Real Wedding – Meg & Tim, Collingwood VIC
A modern wedding with a twist of Gatsby-esq elegance was what Meg and Tim’s stunning soiree was all about. With a focus on darling details, stellar food and wines, and a dance floor to get the shoulders shimmying, this was one party to dazzle the senses.
We love Meg’s inspired choice to craft her outfit around her Aura Bridal headpiece, timeless but contemporary, with just a touch of old-world glam. The thigh-high centre split in her gorgeous Rime Arodaky gown parted to reveal stunningly sweet Loeffler Randall heels, our faves of the season. Tim looked every inch the dapper gent by her side as they strolled the laneways of Melbourne, glowing with those freshly hitched feels.
Superstar behind the lens Tess Follett captured every moment as the day unfolded, from the carefully considered details to the overarching vision; of love, laughter, connection – and an epic party!
Scroll on to see a day rich in uniquely exquisite detail.
The meeting.
We met in early 2008 at Tim’s aunt’s 50th birthday. I was friends with Tim’s cousin and helping eat and serve some food while he was helping serve the drinks. We enjoyed a chat and a laugh. Tim’s high school formal was a month out, and he needed a date; voila, the gamble worked, and we kicked it off from there. Fourteen years later, we have travelled the world, lived overseas and grown into the people we are today.
The ‘one’.
It is hard to pinpoint the moment. It was when I realised the simple things bring so much joy, like running the Tan, enjoying a Saturday coffee, and catching his eye across the room when our favourite songs come on the dancefloor. Knowing that he was the first person I wanted to share news with, adventures with, food with and to laugh with. It was also when I felt truly loved and happy and couldn’t imagine my life with anyone else.
The proposal.
It was late afternoon on a Saturday and took place in the botanical gardens. We set up a picnic under a tree, as it was drizzly, near where the moonlight cinema is usually held and where we have enjoyed some lovely evenings. No one was around. I read my book and chatted away, eating a large sandwich I had bought on the way, whilst Tim lay there and absently nodded. Little did I know he was working out how to get me to stand up so he could propose on one knee! Time was ticking away. I finally told him I was going to run off to the bathroom; it was the best news for him; he had an opening, finally.
On my walk back to the tree, Tim met me halfway shaking and hot, I thought he was unwell, and we would have to go to the Alfred. He then got down on one knee and said he has loved me for years and would love to spend the rest of his life with me. He then opened the box and held it out to me. I was in total shock. I didn’t see it coming as we were moving overseas in a few months for a couple of years. I just thought it would happen when we got back. My shock meant I couldn’t answer. I was processing… very slowly. Tim had to ask for an answer! That shook me out of my shock, and of course, I said yes!
We then both went and lay down on the picnic rug as we were both light-headed. Tim from the nerves and me from the shock, minutes later Tim said, ‘ok, we really have to go, I have made plans – your and my parents are waiting for us at home with champagne, and I have a dinner reservation at Cutler and Co. My first response was I just ate the whole sandwich for an afternoon tea snack! It was an amazing proposal, private and very us. We love the Tan, going for runs and walks and being outside. The dinner was lovely, and celebrating with our family with champagne was a great surprise and a lovely moment. Dating for more than ten years, and it still gave me the biggest surprise of my life. Here I was telling everyone that I could read Tim like a book!
Planning process.
I followed Blanc Creme, an amazing French shop that has lots of fabulous inspiration on their social media. I found my wedding dress designer through their site and got styling ideas too. I bought the weddings magazines Hello May and Together. They were great in working out styles and brands of dresses, shoes and florists I liked too. Pinterest was one deep rabbit hole that helped me plan the details and explain my visions to the florist. Every time I saw a wedding photo on Instagram that I loved, I was quick to figure out what drew me to the picture, and then I would follow that designer or photographer.
I used Ivory Tribe on Instagram to get inspiration from real weddings as everyone has such unique and beautiful taste and being able to have access to look through other couples special moments really helped inspire ideas for table settings, photo settings, flower display, cake design etc. This was especially helpful as it had been a long time between our wedding and when we were last allowed to attend one. We had only been to a handful of weddings ourselves, so these online bridal platforms for inspiration with links to suppliers are so essential to helping plan the best day of your life, especially when you are miles away. We were living overseas in London for the two years leading up to the wedding, we booked our venue before we left, and that was it wedding wise.
Style inspiration.
