worked too well together (you wouldn’t have known they had only just met). Throughout the day, Fredrico pumped us up and made us feel like celebrities in front of the camera. He was high-energy and made the whole experience a lot of fun, which was really important to us.
Florist: Vermont Florist – Before Josh and I moved last year, Vermont Florist was our local florist and we went to them for all occasions. The flowers were always beautiful and always lasted a long time. One day when we were in buying a bouquet Josh simply asked, “Hey do you guys do weddings?” And that was that. We felt like we were in safe hands the whole way because we knew their flowers were always beautiful and Yao was so on board with all of our inspiration pictures. The flowers that we got on the day were exactly what we had imagined and more.
Hair: ByTam Hair – Tammy was the hair stylist for one of my bridesmaids for her wedding day, so she came recommended through her. She was super easy to work with and fit in around our busy pre-wedding schedule. Even with five bridesmaids and one bride to get through, it was no problem. Tammy followed the inspiration pictures perfectly and talked to me throughout the morning to ask questions about how I wanted things to look. She offered great insight into what she thought would look good on the very different hair types in the group and made great recommendations.
Make Up: SD Makeup and Hair – Stefania also came recommended by a friend who had had their makeup done by her a wedding she was in. I had a trial with Stefania prior to the wedding, and we talked about how I would normally do my makeup to make sure that I still looked like me on my wedding day. I also used Stefania for my Hen’s makeup, so by the time the wedding rolled around, we were very comfortable, and she made me feel so relaxed. She has a very calming presence and myself and the bridesmaids all loved our final looks.
The dresses: Ceremony dress – Love Me Forever gown by Fairytale Bridal Boutique. Reception Dress – Miranda Mini by Aston Bridal. I ordered lots of reception dresses, and none of them arrived looking like what I had in mind. One week before my wedding I found the Aston Bridal Dresses and emailed them asking if there was any way I would get the dress to Melbourne in time. The team was so helpful and got my order to me in no time.
Rings: Top Image Jewellery—All three of our rings were bought through Top Image. Josh took in a hand-drawn picture of what he wanted the engagement ring to look like and worked with Jenny to bring it to life. Jenny was so lovely to work with and gave us all the information we needed to make the choice about what rings would be best for us.
Bridesmaid’s dresses: Customised Dresses made by a seamstress friend.
Suits: Groom – Suitably. Alexander assisted Josh through the process of creating a fully custom-tailored suit. Alexander spent the time educating us on the process and suit fashion, communicated every step of the way, and definitely had Josh’s comfort at the forefront of the process. Groomsmen: MSW.
Bow ties: MSW
Favours: Sunset Cocktails – Caity created the design for the bottles and Justin brought them to life. Super easy to work with and had our cocktails to us in no time, they really enhanced the look of the table.
Entertainment: Baker Boys Band – the music from the night was OUTSTANDING, and we had so many people raving about it. Guests were on the dance floor from the very start of the night to the lights on at the end. We went to a preview pub night with our bridal party to see them, which was a great way to get a feel for them. We went in thinking we wanted a four-piece band and came out wanting the full six-piece, and we were so happy that we did (the brass really added to the overall vibe of the night).
Transport: Classic White Jags – Tony helped add another layer of perfection to the day. Caity and Josh rode in the 1954 Jaguar MK V11 sedan from their first-look location to the ceremony. The car was absolutely beautiful and led to some pretty magic photos.
