Real Wedding – Krysten & Paul, St Kilda VIC

 

Krysten and Paul’s stunning St Kilda nuptials were exactly what the couple had envisaged them to be – classic, sleek, modern and understated.

Taking the timeless approach, this couple was all about good food, good wine and a fun time to be had by all. They achieved all of this and more.

Be inspired by this St Kilda stunner, as you scroll through from behind the lens of Tess Follett.

 

In Krysten’s words…

The meeting.

We met in December 2009 at a mutual friend’s house. Paul had been friends with Jess from their high school days and I met Jess at uni. Paul had just returned from 12 months studying and travelling overseas so although I had met a few of Jess’s friends this was the first time I had met Paul. Coincidently Jess and Paul lived in the same street and this was across the road from uni so we bumped into each other a lot.

 

The ‘one’.

Around six months into the relationship Paul went to South America with friends and contracted Typhoid. He was hospital bound and very ill for weeks over in Peru. I still remember the moment I was told that he was in hospital, during that time I knew that I loved him and how special he was to me. As for when I knew he was the ‘one’, it’s kind of hard to pin point a specific moment. Surviving our first overseas trip was a big turning point as was moving in together.

 

The proposal. 

Paul proposed down at Red Hill on Point Leo beach one week before we were due to leave for a four week trip to Italy.  As his family has a house in red Hill, it wasn’t an unusual occurrence for us to go down there on weekends. Paul had set it up late in the week that he had been stressed at work and wanted to go to Red Hill for the weekend so I thought nothing of it. I was genuinely not expecting a proposal at that point in time and so when he made me stand up  ‘to take a picture of him for Instagram’ (to which I was thinking in my head “what a princess”), I was left completely speechless when he ended up on one knee and with a ring in his hand. I was so shocked I just stood there with tears rolling down my cheeks and even forgot to say ‘yes’. Paul had to prompt me “do you want to say yes?” to which I nodded. He then had to ask me “do you want to put on the ring?”, to which I nodded again.  I will be forever grateful that he caught me off guard with the proposal, especially given we had been going out so long. He put so much effort in, obviously getting the ring, had spoken tot my dad, booked dinner that night and a beautiful place for us to stay for the weekend. He even packed me a bag with clothes and my make up. I came home early than he had expected and so he only managed to find half my make up and had picked out a dress that I hadn’t worm for years and that I tend to wear when I get spray tans. I will never forget that weekend, ever.

From Paul’s perspective, I now know that he knew for a while that he wanted to propose before we went on that Italy trip. He says that he also wanted it to be a complete surprise and people were suspecting that he would propose overseas (I knew 100% that he was not going to propose overseas for that very reason – he never likes to do what is expected).  He had originally planned everything for the proposal on the queen’s birthday long weekend. He had the accommodation booked, booked tickets to the winter wine show in Red Hill, and had dinner booked at a nice restaurant. All systems were go, until his best man Phil – who was leaving for London to live – asked everyone at dinner one night if anyone had plans for Queen’s Birthday weekend as he wanted to have a going away function. I was present and he says he knew that if he said that he had plans that would raise suspicions. This threw a massive spanner in the works for him as he  couldn’t not go to the going away, so he had to cancel everything and re-arrange it for the following weekend (luckily, it worked out well).

 

The process.

We were very fortunate that my sister was a huge help to us. By the time we came home from that Italy trip she already had a spreadsheet going, and had started researching venues. She did so much of the leg work for us which was an incredible help and took so much of the stress away from us. This allowed us to truly enjoy the planning process and not get too stressed out. She kept us to a timeline, which we needed, and would regularly check up on us to see if we had done what we were supposed to by our deadline. We were honestly both so relaxed during the lead up to our wedding and during the whole planning process because of her. Our wedding, quite simply, would not have been what it was without her help.

 

Style inspiration.

I knew I wanted a classic, sleek, modern, understated style for the whole wedding – a look that would be timeless. Both Paul and I just wanted there to be good food, good wine and for everyone to have a great, fun night. We didn’t want the day to feel too stiff and contrived we just wanted a relaxed and fun vibe. Every decision was with the above in mind and by all accounts, we were successful in achieving the style and vibe we wanted for our special day.

 

The dress.

I didn’t particularly enjoy wedding dress shopping at the start. I had never thought about that sort of dress I wanted except I did know I was not a poufy dress kind of girl. I went into almost every dress shop on High street Armadale with my mum one Saturday just to walk into places and see what they had. On that day I walked into Luci Di Bella and immediately just got a good vibe. Although I felt that way, I didn’t want to make an impulsive decision and so I booked in four fittings at different places to start with. The best fitting I had was with Luci and Kaitlin at Luci Di Bella but I still forced myself to go to a few other shops to make sure, again not wanting to rush the decision. In the end it was an easy decision going with Luci Di Bella and have the team create a bespoke gown for me. I cannot thank Luci and Kaitlin enough, as not only was the end result absolutely beautiful in every way, but the whole experience of watching them create my dress was so fun! Every fitting was so exciting for me and I always left with the biggest grin on my face. I felt like we were all on the same page and they got my style. It was easy to work with them and I let them guide me too, after all they are the experts. I felt so amazing on my wedding day and a huge, huge part of that was because of the stunning creation that was my dress.

 

Favourite moments.

I genuinely enjoyed every minute of the wedding, I just had the best time. I was so happy with how everything turned out. We both had so much fun which was all we really wanted. The speeches were really special and we had a great time with the bridal party taking phots between the ceremony and reception. Just a great time taking in the fact that we were married! Paul says his favorite part was the Greek dancing.

 

Traditions.

