Real Wedding – Kimberely & Nathan, South Melbourne VIC
Ultra-fresh, uplifting energy and airy, summer-infused styling coalesce in Kim and Nathan’s inner Melbourne celebration. Leaning into a modern, fun vibe meant their individual style and personalities took centre stage, and what a perfectly personal and aesthetically effervescent day it is.
Kim had a clear vision of her wedding day fit, both for the ceremony and to hit the dance floor later on- queue, the super talented Elissa Marie Designs. A custom gown brought all the class and contemporary grace, with stunning statement sleeves and artful bodice draping, entwining a sense of timeless elegance with a modern edge.
Nathan also upped the style stakes in a custom suit by Houndstooth Tailors in a burnished sage green, bringing a fresh feel with an impeccable fit.
For us, scrolling these light-filled, emotionally uplifting images by lens legend Nikki McCrone is a true treat – scroll on to enjoy every moment.
The meeting.
We met back in 2011 at our local nightclub through mutual friends. It definitely wasn’t love at first sight but we started hanging out more and peeling back the layers and the rest is history.
The ‘one’.
I went overseas for two months just as we started to hang out more so it was the first time I was away from Nathan for a long period of time. That’s when I knew I had all the feels and wanted to be with him. Nathan stated to a friend after the first time we met ‘I’ll end up with her one day’ and here we are! Our common interests brought us closer together and we just became best friends which turned into 13 years together and counting.
The proposal.
We have two dogs, Hughey and Nash which are our world. Nathan had organised with my work to have the day off which I wasn’t going to say no to. We then took the dogs out for our usual walk and he asked me mid-way through while they were dressed up in little bandana tuxedos – that I didn’t even notice! It was perfect.
Planning process.
It had been a long time coming, so when we both decided it was time to get married, we had actually booked our wedding venue and date at Half Acre prior to getting engaged! Once we got engaged, we were able to tell our family and friends the planning had already been happening behind the scenes. I’m a super organised person in general and LOVE planning, so I was already a step ahead and had so many suppliers saved on Instagram, so we got onto that straight away.
I was so happy we were able to lock in our photographer Nikki, our celebrant Emily, our videographer Ryan and florist Emily Rose straight away because we wanted them so badly to be a part of our day and were so lucky they were all available!
Dress shopping was next on the list, which, for me, I knew wasn’t going to be easy as I had a vision in my head of what I wanted, so I thought I would find it straight away – which wasn’t the case. I tried on every single style you could think of and initially walked away a bit disheartened but went again and found a dress I instantly loved myself in. I decided to take a week to think about it, then came across Elissa Marie on Instagram and decided to meet with her to talk about a custom gown. I instantly felt at ease talking through my vision with Elissa and showing her which dress shape I liked on me, and I decided to get my dress made. I’m so happy I did, as I have a one-off design that fits me beautifully, and I even decided to get my second dress made, which we had so much fun designing together.
Then before we knew it, we were meeting with the venue again, picking out the food and drinks, locking in the itinerary of the day and meeting with our suppliers again to go over the finer details. I loved the whole process and tailoring the day not only to suit us as a couple but also for our guests to enjoy.
Style inspiration.
We’ve not been people who liked the idea of what a ‘traditional’ wedding should look like. Previous weddings we’ve attended were usually quite traditional and did not have much personal character, so we knew we didn’t want that for us. We always wanted a wedding that felt like a party, with the formalities to be done quickly and out of the way as early as possible. We took a more modern approach with our style but with a touch of colour to bring out our fun personalities. This is why I didn’t want the bridesmaids in matching dresses, I chose bouquets to suit their personalities, we went with green coloured suits for the boys which matched the aesthetics of our venue so well and our stationary and flower palette tied it all together.
I’m a big Instagram scroller, so I had a folder full of inspiration and ideas. I found Pinterest helpful too as I’m a visual person, I prefer to see pictures then read. It was helpful to build mood boards from all the inspiration.
The ceremony.
It was just perfect. We wanted a celebrant to tell our story in a light-hearted and fun way, which Emily told beautifully in her unique and witty way. It was just so nice to have all of our loved ones together to learn things about us they may not have known, and we could show our love for one another.
The look.
I always knew I wanted an off-the-shoulder gown but I kept myself open-minded. When I couldn’t quite find the one off the rack, I decided to get it made. I’m so glad I did, as we could customise it to exactly how I wanted, and it fitted me so beautifully. It’s a piece I can cherish forever and hopefully pass down one day. I LOVE a dance floor so I knew I always wanted a second party dress to dance around in. After having no luck finding one off the rack, I just decided to get Elissa to make it for me, and it was exactly what I was after! I loved wearing it.
Nathan and I loved the idea of having suits in a colour other than black so we knew it was going to be hard to find the right colour green. We came across Houndstooth Tailors and they had exactly what Nathan wanted, it was a no brainer! It’s a suit the guys can have forever and wear again.
Favourite moments.
Our photographer convinced us to do a ‘first look’. When I got to see Nathan for the first time, I just instantly felt relaxed and happy, it was a really special moment to have together. Entering our reception to ‘Enter Sandman’ by Metallica was epic and brings a smile to my face whenever I think back to that moment. There were so many others moments throughout, too many to name, it was just such a fun day!
Meaning of marriage.
It’s a lifetime commitment together, through all the good and bad. Someone to always be in your corner and share memories and milestones together.
Wedding soundtrack.
