Real Wedding – Jessica & Ric, Albert Park VIC

Jessica and Ric envisioned a wedding that transcended time, blending classic elegance with a touch of modern allure. Choosing a venue that effortlessly echoed this theme, they discovered that sometimes, less is more, allowing the inherent beauty of the location to shine.

Their vision unfolds with a neutral palette adorned by subtle pops of blue, harmonising with the natural backdrop of the serene lake and the city beyond. Aiming for a dreamy and ethereal ambiance, they curated a tablescape featuring travertine and natural elements, creating an atmosphere of stunning sophistication.

Beginning the celebration was Alana Tran, an exceptional celebrant who crafted a ceremony that was succinct yet deeply personal. The dancefloor came alive with the infectious energy of Melbourne Entertainment Co, ensuring that every moment was infused with joy. Capturing the essence of their love and the beauty of the day were stunning portraits by the talented My Scandi Style.

Join Jessica and Ric as they share the details of their special day, where each element came together seamlessly, creating a wedding that was both a reflection of their unique love story and an epic celebration of their journey.

The meeting.

One of Ric’s best friends introduced us.

The one.

There was no defining light bulb moment. Our love was a slow steady burn and that’s why it’s lasted for so long. We took things at a pace that was comfortable to us both and we fell in love surely but gradually.

The proposal.

For context, Ric and I both enjoy going on hikes (or long walks) and quizzes (trivia, newspaper quizzes etc) together. We used to frequent a pub in Brunswick for trivia weekly. We would also do the quiz with dinner most nights of the week.

We had planned a hike to Lake Eildon in April 2022. We were always keen to find new hiking scenes, and we hadn’t been to this particular location before. The day before, I (Jess) had suggested that we make a reservation at Innocent Bystander at Healesville for dinner after the hike, to which Ric quickly agreed. In hindsight, this should have been the first flag, as Ric doesn’t typically like to eat out often.

On the day, we went on our walk, and we stumbled on a point on the lake that is slightly off track. It was a beautiful location – it was a tiny sliver of land surrounded by water. I had packed us some sandwiches and a picnic blanket so we could have a break. Again, this was something we didn’t normally do during a hike, so it was shaping up to be a special day already. We sat down, ate our lunch on the blanket overlooking the water, and did the quiz together. Ric was reading out the questions and Jess answering them. As we approached the end of the quiz, Ric caught Jess off guard by saying, “hey babe, I have a bonus quiz question”, which was followed by the question and the most gorgeous ring that Jess had ever seen. The rest was history.

The planning process.

We had a year and a half to plan, so we didn’t feel rushed and were able to really curate the wedding that we wanted. We weren’t married (pun intended) to any particular themes or ideas either, so we had a blank canvas to work with. We secured the venue very early on. We knew we wanted to have the ceremony and the reception at the same location, and having the venue somewhere central was incredibly important to us. We have always loved being by the water, so when we stumbled upon Carousel which has both water views and is located only three kilometres from Melbourne CBD, it just made sense.

We wanted to do things our way, and we did some things non-traditionally. For example, we didn’t have a wedding party. It meant that we were able to spend time with each other and our best friends didn’t have to be separated from their partners on the day. We didn’t have a wedding cake either. We opted for a champagne tower and a gelato cart instead!

Ahead of the big day, Jess created a 44-page wedding binder which was distributed to all suppliers. The wedding binder covered everything there is to know about the wedding, including the bride and groom’s contact details and vendor list to more intricate details like on the day decoration inspo and instructions. It may be over the top, but it definitely helped everything go smoothly and it meant that everyone was on the same page, quite literally!

Style inspiration.

We wanted a timeless but chic and modern wedding. Our venue fits the theme quite well and we felt that we didn’t need to add much to the existing setting. We opted for a neutral palette with pops of blue to complement the backdrop of the lake and the city. We included some natural elements in the tablescape with travertine and it made the overall vibe quite dreamy and ethereal.

Another thing that we wanted was to have a wedding logo to tie everything together at the wedding. We ended up ordering a custom-made logo with our first initials, which we then applied to our entire wedding suite and wedding favours.

The ceremony.

Our ceremony was dreamy, from the backdrop to the floral arrangements. We wanted a succinct ceremony and Alana, our celebrant, was able to recite our love story and marry us within 20 minutes. She made the whole process so easy for us.

The outfits.

For Jess, the process of finding the right dress was trickier than she first envisaged. She had tried on maybe 20 dresses before finding ‘the one’, and never in a million years did she think she would fall in love with a mermaid crepe dress. The second dress was even harder, since Jess changed her mind a few times and couldn’t decide on a design that she liked. It wasn’t until she met Jennifer Bowden, a seamstress and dressmaker, where Jess’ ideas solidified and Jen brought her vision to life with a halter neck mini number.

Ric didn’t know what he wanted initially but he knew he didn’t want a plain black suit. When he saw a green velvet jacket, he knew that he’d found the style for him. He had a navy velvet jacket made to his measurements.

Favourite moment.

It’s so hard to pinpoint one favourite moment. We loved waking out to the ceremony and seeing our nearest and dearest all gathered in the one venue just for us.  We also loved the speeches. They were not only incredibly personal, but they were heartfelt and entertaining at the same time.

Meaning of marriage.

To us, marriage is a life-long commitment to actively choose the person that you have married as YOUR person. It’s also about not being in our 30s and saying that we have a boyfriend or girlfriend.

Wedding soundtrack.

Groom entrance: The Godfather – Love Theme by Nino Rota

Bride entrance: Enchanted Orchestra Cover by Joseph William Morgn

Recessional: Celestial by Ed Sheeran

Reception entry / first dance: Thinking Out Loud by Ed Sheeran and Sugar by Maroon 5

Any funny stories (or near disasters).

Thankfully nothing went horribly wrong! The most ‘disastrous’ things to happen was when we found some typos on the seating chart and had to get the whole thing reprinted. Kudos to our seating chart supplier, Event Signs, for turning a new chart around in three days! She is incredible. We also had one last minute addition to the headcount, but we thankfully had a couple of people pull out, so they weren’t very hard to accommodate.

Planning surprises.

Like all other couples I don’t think we quite appreciated how much wedding items would cost! There were some additional costs that we didn’t initially account for, like how we had to source our speakers internally through a third party.

Words of wisdom.

Our advice to all couples is to not be afraid to do things their way, and not to conform to traditions for the sake of it. We don’t regret not having a wedding party or a wedding cake, because it meant we can redirect the funds to other aspects of the wedding to benefit all the guests like a custom late night snack and wedding favours that they can take home.

Inner city weddings are absolutely dreamy, and if this is the kind of style you also love, be sure to see Imavi and Rehan’s sensational city celebration. 

JESSICA AND RIC’S SUPPLIERS