Real Wedding – Meg & Mac, Abbotsford VIC
Minimalist, modern and timeless was the ethos behind Meg and Mac’s gorgeous celebration.
For these two, whose relationship has been built on trust and respect, their effortless belief in each other translated into a planning experience and wedding day that felt equally relaxed, vibrant and emotion-filled.
We love this duo’s choice to accent the natural beauty of Abbotsford Convent and their chic vanilla and apple colour palettes with bold blue colourways, bringing a vivid style moment to a chic classic look.
From one of their favourite moments, doing their first look, the stunning canapé hour in the courtyard, to the speeches themselves, it’s giving perfectly personal, forever memories.
Scroll on to see it all unfold through the legendary lens of Mad For You Creative.
The meeting.
We met in 2015, working together at a casual job while we were both studying at uni.
The one.
There was never really a singular moment for either of us. We started dating when we were fairly young (Meg 20, Mac 23), and we really tried not to live in each other’s pockets for those first few years and provided each other with the freedom to travel/ live in share houses, etc., before really settling down together. This foundation of independence, trust and respect set such a strong foundation in our relationship that it was just undeniable after a few years that we were each other’s person. It never felt scary or unnatural to do the big things: moving in together, getting engaged, etc., because we’ve been so supported by each other along the way.
The proposal.
It was on a long weekend away in Bright in country Victoria. I was suspicious of Mac in the week leading up to it because he had planned everything out for the weekend, including a sunset hike. His plan was slightly turned on its head when we arrived, and our accommodation host said we were unlikely to get a nice sunset that night – I could see Mac stressing! We ended up hiking down to a beautiful waterfall, and he popped the question there. It was perfect, there was no one else around, which was good because I burst into tears before he could even ask the question.
Planning process.
We turned the wedding around in nine months, which felt perfect for us – we weren’t keen on extending the planning process out to over a year. The first (and probably most stressful) hurdle was finding a venue and confirming a date. We knew generally what we were after – in Melbourne, preferably a garden ceremony with an indoor reception, given we were looking at autumn, and somewhere with good food and wine. The sheer number of options felt truly overwhelming, but we managed to narrow it down to three venues and had site visits at each. Abbotsford Convent was the immediate standout. The planning process from there was relatively stress-free. Peter Rowland Group run the events side of the Convent, and given we kept things fairly minimal there, it was very easy. We also managed to choose suppliers who were very much on our chilled-out wavelength, so we found the whole planning process easy once they were locked in.
Style inspiration.
We didn’t have a particular source of inspiration; we mostly allowed the venue to do the talking. Abbotsford Convent is so beautiful and feels both heritage and modern at the same time, which was exactly what we were after. Being able to be married in the gardens there was perfect, it doesn’t feel like you’re so close to the city. In terms of actual styling of the event, we kept things fairly minimal and organic, which again suited the garden and heritage spaces.
Styling inspiration I mostly found via real weddings on Instagram and Pinterest, and then a number of our suppliers were people we knew or had heard about via word of mouth recommendations (Mac knew our wonderful lead photographer Sarah, our florist Kim is one of my good friend’s Mum, our celebrant, Nadine, officiated Mac’s brother’s wedding, our acoustic singer Charlotte was recommended by Mac’s sister, and our DJ, Demi, was recommended by Charlotte!) I think word-of-mouth recommendations are so handy – we felt as though we could trust them a bit more in comparison to just Googling options.
The ceremony.
Our ceremony was so perfect! I walked down the aisle with both my Mum and Dad, which was so special. We opted for a ‘legals only’ ceremony with our celebrant, so Mac’s two sisters shouldered most of the workload in terms of telling our story and helping us during our vows. This made everything feel so personalised. We wrote our own vows, and (not to toot our own horns), but we had a lot of feedback saying they were some of the best vows our guests had ever heard! There were a lot of tears and a lot of laughs. We had our two Grandmas be our witnesses, it was very important to us to have them involved, and they were so excited to take part. The photos of this part of the day are some of our most treasured. Right as the ceremony was ending and we were about to walk back down the aisle, the sun came out and lit up the whole area – the photos from right after the ceremony are so beautiful because of this.
The outfits.
Meg: I knew I wanted something fairly minimal (you’ll sense a theme here!), and I had seen some Prea James dresses online that I liked. I booked an appointment at Bluebell Bridal with my Mum and ended up basically locking in the dress at that appointment. I was so happy with my dress, it felt very ‘me’, and I was so comfortable in it. I didn’t have a second dress, and I knew I wanted to be able to dance all night in it, and it was so perfect. The whole process was so stress-free. In terms of my accessories, I bought my veil from Etsy, and I borrowed some beautiful earrings from my mum. My bridesmaids also gifted me a stunning bracelet on the morning of the wedding that I, of course, wore as well.
Mac: My brother and I got suits made at P Johnson at the Melbourne CBD store for his wedding. We had a really great experience, so we decided to go back again, and we were equally happy this time. Meg and I wanted the groomsmen in Black Tie while the other guests were in formal attire, so there was a nice opportunity for us to stand out a bit but still have the guests wear plenty of colour.
