Real Wedding – Kalin & Perri, Geelong VIC
When Kalin proposed to Perri while on holiday in Bali, her daughter sweetly exclaimed to the packed restaurant that there was “a real-life fairy tale happening at the pool”. Their wedding day channeled the same unbridled joy and storybook romance.
A vibrant pallet of pink popped against the green of the recently rain-soaked Botanic Gardens and all-white fit out of their waterfront reception venue.
The tone for a sentimental yet fun filled celebration was set by the live music legends at Paper Hearts who hit the emotion and energy of every moment with a thoughtful soundtrack.
One glance at the vivacious album of snaps by Ginger and Mint and you’d never believe Perri’s original wedding dress fell through four weeks before the event.
Go behind the scenes of the planning process, last minute panic and eventual elation of Kalin and Perri’s special day below.
The meeting.
Funnily enough, we met at the gym one summer’s day. We had been smiling at each other across the room, and I think neither of us was sure of how to initiate the first conversation. Before leaving the gym that day, I felt I wanted to make myself known, so I gave Kalin a big smile and a hair flick as I walked out. It obviously caught his eye, as before I got home, I had a new friend request on Instagram. We exchanged a few messages, instantly both eager to meet, and went on our first date the very next day.
‘The one’.
We both feel like this didn’t take very long at all. Our whole worlds just collided together so gracefully. We each hit it off with each other’s family and friends, our interests aligned, and we found ourselves just wanting to spend every day together. It wasn’t too long after meeting that I tagged along to Kal’s pre-booked family holiday, and this really felt like the turning point for us, where we both felt like this really was the forever kind of love we were both looking for.
The proposal.
We were on a family holiday in Bali, soaking up the sunshine, and my birthday was coming up, so Kal – being the romantic that he is – had pre-organised a beautiful beach-front restaurant for dinner with all the family, and the plan was to pop the question that night. Of course, perfect timing, Kal was struck down with a severe case of Bali belly the night before; however, he soldiered on and was so adamant that we still go to this dinner despite us all suggesting we reschedule.
No one had any idea of his plans to propose, but something felt off to me when Kal (very unlike himself) kept asking to get photos together in front of the sunset. Before our meals came out, Kal suggested we go for a walk around the resort and walked us out onto a pontoon in the middle of the pool where he got down on one knee and popped the question! My daughter Lulu, who was only five years old at the time, saw what was happening and ran back to the table, announcing to the whole restaurant: “There is a real-life fairy tale happening at the pool”.
Planning process.
I’d probably call it beautiful chaos! Determined to do it all myself -with plenty of moments of regret and confusion, wishing I’d handballed the title of “wedding planner”. Planning a wedding was a whole new territory, something that, if you haven’t done it before or don’t work in the field, is a learning experience to say the least! There were so many parts of the planning that I had absolutely no idea about and had to learn along the way.
I was endlessly scrolling TikTok and asking millions of questions to friends, family and vendors. I was super lucky to have such supportive and amazing vendors behind me that helped shape our day and gave me a lot of guidance! Even things like the run sheet, which I didn’t know was so damn important, were tricky, but our photographer and entertainment company were super helpful, giving us recommendations on when to do things, and my gosh, was I a happy girl once that was finalised!
The closer the wedding got, the more stress I felt, especially the final week, I’d say, when everything needed to be finalised. But probably 2-3 days prior, I knew that everything that was needed for the day to go ahead had been done, and I just focused on enjoying the lead-up.
Style inspiration.
We wanted to represent who we are, our personalities and our love on our big day. Looking at various venues and locations, we weighed up whether we wanted sand under our toes, or a big barn style wedding, indoor vs outdoor, etc. and landed on the Geelong Botanic Gardens because the greenery just gave a type of vibrance and freshness that we were drawn to. We reflected on all the times we had taken the picnic rug and watched the girls run around the gardens, and that’s when we knew it was perfect for us.
For our colour scheme, we toyed with what was “in style” and trending, seeing a lot of classic whites and sharp finishes; however, we could not move past a bright, vibrant colour palette for our day. You walk into our house, and I have pink everywhere from our kettle to our bedspread, so we stayed true to what represented who we are, and we were so absolutely in awe of how it all came together. Our bouquets against the bright bridesmaid dresses, the blank white walls of our reception venue covered with bright pinks and reds, the pop of colour in our menus and seating charts, the tall pillar candles and our hanging flower arrangement over the dance floor were honestly an absolute dream! It was showstopping and everyone said it could not have been more us.
We certainly found real wedding stories the most useful for inspiration, as we could really visualise making it possible and would explore their supplier/vendor lists for recommendations.
