Real Wedding – Chris and Katie, Fitzroy VIC
Chris and Katie’s inner-city nuptials were anchored by deep, dark green tones, playfully personal decor and a goal to keep the act of committing to one another at the heart of the celebration.
Who better to kick off a stylish, sentimental affair than skilful celebrant – and friend of the couple – Chloe Elliot, who wove her storytelling magic to set the tone for a joyous time to follow.
For Katie, who wasn’t the type to imagine her wedding dress ahead of time, the combination of a chic, understated halter-neck gown and veil combo by Karen Willis Holmes gave her the quintessential bridal feeling she’d always heard about.
From first look to full dancefloor, the day was captured in stills and vintage Super 8 film by the supremely talented Georgia Verrells.
Scroll on to discover the warm and wonderful gallery, along with the couple’s many golden nuggets of advice, below.
The meeting.
We met in 2018, working at a wine company, so we knew we shared a mutual interest pretty quickly! After being friends for a long while, we decided to see where a date would take us…and here we are!
‘The one’.
This is a tricky one for both of us, as there wasn’t a specific moment or event. We both laugh that it kind of just crept up on us without either of us realising! Our whole relationship has felt natural and effortless, with things progressing really organically, which is confirmation we’re both in the right place with the right person.
The proposal.
In December 2023, Chris took me to a winery on the Peninsula that we had visited on our first-ever weekend away together. We shared a delicious lunch and, despite the pouring rain (a good old Melbourne summer day!), he got down on one knee in between the vines. Chris proposed with a beautiful, big burger ring, which was a long-standing joke between us, and I just love that that’s the picture we have of that special moment – a bit daft and very us.
Planning process.
After getting engaged, we knew we wanted some time to plan the wedding and also give overseas guests lots of notice, but also not stay engaged forever. Food and wine are important to us both, so we chose a venue that is also a restaurant and got that locked in first. Once we had all the big ticket items booked, we then had a few months’ lull, where Katie got her DIY hat on and started to think about signage, stationery and décor that could be done ourselves. Think wine boxes, way too much research on fonts (Chris loved those conversations!) and an overwhelming amount of options for table numbers. (Yes, after going around in circles, we ended up going with the very first idea – trust your gut!). My mantra through the whole thing was that our goals for the day were to get married and have fun; everything else was an added bonus. That helped keep me sane, I think.
Style inspiration.
We knew we didn’t want anything too elaborate, and as someone who’s never dreamed about their wedding or had a crystal-clear vision, my starting point was very simple: dark green bridesmaid dresses and Australian natives for florals, and so I went from there. Lucky Panama Dining Room is very green themed, too, so it all flowed really nicely.
Our next layer of inspiration was a nod to the fact that we met at a wine company, love wine and got engaged at a winery. We incorporated this by using wine boxes, barrels, and bottles for décor. We also threw some fun in with mini golf for the reception! Our second date was mini golf, and we’ve become a golfing couple, so I thought it would add another ‘Chris and Katie’ spin. Going with themes personal to us felt like absolutely the right thing to do.
It is very overwhelming at the beginning when you don’t know what you actually want – my Instagram algorithm was flooded before I even knew what was happening! I tried to avoid Pinterest because I didn’t want to get overwhelmed. But I soon caved when I realised I needed some ideas to plug the gaps. I also loved looking at real weddings to help me temper my ideas on what real people actually do as opposed to what Instagram wants you to think people do. And Ivory Tribe’s list of vendors was so helpful in terms of cutting down the sheer volume of vendors out there.
The ceremony.
We were lucky enough to have one of our very close friends – Chloe Elliot – as our celebrant, which meant the ceremony itself was incredibly personal. Coupled with our own personal vows, it was a combination of funny, emotional and heartfelt all in one.
The outfits.
For Chris, he went with a simple black tie approach. For me, it wasn’t quite so simple. A bit like the wedding itself, I’d never really envisioned what kind of dress I’d get married in, all I knew was that it wouldn’t be strapless. Cue trying on lots and lots and lots of different style dresses until I’d narrowed it down. I chose a Karen Willis Holmes halter neck with a front split to show off the green shoes I’d already fallen in love with. I was also adamant I didn’t want a veil, and of course, I fell in love with one of the most expensive ones there. It was worth it, though, as it just made me feel like an actual bride!
Favourite moment.
Very hard question! For me, it was probably the golden hour photos when we got to spend some time together just us (albeit with photographers) and really process that we actually just got married. But of course, the whole day was incredible, I feel like I just floated through the entire thing!
Meaning of marriage.
Nothing really significantly different in day-to-day life for us, but for us, it signals our intent to be with each other forever and for everyone to know how much we love each other.
Wedding soundtrack.
It was a real mixed bag due to our very different tastes in music!
Aisle: Baroness songs x3: Gnashing, Bullshead Psalm, Blackpowder Orchard
Reception entry: Higher Love Whitney Houston
First dance: Take My Heart by Teskey Brothers
Near disasters.
A few! There were a few accidents in the lead up to the wedding which meant the father of the groom had a few broken ribs, the mother of the groom fell over the night of the rehearsal and ended up with a broken ankle, one of the bridesmaids turned up to the Airbnb the night before to discover her fake tan had leaked all over her dress (thankfully washable and turned out OK!) and the mother of the bride unknowingly had pneumonia! A bit of cold and flu amongst the bridesmaids and a few broken candles, courtesy of the father of the bride, too. It all sounds so much worse than it actually was, and everyone powered through in the name of celebration!
Planning surprises.
The sheer volume of planning required, and the detail and decisions that had to be made! Coming from a knowledge base of zero, it was a steep learning curve, but it was a lot of fun along the way.
Words of wisdom.
Speak to other couples who have got married (in Australia too) as much as you can. Picking the brains of someone who has done it was invaluable, and I’m sure they won’t mind talking about it! Also, anchor into the key things that are important to you both, and try not to sweat the small stuff…do I remember now which font I took ages to choose? Nope! Am I delighted that we went with a great wine selection? Yes!
KATIE & CHRIS’ SUPPLIERS:
Ceremony & reception venue: Panama Dining Room – Great set up and great communication from booking to the day.
Wedding party cocktails and photos: Lola Belle
Celebrant: Chloe Elliot – Chloe is awesome!
Photography & videography: Georgia Verrells – Georgia makes actual magic with her pictures and she was so great to have there on the day. She made us feel really at ease. We love our Super 8 video!
Hair: Nadine Silva
Make-up: Heather Newby
Ceremony dress & veil: Karen Willis Holmes
Second dress: Rebecca Vallance
Shoes: Etsy
Rings: Larsen Jewellery – Celeste and Fleur were both awesome with my engagement ring, and both our wedding rings.
Bridesmaid’s dresses: Various
Suits: MJ Bale
Bow ties / ties: Otaa
Favours, cake & stationery: DIY
Photobooth: One Click Events
Wine barrels – Eleven 21 So easy to deal with!
