Real Wedding - Lisa & Rory, Collingwood VIC

March 15, 2023 In Colourful, Luxe, Pink, Real Weddings, Urban By Jo Betz

Real Wedding – Lisa & Rory, Collingwood VIC

Lisa and Rory’s uplifting celebration is a blissed-up romp through inner-city Melbourne, filled with everything you dream of for a wedding day; stunning style, unbridled creativity and abundantly upbeat emotion!

Sticking to their motto of hard and fast decisions and letting creatives be creative meant that Lisa and Rory were surrounded by a dream team of superstars. The result was a vivacious aesthetic dream of vibrant hues and boldly elegant details underpinned by perfect personal touches.

Lisa is a glowing goddess in the Butter gown by one of our absolute faves, Georgia Young Couture. Thick, creamy draping creates contemporary lines in a blend of modern romance. We love Rory’s choice to personalise his sleek YSG three-piece suit with a nod to his beloved St Kilda football team. But, outshining all of the glam glory are the epic smiles on the faces of the newlyweds. This soiree is giving absolute party vibes from beginning to very late, noise complaint-inducing end!

There to ensure those vibes just keep escalating are the legends of the dance floor, Melbourne Entertainment Co. Scroll on for every dream detail, captured to perfection by Ash Haase Photography.

The meeting.

Tinder in 2016! Rory had uploaded a photo of him in a cast (sympathy votes perhaps?) and asked the question, “what would you rather give up – chocolate or coffee?” I said chocolate, which was the correct answer. After passing the first test, our first date was at a swanky steak restaurant, however, we spent more money on alcohol as we were both so nervous! We shared our first kiss out the front of Vanilla Lounge in Oakleigh, and the rest is history.

The one.

After being together for about a year, we decided to move into my parent’s house to save some cash. I don’t think I can pinpoint finding ‘the one’ to a singular event – to me, it was a series of small events, that seemed insignificant at the time, that showed he really was the one. His patience with me in my not so finer moments, getting involved with my family (especially pretending to enjoy my dad’s home brew!) and relishing in the small moments.

The proposal.

Apologies for the long story. Shortly after we started dating, Rory took us on a weekend away down to Inverloch. We rented a cute house by the beach and went to watch the sunset with some drinks. We sat down, and the moment felt so right. Over the years, we always said that if we got to the point of marriage, that spot on the beach is where it would happen. Unfortunately, we had a few too many drinks, and I ended up *falling asleep* fully dressed (so the night did not turn out as planned).

Flash forward to six years later, we put the dog in the car and went on a drive to a mysterious location. I knew exactly what was about to happen but pretended to have no idea, to keep the magic alive for a bit longer. We got to the same beach, I pat the dog to give Rory a minute to sort himself out, and he was on one knee. The proposal was perfect and symbolic in so many ways. That night we went out to our favourite restaurant and ordered tiramisu – which we also served at our wedding. The tiramisu has become our special occasion dish – it was super important to share it with our guests on our wedding day.

Planning process.

My best friend was getting married in California, USA, the month before our wedding, and I was her maid of honour – to be completely honest, we were more excited about going travelling for a month! So, our wedding motto became, “hard and fast decisions” and “let creatives be creative”. At the start of the planning process, we each wrote down a couple of ‘inspiration’ words and they ended up being quite similar: urban, fun, boozy, authentic and good food.

The decision for a wedding at Rupert on Rupert was dead easy. That venue is perfection – we booked it before we had even been there! Such a stellar combination of plants, an industrial touch, excellent drinks, and good food. First decision, tick.

We then booked the celebrant and the photographer quickly. I knew that these two vendors were fundamentals for the right vibe. First came Ashleigh Haase Photography. I had met Ash about six years prior at a friend’s wedding and had enjoyed watching her work on Instagram ever since. What appealed to us about Ash was the non-posed and authentic photography. Next came Nat Sproal. We met with her on Zoom initially (cheers, COVID!), and she was perfect. Kind, witty, hilarious and reliable. Second and third decision, tick.

Once those big decisions were made, I then slowed down in booking the remaining vendors. These included Cloth and Confetti for styling (amazing, and such a great decision as we were in the USA a couple of weeks before our wedding!) and Raven and the Rose for flowers. I was passionate about the flowers and choose her on gut feel and didn’t really give her brief. She delivered, big time! I still have people tell me they cannot believe how great those flowers were. Fourth and fifth decision, tick.

The remaining decisions were easy – Sea and Paper for stationary (I used to work with the business owner, Sophie, in a previous life! So talented), Melbourne Entertainment Co for the entertainment (DJ + Sax), a recommendation from Ivory Tribe!, Viv Roche Makeup and Va Hair Do Wedding Co (my existing hairdresser). Hard and fast decisions.

Style inspiration.

Bright and bold flowers with lots of texture. That’s it. I gave this sentence to the vendors and tried my best to “let creatives be creative”. No look books, or vision boards from me. I was too busy planning our honeymoon in Disneyworld!