We wrote our own vows and had a first dance. I have a Greek background, so we had a few traditional Greek songs which were a real crowd pleaser and Paul says that the Greek dancing was his favourite part of the night, as mentioned above.

 

Meaning of marriage.

As we have been together for so long and lived together for 2.5 years, I wasn’t expecting much to change but felt that marriage would formalise the commitment we had already made to each other. Being together nine years, we’re not naive to what it takes to make a relationship work. We share fundamental core values which I believe will be a solid basis for a successful marriage, just as it has been for a successful long term relationship.

 

Wedding soundtrack.

Aisle: Make you feel my love by Adele (performed live by Tom Carty)

Recessional: This will be (an everlasting love) by Natalie Cole (performed by Tom Carty)

 

Funny stories (or near disasters).

In the months leading up to the wedding I found out (randomly via facebook somehow) that there was a Latin St Kilda festival due to be held on the day of our wedding. In my head I was thinking St Kilda Festival and did have a freak out. I did some further research with my sister and we concluded that it was not as big as St Kilda Festival and was supposed to be held in gardens, not right near our venue (Royal Melbourne Yacht Squadron), so hopefully would not be heard on the day. On the day as I was driving in the car we saw it and I started to worry again as it was closer than I thought. In the end you could vaguely hear the Latin music but think it added some extra atmosphere and to be honest I didn’t even notice it that much as I was so wrapped up in our special day.

It was also quite windy on the day which was a concern given we were having the ceremony on the rooftop. The venue told us that if it was too windy, we would have to have the ceremony downstairs. I tried not to think about it leading up to the day as we obviously can’t control the weather. On the day the temp was a perfect sunny 25 degrees, but the wind meant we could only have the ceremony on the rooftop and the drink and canapés were moved downstairs. As far as disasters go, not the worst thing to have happened. You can tell from some of the pictures that me and the bridesmaids are a little windswept.

 

Planning surprises.

It was a little overwhelming with just so many choices and options out there – made it a little difficult sometimes to make a decision.

 

Words of wisdom.

It’s a cliché but just enjoy every part, not just the day but the lead up as well.  I was pretty easy going and tried not to get bogged down by things as it’s so easy to just get swept up in it all and lose perspective. Having a few key support people around you is so important and make sure they are not afraid to tell you how it is. Our attitude was to just have fun with it all and we tried not to lose sight of that with every decision we made.

 

Last words.

We just feel so fortunate that it was everything we hoped for and more. We have nothing but fond memories of the day and its so nice to hear all the great feedback which we’ve had from everyone. Our guests loved the food, the drinks and had a blast – all we wanted. We kicked on afterwards and headed to the Espy (nearly didn’t get in because we didn’t have our ID, apparently being in a wedding dress and wedding tux wasn’t enough to prove that we were over 18). So grateful to all our friends and family who helped us celebrate and also to our vendors who executed everything to a tee.

 

 

Melbourne boasts some amazing spaces and places to get married. For our tip picks when it comes to wedding venues in our fine city, click here.

 

 

KRYSTEN AND PAUL’S TRIBE

Ceremony and reception: Harbour Room – Royal Melbourne Yacht Squadron, St Kilda (rooftop)

Celebrant/Officiant: Nat Sproal – we have so many positive things to say about Nat and the experience we had having her as our celebrant. From our very first meeting, we felt we clicked with her. We met in a bar, over a wine and it was clear to us that she was the perfect person to capture the chilled and fun vibe we wanted for our wedding. The ceremony Nat wrote for us was both sentimental and funny and she re-told our story beautifully. Nat really cares about the couples she works with and she gets truly invested. We feel very lucky to have had Nat be a part of our day.

Photography: Tess Follett – Tess is so incredibly talented and was an absolute pleasure to work with. I cried the first time I saw the slideshow Tess prepared for us, the shots were so incredible (and that was only a sample of 200). After going through all the pictures, I was just so, so happy. I don’t consider myself a natural in front of the camera and was actually quite worried the wedding photos, but not only did we have an absolute blast with Tess on the day, the result was seriously beyond what I could have ever hoped for. We can’t thank Tess enough for what she has given us, as we will always have these stunning shots to remember our amazing day.

Florist: Say it with Flowers, Malvern – the florals that they created were amazing. The arch, installations, centerpieces and bouquets were all beautiful. I dealt mostly with Kristy and she went above and beyond in every respect and was an absolute pleasure to deal with.

Hair and make-up: My hair was done by Marie Uva of Uva Salon and make up by Tahlia Jayde. Bridesmaid’s hair and makeup also by Tahlia Jayde. My hair and makeup were both done to perfection and stayed put all day and night. Both Marie and Tahlia were great to deal with and I felt so beautiful on the day which had a lot to do with them. I can’t thank them enough.

The Dress: Luci Di Bella

Jewellery/Accessories: My earrings were Stephanie Browne and bridesmaids’ earrings were Jeanette Maree

Shoes: Nicholas Kirkwood

Rings: Fedele Jewelworks

Bridesmaids dresses: Shona Joy

Menswear: Dyonsu 

Catering: Food and Desire

Favours: We had coaster as place cards, which doubled as favours. I ordered them off etsy – Love From Lucy Weddings.

Cake / Cake topper: Queen Buttercream Design (she is actually my personal trainer and she was kind enough to make my beautiful cake.)

Stationery / Signage: Peppermint Press for wedding invitations. Signage by Daniel Foote from Foote and Flame. Round Mesh backing was from My Event Décor.

Entertainment: Tom Carty (acoustic guitar) and Aakash (DJ)

Honeymoon: USA and Caribbean