Real Wedding - Courtney & Mitch, Brunswick VIC

June 29, 2024 In Industrial, Latest Posts, Pink, Real Weddings, Red, Urban, Victoria By Natalie Drum

Real Wedding – Courtney & Mitch, Brunswick VIC

Courtney and Mitch’s wedding vision was encapsulated in a stunningly vibrant, epic party with a dance floor filled with their nearest and dearest. Their dream day had it all – a cosy guest experience against the rainy skies outside, sweetly meaningful moments and a whole lot of unsurpassed celebration.

Against the chic urban backdrop of The Wool Mill, the revelry unfolded with effortless style and an undeniable sense of fun. Bold florals by bloom artists Anatomy of Flowers in shades of rich magenta, neon scarlet, and crisp vanilla elevated the space to perfection, while celebrant legend Matt Finch met the brief in an ultra-cool lilac suit.

This is one beautifully meaningful party, big on vivid style and underpinned with that effortless sense of romance that comes when two best friends make forever promises.

Scroll on to see the revelry unfold through the indomitable lens of Art of Grace.

The meeting.

We met at a nightclub of all places! Courtney is a big believer in timing is everything, and the way we met really solidifies that for her. Courtney’s friend left her ID at home, and she offered to go back home with her to get it, but her friend insisted she stay. So she did! It was there, in the club on the dancefloor that she bumped into Mitch and said sorry. She then turned to her friend (who ended up being one of her bridesmaids on the day) and said, ‘is he cute or am I just drunk?, and her friend assured her that he was cute and to go for it! So she turned around and they started dancing and the rest is history!

The ‘one’.

We had been dating for six months when Courtney’s friend asked us to housesit as she was traveling to Europe for six weeks. It was our first experience living together, and although there were struggles and challenges learning to live with each other (as we were both still living at home), it made our relationship stronger. When it came time to leave and go home as her friend had returned, we both realised how much we really loved each other and couldn’t bear to be apart!

The proposal.

It was during one of Melbourne’s many, many lockdowns. Mitch had just come home from his essential work and straight away got changed into jeans and a t-shirt, which Courtney thought was a little strange as he is a tradie and usually showers as soon as he gets home. He said he was going out to his car to get his wallet, and Courtney thought, ‘no worries’ as she was getting ready to do a home workout. Courtney is then in the kitchen filling up her water bottle, when she sees Mitch moving the outdoor table from the pavement. She went outside and asked him why he was moving the table – ‘is this some sort of landscaping thing and you’re washing the pavement?’ and he replied ‘Yep that’s exactly what I’m doing!’, not realising she provided him with the perfect excuse. So Courtney went into the spare room to start her workout. Five minutes in she gets a text from him asking her to help him with something outside. When she opened the door, there was a trail of roses leading out into the backyard, and Mitch, down on one knee in the middle of a love heart made of roses and lilies, with the ring in one hand and the dog under his other arm. Mitch asked Courtney to marry him and she of course said YES! There were many tears.

The process.

When deciding what kind of wedding we wanted, we thought about what we really valued and what we wanted out of our big day. We had our engagement party back in 2022 and it was cocktail style, which we loved. Our guests were able to mingle and we had a dancefloor. We wanted the same for our wedding, and a big party with our nearest and dearest and to dance all night long.

We had a wedding planner from the amazing Nudo team who took a lot of stress off in the planning process! We kept on top of current wedding trends through Tik Tok and made sure to save anything we liked. We had several meetings with our suppliers in the lead up to the day, who all provided amazing advice and we used these meetings to sound ideas of them and they provided guidance which was super helpful.

Style inspiration.

We looked at real weddings for inspiration – looking at previous weddings held at The Wool Mill gave us a lot of ideas. The space is so versatile, and you can do a lot with colour which led us to the simplistic, yet vibrant styling we chose. We also looked at Pinterest and Tik Tok for styling ideas and colour palettes. We wanted something super vibrant for our florals, and had all of our signage and stationery in the same colour scheme.

The ceremony.

