Real Wedding – Kelsey & Brendan, Sunbury VIC
Kelsey and Brendan’s celebrations were pure urban glam style meets laid-back country vibes – a perfectly winning combination! From the very beginning, these two sweet souls planned a soiree to reflect their relationship – relaxed and fun, with touches of art deco style in sumptuous bushland surrounds. However, like so many of our 2022 couples, add a pandemic into the mix and planning stress was amped up a level.
For these two, sticking true to their original dream more than paid off. Beginning with a laugh-a-minute, upbeat ceremony care of our very own Megan Thompson celebrant, it was evident from all the emotion in the air that this celebration was more than worth the wait.
We especially love Kelsey and Brendan’s bold styling touches – from Brendan’s electric blue suit jacket to Kelsey’s stunning sequinned gown, red lip and fab fuchsia heels. And as the sun went down, the dance floor heated up in the masterfully musical hands of One More Song DJs. To kick off the party vibes, Kelsey appeared in a party dress to wow, in a superb shade of deep violet. We love an outfit change, especially one as gorgeously memorable as this!
Capturing every moment to perfection was photographer extraordinaire Nikki McCrone.
The meeting.
We went to high school together, but only spoke to each other for the first time once we got paired up to do the Debutante Ball together in Year 11. We had weeks of dance lessons together and got to know each other as friends first before Brendan invited me over to his place for dinner. Then we caught up every single Friday night for months before making it official.
The ‘one’.
I don’t think there was one single moment, we just don’t want to be with anyone else. He is always the first person I want to talk with and we never run out of things to talk about!
The proposal.
Since we’d been together over ten years, it was more of an ongoing conversation, and we just decided one day we were going to get married! I wanted to choose my own engagement ring and it was great picking it out together. Brendan distracted me with a box of doughnuts (my favourite!) while bending down and officially proposing with the engagement ring.
Planning process.
On the one hand, it was easy as I found an amazing bunch of suppliers and we had ideas of what we did and didn’t want.
Our primary goal was to relax and have fun with our guests, so we made sure we set out the day to maximise our time with everyone and get the first look and family photos done prior to the ceremony. But then it was really eventful due to Covid! We got engaged in Jan 2020 and planned to get married that September, which didn’t happen because of lockdowns! We postponed another year, which again, got cancelled. We were pretty disheartened by then and had really put the wedding on the back burner. The only reason we started planning for February 2022 was our best friend was coming home from USA for four weeks and wanted to know if we could squeeze it in. So we made it happen!
Style inspiration.
It was art deco/woolshed country – interesting mix! We found the venue first, we just loved the 100 year old woolshed and the beautiful gardens at Emu Bottom Homestead. It felt like a real country property while only being 40 minutes from Melbourne. My husband is a furniture maker so he loved all the timber! I was really focused on the food and the quality of the menu really stood out to me. The invitations and signage, plus our outfits, were all art deco inspired.
We aren’t very traditional wedding people, so we had a clear idea of what we wanted to include and what we didn’t feel was necessary.
I loved seeing other people’s real weddings and getting inspo. I tried to find weddings that had a similar feel or the couple to have a similar style to us and see what suppliers they used.
The ceremony.
Megan absolutely nailed the ceremony! She was locked in from the first date and we knew we had to keep her no matter what. We didn’t want anything too soppy, but something fun, memorable and us. Megan shared some great stories of us and it was the perfect beginning to our day.
The look.
I bought so many dresses online during lockdown…. I lost count! I ended up buying a dress from a wedding boutique just before our second postponed date in 2021. Unfortunately for the third date, I couldn’t end up wearing my dream wedding dress as I found out I was pregnant and it couldn’t contain my new pregnancy breasts! Luckily, I hadn’t ended up returning a beautiful white dress from ASOS and the purple sequin gown I had originally planned – it all worked out perfectly in the end and I felt beautiful in both.
Brendan always wanted to wear a blue velvet tuxedo and managed to find the very last one in his size and find the matching shirt and pants over a year later.
Favourite moments.
It’s hard to pick just one, but after being in lockdown for two years, it was just so wonderful to have all our family and friends together to celebrate – we felt so thankful.
Meaning of marriage.
Teamwork! You are always there to bring the other person up and create a beautiful life together.
Wedding soundtrack.
Aisle & first dance: Coming Home by Leon Bridges
Reception entry: I Got You (I Feel Good) by James Brown
Funny stories or near disasters.
No, we were incredibly lucky and everything went to plan.
Planning surprises.
Everyone said this, but it wasn’t until I experienced it – the day goes by so quickly! Try and enjoy every moment.
Words of wisdom.
Even though I had a strong idea of what we did and didn’t want within our budget, I still found myself getting caught up in expectations and ideas from Instagram. Stick with what you really want, what is important to you and within your budget.
Last words.
We decided to do our first look and family photos before the ceremony and I can’t recommend this enough! It was wonderful seeing Brendan before the ceremony, we got our nervous energy out and it was a great time to hang out with our families before the madness began. Everyone was calm and happy, ready to get the party started. We had more time with our guests right after the ceremony in the beautiful gardens.
Love Kelsey’s bold bouquet? To help you find your dream day florals, we’ve collated some of our favourites – from sleekly understated stems to bright beautiful blooms. Check them out on the blog, here.
KELSEY & BRENDAN’S VENDORS
Ceremony & reception venue: Emu Bottom Homestead, Sunbury – Epicurean Group
Celebrant: Megan Thompson – one of the best celebrants in the biz! People asked if she knew us personally and they were so impressed with how she conducted the ceremony.
Photography: Nikki McCrone Photography – we had the best time with Nikki, we’re camera shy and she made us laugh and feel so at ease. The photos are gorgeous! We also decided to do a first look and family photos before the ceremony.
Florist: Florence Jean – I gave Lucinda from Florence Jean basically free range and only gave her a colour scheme. I’m no expert at flowers and she made the most beautiful arbour and bouquet, I had so many compliments. I really liked having a non-traditional bouquet.
Hair & make-up: Rhea Vine Artistry – Rhea did my best friend’s wedding a few years prior, she listens to what you want and really enhances everyone’s natural beauty.
The dresses: ASOS Bridal and The Nylon Swish
Shoes: Bared
Rings: Bride – Windfall Jewellery – they were amazing to work with and I loved my modern rings. Groom – Uniform Black, handmade in Melbourne
Suits: Politix
Bow ties / ties: Otaa
Stationery / Signage: Laura Allaway – my best friend!
Entertainment: One More Song – they had me with their tagline ‘No More Nutbush’ we wanted a killer DJ and a packed dancefloor and Aleks delivered the goods! We were on the dancefloor for most of the night with our friends and family.
Transport: Brendan drove his own 1986 Ford Bronco with the roof off, my brother drove me in his car
Décor: Brendan made all of our signs and table numbers from timber in his workshop. His brother made the wooden stand for the sign.
Honeymoon: Balgownie Winery Estate in the Yarra Valley