We wanted a modern and simple wedding with rustic features. We loved the urban, industrial vibe of Rupert and Rupert and their greenery. We wanted our wedding a little quirky but classic, and the venue really helped us achieve our vision. The flowers on the table were minimalistic but made a gorgeous statement, as we wanted the elements of the venue to shine through with its woods, metals, fabrics and pops of colour.
We wanted it to be intimate and fun and about having the opportunity to really celebrate with our loved ones.
The outfit.
I wanted a chic and modern outfit.
I got my headpiece made by an Irish label Aura Bridalwear. I was in love with Aura’s concept of cool bridal headbands/bows. She uses high-quality silks from Ireland and lace from France. I had found her work by clicking on a wedding dress shop and going down a rabbit hole of clicks. I was constantly scanning any of the bridal sites I was following for images of headpieces and their brands. I saw a bridal runway show on Pinterest from a few years ago, where an architect had designed sharp pleated headpieces for the show, and we based my bespoke piece on this design. I wanted a statement headpiece that I could wear all night and detach the birdcage lace veil later on – two looks! I had envisioned my modern headpiece before I had my wedding dress.
I wanted a statement shoe because, why not? Gold or Blue. I had been eyeing off this gorgeous pair of gold pleated shoes for two years; they were on a number of the bridal sites I was following on Instagram. When I was young, I used to walk around the house in my Great Aunt’s gold heels from the 1940s and felt fabulous. These brought back all the joy when I saw them! I bought them on Farfetch in two sizes as I could send back a pair and get them right.
I bought my Rime Arodaky dress in London when a bridal concept ‘The Dressing Club’ did a pop-up shop in Kensington. They are a Parisian based store that sell a range of dresses from French designers that are mostly samples from fashion shows or photo shoots or from the display. I love Rime Aradoky; I follow her work religiously. I just hadn’t found the exact one for me yet. They had a lovely jumpsuit with lace that I was eyeing off, but I didn’t know if it would feel timeless looking back on the photos, and when do you have an opportunity to have a proper white dress?! Then, I saw this dress on the rack, and it spoke to me! It had leafy lace instead of rose lace; it had a low back, a solid luxurious crepe skirt that looked like trousers but had a proper train, beautiful buttons and POCKETS! It was a huge yes! I just had to have it altered significantly to fit me and to lift the waist as it wasn’t originally high waisted.
It was modern, elegant and unique, and it had all the elements I had been dreaming of combined!
I went to three dress shops in total – I did my research before I went, knowing which cuts I liked and which dresses I wanted to try on. I was open to trying on suggested styles and didn’t put pressure on the day. We planned the dress trials around food and coffee, and bubbles.
Favourite moments.
I told Tim my favourite part of the evening was when we were both up on the groomsmen’s shoulders and dancing to a favourite song with all our closest people surrounding us. I asked Tim, and he responded saying he was such a wuss; for him, it was when I was at the top of the aisle and when we said our vows.
Meaning of marriage.
It is an opportunity to celebrate our love with all our dearest, an opportunity to progress our relationship to its furthest limits and become further united. To formally tie us together and declare we have found our soulmate, our rock in life. It is the celebration of the 14 years of love we have already shared and the many more to come.
Wedding soundtrack.
Aisle – Bridesmaids: Forever You and Me by The Teskey Brothers
Aisle – Bride: Can’t Help Falling in Love by Elvis Presley (played by Ed Nunn)
Recessional: Higher Love by Kygo, Whitney Houston
Reception entry: Trumpets by Jason Derulo,
First dance song: Come Away With Me by Norah Jones, then Signed, Sealed, Delivered by Stevie Wonder
We worked hard on putting together a Spotify playlist for the champagne and canapes and then the dinner. We are known for our playlists. We had groups of friends come over for dinner parties and would play songs and have them rate them based on what point of the night they should be played. It was down to the shoulders, how much movement the song provoked. When there was proper shimmy-ing, the hips and feet wanted to play along; it was a dance floor necessity. A smile and a simple shimmy meant dinner. People were ready for the dance floor when it was time.
Funny stories or near disasters.
I was walking down the aisle to Ed Nunn playing the guitar to Can’t help Falling in Love. It was a beautiful moment when I got to Tim at the end of the aisle, standing with tears in his eyes – everyone was pulling their tissues out. I kissed my dad on the cheek and took Tim’s hand as he led me to stand under the magical flower arbour. My dad was moving towards his chair and had stepped on the back of my train. I was lucky I had a sturdy skirt as I got yanked back very hard. The mood was broken, and after the shock, a number of laughs were let out by nearby family and friends who witnessed the almost disaster! It was a very Dad and I moment, as we are a bit awkward when nervous. The mood quickly returned to happy tears when the vows started, and I got to stand at the front marrying my best friend – with my dress intact!