Favourite moments.
There were so many! I loved getting ready in the morning with my beautiful bridesmaids, mum and sister-in-law. It was so much fun, with a girly energy and the perfect pump-up! We did a first look that was so beautiful – we’re so glad we did this, so we were feeling a bit more relaxed and ready to take everything in during our ceremony. We also both would’ve been sobbing messes down the aisle (even more than we were) if we didn’t have a first look. We did bridal party and couple portraits after that, and it was so lovely to have some time together just us before the ceremony as well.
Our ceremony, of course, was so wonderful as detailed above.
The canape hour right after our ceremony was beautiful – it was in the Rosina Courtyard at the Convent, which is a stunning semi-covered space. It was one of the spaces we fell in love with when we first visited the Convent, and actually the main driver behind us doing a first look and photography before the ceremony, so we could go and enjoy canapé hour with our guests in the beautiful area.
Finally, the speeches! We had quite a few, seven in total, including ours, but they were all so perfect. My (Meg’s) mum and dad spoke during the canapé hour, which was a really nice way to break the speeches up, and we did a joint speech to thank everyone who had made our day so special. A highlight was Mac’s brother Harry pulling out an easel and supporting posters as props to accompany his speech. We were both truly surprised at this, and it was just a genuinely hilarious moment and speech.
Meaning of marriage.
An all-in commitment to each other and our lives together. It’s about choosing one another every day, through the highs and the lows, and building a shared future based on trust, love, and mutual respect. Marriage is a partnership where we support each other, face challenges as a team, and grow together over time. It’s a promise to stand by each other no matter what life brings, with a little bit of laughing at each other along the way.
Wedding soundtrack.
Aisle: Vienna, Billy Joel
Reception entry: Freed From Desire, Gala, Molella, Phil Jay
First dance: You Make My Dreams (Come True), Daryl Hall & John Oates
Funny stories.
In an attempt to ‘relax’ (not that he needed much more relaxation), in the lead up to the big day, Mac went and did a sensory float tank two days before the wedding. He walked out with so much water in his ears it almost led to an infection and was the cause of several trips to the pharmacy on our wedding eve.
Planning surprises.
There are so many options out there! For us, because we were fairly laid back, the most stress-free option was to choose a venue that was run by experienced event managers and where the default option for a lot of ‘collateral’, for lack of a better term, was of a high quality. These are the things you don’t think about: chairs, cutlery, crockery. We were very happy to use the default option for everything, which I think saved us a lot of stress/organising.
Words of wisdom.
Do it at the same time as your best friend! One of my best friends is getting married later this year and being able to bounce ideas etc. off her was amazing, especially since we didn’t have a wedding planner.
Otherwise, we received some advice in the lead up to our own which was: pick two or three things that you really value and invest in those/ do those well e.g. venue, photographer, music, food, wine etc.
Love a chic, outdoor celebration? See our favourite ways to style a garden party wedding, 2025 style, for excellent aesthetic inspiration.
MEG & MAC’S VENDORS
We would really love to call out a few of our wonderful suppliers. Firstly, the team at Mad For You Creative – Sarah and Jenna were our on-the-day photographers, and they were just incredible. So chill, amazing vibe and great directions for two people who aren’t used to having their photo taken! The wider team was a dream as well, in particular owner Jess and studio manager Kirsten.
Our wonderful florist, Kim, at Melbourne Flower School, was again a dream to work with. So relaxed, which is how we love to operate, we put together a bit of a plan a few months out, and then the day before the wedding, she sent us a sneak peek of the flowers, and they were just so perfect. We received so many compliments on the flowers on the day, and they lasted for weeks afterwards as well!
Nadine from Three Rings Celebrancy was fantastic – open to our wishes regarding the legals only ceremony, super clear communications in the lead up and a wonderful support for us on the day.
Finally, our wonderful entertainment, Charlotte and Demi, were so easy to work with, so professional and a lot of fun.
Ceremony venue: Heritage Gardens at Abbotsford Convent.
Reception venue: Rosina Hall and Courtyard at Abbotsford Convent
Celebrant: Nadine Mannering, Three Rings Celebrancy.
Photography: Mad For You Creative
Florist: Melbourne Flower School
Hair & make up: Tonic Agency
The dress: Prea James at Bluebell Bridal
Veil: Madame Tulle
Bridesmaid’s dresses: Natalie Rolt, Shona Joy, Kookai.
Suits & bow ties / ties: P Johnson
Catering & bar: Peter Rowland Group at Abbotsford Convent.
Cake: We weren’t keen on having a cake at our reception, so Meg’s mum made us a delicious batch of brownies for the recovery the next day. We still ‘cut the cake’- just in a much more relaxed setting!
Entertainment: Charlotte Gemmill, Eliott Music (ceremony and canapé hour acoustic). Demi Barton, Music by Demi (Reception DJ).
Honeymoon: We went to Pumphouse Point in Tassie for a few days post-ceremony to relax and decompress, and are planning a Europe trip for September.
