Real Wedding – Dani & Nick, Prahran VIC

Dani and Nick approached their wedding day with the luxury of time – time to plan, to play, and then, ultimately, to put into motion. This allowed them to find the style and inspiration that would suit and reflect their personalities in every aspect of their wedding day.

Their vision took shape as a seamless blend of modern elegance against the backdrop of their venue, Sophia’s, ornate architecture. With a chic black-and-white palette, Dani’s custom Jane Hill gown and Nick’s refined black wool suit perfectly captured their style. Alex from Motta Weddings, with his signature relaxed and candid approach, alongside talented Lightbox Media, preserved the essence of their day in timeless imagery.

The meeting.

Dani: In the most typical teenager fashion, we met at a mutual friend’s house party in 2014, and the rest is history. This was the beginning of our now 10 years together. Nick’s best man, Thim, also met his partner of 10 years at the same house party, which was hosted at the family home of Nick’s other groomsman, Tom. I also met my bridesmaid Kirsty at the same party – which all makes for a great story and is a great full circle moment. Funnily enough, Nick was actually a bartender at my school formal, a year before we officially met – so the invisible string theory proves to be true!

The ‘one’.

Nick: We knew within the first few weeks of being official that we were each other’s person. In getting to know one another for a few months prior, we deduced that we had the same interests, taste in food and music, well-aligned family values, and realised that our personalities worked really well together. Above all, we are best friends and enjoy doing everything together – which is what made the last 10 years so enjoyable and memorable.

The proposal.

Dani: On Nick’s 29th birthday, he organised a dinner to celebrate with a big group of our friends. In the morning, Nick’s only birthday request was that I get coffee from our favourite cafe. Once I was back, our living room was covered in flowers and candles, and Nick was on one knee in the living room of our first home together. That night, we surprised all our friends with the news (as so perfectly planned by Nick) and celebrated with everyone. We still look at that corner of our living room and remember the whole thing. It was really emotional, humble and private – which was a perfect proposal for us.

Planning process.

To be honest, it was really quite relaxed. We booked our venue 19 months in advance, which gave us lots of time to explore different aesthetics, stationery options, dress codes, and more. A prolonged planning period allowed us to explore many options in depth, and be more intentional with all our choices, suppliers and vendors. Ultimately, we locked in our venue, photographer, videographer and florist first – then took our time enjoying the process of finalising the finer details.

We actually did all of the invites, table stationery and venue signage ourselves, which was a really enjoyable and tactile exercise. Working to create the whole suite of collateral for the day was actually really therapeutic!

Style inspiration. 

For us, the venue was rich in design and character, so we wanted to create a hybrid between our own personal style, which is quite architectural and masculine, and the historical facade and interiors of our beautiful venue, Sophia at the Prahran Arcade.

When you’re trying to balance these contrasting aesthetics and elements, it definitely takes lots of trial and error with mood boarding, collages, and discussions with your chosen vendors to capture the right blend of styles. Things like monochromatic stationery and sculptural florals, and signage printed on satin fabric helped to add sharp, yet elegant touches to our beautifully ornamented venue. We definitely had a more minimal approach as not to overwhelm the detail of the venue.

The most helpful resources in our planning process were a combination of Pinterest boards, and supplier/vendor work and promotional material. Pinterest, magazines and editorial shoots were a great starting point to discover and unpack more modern, avant-garde bridal concepts – but seeing how these vignettes and moments were implemented more practically in real weddings by dress-makers, florists, and stylists, and then consequently captured by the photographers and videographers gives a better understanding of the whole picture. The videography especially shows everything with movement, which can really change your perspective on certain items like your dress, veil, ceremony location, and so on.

The ceremony.

We had the pleasure of having Nick’s sister, Hannah, as the guiding voice in our ceremony. Hannah spoke to our relationship with so much love and familiarity, and it was so special to have her share our story with her beautifully prepared words. Hannah has a creative writing major, so her dialogue was eloquent and memorable.

Our official celebrant, Alex, was one of Dani’s former bridal makeup clients, which added to this sense of calm and familiarity during our ceremony.

The outfit. 

Dani: For my dress, I knew I wanted to incorporate tailored suiting elements, to add a sharpness to my look. My Jane Hill gown had one sleeve, which is a style I wear a lot in my day to day. The cuff on the sleeve was oversized and worn opened, with a string of buttons up the forearm. I opted for no slit, and a clean white fabric which added that sharpness I was looking for. The cut out on my waist also contributed to the asymmetry and edginess I desired. I paired it with a custom pleated silk veil, again inspired by tailoring and suiting, and my shoes were a clean white point with a gold bullet heel as a contemporary twist on the classic bridal shoe.

