Real Wedding – Kate & Ryan, Coburg VIC
Keeping things informal and fun, Kate and Ryan were all about bringing together their favourite people in a magical Melbourne location, and providing them with a party to remember.
This perfect pair loved the planning process and it came naturally to them, as they set about locking in the big ticket items as early as they could so they could enjoy the lead up and focus on the personalisation of the day.
Their ceremony was love filled, but at the same time had an air of frivolity as they sent Kate’s Nanna down the aisle as a fabulous flower girl and challenged one another in a ‘rock-off’ to see who went first with their vows.
There’s so much to love about this day and of course remember, but we think Kate’s gown truly stole the show. One Day Bridal were the talented team that brought this gown to life and it reflected the vibe of Kate and Ryan’s day perfectly.
Tribe talent, Kyra Boyer, was the lady behind the lens and luckily for us all she has captured all the moments to absolute perfection.
In their words…
The meeting.
We met at Big Mouth bar in St Kilda. We lived locally, a couple of streets apart, and would both frequent bars nearby but this was the first time our paths had crossed. We were introduced through mutual friends and we just hit it off. The rest is history.
The ‘one’.
Kate – We both realised pretty early on. Our first date really proved how similar we are and how much fun we could have together. We went on a bar crawl in St Kilda where Ryan taught me how to dance like Russell Coight in the middle of a bar and we had a dance off (he still debates this, but I won). Ryan swapped our ID’s to give to a bouncer at our 4th bar, and he never swapped them back, which was his cheeky way of ensuring we would have to catch up again the next day. We haven’t really spent a day apart since!
The proposal.
Ryan – Kate loves birthdays and a 30th can be daunting, so I planned a celebration of her birthday month. 1st day of the month she received a box which included 31 envelopes with numbers on each ranging from 1-31, there were strict rules, open one per day and don’t sneak peek at the next ones. There were notes inside the envelopes; they included some humour, nice words and I did my best to predict what we would be doing on certain dates, and there was one date I was certain what would happen.
A surprise weekend away, we arrived at Sorrento Hotel and just so happened our winery tour guide which we had used several times before was there. Kate realised that we would be going to a winery but still wasn’t sure why she needed her jacket (it was hot), she thought we would be doing horse riding at some point. Matt (wine tour guide) dropped us off at Merricks Creek Winery, and already a few wines deep, having a ball sitting in the sun, I realised time was getting away from me. Next minute, dessert comes out to us which included the missing note from the day, and as Kate was reading it, I reached into my jacket pocket (that’s where the ring was hiding the whole time), grabbed a knee, and asked her to marry me. We then resumed the winery tour with the others and celebrated even more.
The process.
Kate – We both really enjoyed the planning process! Ryan loves a spreadsheet and took over most of the planning, earning him his much-loved title of ‘Groomzilla’. We locked in the main things 12 months out and then put our time into making our wedding as personal as we could.
Style inspiration.
We truly just wanted an informal and fun party with our favourite people, and the Post Office Hotel was the perfect choice of venue for just that. We also loved the idea of getting married outside, so we hunted down the perfect tree in the nearby Coburg Lake Reserve for our ceremony. We love going out together to see some live music, so we enlisted the help of our insanely talented friend, Becky Rhodes of Between the Covers. We met Becky while she was performing at our local on our second date, and we knew she was the perfect person to ensure the dancefloor stayed packed all night. We added in some neon signs, candles, a hanging garland, a polaroid photo booth, and bulk flip flops so there were no excuses to be sitting down!
The dress.
One Day Bridal was the second bridal boutique I visited with my Mum, cousin and girlfriend Stacey, and we had the most wonderful experience there. I ended up in a silver and pearl sequined crop top and a fitted white skirt. The girls know me so well and I knew it was ‘the one’ when I saw their faces. It was totally not what I expected to love, but it fit our party theme and I felt so myself in it!