For our ceremony, we wanted something fun and modern, and our celebrant absolutely delivered. He told the story about how we met, how the question was popped and the fun little quirks we both have. We wanted to share the journey of our relationship and what led us to that day. We wanted something super engaging and to have our guests laughing and crying and just enjoying the moment with us. During our ceremony, the room felt so full of love and joy, and it was so special having our nearest and dearest share that moment with us.

The outfits.

Courtney – I was unsure what style of wedding dress I wanted which I think helped me when shopping for my dress! I knew what I didn’t like, which helped, and the stylist at the Luv Bridal store was really helpful. I ended up choosing the first dress I tried on! I also had a reception dress, for which I wanted a fun little mini dress I could dance all night in. I looked online and took inspiration from other brides and what they wore.

Mitch – I looked at what other grooms had worn, I wanted to wear something different from the groomsmen so I could stand out, and ended up going with a beige jacket which went well with our colour scheme.

Favourite moments.

Courtney – Our first look. Seeing Mitch’s reaction and having just the two of us present in that moment, it felt like we were the only two people in the world. It can be such an overwhelming day, but being able to see Mitch and have some time to ourselves before seeing everyone else, it truly is a moment I will remember and cherish forever. We were also able to see our venue before everyone else, which was really special and we were able to take some time to absorb it all.

Mitch – Seeing Courtney walk down the aisle. The anticipation of waiting and all the planning felt like it led to that moment, and it was so special seeing her walk down the aisle. It felt like all the stress and worries were worth it.

Meaning of marriage.

Marriage means supporting each other through the good and bad times, no matter what. We are each other’s sounding boards and it’s all about compromise to live a happy life!

Wedding soundtrack.

Aisle: Bridesmaids – I’ll Be There For You – instrumental (Friend’s theme song). Bride – Your Song – instrumental, by Elton John

Signing: Mirrors by Justin Timberlake, Iris by The Goo Goo Dolls

Recessional: This Will Be (An Everlasting Love) by Natalie Cole

Reception entry: bridal party – Yeah! by Usher. Bride and groom – Forever by Chris Brown

Cake cutting: How Sweet It Is (To Be Loved By You) by James Taylor

First dance: Latch by Sam Smith

Dance floor opener: Time of Our Lives by Pitbull

Bouquet toss: Man! I Feel Like A Woman! by Shania Twain

Exit: We Found Love by Rihanna & Calvin Harris

Funny stories (or near disasters).

Nothing too significant thankfully, however we did have rain on our wedding day!

We were planning our first look to take place at Fitzroy Gardens as it is such a beautiful backdrop and we were really looking forward to it. The week of the wedding, we were checking the weather radar and it wasn’t looking good (30ml of rain anticipated at one point!), so we had to make the call to move our first look to the venue. This ended up working out well as we were able to see the venue before everyone else and take it all in!

We were also scheduled to have sunset photos during the reception. All of our photos at that point were inside the venue so we did want some photos with a different backdrop. Mitch was a bit hesitant, but we thought if we don’t go out, we will probably regret it! So we took our umbrellas and ventured out into the rain, and it was really nice to have that little break from the reception and take some time to check in with each other.

Words of wisdom.

Enjoy the process! It can be a really stressful thing, but remember that you’re there to support each other through the hard times and don’t be afraid to compromise as it’s BOTH of your day. There will be curveballs that you won’t be able to control leading up to the day (e.g. rain!); try not to stress about these and focus on what you can control. Remember that the day is about celebrating your love for each other!

Remember that the day is about you two! While family and friends love to provide their input/opinions, go with what you want for your day as you’ll only be doing this once (hopefully!).

For second dress inspiration, or to fulfil your short wedding gown aesthetic impulses, check out our round up of some of our favourite sweet mini styles.

COURTNEY & MITCH’S VENDORS

Ceremony & reception location: The Wool Mill

Celebrant: Matt Finch

Photography: Art of Grace

Styling: The Goodsmiths

Florist: Anatomy of Flowers

Hair: Krystal Hair Stylist

Make-up: Clara Campbell Makeup Artistry

The dresses: Evie Young Bridal (gown) House of CB (reception mini dress)

Veil / headwear: Luv Bridal

Shoes: Novo Shoes (ceremony) and Alias Mae (reception)

Rings: Kavalri