Planning surprises.
How quickly time flew in the two or three months leading up to the day. The number of small decisions and details that had to be made and came to our attention in the week or two leading up meant all hands on deck. Speech timing, order, writing, flower petal cone details – there are many!
Words of wisdom.
The day is about celebrating your love and enjoying yourselves. No matter what hurdles happen, it is out of your hands then, and no one is looking for the details, so sit back and enjoy the day to the fullest. Take a moment to step aside for a few minutes with your partner and re-group, smile at each other and marvel in the amazing atmosphere before rejoining the festivities. The night will fly.
Brides – if you are getting your dress altered, I would pick up the finished piece the Monday before a Saturday wedding, not the Wednesday/Thursday. Fitting in any adjustment becomes extremely difficult when the remaining days are planned with nails and spray tans and lunches.
Love Meg and Tim’s urban utopia vibes? So do we. So much so, that we’ve collated some of our favourite inner-city celebrations to spark that laneway love and inspire those metro magic visions! Check them out, here.
MEG & TIM’S VENDORS
Ceremony & Reception venue: Rupert on Rupert
Celebrant: Cassie Duncan
Photography: Tess Follett. Tess was amazing at herding the troops, giving direction and trying to deliver our vision in the limited time before the sun sets or rain starts again. She was great at making us feel relaxed during the process, which we loved!!
Florist: The very, very talented Alexandra at Fir.floral.design. Boy, did she deliver!
Hair: Halo Hair in Kooyong
Make-up: Mecca in Armadale. The girls were amazing!
The dress: Rime Arodaky.
Veil / headwear: Aura Bridalwear
Shoes: Loeffler Randall. I packed a pair to get change into but wore this beautiful pair all night! They were super comfy and really complemented the modern bride look I was aiming for.
Rings: Engagement ring – Arman Jeweller Doncaster. Both our wedding bands we got made in Glen Iris.
Bridesmaid’s dresses: Calli
Groom’s suit: Arthur Galan. Arthur himself fitted Tim. He made him feel a million dollars and really comfortable. He looked at a few suits but went with this because Arthur made such a brilliant impression.
Bow ties: MJ Bale and pocket hanky from Oxford.
Catering & bar: Rupert on Rupert. We had delightful canapes pre-dinner, sharing plates for dinner; we went with roaming cheese boards and cheeky toasted mini sandwiches with relish and cured ham for the 11pm munchies. We went with the deluxe drinks package, so there were lots of tasty wine choices. It included champagne; how could you not drink proper champagne from a coupe glass? Good food, drink and music were our three priorities for the day, so we were happy to put our money there and really appreciate it as much as we did – I am the champagne lover, but Tim drank only champagne all night. Taking the celebrating seriously.
Cake: Our delicious two-tier cake come from the lovely Miss Ladybird Cakes. The bottom was carrot cake base (which is my favourite cake flavour of all time, so it was never really negotiable), and the top was a vanilla bean with layered raspberry buttercream. She used flowers from our florist to decorate it and a small drizzle of caramel to help set the autumnal theme. Delicious.
Stationery / Signage: We went to Officeworks to get our pieces printed; we had a friend who works in graphic design who helped us.
Entertainment: Tim’s best friend Ed Nunn played the guitar and sang as my bridesmaids, and I walked down the aisle. It was magical! It was one of Tim’s highlights of the wedding, and he had tears flowing. We had DJ MVMT, who played RNB hits from the ’90s and 2000s, to get the dance floor going. TLC and, of course, some Jackson 5, Isley Brothers and Stevie Wonder were boogied hard to. One of our top priorities for the wedding was a brilliant dancefloor and good music. We have some great footage of Tim and me on the groomsmen’s shoulders dancing, which showed the energy and enjoyment of the night. It really made it the best night of our lives. The DJ was great at reading the floor and the body language of the guests.
Hire: Linen – Harry the Hirer
Honeymoon: We had a mini-moon starting on the Monday, drinking wine and eating all the delightful food in South Australia; McLaren Vale and Adelaide Hills. Our Honeymoon (full moon) will be at Bederra resort in July, an island on the great barrier reef in QLD. Champagne, sun and snorkelling. Great way to keep the wedding high going.