Nick: For years leading up to the wedding, I was wearing suits every day for work – and therefore I wanted a more elevated ensemble for the big day. I opted for a 100% wool tuxedo with a satin lapel, completed with a satin bow tie and a smart black leather shoe. A nice addition were my cufflinks, which were gifted to me on the day by Dani and had our wedding date in Roman numerals engraved on the face.

Favourite moments.

Our favourite moment was seeing each other for the first time on the aisle. There was so much anticipation, and it felt like time froze for a second as we reconnected – knowing that soon we would be husband and wife. It was a really raw and emotional moment for us and everyone in the room.

Meaning of marriage.

Nick: For me, it means coming home every day to my best friend who I know will support and love me through anything. It’s this sense of security in knowing you are a team, and that you will enjoy every part of life together.

Dani: I feel the same as Nick. There really is this beautiful transition from being partners, to being family. Marriage for me is a commitment to helping each other grow into the best versions of yourselves, and in turn continuously bettering your relationship and friendship. I’m so grateful and excited to experience every chapter of life with my favourite person.

Wedding soundtrack.

Aisle: Do 4 Love by Snoh Aalegra

Reception Entry: Call on Me by Eric Prydz

First Dance: Unforgettable by Nat King Cole

Funny stories or near disasters.

Honestly, no disasters! Just your normal stress in trying to get everything done, but nothing went wrong on the day – we were very grateful for our venue staff, vendors and suppliers.

Planning surprises.

Something that we genuinely didn’t expect was how different our final choices would be from what we imagined prior to starting the planning process. Once you start to really delve into different aesthetics, flower types, and try on dresses and suits, you find yourself quite surprised with the things that suit you best, and the choices you make together as a couple. Often it’s those around you who push you to look at different options, and this can be a major unlock to finding something you absolutely love.

Words of wisdom.

Dani: If you want to be hands on with any part of the planning, definitely only pick items you feel super confident delivering. Whether that be the stationery, signage or florals, there are so many great ways to be creatively involved; but we emphasise that you should feel confident before taking on any big tasks, so you don’t have any disasters or panic leading up to the big day – the process should be fun!

We also strongly advise to have someone proofread your vows to make sure they are around the same word count and mesh well. We had Hannah proofread ours and make some suggestions for edits that made them read perfectly together.

And ultimately, plan a day that will be the most enjoyable, memorable and authentic to you and your partner; your programme and timeline should include and exclude whatever feels right to you both.

Dani and Nick spent dedicated time towards developing their vision for their wedding day. We’re here to help with some inspiration for different colour palettes that will take your breath away. Have a look right here.

DANI & NICK’S VENDORS

Ceremony & reception venue: Sophia at the Prahran Arcade

Celebrant: Nick’s sister Hannah, and Alex Gregory

Photography: Alex Motta – Alex was the photographer at three of our friends’ weddings, and we actually locked him in before securing our venue!

Videography: Lightbox Media  – Pat shot our friends’ wedding, and we absolutely loved every one of his showcased reels. We were so pleased with our final highlight reel – and are saving watching the total footage for our first anniversary.

Florist: Andy Sanchez

Hair: Natalie Jaye

Make-up: Dani did her own makeup for the day. The bridesmaids were by an old friend and colleague of Dani’s, Jess Strazds from Tonic Agency.

The dresses: Jane Hill (ceremony and dinner) & Kyha Studios (dance floor)

Veil: Elissa Marie created my beautiful custom veil.

Shoes: Tony Bianco made my favourite pointed-toe heel in a custom white leather.

Rings: Frank Fedele at Fedele Jewelworks, Hawksburn.

Bridesmaid’s dresses: Bec & Bridge,  Shona Joy.

Suits: Black Tie Classic in Carlton.

Bow ties: Soho

Catering & bar: Atlantic Group

Cake: Bakes by Her – My bridesmaid Helena

Stationery / Signage: Dani created all the digitals. Invitations were printed by Peterkin in WA, table signage by The Print Company in South Melbourne, and the satin signage by Mickey Loves Jacqui.

Entertainment: Ben from Rutherford Entertainment.

Honeymoon: Five-week European getaway during August.