Real Wedding – Nakita & Rob, South Melbourne VIC

June 12, 2023 In Black and White, Real Weddings, Urban, Victoria By Ivory Tribe

Real Wedding – Nakita & Rob, South Melbourne VIC

Showcasing their fave city, celebrating their love and heating up the dance floor was top of the list of Nakita and Rob’s wedding planning priorities. And a sweet side effect of this celebratory focus? Dynamic, dream day emotions underpinned with stellar style.

In a gown to wow by L’eto Bridal, Nakita struck the balance between contemporary chic and timeless elegance to perfection. Alongside her new husband, who oozed old-world cool in his sharply cut black suit and bow tie, they were a picture of glowing glam.

Accenting the entire effect were long-stemmed florals in layers of vanilla ivory. Bridesmaids in varied hues or warm blush, cream and burnt amber provide a gorgeous counterpoint to the monochromatic palette.

We love when a groom gets involved in the planning, and with Rob at the helm for this one, it’s a true triumph.

Between the ceremony and reception, photographer extraordinaire Maegan Brown led the newlyweds through the inner Melbourne streetscape, capturing their love in breathtaking beauty, before partying the night away with their nearest and dearest.

The meeting.

We met 11 years ago at a music event. Our friends started dating, so we met through them and continued to all hang out.

The ‘one’.

I don’t know if we really had that ‘wow, this is the one’ moment, but our relationship started as a rock-solid friendship and evolved over time. It just kept getting more and more fun, and we knew that we wanted to keep doing life together.

The proposal.

We booked a spontaneous trip to Byron Bay in Feb 2022 to celebrate my birthday but had no idea that Rob was going to propose that weekend.

We were staying on a beautiful, huge secluded farm property and woke up to go out for breakfast one morning, but Rob said that he had a surprise for me and to close my eyes. I assumed he had organised breakfast at the accommodation for my birthday, but he walked me through to a private hill on the top overlooking the farmland, and there he had organised a beautiful breakfast picnic. We both sat down, and he began to read me a card (I kept thinking it was a birthday card message) but I realised that he was proposing to me! I said yes, and we laughed for a while after because it felt so unexpected (even though I had waited ten years)! We then spent the morning lying down in the sun, listening to music and enjoying the moment.

Planning process.

We knocked out a lot of the big-ticket items (venue, photographer, videographer) out of the way within the first few months, and the rest fell into place during the months leading up to the wedding (even the night before!). It was quite chilled out – for me – as Rob did the majority of the calls, emails and wedding admin.

Style inspiration.

We always knew we wanted a Melbourne wedding because who doesn’t love this city?! Our large guest list meant we wanted to make it accessible for all our guests, really relaxed and not too formal but also all about having an amazing candlelit dinner party with our friends and family. All while making sure we were able to break it down on the dancefloor at all times – which Half Acre was the venue for.

Styled shoots were really useful as we were able to see the collective of vendors that worked together to bring that shoot to life. It was also useful to see that many of the vendors had all worked with one another before, which made it more fun choosing ours, knowing that they’d vibe with one another! For example, our photographer Maegan Brown and videographer Luca Zarik were ah-mazing together!

The ceremony.

We got married in a beautiful, Baroque-style church in South Yarra – St Thomas Aquinas. It was so special walking in and having the entire church filled with all our family and friends, from front to back. The entire ceremony was filled with special moments. My nephews wrote and read out their own prayers for Rob and me; our friends did readings, we had Rob’s aunty surprise everyone and sing while we signed the papers and the priest was a friend of the family who made it all so special and meaningful for us.

The look.

I found my dress on Instagram via Leto Bridal and knew right away that I had to go try it on, even though it was in Sydney. I tried on a couple of dresses in Melbourne that were nice, but when I went to Sydney with my best friend to try on the dress, I knew straight away that it was the dress for me. Anya (Leto Bridal) is a genius – check her out!

Rob knew he wanted a crisp, structured black suit. He got his custom-made from Prinzi Collection in Brunswick.

Favourite moments.

After the ceremony, the bridal party, Rob and I were taking photos, so we decided to take an impromptu break at a pub nearby. We all got a moment to relax together, grab a drink and have a laugh.

Meaning of marriage.

A continuation of our lives together and what we’ve already created. Showing one another endless support, challenging each other to do and be better, and remaining spontaneous. Adventures and more adventures.

Wedding soundtrack.

Aisle: I’ll Be There for You (acoustic) by Mateo Oxley

Recessional: Love Never Felt So Good by Michael Jackson

Reception entry & first dance: Thinking of You by Dimitri from Paris

Reception exit: Levels by Avicii

Funny stories or near disasters.

Rob (aka Bob) took the reins on wedding planning and was known by all our family and friends as Bobzilla. Luckily he’s organised, though, so no disasters, thank goodness.

Planning surprises.

We wrote messages for all our guests on their place cards – we underestimated how time-consuming this would be and how hard it would be to think of 160 different messages and not double up.

Words of wisdom.

The build-up is so much fun. Especially if you’re surrounded by the best bridal party like we were. Make it as social as possible, lots of meet-ups and lots of chats, and enjoy it all.

Choosing a suit may seem straightforward, but the effect is all in the details. We sat down with our friends at YSG Tailors to get the low down on suiting trends for the upcoming season. Check it out, here on the blog.

NAKITA & ROB’S VENDORS

One of the first vendors we found was our photographer Maegan Brown, and wow, we were lucky to lock her in. Instagram is great for the wedding vendor search. Once we found one, it was like a snowball effect, and the rest fell into our hands.

Ceremony venue: St Thomas Aquinas Church, South Yarra

Reception venue: Half Acre, South Melbourne

Celebrant/Officiant: Fr Brendan Connell

Photography: Maegan Brown Moments

Videography: Luca Zarik Films

Styling: Cloth and Confetti

Florist: Blonde Florals

Hair: Andrea Takagi

Make-up: Cassandra Renee

The dress & veil: L’eto Bridal

Rings: Xristo Studio

Bridesmaid’s dresses: One Fell Swoop, Lidee, Meshki