The ceremony.
Our ceremony took place in the beautiful Geelong Botanic Gardens on a big open lawn with beautiful trees all around. In the middle of February, we assumed we would have beautiful sunshine. We were even concerned that it would be too hot and had personalised fans and parasols available, anticipating the heat. Of course, waking up on our wedding day, it was pouring rain! We were feeling the pressure of whether to change plans altogether and move our ceremony indoors, with a cut-off time nearing; however, despite the almost constant rain, we decided to stick with the outdoor plan and pray for a miracle. You’d never believe it, but about one hour before the ceremony started, the rain stopped, the sun came out, the greenery was absolutely shining, and the rain did not return again for the remainder of the day.
Our guests arrived and were blown away by the beautiful scenery, bright flowers and live acoustic music. That was only the beginning of our perfect ceremony, from our bridal party entering, our wonderful celebrant setting the tone of the ceremony, finishing our ceremony with a champagne tower and a toast to the new couple, it was honestly so perfect from start to finish. Ultimately, it felt like there was not a dry eye in the gardens during this time. There was the perfect combination of fun, humour and love that carried right through.
Our personal written vows were our favourite part, sharing our love in front of all our favourite people, and seeing our two little daughters walk down the aisle as flower girls.
The outfits.
This was the fun part! However, full warning, it turned not-so-fun at one point.
We’ll start with the bridesmaids; this was an easy one! I don’t think I even had to tell my girls, they one day just said, “So we are wearing pink, right?” And that was that! I wanted them each to feel comfortable in whatever shape or style they preferred, so we aimed for them each to find whatever they liked in any shade of pink! Naturally, they all chose a different shade, and it all pieced together so perfectly. I did even get a little jealous I wasn’t wearing pink.
As for my dress, we went shopping a good 12-14 months before our set date, not really knowing the style I wanted, but I was lucky enough to find a beautiful dress and locked in for it to be custom-made over the next several months, whilst I patiently waited.
In the meantime, I knew I wanted a little mini party dress to wear later in the evening and fell in love with all of the styles by Aston Bridal. I had tried on a few other styles and brands, but when I put on the Aston Bridal Penny Mini dress, it was a done deal. The dress made me feel like a million dollars, it felt like something you could only wear when you are the bride, and that was exactly what I wanted!
To skip to the not-so-fun part, four weeks before our big day, in the midst of Christmas holiday madness, I was eagerly chasing up where my custom-made dress was and why it hadn’t arrived months earlier as promised, to find out it was not coming at all. Money down the drain, tears and overwhelm shook me but my beautiful bridesmaids didn’t let me fall in a heap, the very next day we were on shopping trip round two and determined to find a new dress. I was obsessed with the original style I was awaiting, however, due to the quite horrible experience, it kind of dampened the dress for me, and we decided to go in a different direction. Unfortunately, my options were somewhat limited due to having to find something off the rack; however, once I put this dress on, I knew it was the one! It fit me perfectly, the bow at the back was the kind of standout detail I wanted and matched the style my two gorgeous girls had on their flower girl dresses – I felt beautiful, I felt like a bride, and it was just the one.
The boys wanted something classic, chic, neat and clean. Of course, boys will be boys, and they rolled into the local menswear store, Eddy Elias, about a month before the wedding. Luckily, they were absolute superstars in there, put their outfits together in no time and (as requested) were sure to run the plans by Perri just in case Kal tried to do anything rogue. The boys looked unreal!
Favourite moment.
This is honestly too hard to answer because we loved every single minute of it. The bridal party dinner the night before and separate sleepover parties were the perfect lead up, getting ready in the morning was such a vibe, but reading our heartfelt vows in front of all our loved ones was so special, and laughing through tears as we listened to all of the speeches. It’s hard to pick one favourite moment, but we have to say our bridal party did steal the show and set the tempo with their entrances to the reception which has to be one of the highlights. It started with the boys entering with water pistols and umbrella hats to It’s Raining Men by Geri Halliwell giving the crowd what they wanted with their dance moves, followed by our very own Dallas Cowboy Cheerleaders with their pink pom poms doing their very own rendition of the ACDC Thunderstruck dance, high kicks and all.
Meaning of marriage.
Marriage to us wasn’t the beginning of our forever because we felt we had already taken that step with children, mortgages etc but marriage to us was the beginning of our
commitment to each other, not just a commitment to love the other person, but to always show up, show support, loyalty and compassion, to commit to our family and our future as a unit. A commitment to our life together, the ups and downs we will endure and a promise that we will always be there for one another.
Wedding soundtrack:
All played live by our musician Marcus!
