Real Wedding – Hayley & Pete, South Yarra VIC  

 

For Hayley and Pete, a day filled with ease, fun, and feeling was the foundation of their beautiful bash. Creating a celebration relaxed enough that their two young sons could enjoy, yet filled with stylish, meaningful details made for so many magical moments.

The Olsen Art Series hotel provided the perfect rooftop views, accented by stunningly simple details by One Big Day Event Hire and Indie Rose & Co florists. Hues of crisp vanilla, cool moss greens and smatterings of ash greys added a modern metro vibe to the inner city celebrations.

We love the effortlessly cool, laid back look of Hayley and Pete’s portrait session, crafted with artistic perfection by One Spoon Two Spoon photography. And, of course, this day would not have been complete without a montage of this gorgeous family strolling the streets of Melbourne, hand in hand.

Family, friends, epic fun and endless love; this is everything a wedding should be.

 

 

The meeting.

We met when we were 15, no romance then, though! We lost touch over the years then reconnected by accident when we were 30. The rest is history.

 

The ‘one’.

When we started to share our very similar future dreams together. When you know, you know.

 

The proposal.

We had decided to get married together after we had had some illnesses in the family. We were settled, and the kids were a bit older so they could enjoy the day a bit more too.

We started organising the day, and I was happy to wait for the “ring” as we are not very traditional. We had the wedding booked, and the ring was on order when unbeknownst to me, Pete had picked up the ring from the jeweller. He asked me while we were on a walk at the lookout at Anglesea. Even though we knew we were getting married and everything was in place to go ahead, it was still a big surprise and a very emotional and special time for us.

 

Planning process.

Finding a venue was the hardest thing for us as we have two very energetic boys who require a lot of supervision. We wanted a venue that we could all sleep at and see the kids in the morning. After so much research, I kept coming back to The Olsen in South Yarra. We hired a suite for the night before the wedding day and then the penthouse for the ceremony and reception; it has a great rooftop terrace that was perfect for our ceremony, and we had the reception in the room and on the terrace. The penthouse was our home for the wedding night, and we stayed with the boys for the next night also.

We hired one of the wonderful girls from the childcare that our boys attend, and she stayed throughout the day and put the boys to bed for us as we had a separate suite for the boys and grandparents to stay the night in.

Pete had his suit tailored by Oscar Hunt, and I had my dress organised; we had meetings with Leah, the celebrant, and Hailey from One Spoon Two Spoon Photography, about our vision for the day.

The Olsen was great to deal with and provided the catering and drinks, and looked after all of our guests, as so many of them ended up booking rooms and making a weekend of it.

The team at One Big Day Event Hire were great and have a florist that they work with, so they bought the flowers with them on the day, and they set up the lights and arch that we hired from them.

I hired Nicole Kene for my and my mum’s hair and make-up; she is so easy going and has a great vibe.

I met our DJ at a friend’s party and hired her as I loved her energy.

Overall it is time-consuming, but I think if you keep to your budget and have the things that are important to you, you will enjoy your day.

 

Style inspiration. 

We just wanted something that was more like a party than a traditional wedding.

 

The outfit. 

I wanted something very simple as I’m not a very girly girl. White, plunging neckline with a small train. I actually bought it at White Runway, and it was the first time I went shopping for a dress. They sent the dress to me, and I had it altered; it was all very easy. It normally takes me so long to find clothes, so I was surprised I chose something so fast.

 

Favourite moments.

There were so many, but I loved standing on the rooftop with Pete, our boys, all my family and friends.

Oh, and my sisters reading for the ceremony, she was asked by the celebrant to do a reading and for us not to read it beforehand. My sister is a bit cheeky, and she read the words from the rap artist Method Man’s All I Need. She read it like a reading, and it was very funny – I’ll let you look up the words!

 

Meaning of marriage.

For us, it was a celebration of our family and enjoying a special day together. In hindsight, it was the best time we could’ve celebrated as we were in lockdown only weeks after and didn’t get to see our loved ones for such a long time.

 

Wedding soundtrack.

Pete walked in with our sons to Skinny Love by Bon Iver.

I walked in with my Dad and Mum to Landslide by Fleetwood Mac.

As mentioned, we didn’t have a traditional wedding, so our reception was in the penthouse, where our ceremony was held, so we didn’t really have a reception entry, and we opted out of a first dance and just partied with our family and friends.

 

Funny stories or near disasters.

Covid was just starting to spread in Melbourne, so we knew about it, but we didn’t know the gravity of the situation at that point in time, so I think we just avoided disaster there.

I do recall one of our guests singing “My My My Corona” instead of “My My My Sharona”.

 

Planning surprises.

Me finding a dress in the first shop I went into!

 

Words of wisdom.

Remember why you are getting married, and if things don’t turn out the way you envisioned it, it’s ok because you get to marry that special person in your life. Try to spend some time alone with your partner on the day; it’s very easy to fly through the day and night and forget why you are actually doing this.

Have fun. Accept help. Don’t sweat the small stuff.

 

 

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HAYLEY & PETE’S VENDORS:

Ceremony and reception venue: The Olsen Hotel, South Yarra

Celebrant: Love Leah Celebrant– The best and funnest celebrant ever

Photography: Hailey at One Spoon Two Spoon Photography– This lady has an eye.

Florist: Indie Rose & Co

Hair and make-up: Nicole Kene MUA

The dress: White Runway

Veil / headwear: Borrowed from my sister

Shoes: David Jones

Groom’s suit: Tailored by Oscar Hunt

Rings: Diamond Line Jewellery

Catering and bar: The Olsen Hotel- Spoonbill Restaurant

Favours: Self-made hangover kits

Cake / Cake topper: Krispy Kreme doughnut cake made by girlfriends on the day.

Stationery / Signage: Vista Print

Entertainment: Lisa Cameron DJ

Décor and hire: One Big Day Event Hire

Honeymoon: It was supposed to be the Maldives, but we spent it in lockdown, we will get there one day.