The ceremony.

It was so significant because the ceremony was so us (cliche, I know). It was funny, personal, and captured our personalities so perfectly! Some standouts were the bridal party introductions, Nat captured our love for our dog, each other and our Disneyworld honeymoon perfectly and made the ceremony relatable to everyone in the room. I look back on it with such fond memories. Rory also dipped me for what was the best kiss of my life!

The outfits.

My dress was the ‘Butter’ gown from Georgia Young Couture. What an absolute dream. I chose Georgia Young as the service was amazing, the dresses are made in Melbourne, and the sample sizes were bigger than a size eight! It was rather disappointing going into dress boutiques to discover that samples were so small. I had been in some stores where brides were unable to fit into anything – I vowed not to support these stores as inclusivity is important to me.

My accessories included my shoes from Scanlan Theodore. As soon as I saw them, I knew they were it. I loved that they were not too high, and I have worn them multiple times since. My earrings were stunning Marquise flower Tiffany & Co earrings courtesy of my best friend, who had gotten married the month before and gave them to me as my “something borrowed”. My handbag was bought second-hand.

Rory’s suit was custom from YSG Tailors. He chose a three-piece suit and looked amazing. At the end of the night, he undid the jacket to show the stitching in the inside pocket, which said “L&R 16/10/2022” as a little surprise to me. He also used it as an opportunity to have the St Kilda colours of red, white and black stitched into the buttonholes.

Favourite moment.

Walking into Rupert with my parents and seeing Rory down the other end of the aisle. If I could live that moment over and over again, I would.

Meaning of marriage.

Patience, care, joy, and honesty. Rory and I promised to each other soon after we met that we would never leave for work in the morning without giving each other a kiss. A very easy and meaningful promise that captures what marriage means to us. A love of dogs is also a non-negotiable.

Wedding soundtrack.

Aisle: Simply the Best (Schnitts Creek Version)

Recessional: You’re My Best Friend (Queen)

Reception entry: Simply the Best (Tina Turner version)

First dance: You Make Loving Fun (Fleetwood Mac)

Parent dance: Everlasting Love (Jaime Cullum)

Reception exit: Sky Full of Stars (Coldplay)

Funny stories (or near disasters).

Thankfully, no disasters. But funny stories – plenty. The absolute best was the champagne shake at my parents’ house with the bridesmaids during our photos. I grabbed the bottle of champagne and didn’t shake it enough, so my cousin/maid of honour grabbed the bottle and really shook it. So much so, the entire bottle went all over my mum and one of the bridesmaids – they were soaked from head to toe! Luckily, they still had their robes on, and the makeup artist was still there to give them a quick fix-up! The photos do this moment justice!

We also had a little after-party at the hotel, which resulted in three noise complaints in the first ten minutes. We were promptly asked to take the party into the lobby- we had a great time with our nearest and dearest.

Planning surprises.

Yes! It’s quite overwhelming and really easy to get FOMO. I kept referring to our mantras, ‘hard and fast’ decisions and ‘let creatives be creative’ and that was what kept us from losing our marbles.

Words of wisdom.

Be authentic. We tried to make the little things meaningful, like bringing in our favourite dessert, making up our dance on the spot, and giving the celebrant lots of content to make our ceremony unique.

Choose vendors you trust and let them do their thing. Some vendors, in particular, the photographers and celebrants have a list of trusted suppliers – please stick to this list. You will have a cohesive experience if everyone knows each other! And have fun!

To surround yourself with a team of super-talented, super-lovely humans, check out our directory – and let the fun begin!

LISA & RORY’S SUPPLIERS

Ceremony & reception venue: Rupert on Rupert– Rupert St, Collingwood. Amazing. Top-notch service, food and drinks.

Celebrant: Nat Sproal

Photography: Ash Haase Photography

Videography: Wedding Chats! Traditional wedding videography was not our jam, so we booked Wedding Chats who does recorded interviews with the guests. Absolutely amazing and a business I will support forever. Tommy – love your work! Ours available here.

Styling: Cloth and Confetti

Florist: Raven and the Rose

Hair: Va Hair Do Wedding Co

Make-up: Viv Roche Makeup. Incredible, divine individual who was a real ‘rock’ for all of us on the day!

The Dress: Butter gown, Georgia Young Couture

Shoes: Scanlan Theodore

Rings: Blue Nile (custom designed engagement ring – thanks, Rory!)

Bridesmaid’s dresses: Pilgrim, Mossman, Bridesmaids own collections

Suits: Groom – YSG Tailors, Groomsman – Peter Jackson

Bow ties/ties: Grooms Bow Tie: YSG / Groomsman ties: David Jones Hugo Boss

Catering & bar: Rupert on Rupert

Cake: Creme De La Cakes! Top layer was gluten-free mud and bottom layer was cookie dough – incredible.