Aisle: Cinema by Gary Go (Lewis did a magical job of an acoustic version for us)
Recessional: Better Together by Hayden James
Bridal party entry: Freaks by Timmy Trumpet
Bride & groom entry: Enter Sandman by Metallica
Father/daughter and mother/son dance: Yellow by Coldplay
First dance: Adore You by Fred Again
Exit song: Better Than This by John Summit
Funny stories or near disasters.
Nathan threw his back out the week of our wedding. I don’t know how he got through it but he took it on like a champ (with a lot of help from the doctor).
Planning surprises.
Once it’s all booked in, just how quickly the day comes and goes. Also, the special relationships you build with some of your suppliers are quite special.
Words of wisdom.
Make sure you take into consideration what you both want to get out of the day, and don’t let others influence you. Your wedding should be a reflection of you both. For example, we love music, so this aspect was super important to us.
Let others help you if you need it, especially if you are doing the styling yourself.
Recommendations are always helpful and cut out how much time you spend searching, as it can be quite overwhelming at the beginning. I would 100% recommend all of our suppliers to everyone.
We were gifted our audio guestbook and are so glad we had one, as it was so funny listening to them the next day.
We also had a wash up the following day, and it was so worth it so we could debrief with everyone and spend more quality time with our guests who could attend
The day goes SO QUICK! Make sure you take moments just the two of you throughout the day and let your guests come and find you. Those who want to say hello/congratulate you will make the effort to do so, especially if you have a large guest list like we did.
If you want fresh flowers, definitely ask your guests to take them home with them. It’s hard to think about them going in the bin at the end of the night, why not let your guests enjoy them for a little longer.
Love the look of Kim and Nathan’s ultra-fresh colour palette? See more real weddings with a similar hue focus in our colour-categorised portfolio.
KIMBERLEY & NATHAN’S VENDORS
Ceremony & reception venue: Half Acre, South Melbourne. We were initially drawn to the modern look of this venue when searching online. It was the fifth venue we looked at, and we INSTANTLY fell in love with the venue. As soon as we walked into the doors, we knew it was the one. You really do not need to do much with the space as it already has beautiful characteristics. The team were great to work with, and the food was AMAZING! We still, to this day, get compliments from our guests about how good it was, which makes us super happy to hear.
Celebrant: Emily Carr. We were lucky enough to see Emily in all her glory as she was the celebrant for my twin brothers’ wedding! Em delivered the most personalised, funny and loved-filled ceremony that reflected us a couple so perfectly.
Photography: Nikki McCrone. Nikki is an absolute gem. She made us feel so comfortable, we had so much fun together and our photos speak for themselves! Captured our day and us as a couple so perfectly – I cannot stop looking at all of our photos.
Videography: Ryan Lee. We had the very talented Ryan film our special day, and what he captured and created for us is absolute magic, and we are so lucky we get a film to cherish forever.
Styling: we did this ourselves! I work in the fashion industry and have always had a creative eye, but luckily, our venue is so beautiful that we didn’t need to add a lot.
Florist: Rose Studios. Emily has such a creative & fun vision, and we instantly fell in love with her modern floral artistry. She listened to our vision and made it happen. Our flowers were breathtaking.
Hair: Kim Toogood. Kim felt like part of our family getting ready with us on the day! Everyone loved their hair.
Make-up: Stephanie Jones. My very beautiful and talented bridesmaid made us feel extra beautiful. I wouldn’t have trusted anyone else!
The dress: Elissa Marie Designs. Elissa custom-made both of my dresses. It was a great collaborative experience, and I felt amazing in them.
Shoes: Charlotte Mills and Steve Madden. My bridesmaids all chose their own heels.
Rings: Custom by Kate & Kole. West Hill.
Bridesmaid’s dresses: Rachel Gilbert, Bec & Bridge, Calli the Label. I always wanted the girls to be able to wear something they felt comfortable in, and I love the look of mixed dresses. I told them the colour palette and was so happy they were able to choose something that suited their individuality. The styles came together perfectly.
Suits: Houndstooth Tailors. Andy custom-made the boy’s suits, and they came out a treat!
Bow ties / ties: Bow tie was custom made by the Houndstooth Tailors team out of my wedding dress fabric. Ties from OTAA
Catering & bar: Half Acre Events
Favours: we asked guests to take home flowers and had a wrapping station ready at the end of the evening
Cake / Cake topper: Boutique Cake Art. To this day, I still think about how delicious our cake was. Christina brought our vision to life, and we were complimented all night about how yummy it was. We opted for red velvet with cream cheese.
Our cake toppers were custom made by Hello Cakers of our two dogs Hughey & Nash, which my family surprised us with on the day.
Stationery / Signage: We did digital invites & RSVP’s via Say I Do. For our venue stationary, I worked with Tylar from By Tylar Dane who brought our vision to life. Our cutouts of our dogs were the best addition, especially to our dancefloor!
Entertainment: For our ceremony, our very talented friend Lewis Pidutti played acoustic and Emma Peters DJ’d & kept our dance floor pumping! Our MC Matthew Monk who is a family friend of ours absolutely killed it and entertained our guests, we are so grateful he did that for us.
Transport: Bryan from Geelong & Surfcoast Limo Bus.
Décor: Spotlight, Koch & Co, Etsy
Hire: Audio guestbook from Off the Hook which was a gifted surprise from my sister.
Honeymoon: We went to Bali and had the most relaxing and fun holiday we’ve had together.
Other: I have a Macedonian background and wanted to introduce some of the traditions into the day. We brought the Stefana crowns from Evie & Johns on Sydney Rd, Brunswick & my mum handmade my shamifche (beaded handkerchief), which we can cherish and pass down within our family.