Aisle: Can’t Help Falling In Love – Hayley Reinhart
Recessional: Kiss Me – Sixpence None The Richer
Reception entry: Crazy In Love – Beyonce
First dance: A Thousand Years – Christina Perry
Father/Daughter dance: Because You Loved Me – Celine Dion
Near disasters.
As mentioned, the dress dilemma was certainly the most disastrous thing in the lead-up to the wedding! But besides that, nothing too outrageous, plenty of broken vases during transport and a wonky welcome sign that Perri was determined to make herself, otherwise everything fell into place perfectly!
Planning surprises.
We were both keen to do a first dance and thought we would be able to just “wing it” until we started practising one day in the lounge room and realised we absolutely could not, and we both desperately needed help. A friend had recommended a local company that offers dance lessons, which we initially laughed at as an idea; however, we were pleasantly surprised by how much fun this was and could not recommend it more! We had around four x 1-hour lessons leading up to the wedding and learnt a completely choreographed (very basic) dance to the song of our choice, and it was the ultimate fun romantic date night activity, making us both so excited for the day.
Words of wisdom.
As cliché as it sounds, honestly, try to enjoy every little moment because it truly goes so fast. All this time and planning goes into it, and then it is just over and you’re out of your “bride era”.
There are little things that may not work out or go to plan, but just remember the only thing that truly matters is that you are marrying your special person.
If it is in your budget, definitely try to have your honeymoon booked in as it gave us something else to look forward to after the wedding and take the time to relax after such a big build up and soak in all the beautiful memories we had just made! We know people say it is the best day ever, and it truly was. From start to finish we wouldn’t change a thing, it was so special, fun and an exciting journey to be on.
For more about the magic of elevating your wedding through music, read about Paper Hearts.
KALIN & PERRI’S SUPPLIERS:
Ceremony location: Geelong Botanic Gardens, Bunya Lawn
Reception venue: Caledonia Shores, Geelong Waterfront. They were amazing, start to finish, with the planning process, the menu tasting and recommendations. The venue came to life in the most perfect way possible! We had a cocktail hour following the ceremony where guests were able to mingle and enjoy our ‘His and Hers’ signature cocktails, followed by the open bar with beer, wine and spirits available all night.
Celebrant: Ceremonies By Sarah Jane. Sarah was the absolute best celebrant hands down. She made the whole process fun and engaging. The ceremony was funny, lighthearted but also deep and heartfelt at the same time. She absolutely nailed it, and we could not be more grateful!
Photography: Ginger and Mint. Verity was unreal! We were both a bit worried about how we would go in photos, but she absolutely brought the vibe and helped us with poses and positions that made the whole experience just so fun! And our pictures obviously came out amazing!
Content Creation: In The Moment. We didn’t have a videographer; however, we did have a content creator who was amazing and captured so many beautiful BTS snippets from the day.
Entertainment: Paper Hearts. Paper Hearts were amazing! They were so helpful in the planning process, giving guidance on song choices, timings etc. Marcus’ voice was actually next level, and he made the whole event come together. He set the tone at every stage and we are so grateful!
Styling and decor: We collected all sorts of little bits and bobs along the way for decorating, and this was all set up by our wonderful florist and team.
Florist: Blume Flower Studio. An absolute showstopper! I still have people complimenting me about our flowers and stealing our photos for inspo pics! Maddy bought the whole ceremony and venue together, nailing the brief to a tee! (All while doubling as a bridesmaid so she basically is superwoman!)
Hair: Amelia Rose. Getting ready with our glam team was an absolute vibe! Amelia literally was the best and made me feel so beautiful – all the girls were obsessed with their hair and her vibe!
Make-up: Laurie Boring Laurie is an actual wizard, I have never felt so beautiful. She nailed the look I was going for perfectly and made us all have the best time getting ready!
The dresses: Bridal gown – Evie Young Bridal. Second dress: Aston Bridal
Veil: Madi Lane
Shoes: Bared Footwear
Rings: Cullen Jewellery
Bridesmaid’s dresses: A mix of Rat and Boa, Effie Kats, House of CB, and Tussah.
Suits and ties: Eddie Elias Menswear. They handled all aspects of the boys fits and they looked unreal!
Cake: Julia Makes Cakes
Stationery / Signage: Myself and my beautiful friend Izzy did it all.
Transport: Murrel Group Geelong. They provided our stretch limo transport before and after the ceremony. The brief ride from the ceremony to the reception with our whole bridal party was so much fun!
Hire: Idyllic Wedding Hire. They supplied all the ceremony furniture and set up, including pillars, chairs, signing table and champagne tower.
Honeymoon: Phuket, Thailand
