Real Wedding – Lilli & Cruz, Prahran VIC

August 18, 2021 In Industrial, Luxe, Real Weddings, Red, Urban, Victoria By Ivory Tribe

Real Wedding – Lilli & Cruz, Prahran VIC

The secret formula for a wedding that maxes out on style, fun and feeling? Follow Lilli and Cruz’s lead and throw out the rule book.

These two stunning souls chose to do it their way, ditching any element that didn’t feel true to them. The result? Afternoon first-look photos before an evening ceremony, no white gown, no wedding cake, no sit down meals, a grooms-lady and a cardboard cut out best man! This is one uniquely exquisite celebration.

Lilli looked a true knock-out in her Alca Line Bride lace gown in a perfectly on point shade of lilac. Carefully considered lace appliqué took the look from the aisle to the evening in impeccable style. Complementing Lilli’s ethereally elegant gown was a floral palette of lush crimson, rich mulberry and creamy violet against milky white orchids and softly textural tendrils of greenery. A wedding party in jet black perfectly finished the industrial-chic, inner-city glam vibes.

The only accessory which could overshadow this seriously sleek bunch was Lilli and Cruz’s gorgeous puppy, having battled illness like a true trooper to be by their side on this stunningly stellar day! The view from behind lens legend Jess from Fern and Stone photography was one to be remembered.

This is one celebration not to miss, so scroll on to see contemporary wedding style done to perfection.

The meeting.

We were introduced by a mutual friend back in 2015. Cruz knew about the set-up well in advance (and was doing a little Facebook stalking), but I thought I was just going out for pizza with friends! All our friends lived in Brunswick, and we were the only two heading to the South-East side of Melbourne. He kindly offered to drive me home afterwards. It’s really special to look back and think that a lot of our close friends were there for the first time we met!

The ‘one’.

After our first date of brunch and a walk in the park, we both texted our friend to say how great the day had been. It’s a cliché to say, but I think after that first date, we both knew that this was something real.

The proposal.

We were on our first overseas holiday in Japan in 2018! We were in a small town near Mt Fuji, and actually, the proposal didn’t go quite to plan! Cruz had visited this gorgeous park on the edge of the lake years earlier and had hoped he’d one day bring a girl back here to propose. When we got there, the local council had removed the cute bridge and park benches. The once lush grass was no longer being maintained… he was devasted! Luckily a plan B spot was sneakily scoped out, and between a flurry of tears, I managed to gulp out a yes! We face-timed all our friends and families later that afternoon to share the news.

Planning process.

As many couples have found, Covid made things so hard! That aside, we both had a very clear vision of what we wanted for the day, so actually, the planning wasn’t too stressful. For us, it was all about divide and conquer; having both of us on the planning made it much easier.

Style inspiration.

Industrial chic, inner-city glam! We wanted an event that felt intimate, and getting married in inner Melbourne was a very important component for us.

Ivory Tribe and Wedshed real wedding blogs were fantastic in helping inspire us, as well as Instagram. Luckily, we have had a lot of friends marry in recent years, so picking their brains was the most useful resource!

The ceremony.

The focus of our ceremony was our story and what love means to us. No lame metaphors for us! Our celebrant focused on telling the story of our relationship, which a lot of our guests commented that they really enjoyed. We also wrote our own vows (which I only just managed to get out!), which was really important to us. We also surprised our mums during the ceremony and asked them on the spot to be our witnesses!

The outfit.

Cruz knew he wanted a classic black suit that he could wear again after the wedding, and he found a great one at Peter Jackson. He paired it with a lilac tie and pocket square and didn’t know that they matched my dress!

I wore a lilac dress from Alca Line Bride, which was a surprise for Cruz and all our guests on the day. It was actually the second dress I’d purchased; the first one just didn’t feel special anymore, especially after one postponement already. I wanted to go down the custom route when I contacted Amy at ALB, but once I tried on the Romy dress, it was obvious that dress was the one!

Favourite moments.

Definitely our first look (we did all our photos together in the afternoon before our evening ceremony), it was so nice to spend some time just the two of us. Going clubbing and to Maccas in our full wedding gets up afterwards was also pretty fun!

Our friends also gave us the gift of a videographer, which was such an incredibly thoughtful and generous gift – we definitely cried when we found out about that!

Meaning of marriage.

Being a team, supporting each other no matter what, loving each other always.

Wedding soundtrack.

Aisle: Baby Its You by Smoky

Recessional: You Make My Dreams by Hall and Oates

First dance: Sharing the Night Together by Dr Hook

Funny stories or near disasters.

Our dog came with us to Melbourne and was violently sick in the days leading up to the wedding! Poor thing kept us up all night but was kind enough to go into the bathroom every time she needed to go. Luckily we were able to go to a nearby vet, and she was right as rain by the wedding. We were worried about her going to the toilet walking down the aisle, but she was every bit the perfect dog of honour / ring bearer!

Planning surprises.

Just how time-consuming it was in the few weeks leading up to the actual wedding. It was all the small details that were the most time-consuming.

Words of wisdom.

If it’s in your budget, hire an expert for everything! I wish we’d had a planner / coordinator to take off some of the stress in the last week; it was pretty hectic!

Sometimes it can be hard to drown out the many opinions people can throw at you, but if you can, block it all out and plan your day exactly how you want it to be. We did away with a lot of traditions because they didn’t make sense to us. We did our photos together in the afternoon, had an evening ceremony, no white dress, no wedding cake, cocktail menu, grooms-lady and cardboard cut out best man! These are also the things our guests loved the most, so it pays to plan your wedding just the way that’s right for you.

Considering Lilli’s advice to book a planner or coordinator? We have some true talent in our directory, best in the business of taking your to-do list from peak stress, to maximum zen. Check them out here.

LILLI & CRUZ’S VENDORS:

We were so lucky to have found vendors who were connected to us already! Almost all our vendors were friends who had their own businesses (what an awesome way to support your besties!) or were recommendations through family and friends. This made it really easy for us as we didn’t need to do much research on lots of vendors.

Ceremony & reception venue: Hobba, Prahran

Celebrant: Sally Hughes

Photography: Jess Mitchell, Fern and Stone Photography

Videography: Joey E Videography

Florist: Mountain Daisy Florist

Hair: Hair by Caitlin Wilson

Make-up: Candice Salvatore, Makeup by Candy

The Dress: Romy dress, Alca Line Bride

Hair Pins: Lovisa

Shoes: Steve Madden

Rings: Waldermar Jewellers

Bridesmaid’s dresses: Thurley, Keepsake & Zimmermann