Favourite moments.
Ryan – The ceremony. Our celebrant, Marry Me Dee, was such a legend and made sure our ceremony was interactive and fun. We sang along to ‘Horses’, roasted our 14-long bridal party, toiled with our parents, and had a rock-off for the vows.
Kate – Our first dance, as it was so nice learning a dance just for us. The speeches were really special, too.
Meaning of marriage.
Ryan – It’s like winning a grand final with your best mate.
Kate – This is a hard one! I wouldn’t love Ryan any less if we decided to not get married, but it’s pretty cool to call him my husband.
Wedding soundtrack.
Aisle: Ain’t No Mountain High Enough by Marvin Gaye and Tammi Terrell (sang by Becky Rhodes)
Signing: Two Strong Hearts by John Farnham
Reception entry: Touch the Sky by Kanye
First Dance: Can’t Take My Eyes Off You by Joseph Vincent, and Slice of Heaven by Dave Dobbyn
Funny stories (or near disasters).
Kate – It all went fairly smoothly! My Nanna had asked to be our ‘flower girl’ at our ceremony and took her role very seriously. She rocked her job of having fun as she threw the petals, but she did drop a few swear words in frustration as she thought that the bridal party were walking too slowly behind her. Nice pre-game entertainment!
Planning surprises.
Ryan – How easy it all was and how amazing each of our suppliers were. It definitely helped booking in our main suppliers early so we could chill out.
Words of wisdom.
Enjoy the planning process and don’t feel pressure to buckle to tradition or the expectations of others; you do you. Also, hire a videographer if your budget allows – we are so grateful we did!
Our wedding supplier Tribe are the bees knees! Head to our directory and lock their talent down stat. From photographers, to venues, beauty and fashion – we have it all!
KATE & RYAN’S TRIBE
Ceremony location: Coburg Lake Reserve
Reception: The Post Office Hotel, Coburg – Great vibe and team, and even better food.
Celebrant/Officiant: Marry Me Dee – Can confirm she is as quirky and awesome as she claims.
Photography: Kyra Boyer – Kyra was such a calming presence, but she still managed to wrangle our massive bridal party! We adore our photos.
Videography: Ryal Sormaz – Ryal is heaps of fun, is seriously talented, and I’m fairly sure he coined the phrase ‘it’s a vibe’.
Styling: A Day To Remember Event Hire for the ceremony set up – Emma was an angel to work with.
Florist: Flowerhead Events – I gave Helen and Ben a pretty loose brief and loved what they came up with.
Hair: HBK&Co hairdressing – Hair and makeup for nine girls was no easy feat, but these ladies nailed it.
Make-up: Jenna Guy Makeup and Hollawilsonmua
The Dress(es): Chosen by One Day by One Day Bridal
Veil / headwear: One Day Bridal
Shoes: Tony Bianco
Rings: Windfall Jewellery
Bridesmaid’s dresses: A mixture as they chose their own. Coco and Lola, Sheike, Forever New and Shona Joy.
Groomsmen’s suits: YD Australia
Bow ties / ties: My Tuxedo
Catering and bar: Post Office Hotel
Favours: In lieu of favours, we decided to donate to the Red Cross Bushfire Relief in honor of our guests.
Cake / Cake topper: Mud.cakesbymaddy – We had so many people rave about our delicious mud cake!
Stationery / Signage: Sheridan Edsall -Sheridan is a graphic designer and a close friend of ours, and she created so many beautiful invitation options for us to choose from.
Entertainment: Between the Covers Music from Hey Jack.
Hire: The Style & Hire Co (we hired neon signs and wishing well at reception) – Jo has so many fun options to personalize your event, and we loved her neon signs.
Honeymoon: Western Australia road trip
First dance choreography: The Wedding Dance Coach – Phoebe is our kind of chick and we loved the routine she choreographed for us.
‘Getting Ready’ bridal attire: Le Rose
